Chapter 9: Opening Moves
“He who has begun is half done. Dare to be wise, begin!”
Horace, Epistle I, ii, l 40
******Charon House, Cumbria 1930 31 May 1995******
At the top of Dunmallard Hill, overlooking the River Eamont stood a large Victorian style country house. It stood three stories, tall enough to just see over the surrounding woods from the widows walk at the top of a turret on the southwest corner of the house. Up there, one could see for miles and the whole sweep of the vale in which Ullswater Lake was contained. Here on the northern edge of the lake, a viewer could look down the lake like a ribbon of molten silver in the light of the half moon.
Remus Lupin stood on the wide porch in the cool night air, looking out at the night, listening to the birds, insects and with his keen werewolf hearing, he could hear the river bubbling down its course. He also heard the light footsteps approaching him from behind, the same person who had just come out from the house into the night.
“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?” said Connie Hammer looking out into the darkness. There was a very large yard cleared around the house, and the woods picked up about a half of a mile from the porch.
“Yes, it is. Who would have ever thought that Sirius’ family owned this slice of paradise?” mused Remus with a half smile on his face, continuing to look out into the dark. “It’s been a long time Connie, how have you been?”
“Oh you know me, ‘Miss Moody’ they call me in the Auror Corps” she said. “I work a lot,” and she looked him in the eye for the first time “there isn’t much else. Come on, the meeting’s starting soon” and she turned and walked into the house with a brisk step.
Inside there was a bustle of activity as a crowd of people moved to find places to sit in the large sitting room. Taking up most of the first floor of the house, the room was bordered on three sides by windows to let in the light during the day. A large stone fireplace was in the middle of the room and obviously charmed to direct all smoke outside without the need of a floo.
Albus Dumbledore stood at the head of the room talking with Arthur Weasley and was joined by Connie. After a quick nod to Connie, Albus scanned the room, internally called a quorum and said “Everyone, if you could please take your seats, we can begin.” With a rustle of clothes and rumble of dying conversation, the Order of the Phoenix opened its first meeting since October, 1981.
As Albus began his opening remarks, Remus watched Connie sit on the opposite side of the room, facing him. She looked very good. Her shoulder length blond hair was pinned back from her face which was currently in a neutral expression as she listened to Albus. She was wearing forest green robes, her favorite color since they had all been at Hogwarts together. The soft curve of her cheek was marred by a slight dimpling, the residue of a curse that hit her a few years back while on a mission. Remus ducked his head as her pale green eyes shifted quickly from Albus to himself.
Connie had risen through the ranks from a DMLE officer answering calls of muggle baiting, up into the Auror ranks and up to her current level as a special operative to the DMLE director. As such, she did not technically answer to Rufus Scrimgeour, but rather than antagonize the petty man needlessly, she did her best to keep him in the know as much as she could. It was debated in the DMLE who would take over as DMLE head if Bones were to move on, Connie Hammer, or Rufus Scrimgeour. To the Aurors and DMLE Officers she worked with, Connie was a taskmaster, never settling for anything but the best and ruthlessly eradicating any corruption in her units. No one could definitively explain her hatred of the Dark, but it was well known throughout the department to never even joke with Connie Hammer on the topic, that is if you liked all ten of your fingers.
Albus continued “…and I would like to welcome all members of our newly reconstituted Order to Charon House, which Sirius Black has so kindly offered for our use. Today is the last day that this house will be on the floo network. Before you leave tonight, see Remus, Connie, Arthur or myself to familiarize yourself with the safe points in the wards for apparition. Of note, you must be wearing your Order medallion to apparate through the wards.”
In the back, Molly Weasley piped up “Albus, why is the floo being disconnected?”
With a bit of a grimace, he replied “You shall see when we cover the current operational status. Are there any other questions before we begin? One other note, there are many bedrooms here, all furnished and we have two of Hogwarts house elves to keep house here. If you need anything, call for Rauri or Maddy” his face now took on a neutral cast as he looked around “I need not remind anyone here to treat the elves with respect.” After this proclamation, the old Headmaster began to sit and said “Alastor, would you please start us off with the events of May 24th and their aftermath?”
As Moody related the events of the Tri-Wizard tournament and Harry’s kidnapping in the aftermath the crowd was slightly bored. They all knew that Pettigrew was involved and that poor young Potter had been dropped in it again. When Moody began to relate the resurrection of Voldemort and the reformation of the core group of Death Eaters, the crowd went utterly silent. Most members, leaned forward now, and their faces showed their now present attention to what retired Master Auror Moody was telling them.
“Now that I have all of your undivided attention” Moody smirked, “We now know from forensic testing that Looklighter from International Magical Cooperation was murdered by Voldemort himself.” Half the crowd shivered at the name while he continued, “the other families were hit by cells. It seems that the Death Eaters are forming units around senior, experienced members.” Moody went on to list the Death Eaters present in the Potter memory. “It seems that Macnair survived Potters’ Flame Spell attack in the graveyard, as he was in on the Looklighter attack. Can’t be in too good ‘a shape though” he added with a sarcastic chuckle.
“This new organization is actually quite disturbing. In the last Voldemort war, the attacks were like a pack of jackals gathering on a carcass. No organization or order.” Here Moody waved his hands airily to indicate the Death Eater activity. “Here we have order, we have organization and we have a hierarchy. It would suggest that the Death Eaters are training these junior members to take over their own cells in the near future.”
Moody looked at Dumbledore and got a nod “As an extension of that wonderful news” he deadpanned, “we have indications that five senior Death Eaters have been sent to the continent to recruit heavily from pureblood supremacist groups there, it is currently unknown as to their success rate.” He looked around the room for any questions and sat down.
