With Jennifer now returned to my side, the Order and myself had come to rely more on Snape for information.
Sure I still had my own sources which were part of Tom's forces, recruiting en mass does tend to leave many opportunities for such and having such a strong foothold in Eastern Europe was a boon in such effort, but none were part of the hairless one's massively reduced inner circle.
That now reportedly consisted of Snape and a few more fanatical younger generations who had only recently gained lordships due to the previous lords dying, like that wasn't a red flag regarding how everything was going for their side, and recently gained Lords from families out East.
So once the potion master returned from his latest summon as a twitching mess due to overexposure to the Cruciatus curse, moaning in pain as he spoke of Tom's fury over what happened in Malfoy manor, well we all knew things had been set in motion.
Luckily for Snape however, my lovely wife was able to help him get back on his feet in record time while I took care of little Delphini.
Had to make sure no one knew about her carelessly due to how suspicious the timing would be if News of the sudden appearance of an adopted baby in the Bones-Travers household right after the sudden death of Bellatrix. The general public wouldn't know, but the darker families and Tom supporters, including the madman himself, would easily see enough correlation to be suspicious.
Hence why we already had plans.
Good thing my amazing wife, with some help from her loving husband, was able to reverse the nerve, muscle and cardiovascular damage in a single weekend, assigning a potion regiment to help the double agent's brain recover from being Riddle's stress toy.
There's a reason my wife is gaining a reputation as the fastest growing name in medicine.
Although word did come out eventually regarding her taking a leave of absence, causing a bit of a stir at St. Mungo's, most witches understood how welcoming a new babe in the family would require such.
It was a carefully orchestrated reveal involving a pregnant mother used in a dark ritual by Death Eaters, which required both myself and Victoria to handle, resulting in us taking in the child after the mother's passing due to a sense of responsibility. No one could really question it due to the Bones family's heavy involvement in striking back against Tom's forces, and with the Minister's help, it was all too easy to alter some reports to form a convincing paper trail for the child.
The appearance of one Delphini Amelia Bones had to make the news after all, the little tyke being the new daughter of a powerful and famous lord, his renowned wife and future lady/regent of another family, and essentially the granddaughter of the current Minister of Magic was not a wholly private figure. This way they could tell the truth while also not telling everyone exactly who the parents were.
Bellatrix and Tom had actually tried many dark magics to 'cure' the witch or stabilize the fetus after it was conceived from a ritual, even if Tom never desired an heir. He wished for immortality and eternal power over all, so why would he need an heir? But his current situation and the disadvantage he was in had made him think of this as a back up plan, hence why he tried to enhance his 'heir' when he discovered that he couldn't use her as a host in case anything happened to his new body, resulting in becoming a wraith again. All the evidence was there for people as skilled as myself and Tory, especially with how her naturally 'white' inclined magic had been balanced out, but this was a good thing in our eyes.
But outside of the minor politicking and manipulations involved in securing our new daughter, matters on the opposing side were suddenly ramping up enormously.
Even after his…unfortunate proximity to a deranged man while he was throwing a tantrum, Snape was still Tom's most trusted and seasoned follower, especially with Bellatrix's death and Jennifer's 'betrayal'. That last one made the fool heighten his paranoia and cruelty to unheard of levels, causing the potion master to feel rather glad that he was usually in Hogwarts, but he was still in regular contact with the 'man'.
As a result of this, we now knew the general plan Tom had for his assault on Hogwarts, alongside what he ordered Snape to do.
Firstly, it involved drugging or poisoning the staff and student body, using his last loyal insiders to help Snape incapacitate the House elves before doing so, allowing for an easy take over of the school. Obviously, Snape was to specifically take care of the 'half-breeds' like Hagrid and Flitwick for their staining of Hogwarts. Tom wanted to give most other professors a 'chance' at coming under him due to their 'value'.
Secondly, he was to assassinate Dumbledore at all costs.
This was paramount.
Even more important than the first objective really.
Tom believed that without Dumbledore, Hogwarts would collapse under the pressure he would put on them due to the sudden loss of their main pillar, the lack of any individual capable of matching him (still believing I was not a true threat), and that they wouldn't be able to organize any kind of meaningful defense in the timeframe between his death and the attack.
Especially if all other possible defenders are at least hampered.
He could almost walk right in with the proper timing and execution.
"It honestly isn't a foolish plan." I commented as Tory and I relaxed in our home. "Take out the forces inside of the fortress and its commander instead of the fortress itself.
A rather basic plan, but it does require one to have forces on the inside, which is the most difficult step."
"We will simply need to have all those little blood lovers gather up in the kitchen to snatch all the traitors in one go while Professor Snape kills Dumbledore like both old men want." Victoria followed along easily as it was the best way to capture most of those who could cause internal strife during the coming conflict. "I wonder if the Headmistress would let me handle the little shits."