Connie now stood “We know that Voldemort needs funds. On Monday, the government is going to present a bill to freeze the Potter memory Death Eater funds. It seems that Voldemort has anticipated this and moved to secure independent funding sources.” She now took a deep breath “He is taking over the muggle drug trade, concentrating on the organization that provides product for the distribution in the greater London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin areas. Also, we believe he is moving on the prostitution rings as well. Together, these moves will give him a very large source of funding that is independent of the magical world altogether. I am working with the muggle government and their MI-5, to try and track down the operatives and shut down as much as can be shut down. This is not going to be easy and I believe we must concede that for now,” and here she looked around the room and stopping at Albus “Voldemort is well financed, and will be for the near future.”
The room was silent as a morgue as Connie resumed her seat. No one had expected this when either summoned by Albus to reconstitute the Order or invited to join for the first time. The room was tipped heavily towards fighters. There were over a dozen active Aurors and ten DMLE officers. The rest were specialized in intelligence gathering, spell craft or government agencies.
Albus nodded and Dedalus Diggle stood. Not many could see him due to his short stature, so with a self-deprecating chortle, he stood on his chair. “Good evening all, I believe that the Death Eaters have made significant inroads into the Ministry already. The assassination of Looklighter is obvious so as to clear the way for a Death Eater, or sympathizer, to take on International Magical Cooperation. This would be a disaster. Granted, the Minister makes foreign policy with guidance from the Wizengamot on important matters, but in the day to day workings of the department, the obstruction and obfuscation caused by having a Death Eater in control of the department could have a severe impact on Britain’s standing in the international community. With this control, Voldemort could isolate Britain without a single spell cast.
“The problem is how to legally ensure that Looklighter’s replacement is not a Death Eater or sympathizer. Currently, the Ministry cannot use Veritaserum or Legilimancy when screening a candidate for a position, regardless of the seniority of said position. The only times it’s allowable in during a DMLE investigation, and even then it causes quite a stir to invoke these methods. The DMLE head and Minister are working with the Wizengamot to change the restrictions, at least for hiring at the Department Head/Division Head level. However, freezing Death Eater assets has been deemed of higher priority, so this topic is running second in everyone’s attention” Diggle concluded ruefully.
He went on to explain that the real issue, of course was the spread of personnel controlled by the Imperius curse. It was a joke in the inter-war years about being controlled by the Imperius, but now it was very real and very frightening. No one could tell who was and was not being controlled. The only way to screen for the Imperius is with an in depth Legilimancy session and there was neither the time nor resources to execute that for everyone at the Ministry. “The issue being considered by the Ministry is how to craft a law that will:’ and here he lifted a finger in the air “first, survive the Wizengamot.” Raising a second finger he continued “second, allow the ministry to target vital positions for these interviews.” He raised a third finger “and thirdly, not incite a revolt by ministry employees. This is a serious invasion of privacy, and will be seen as such by the employees, regardless of the reasoning behind it. Voldemort is showing a genius in his moves in that he knows the Ministry is bound by its own laws, and because of the bureaucracy is slow to react. He can, therefore, strike with impunity.”
The crowd was uneasy at this proclamation. Dumbledore stood and said “As you all may have surmised, everyone in the room has made an Unbreakable Vow with me to never support Voldemort in word or deed. This does not cover action done while under the Imperius, as a person is, by definition, acting against their own will. Of note, we have many skilled Legilimencers in the Order who will conduct routine Imperius screening on all members to ensure internal security. Interviews will be random and comprehensive. If you are uncomfortable with this, then you will need to rethink your membership with this organization” and he sat down on a note of finality.
Emmeline Vance now stood. Her stunning looks were subdued due to her strained expression. “The Department of Magical Transportation is compromised. The murders the other day eliminated strong supporters of the Light and made way for persons of dubious alignment. Floo transport, I believe, is currently under Death Eater control. Portkey Registration and Regulation could be under Imperiused personnel control. Ministry Ward Authorization and Regulation I believe to be under Death Eater sympathizer control. This, Molly” and here she nodded to the flabbergasted red-haired matron in the back of the room “is why the floo is being shut off here in three hours” and sat down.
Albus stood and faced the downhearted crowd. “I am very concerned that the Death Eaters will begin to use their control of the Floo Network to begin to pluck targeted personnel out of the floo when being used. Do not floo anywhere. If you have children; side-along apparate them, get a portkey from me or use muggle mass transit. Portkeys to be used in case of emergency are available in the back from Nymphadora. Please take at least one for your family’s use. I repeat, do not use the floo.
Lastly, Dumbledore exposited on the possible compromise of the Division of Underage Magic use. They had no one on the inside, but based on the murder of an employee, by assumed Death Eaters, the logical assumption was that the Death Eaters were making inroads there as well.
By now, the Order of the Phoenix was completely mute. No friendly banter or side conversations were occurring, no background discussions in other rooms either. “I don’t understand how they could have done so much in only a week” said Molly Weasley in a half sob, half query.
While Connie rolled her eyes and Remus shook his head, Mad-Eye took point. “Only a week?” he asked her. At her tearful nod, he snorted and said “there have been dozens of Death Eaters out on the prowl that got out of jail time pleading the Imperius and other such nonsense fourteen years ago. They’ve spent that entire time setting up their own little sidelines or preparing for Voldemort’s return. Just because their leader wasn’t around, didn’t mean they weren’t mean sadistic bastards who were going to roll over and play nice. Do you really think that Lucius Malfoy and Walden Macnair and all their ilk have been model citizens for the last fourteen years?” By now his voice was rising in anger at the delusions that many in the room held, not just Molly.
Dumbledore placed his hand on Moody’s shoulder to calm the old Auror down. “I think we all are a little shocked by the information we’ve heard this evening. It is a lot to take in, I understand. However, this is where we stand today. This is the hill we must begin to climb. Voldemort and his Death Eaters are much more cunning and, dare I say it, wise this time around. They have learned from their past mistakes and as Alastor has described, they have been planning these moves for quite some time. Soon, these preplanned responses will run their course and they will have to move into deliberate planning and won’t have as much time to reflect and refine. There will then be opportunities, mistakes, that we can exploit. We just have to survive and try and push back the darkness.”
With a long sigh, Dumbledore said “I believe that will be all for tonight. We will be having smaller meetings in the upcoming week where everyone will be given work area assignments and start their tasking. We will meet like this on a bi-weekly, and sometimes weekly basis, based on current events. I’d like to speak to all the Aurors and DMLE officers, Remus and Alastor now. Everyone else, thank you for coming and be careful out there” and with a small wave, people began to apparate to their homes or to the corner pub for a few pints. Or something stronger.
As the sworn officers, plus two others gathered around the old Headmaster, he explained that he was well aware of their oaths to uphold the law and the sundries attached therein. He wanted to re-emphasize that he would not give assignments or orders contrary to these oaths. However, if he did give such orders, he expected the officers to point this out so that a deliberate decision could be made as to whether the officers were going to act in opposition to their oaths, rather than an accidental compromise of a magical oath due to tiredness or inattention.
As the officers began to apparate away Albus called for Connie, Remus and Alastor to walk with him. The four went outside on the porch and sat on the Adirondack chairs provided. They all waited while Mad-Eye and Connie put up privacy wards and then gave Alastor a minute to do a full scan with his eye. At his nod, Albus began “The compromise of the floo system is an incredible blow. I’ve talked with Amelia about this at length. She cannot do anything as yet. There have been no complaints, and by statute she cannot launch an internal investigation without probable cause. Apparently this is a holdover law from many years ago when the Departments had to compete for funding separately.”
After a few moments of consideration Remus spoke “You want us to either take it down or be ready to take it down, don’t you Albus?”
Looking the werewolf in the eye, Albus said “Yes, I would like you to prepare to execute two courses of action: first, temporarily incapacitate the network so that governmental control can be reasserted and second, take it down completely so that it takes either weeks to repair, or it has to be reconstructed entirely.” Looking at Connie who looked like she was going to raise an objection, he said “Yes, I’ve talked to both Amelia and Cornelius about this and they both concur. We have quite a bit of opposition in the Wizengamot. If Amelia were to ‘go off the reservation’ as it is called, the government could fall via a vote of no confidence and who knows what would happen then. You three are the most experienced and most able members of the Order. I will be asking you three to not get involved in the long term projects the others will be assigned. You will get plenty of work like this.” He looked around the small group and saw no questions or comments. “Thank you for coming” and he started to rise.
Remus lightly grasped the Headmasters sleeve while he turned his attention to Connie and Alastor “What do you say we meet here for lunch tomorrow and begin to strategize?” At the nods of assent from the other two, and a long questioning look from Connie to which Remus responded with a small smile, the other two apparated away leaving Remus and Albus alone on the porch.
“Albus, what progress have you made regarding Snape, Trelawney, Binns and the Muggle Studies professor, what’s her name – Burbidge?” said Remus with a slight growl.
The commanding air and visage that Dumbledore had projected all evening deflated in less than a second and he sat down heavily. “I have an appointment with Severus tomorrow morning at ten, would you like to attend? Disillusioned of course.”
“Yes, I think that would be appropriate” said Remus, not unkindly. “The others?”
Rubbing his face, Dumbledore said “Binns has already been terminated, if that is the appropriate word” and he chuckled under his breath. “In good conscience, I cannot turn Sybil away.” At the signs of Remus’ impending wrath, Albus held up his hand “Hear me out Remus. She has been terminated, as of last night. But I cannot turn her out of the castle. Voldemort knows she told the prophecy and would scoop her up two steps outside of the wards, and she would be a vegetable from his Legilimancy within hours and dead shortly thereafter. I have given her the assignment of…” and here he paused as if gathering his strength for an unpleasant task. “She shall be my personal seer.”
Remus paused and looked at Dumbledore, dumbfounded. After a few moments he burst into laughter “Albus, now you’ll know what the students have been going through. Are you familiar with the concept of purgatory? For your sin of inflicting Sibyl Trelawney on the students of Hogwarts, I believe you will be in purgatory for a while” and his laughter died down to a soft chuckle.
“Yes, well, Professor Burbidge is currently on holiday and will return next week. At that point I will terminate her employment with the school. I could not do it in a letter. Even I am not that cold hearted.”
Remus nodded thoughtfully, it was fair. To tell the truth, he expected to have to prod the old man to take the action he’d committed to executing. He was pleasantly surprised that so much had been done already. “Very well, I’ll be in your office at nine forty five in preparation for Severus. It won’t hurt to have another friendly wand present, eh?”
******Redfields House, Avalon 0500 Arrival + 2 weeks******
“NO!” said Harry, starting from sleep. It was the nightmare again. He was back in the restaurant with the Death Eater and he was about to raise his wand to kill him when the Death Eater dropped his wand, opened his arms and faced Harry saying “Murder me, I know you want to. Don’t worry about my children; I’m sure someone will take care of them. The Dursley’s have an open room now.” The man’s face melted in screams of agony, agony that Harry somehow knew that he had inflicted. Then Harry woke up.
A heartbeat later Hermione was there. She was wearing her sleeping clothes and her hair was a sight, but he held on to her like a drowning man. “Was it the dream again?” she asked. When they had arrived at Redfields, the workload and the workouts had driven all dreams away as the teens passed out every night around eight to be awake at five the next morning. About a week into their stay, the dreams came back and Harry had grudgingly told Hermione the basic outline of the events, but no details. After a few moments of holding and being held, Harry thanked her and they started to get ready for their morning.