"Maybe if the courts rule in favor of a light punishment, but that would be hard as this would be literal treason of the highest order." I responded with a heavy frown. "They would betray friends who might not share their beliefs, schoolmates, teachers, children, the school and the Ministry if they go through with this.
Regardless of their ages, this would need severe punishment and I honestly can easily see their wands being snapped, Dementors and possibly having their magic sealed away on top of it."
I wasn't exactly happy about it, but, especially for those in their 5th years and up, they knew exactly what they were doing and the consequences of what Tom was ordering. And knowing for a fact that Snape would be subtly trying to convince the remaining loyalists to not follow these orders or to let him take the fall and enact them, this meant that going lightly on them just wasn't going to be an option. I might not like him, but he did try to do right by his Snakes while fulfilling his role.
They could cry and denounce their actions after the fact as much a they wanted, but some lines could not be uncrossed. If they were willing to sentence children to death and essentially enslave them due to their beliefs, then they would learn the consequences of such. Only children and teens found to have been coerced would need to be debated.
"Good thing my own little protégée managed to wrangle a good deal of those brats then." Tory proudly smirked as she brought up the Greengrass Heiress.
Having been the 'Queen of Slytherin' prior to the girl, Tory had taken her under her wing and she now took up the mantle as she kept the house in line. More so after Draco turned over a new leaf and the two formed a very strong coalition with many gathering around the 'Grey Snakes' taking over the house.
It did help that his and Tory's research allowed him to slowly take away the most damaging mental and spiritual effects of some practices of 'dark families' by having House Elves dose them with specific potions and purification wards in my classrooms, with Dumbledore's permission of course. Making children practice the darker and more tainted magics was just not good for their development, hence why this, in combination with the beliefs parents espoused, resulted in many near-to-actual sociopathic individuals in those houses.
That's actually been a subject Tory had been making a proper study for, having me note many commonalities in students from such houses and responses to treatments and better environments. It was of particular interest to her as it helped identify why a powerful family like the Blacks could have fallen like it had and why Dark Lords/Ladies could rise with relative frequency and how they could gather so many followers outside of their sociopolitical goals.
"I'm sure you're very proud of your mini-me, but I do think we should put little Delphi to bed and turn in ourselves." I advised my beautiful wife as she looked down at the babe she had subconsciously been rocking in her arms, seeing her peacefully sleeping.
"Guess you're right. With Tom having passed down his order, it's only a matter of time until his last stand and we should be rested for that." She agreed with a fond smile as she gently passed Delphini over to stand up.
We then proceeded to head to our bedroom, placing our little girl in her crib alongside a slew of monitoring and protective spells before turning in for the night.
-Two weeks later, Astronomy Tower
"I have always loved the view from up here." The now ex-headmaster commented wistfully as myself and Harry stood by his side. "So much better than my old office."
Having officially passed down his position to Headmistress McGonagall, he looked rather carefree even while knowing his time was coming.
"It is nice, but I personally prefer the heart of the Forest nowadays." I responded with a personal opinion.
"Yes, I could see why that would be the case." He nodded in understanding. "Such a marvelous sight. I feel blessed to have witnessed something both new and old returning to this world, even at this stage of my life."
"I think… I prefer the sight when I'm flying from the Black Lake. Especially after sunset." Harry shyly revealed.
"Another magical sight I truly wish every child who passed through these halls cherishes." Dumbledore found that to be a good choice as well. "This castle truly is one full of wonders.
I simply hope I was able to positively impact it during my tenure here."
"Even if people dispute it, you still have impacted the lives of thousands of young wizards and witches, and I think that's more than enough to be proud of." I stated as we looked out at the setting Sun.
"Indeed it is." He warmly smiled as he drew his wand. "But now, as for why I have brought you both here.
Harry, if you would please, disarm me."
"What?" The completely baffled teen responded.
"I need you to disarm me, my boy. As I believe this wand of mine truly belongs to you." Albus enjoyed the confusion out of light mischief.
"But that doesn't make sense!" Harry said as he thought wands didn't work that way.
"It does, because that is the Elder Wand. An artifact supposedly created by Death and which can be won from the previous wielder." I informed Harry, stopping Dumbledore's minor mischief, but he knew I'd do it if he didn't. "Most think you have to kill the previous owner, hence why it has such an infamous reputation. The fact that it is called the most powerful wand in the world also doesn't help.
But the main reason I believe Albus is doing this is due to it being something intrinsically linked to the Peverell family, a family which died out except for the part which married into the Potter family."
Now that made Harry's eyes grow wide at the reveal.