They had become accustomed to Marcus’ no-nonsense style quickly. They were becoming much more limber swiftly and the calisthenics did not incapacitate them like they used to. The runs, however, were still difficult. They figured the first day, they had run about two miles. Now they were only running between three and five miles, but it still wiped them out. Dan had told them that was normal and not to be distressed, they would catch up soon.
It was difficult to do all the exercises with their swords belted on, but Marcus had explained that they would need to be very agile and fluid while armed, and that level of agility would only be attained by extensive practice. So they ran with their swords on, they did push ups with their swords on; they did their inverted sit-ups with their swords on. By now, after only two weeks, they didn’t even notice they were wearing them.
Today was the day they were to begin combat training and Harry and Hermione were both excited and nervous. They knew very little about Marcus. He had admitted under direct questioning that he was, in fact, Egyptian. From the look on his face, the teens decided they wouldn’t be directly questioning him again for a while. His grace, strength and speed were astounding. Harry was quick and nimble from his Quidditch training, but he was completely outclassed by Marcus.
As they headed out over the bridge to the sparring ring they chatted about the combat training and what it might entail. “Do you think that it’s going to be a martial arts discipline? But he’s Egyptian; do the Egyptians have a martial arts discipline? Well, I suppose he could have learned a discipline from somewhere else…” rattled on Hermione to Harry’s amusement. No matter how intelligent his girlfriend and she was a tower of genius, when she was nervous it showed up in her run on monologues. He gently grasped her hand and stopped, pulling her up short. Gently, Harry said “It’s Ok, whatever it is. It will be Ok. Marcus is a stand up guy so far, yeah?”
“Yeah, he is. I just get so nervous when I don’t know what’s going on. You’d think they would give us a syllabus, eh?” she said with a half smile at the end of her statement.
Harry gave a short guffaw and they strolled out to the ring hand in hand, still five minutes early. It’s amazing how she can lift my spirits.
Marcus arrived with a soft pop and they began stretching. After calisthenics, Marcus looked them both over and said “You are now able to begin to learn the art of combat. Do you know what the first lesson is?”
All kinds of things came to Harry’s head but Hermione said “To throw a punch?”
With a kind smile, kind and a little scary, Marcus said “No. You need to learn how to fall.”
Hermione’s face fell. Fall? What the hell is that all about?
Later at breakfast, two very sore teenagers limped into the kitchen from downstairs. After they had sat down, Dan asked how their morning had been.
“It was like a dream, a very bad dream” said Harry.
Sirius spoke up very earnestly “Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in Sun-God robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?”
The entire room was stunned to silence. Emma had her knife halfway to buttering a piece of toast and Minerva looked like, well I don’t think it can be described what she looked like. “No” replied Harry to the question.
Frustrated, Sirius said “Why am I the only one that has that dream?”
The rest of the diners, choosing to ignore the previous thirty seconds, continued on with their meal, while Hermione grumped to her father about their combat training consisting of just falling or being thrown for a half an hour. Granted, it had started off with Marcus showing them how to fall, and the mechanics of falling. That had actually helped quite a bit, and they had learned quite a bit, just not in line with her expectations.
Dan laughed as he finished up his breakfast. Looking over to Sirius, he nodded. Getting a nod in return, Dan said “Harry, let’s us men take a walk to the lake and let the ladies relax for a bit without our intruding presence” and he gave Emma a kiss and walked to the front door.
The stream in front of the house flowed from west to east and about a half a mile downstream from Redfields, fed a moderately sized lake that was a favorite after dinner walking spot for many of the House’s residents.
Halfway to the lake, Sirius said “Had the nightmare again last night?”
With a shrug, Harry gave a nod and an undertone “Yeah.”
With a concerned look, Sirius placed his hand on his godson’s shoulder and said “First off cub, I don’t want you thinking that you are an imposition or a bother to me in any way shape or form. I know that tub of shit Dursley and his wife told you that kind of garbage, but it’s not true, do you hear me?”
Harry smiled. I’ve often thought of Vernon Dursley as a tub of lard, but tub of shit is a new one.
Without looking at his two walking companions, Dan said “Harry, let me tell you a story. My story as a matter of fact.” After Dan had graduated from University, he had wanted some adventure, wanted to live a little before settling down in a work-a-day job, so he had enlisted in the Army and requested the Parachute Regiment. Well, they don’t take just anyone, but Dan had qualified and been accepted. After being assigned to 2Para for about a year, he had met Emma, and quickly fallen in love with the young dental student. They had become engaged and then married about a year and a half after they had met Six months later; Emma had become pregnant with Hermione. Life was at its pinnacle. He had already decided to leave the Army when his enlistment was up. Now he was ready to settle down, but he was forcefully introduced to a small collection of islands in the South Atlantic. The Falklands.
Things went somewhat smoothly, if you count the cold wet nastiness and the air raids. This was all before they left the ship. When they got ashore, he got his bearings and his company’s first assignment was to work as an assault force with the overall 3 Commando Group in assaulting, capturing and subduing the Argentine garrison at Goose Green. The challenge of course was that they were outnumbered two to one.
“I was scared shitless. I’ve never been that scared, before or since when the operations plan was read out. Once we got moving, training took over and the nerves subsided quite a bit. In the mix, it was just act and react. Afterwards, I realized that I had killed four men.” He stopped and looked at Harry quite seriously. “I’ve heard it said, and I don’t know where, but I think it’s the truth; the human mind will not let willful killing go unpunished. Most of us in the regiment would not admit to the dreams that woke most of us up at night when we got home, or the guilt. But it was there, nonetheless. Some found refuge in drink. Others in women or high living.” Dan said with tears in his eyes. “I don’t know the names of the men I killed and I never will. It took me years to get over it. You don’t have that luxury, I think.”
Sirius said with a gravity Harry had never heard from him “The first man I killed was in a short spell fight outside a friends house in the Midlands. James, Remus and I were leaving Stuart’s place and were going to head back to my flat. Your parents weren’t married yet, you see” he said in an aside. “Stuart was a muggleborn, and as we came outside, there were the assholes in black just waiting for us. The spells were flying so fast, I was dodging and weaving and casting so quickly I couldn’t keep track. All of a sudden, up in front of me, not more than five feet away is a Death Eater. I cast the fastest cutting curse I’ve ever cast. As the top half of him fell to the left and the bottom half to the right, his mask fell off. I didn’t know him, but he was about my age. I will never, ever forget that night. I cried more for that piece of shit Death Eater than I did for my own parents. Almost as much as I did for your own parents.”
Dan now said with conviction “Harry you have to talk about it. I cried in Emma’s arms for nights on end, telling her over and over about what I did, my doubts about the rightness of my action, the fact that those men were just that; men and I had taken their lives away. Their future. What I had to come to terms with was that, in the moment, I had no choice. It was kill or be killed. My choice was made when I joined up with the Army in the first place. You don’t get to make that choice, it was made for you. So the question is Harry: can you accept that in the moment, you had to kill, because he had made that choice for you?”
Harry fell to his knees as sobs wracked his body. As his companions had been telling their stories, the emotion had been welling up. His identification with the guilt, the second guessing, the lack of real choice. When Dan asked the question, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and his emotional wall was burst asunder, and all the pent up pain came out in torrents. He felt it encircle his chest like steel bands and like barbed wire around his heart. The tears were for the man that he had killed and for his own innocence. He had known for quite a long time that evil prowled the land on two legs, but now he knew what he could do. He could become that evil, if he so chose. If he began to like it.
Sirius and Dan were on either side of him in an instant and held him as he cried and cried. After a while, his tears petered out and he began to talk in an undertone. Both men had been present that evening, so he told the story from his perspective. “…and he wasn’t even looking at me. I didn’t even give him a chance to duck; I just vaporized his fucking head! He didn’t even have a chance…”
Sirius quietly said “No, Harry he didn’t. Do you know why he wasn’t looking at you?” At Harry’s head shake, Sirius said “Because he was lining up on me. He was going to try and kill me. Thanks for saving my bacon pup” and gave Harry another squeeze.
Harry nodded and said “He would have killed us all without a thought. He was a thug and a murderer, why am I upset? Why do I give a shit about him?”
As they stood up, Dan said to Harry “Because you’re one of the good guys, Harry, and we care.”
Harry quietly said to both the men “Will the nightmares ever go away? And the guilt?”
Sirius looked at his godson “Eventually, they did for me. It helped talking about it. James, Remus and I got really drunk one night and had a heart to heart talk like we just had. That helped immensely. There was a girl I was dating pretty seriously at the time and we talked as well. It’s like I got forgiveness from the human race for my actions.”
Walking down the path they were silent. The older men gave Harry a chance to compose himself. Dan said “Harry, talk to Hermione about this too.” At Harry’s somewhat horrified look, Dan continued “I needed Emma to tell me that she still loved me and that she wouldn’t leave me. I knew those things here” and he pointed to his head “but I needed to hear them here” and he placed his hand upon his heart.
Understanding Dan’s point, Harry nodded and they continued their walk to the lake.
******Minister’s Office, Ministry of Magic 0730 01 June 1995******
Albus Dumbledore strode into the office and stopped short. Cornelius Fudge and Amelia Bones sat there, staring at the morning edition of the Daily Prophet with ashen faces
Scrimgeour Killed by Death Eaters
In a bold move by the organization calling itself Death Eaters, Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour’s house was attacked late last night. He was brutally killed, but fortunately his family was on holiday at Gibraltar. The Death Eaters are mimicking the name and style of the wizards who were followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named before he was stopped by Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived. Rufus Scrimgeour was born …
After Dumbledore finished reading the article, he looked up at the other two and said “As was said to me the other day, he is not waiting, is he?”
Bones shook her head, her red hair shaking with the movements “No he isn’t. I’ve been trying to convince our illustrious minister that he needs to move himself and his family under the Fidelius, but he’s being difficult” and she folded her arms across her chest. Amelia admitted that she too would be moving under the charm, and told the two that she had already contacted Gringotts for the ward. She had Susan to protect, and would not lose her last family, nor fail to be there for her beloved niece who lived with her.
“A follow up to the Scrimgeour case, apparently a message was left saying ‘We are coming for the mudbloods and blood traitors.’” Amelia grimaced at the next part. “The message was written using Scrimgeour’s blood on the wall of his study.”
The Minister’s face went white and he left the office for his bathroom while Albus responded “How very disgusting. Any ideas as to the perpetrators? Other than Death Eaters in general I mean?”
After Amelia indicated that there were no leads as of yet, Fudge returned to the office and Dumbledore recounted his meeting with Asquith. It went well, as Henry was open to supporting the bill as written and rounding up support in addition to that of Fudge and Dumbledore. With the approximately twenty votes that Asquith’ block brought, Dumbledore felt they would make a quorum call, as well as, pass the bill. It might be close, but he thought they were home on this.
At this point, Fudge’s day was beginning so Dumbledore and Bones let themselves out. After the door closed behind him, Albus looked at the younger woman and said “Amelia, I’d like to talk more about the Order, do you have a few minutes?” At her assent, they made their way to her office and had a seat and some coffee. As Dumbledore recounted the meeting from the previous evening, he reinforced his pledge to her that he made to the Aurors and DMLE officers the night before regarding conflicts of interest. He and she began to talk about how the Ministry was necessarily, and rightly, hamstrung by the law, but the Order was not. Albus offered the services of the Order as an intelligence gathering organ and also for ‘other things’.