"Not only that, but with everything coming to a close, I also desired to see if there were some truths to an old legend." Dumbledore added with his jovial smile. "Have you brought your cloak as I've asked?"
"Um, yeah." Harry stammered mildly as he brought out the one true cloak.
"Good. Now Aedan, if you could." The old man requested.
I simply rolled my eyes and took out the Resurrection Stone.
The man had made peace with his ghosts and handed it back after his usage of it, believing myself to be the best guardian for it until the time was right. And since it was a Peverell artifact, I had always known I would pass it to Harry, if only to allow him at least some closure with his parents.
Honestly? I was actually curious in regards to the possible results of an actual Peverell holding all three Deathly Hallows for the first time.
"What's this?" Harry questioned as he looked with unflinching focus at the stone, almost like it was calling him.
I was certain Albus could also feel the Elder Wand reacting to the presence of the two other artifact like the Stone was.
"I've read you and Susan the Tale of the Three Brothers, so why don't you take a guess?" I responded with a challenging grin, but it wasn't a hard thing to figure out.
"You don't mean… the Deathly Hallows?" He gasped as the pieces clicked together quickly and he looked dumbly between his cloak, the stone and the wand.
"Indeed. And we are rather curious to see if the old stories are true." Dumbledore confirmed. "But even if they aren't, these three artifacts will be tremendously useful to in the coming conflict and they rightly belong to you as well.
Personally, I would very much prefer Tom not obtaining this wand."
Looking at us like we were mildly crazy for being so nonchalant about things, like this wasn't a legendary set of items even the infamous Grindelwald hadn't tried to hunt down and used their symbol for himself (Harry has learnt proper history), the teen did finally grasp the Stone with held breath he released when nothing seemingly exploded.
Harry then looked at the former headmaster as he expectantly waited to be disarmed.
Sighing, he drew his wand and casted a quick disarming spell, catching the Elder Wand with practiced ease, but then his eyes grew wide as magic suddenly started radiating from the boy and the artifacts.
It was strong, like a synergetic effect, but it was missing something.
They weren't fully connecting to Harry, like something was stopping them.
"Harry, I think you need to claim them as the last Peverell heir and that probably means blood. So get to bleeding." I suggested with some light humor, but it was a real suggestion.
A family which dabbled so closely with Death, whether literally or metaphorically, wouldn't shy away from blood magic. Personally, I believe that Death is more of a symbolic in nature as it is tied to how the Thestral is part of their original coat of arms and they used parts of the equine beast to create their Hallows.
Tory and I did study the Resurrection Stone and I have had many chances to look at Harry's Cloak thanks to his stays with us, so I can say that my statement was not wrong as the Elder Wand is known to have a Thestral tail hair core, while the cloak was woven with leather from its wings, helping it imbue its ability to be unseen by all those who haven't faced Death in some form and remain undetectable, and the Stone was likely an Alchemical product involving the blood of Thestrals but we couldn't confirm it without breaking it down.
And as Harry did so with a quick cutting charm, the Deathly Hallows pulsed even more magic as it connected to the teen under the very observant eyes of myself and Dumbledore.
I wasn't sure what conjectures he reached, but from my own I could say that these definitely connected to a powerful magical concept.
That was how magic worked, especially runes, as they used an understanding of a concept like 'light' and then the energy known as magic gave that concept form in the world. The better the understanding of the concept, will used and control over magic, the more one can exert from it. Then one's personal power acted as fuel, with the higher one's core, the better quality of fuel and potency.
So when one takes it from three aspects of Death: the Power it holds over all (Wand), its connection to the Other Side (Stone), and its Presence and Lack Thereof (Cloak), placing them together, it essentially formed a powerful source of magic by drawing from the Concept of Death to empower the one connected to them.
I could see why Unspeakables studied it alongside Love, Time and Mind. Universal Concepts were powerful things I would be carefully looking into later, but as of now I was actually much closer to the Concept of Life. My Phoenix side alone made that clear, with then becoming a 'Lord of the Forest' for the Dryads deepened that connection.
As for Harry, we could feel his magic being bolstered as it also changed somewhat, gaining new traits, likely those of the Peverell family. This would need some testing and training, but he did certainly gain an edge with those artifacts.
"Whoa." He exclaimed as he held the Elder wand in one hand and the Resurrection Stone in the other while his Cloak took its place on his shoulders.
"How marvelous. I would very much love to discuss what just happened." Albus spoke with his eyes twinkling in almost child-like excitement.
"We can compare notes while we have Harry test a few things. He needs to gain a better handle on his abilities before the fighting starts, so I'll be putting him through his paces." I shared with the old man who joyfully approved as the poor teen blanched from those words. "Now come Harry!
To the Room of Requirement!"
Many curses were yelled that day as two unmerciful magical titans ran a teen ragged.