“Other things Albus? You mean like the Floo issue we’ve been discussing?” said the DMLE Head.
“Yes. If, or until the ministry is allowed wartime procedural authorization, you will make no headway against the Death Eaters, loyal or imperiused, in your midst. I realize that this informal alliance is highly illegal, but after first the Grindlewald and then the Voldemort wars…” he trailed off with a look of sadness. “I can’t lose that many people again, Amelia. My wife. My sons. Far too many died. You were still in school in the beginning and then just out of school and in Auror training. You were, what, two years out of Auror school when the Potters were murdered?” At her confirming nod, he continued “I am now willing to bend some of the rules in order to save lives. How can we work together, and you still be comfortable with the arrangement?”
Amelia was quiet. Dumbledore was offering her a two edged sword, and he knew it. They could both be imprisoned if the arrangement went too far and got out to the press. At the same time, he was right, they could save a lot of lives if they “bent the rules” as he described. “Let me think overnight on it Albus. Let’s have lunch tomorrow and we can talk further.”
“Very well and thank you for considering it and not arresting me outright” he said with a small smile which was returned. “I must be going, I assume Connie will be Rufus’ replacement?” he said as he rose. At her nod, they shook hands and he let himself out.
******Redfields House, Avalon 0900 Arrival +2 Weeks******
Harry and Hermione were currently sitting cross legged on the floor of the sitting room, eyes closed and facing each other. Their breathing noticeably slowed and the old woman sitting in the corner smiled. Her eyes narrowed at the flash of magic from Harry. After mulling over a topic for a bit, she nodded her head in decision. Standing, she said “Good. Now let’s talk about your assignment from two days ago. Have you noticed anything different about your spell casting?”
Harry nodded and said “Yes, it’s much easier now. I cast the Patronus Charm yesterday and where I used to have to concentrate with all my might to produce my stag, yesterday, it was much easier to produce my Patronus.”
The old woman nodded once and said “Good my Lord, this could also be a function of being a year older, but also a result of better mental control. Probably both. Mistress, any comments?” Hermione had similar results as well. She had been practicing her transfiguration and found the level of effort needed to get the desired result to be much less than before.
After congratulating her on her progress, the old woman said “We now move deliberately into the realm of Mind Magics. What I have been doing through the extensive reading and debate, which you shall continue” she said with a smile, “is to begin to train and mold your mind in a way of thinking. You have heard of Occlumency and Legilimancy? We are going to go into a similar but different realm. The realm of the Mind Magics is where a witch or wizard has complete control over their mind and can reach out and touch another persons mind in either communication or even attack. Picture yourself in the physical world. You see a person approach. If they attack you in either a magical or mundane manner, you see the attack, and based on your skill and experience, either thwart the attack or side step it. The same is true for Mind Magics. When you are adept, you will have an awareness of your mindscape just like you have of this physical world to the point that you can sense, thwart or side step any and all attacks on your mind. Occlumency and Legilimancy are the poor next door neighbors to Mind Magics, as you can see.
“Mind combat is not the only use of the Mind Magics. As a welcome byproduct your memory will sharpen significantly. It only makes sense, as you now have complete control of your consciousness, eh? Since we have the time, we shall work in this field first, as mastering Mind Magics will affect all other areas of magical use. Control will increase just as your memory. This will not be easy. At times you will have an aching head that will feel like you were kicked by a mule. You will become very frustrated and I will drive you harder. However, once you become adept at Mind Magics, it will open the doorway to a whole new approach to your magical being.
“Also, at this time, Madam McGonagall and my Lord Black will be commencing your shape-shifting lessons as the meditation required for the transformation will be an excellent supplement to our goals. Now, your next reading” and two books came in the door from the direction of the library. Plato’s The Republic landed in front of Harry and a book with no title listed landed in front of Hermione. On the flyleaf, the book proclaimed itself to be “the Moste Compleate Guyde to the Minde Magics” which Hermione immediately turned to the first page and began to read. “Oh, yes, Carys asked me to tell you that she was unavailable this morning and instead one of your Offensive Magic instructor will be by this afternoon to get acquainted and give you an overview of the topics you will cover.”
After the old woman had taken her leave, Harry turned to his girlfriend and said,”Mione, can we have a chat out in the garden? I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave your book behind” he said with a small smile.
They went outside hand in hand and Hermione said “I miss Crookshanks. Don’t get me wrong,” she said turning toward Harry as they walked along. “I’m glad to be here for so many reasons, but I miss my Crooks” she finished, sounding almost like a lost little girl. Harry wrapped his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder and sighed. How do you always know what I need Harry Potter? They got to a small hedge enclosed area filled with blooming shrubs and climbing roses and sat on a bench.
As they sat down up, Harry took a deep breath and slowly began to tell her about his discussion with Sirius and her Dad from this morning. When he got to the part about breaking down and all he had told the men, he looked up from his hands and saw his girlfriend in tears, and stifling a sob with her hand. She flung her arms around him and pulled him close and let out the sobs that were aching to be released. “Oh my Harry; my poor sweet, noble, idiotic wonderful, Harry. I love you, and always will. I haven’t left you yet and shan’t. I hope you believe me, I love you” and he buried his face in her hair and pulled her into his lap for a hug.
He didn’t cry this time, for his tears were spent from the morning. Now he held his lady in relief and love. In commitment to their love and future, he vowed to protect her the best he could. Thank you, thank you
******Headmaster’s Office, Hogwarts 1000 01 June 1995******
Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk contemplating the forthcoming interview. Exit interview that is. For the first time in quite a while he had no idea what direction the discussion was going to go. One minute he was convinced that Severus would see reason and follow the logic he was going to put forth. The next minute, Albus could very easily see Severus attacking him over his discharge. He was stymied. He didn’t need Remus in the back of the room for protection, but it did help in that he had a witness if things got out of control.
When the portrait of Armando Dippet relayed the visitor’s identity from the gargoyle as Severus Snape, Albus stood and strode to the window. Theatrics couldn’t hurt, and might actually help. He had been told many years ago, that it was always somewhat intimidating to see his tall form silhouetted at the window when walking into the office. Severus knew and recognized power. For all his failings, especially those recently pointed out to him he thought with a grimace, Albus Dumbledore was still a very powerful wizard that was not to be trifled with in any situation.
He knew that some of the blame for Severus’ inappropriate behavior fell at his own feet. Not all of course, for that would be pride indeed that he could lay claim to all of someone’s bad behavior. But he could have curbed Severus long before this or even discharged him had there been no improvement. But he had not, and it took two fourth years and two of the biggest pranksters the school had ever seen to remind him of his duties. And Minerva. She was probably his best friend. Was. He hadn’t talked to her since she stormed out. Her temper was in full blow, but in the end, she was right. Now was the time to begin to attempt amends with those he had hurt. It may be too little, too late, but he had to put forth the effort. For himself if for no one else.
At the knock on the door, the Headmaster intoned “Enter” and Severus opened the door silently, entered and said “You wished to see me Headmaster?”
Not turning, Dumbledore motioned for his soon to be ex-Potions Master to take a seat. “Severus, I have an admission to make. I have failed. I have failed you. I have failed the staff here. I have failed our society and most of all, Severus, I have failed our students” he now turned and faced the dark haired man sitting a few feet from him. With his hands clasped behind him, Dumbledore continued “I failed our students because I let a bitter man vent his own personal misery on them for many years when it is my duty to not only provide them the best education I can, but also to protect them. I failed our society, because many students did not elect to continue to study under this man in their NEWT years and as such our society has been significantly impacted. I failed our staff, because I let his bad behavior impact everyone’s daily life in a negative way. I failed you Severus, because you are that man, and I could have possibly helped you long before this, had I only had the courage to stand up to you and had I reproved you. I could have possibly, possibly I say, averted this unfortunate situation. Unfortunately, I did not. In the end, though, you have behaved badly in your tenure here Severus.
“You are a brilliant man Severus, a true master of the art. However, you are also a bully, and you have bullied your students since you arrived here as a teacher. No matter how much responsibility of this situation falls at my feet, and there is quite a bit, you were the man in the classroom denigrating students. You were the one driving talented potioneers out of the field because of petty vendettas and jealousy, and so much more. Therefore, the accumulation of bad behavior on your part is insurmountable and I have no choice but to discharge you from your duties here as of today.”
At Snape’s stunned expression, Dumbledore continued “I recognize this puts you into a bit of a bind as regards your status in the Death Eaters. I see two paths ahead: you can take the offer I am about to make for private employ with the Order or you can disappear altogether, and I will help you as much as I can. You need not chose now, but you ought to choose soon” Dumbledore finished and returned to his chair behind the massive oak desk.
Severus Snape sat in his chair stunned. He hadn’t expected to be fired this morning that’s for sure. “I see. Headmaster, if I may, what are the direct accusations at my behavior that are leading to this…decision” he said as calmly as he could.
“Severus, I have pensieve memories from several students” and he did. In the last two days he had talked to no less than thirty students and received written permission from their parent or guardian to have their underage minor provide the memories he needed to legally terminate the man. “If you’d like, we can visit each one, I believe I have almost two hundred” and at the man’s paling expression, the Headmaster gave off and was silent.
After a few moments of silent contemplation, Snape lifted his greasy head and looked Dumbledore in the eye and said “I’d like to discuss the job offer with the Order.” Dumbledore nodded, he’d hoped Severus would take this route.
Snape sat there contemplating his possible futures. He was a Slytherin ‘til the end. Cunning and sly, he was waiting for the best opportunity to present itself. This was not over yet. Potter was at the bottom of this, he knew it. To rage against Dumbledore would be futile for the old man offered him his only hope. In the end, no one left Tom Riddles service, it was servitude for life and Severus knew this. His only hope to maintain a shred of his humanity was in service to the light, even as a spy. If he went completely over to Voldemort, he was lost to evil, and Snape knew that as well. Somewhere in his cold, shriveled bitter heart, he knew it.
******Redfields House, Avalon 1230 Arrival +2 Weeks******
The companions sat around the kitchen table in pleasant conversation, catching up on the days events so far. Minerva was filling the teens in on their Animagus training schedule and Sirius and Dan were recounting tales to Emma of their fishing expedition to the lake with the stories becoming intentionally more unbelievable as each was retold until they were just seeing who could invent the funniest story.
They heard the front door open and Harry and Hermione both looked at the kitchen clock. Realizing that this must be their new instructor they began to clean up and made to stand as a man walked into the kitchen. Harry watched him enter the kitchen over Minerva’s shoulder. He was very tall, over six foot, and broad in the chest. His hair was deep red, and clubbed at his neck in a queue. His face was open and genial. His smile froze as he took in the inhabitants of the room and he fixed on Minerva’s back. “Minnie?” he said in a whisper.
Minerva spun round. No, it can’t be. “Jamie?” She seemed to jump out of her chair and into his arms, the both of them too stunned for words. She pulled back, looked him in the face and hungrily devoured his features before pulling him down to her and kissing him as if her very soul was in doubt. After a few moments, she again pulled back and punched him as hard as she could in the stomach. “Where have you been this last sixty years?” she said in a very pronounced Highland burr, “I dinna ken what you think you were doing, but you have your wife to answer to now Jamie McGonagall.” At his silence she continued “Well, ye red-heided idiot, what do you have to say for yourself?” Before he could respond, the tall dark haired woman unleashed a torrent of words that most figured were in the couple’s native Gaelic, and that the same people figured was a not very mild invective given the finger pointing and the hand waving.
As Minerva paused for breath, the large man, who everyone had figured was the well known and missing Jamie McGonagall who had a look of bafflement on his face said “Sixty years? What are you on about lass? I’ve been here but three weeks and you look naught but the thirty odd you were when I last saw you” he then doubled over and said softly, “Damn woman, did you have to hit me so hard, I just left the infirmary yesterday?”
Rhodri walked into the room shaking his head. “Jamie, lad, I told you to wait for me, but you had to go on ahead by yourself. If everyone would take a seat I will attempt to explain.” Rhodri explained that not only was Avalon out of the time stream of what everyone else considered reality; it did not run at proportional rates either. To Jamie, he had only been in Avalon for three weeks. On the other hand, the travelers expected to be there for years and return after a passage of only a few weeks or months in the other time. “It seems that the intention of the travelers has a lot to do with how different the time stream is while they are here. We do not understand fully how or why time works this way for us here. We only know that it does.”
At this, Jamie looked at his wife and saw a tear on her cheek. He wiped it with his thumb and they excused themselves from the company, saying they ought to be down for dinner.
Harry looked at Hermione, “Well, I guess no lesson this afternoon for us” and he smiled cheekily at her playfully exasperated response.
Sirius shook his head “Oh no you two. Just because Minerva is…busy, doesn’t mean you are off the hook. We start your Animagus training in ten minutes. Meet me in the library” and he stood and left the room smirking.
As the teens shuffled into the library, they found Sirius rummaging in the stacks. He eventually came out a few minutes later with a few cobwebs in his hair and four books in his hands. Hermione stood and went to take the books from him, but he said “No, these are for me. Have a seat, let’s talk about the furry you.”
“People confuse themselves when they talk about the Animagus transformation. They say that a person turns into an animal. Yes, your body will change into that of an animal, but it is really another manifestation of yourself.” He paused, considering his next thought. “When you’re having a bad day you get grumpy and grouchy, or broody, but” he continued and waved “you’re still yourself, yeah? But you are showing a different side of Hermione or Harry, right?” At the teens comprehending nods Sirius smiled and said “The Animagus transformation is a revealing of another side of you, but with fur or fangs or flippers or whatever. This is why your personality drives your form. However, once you settle in on a form, that’s it. Sometimes, a couple’s forms are linked. Lily’s form was a doe” and Sirius’ face took on a sad cast for a moment. Shaking off the gloom, he continued “Unlike the Patronus guardian animal, your Animagus form will become the only expression of Harry and Hermione in animal form and won’t ever change. And no, your Patronus and Animagus forms are not related. My Patronus is a lion.” Sirius stood and walked over to the window seat and leaned on it, running his hand through his hair. “No one has ever had more than one form. Magical animals are possible, but rare. Questions so far?”
Harry looked at Hermione and saw her worrying her lower lip and smiled. I bet she’s worrying that her form is going to be lame. Looking back to his godfather, Harry smiled and said “No questions, but how are we going to do this.”
“No time like the present” Sirius said and had them assume their meditation positions that they used for their Mind Magics work. He explained that since their Animagus form was really a different side of them, they needed to get to know themselves better. Their more basic selves. Since animals are more primal than humans, they needed to understand and accept their primal selves. All humans have primal instincts, but don’t always act on those actions. He told them to look at their lives and see which of the primal instincts they acted on in which situations. Eating was out, as it was more of a routine in their life than a deliberate action. He wanted them to look at how they protected, and fled. How did they get aggressive and in what situations. How did they fall in love with each other and what aspects of the other person did they find so attractive and so on.
“As you can see, getting to know this part of yourself is not a simple task. It can also be eye opening.” Here he paused and then said “I learned some things about myself that I wasn’t very proud of and changed my behavior as a result. I had been somewhat of an arrogant ass with some of our pranks, borderline bully. I saw this and vowed to change. We continued with our pranks, but without that hard edge to them that was so distasteful.”
Sitting down with the teens on the floor, Sirius said “So if you do discover something about yourself that is shameful or distasteful, there are two things to remember. First, you’re on the right path with your meditation and second, you get the opportunity to become a better person. James, Remus and I all did. So start on how you feel about each other, and the primal aspects of your feelings for each other. I am sure that there is quite a lot of experiential and even intellectual aspects of your relationship, but stay on the primal part. If you feel the overwhelming urge to start snogging though,” and here he smirked mightily “let me know, so I can run from the room. And get Dan. With his gun.” With this bit of laughter, the teens settled down to meditate and Sirius to read.
A/N
1) I own nothing
2) Thanks to Old Crow for the loan of Connie, I’ll try and do right by her.
3) Sirius’ dream is copied verbatim from Val Kilmer’s character of Chris Knight in the movie Real Genius. Very funny movie.
4) The Highland clan system was crushed in the second Jacobite rebellion following the battle of Culloden in 1746. Up until that point, a Laird’s word was pretty much law on his clan lands. After Culloden, though, all authority was held by the Army and the local administrators. I am writing Jamie and Minerva’s life as a mix between ‘what was’ (meaning before Culloden) and ‘what is’ (post Culloden). Any Scots who take umbrage with my liberties, I offer my humblest apologies and merely remind all that this is a work of fiction
5) Recommendation for the chapter is Bearings, by MattD. A great post Hogwarts story. I usually don’t like stories in this timeframe of our Harmonian timeline, but this is very well done. Give us more Matt!