Chapter 361
When the Wizengamot concluded their
deliberations and the gavel was banged to
show they were ready to proceed, Madam
Longbottom, as Chief Witch, read out the
sentence.
"Mister Ronald Bilius Weasley, this court...
on the preponderance of evidence against
you... finds you guilty of the charges of
attempted murder, assault occasioning
grievous bodily harm, assault upon the
person of a Wizengamot member, and
revisits and finds you guilty of the charge
of assault occasioning bodily harm for
your part in the attempted potioning with
love, loyalty and aversion potions of one
Harry James Potter, and breaching your
bail conditions relating to that crime.
"As such, and in recognition of your
current age and status as a minor, it is the
decision of this court to sentence you to
no less than ten years imprisonment in
the medium security section of Azkaban
prison. Sentence is to be carried out
immediately."
Madam Longbottom banged her gavel
once and intoned, "We are adjourned."
Ronald had to be physically lifted out of
his chair and dragged off. It appeared he
had fainted.
The Weasleys were all sad with Ginevra
actually sobbing. As too was Molly Prewitt.
She sounded as if she was softly wailing,
"My baby; my poor baby," repeatedly.
Harry and his wives quietly left in the
company of Sirius, to return to Hogwarts.
They Floo'ed from the atrium directly to
his office.
Once they had all safely arrived, Hermione
spun about and threw herself into Harry's
arms. She was sobbing her heart out.
"Why?" she almost wailed. "He was
our friend!"
"No, he wasn't, love," Harry firmly replied.
"He just pretended to be our friend. He
was just a very sad boy who grew up
thinking he was hard-done-by being the
sixth son of six sons; and felt the world
owed him. It didn't help that
his mother made he and his sister aware
of how I'd probably be unaware of the
magical world and my place within it.
"And, it was his mother that dragged him
into her plans for getting a large slice of
the Potter fortune. He grew up thinking he
was going to get rich off my money. He
grew up absolutely assured the Potter
fortune was going to be theirs before long.
He could not accept that all his mother's
planning was for nought. He could not
accept the Potter fortune was never his to
begin with. That's what's led to him being
jailed, probably for life. I can't see him
being of strong enough mental fibre to
withstand the effects of the dementors for
long."
"It's just so..." she said, waving her hands
about and unable to find the right term
for her feelings.
"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "Our view of
the world, and our place within it, took a
knee to the groin. Until today we were, I
guess, hoping our angels were wrong
about everything. Or, that Ron would see
the error of his ways and turn back into
what we thought of as a friend."
Hermione nodded as she quietly sobbed
into his robes.
With Harry's injuries from Ron's attack
fully healed, the three returned to the
Room of Requirement whenever they
could to continue their training in magical
combat. That training was also reflected in
their training from Professors Snape and
Flitwick.
However, it was only a couple of days later
when Professor Flitwick called a halt.
With a sigh he looked at the three of them
and said, "You've reached a point where, if
we were to continue, people would
become seriously hurt. You're now having
to hold back, as are we, on your spells
because they will cause significant harm if
they connect.
"I don't know what to do from here, other
than to teach you better spell chains and
shortcuts in casting."
"Point casting," said Snape. "They need
more practice in that."
"And they can practice that on their own,"
said Flitwick, turning to his colleague.
"They're already well beyond NEWTs for
anything related to Dah-Dah. And they're
pretty close to that for the related
subjects of Charms and Transfiguration.
"If they were to turn their knowledge of
both incantless and point casting to the
seventh year curriculum for the Dah-Dah,
Charms and Transfiguration practicals
they're a shoo-in for Outstanding Pluses in
all three subjects."
"I wouldn't go that far," sneered Snape.
Ignoring the sneer, Flitwick shrugged his
shoulders and said, "If they get the written
theory down between now and then, they
will be. And that's just independent study.
If I didn't know it could cause problems,
I'd suggest all three prepare to sit their
NEWTs at the end of the year, rather than
their OWLs."
Looking like he'd just thought of a good
idea, Flitwick said to Snape, "What about
if we were to cover the use of potions in
the combat environment?"
Instead of just sneering and scoffing at the
suggestion, Snape frowned and appeared
to think about it.
"I consider all three adequate brewers.
Missus Greengrass-Potter may even be a
little better than that," he softly said.
"High praise, indeed," smiled Flitwick.
"Nevertheless, I doubt we'll have time
between now and when their likely
confrontation with the dark lord will occur
to get much out of it," continued Snape. "I
think it may be more productive of my
time if I was to brew the potions for
them."
"And what would you recommend, Sir?"
asked Daphne.
"Healing draughts, Pepper-Up potions,
core rejuvenators, Essence of Dittany, and
similar," the Professor immediately
replied.
"Excellent choices," nodded Flitwick.
"Then I shall dedicate this weekly time slot,
in future, to that endeavour," said the
sour Potions Master. Without another
word he rose and headed for the door.
"Professor Snape?" called Harry.
When the dour man turned back before
reaching the door, Harry softly said,
"Thank you, sir; for your efforts and time."
Snape hesitated for a long moment before
he finally gave a single curt nod before
turning back to the door and leaving.
"Well Mister Potter, Missus
Granger-Potter and Missus
Greengrass-Potter," said the diminutive
professor, drawing their attention back to
him. "I suppose we'll spend the rest of this
lesson working on spell chains and
speeding up your ability to cast them."
The professor stepped the three of them
through a couple of specialist duelling
spell chains and explained how and why
each charm was in the chain. All three
bondmates carefully watched each but
knew something was wrong. It was
Hermione who figured it out, first.
"Professor, I noticed something about
each spell chain that proves a problem for
us," she carefully said.
"Oh?" asked Flitwick. "And what would
that be?"
"First," she replied. "Each spell chain is
developed with a duel in mind under...
what... International rules?"
"Yes," he replied.
With a nod of acknowledgement, she
continued, "We won't be duelling, let
alone operating under rules. This will be a
fight. A dirty, no-holds-barred, bare
knuckle fight. No referee; no mandatory
distances; no duelling piste; no duelling
circles."
Chapter 362
"Secondly," Daphne piped up, before the
professor could respond. "Secondly, we
fight as a team of three. Hermione and I
work primarily on defence, while Harry
goes on full attack. These spell chains are
developed for the individual who needs to
work on both defence and offence at the
same time."
"We need different spell chains,
Professor," said Hermione. "We need spell
chains developed for someone who is
primarily on defence; and someone who
goes full out offence."
"Ah!" said the Professor sitting back and
frowning. "I see."
Harry turned to look at his two wives,
hoping they'd understand what he was
asking of them. With Hermione he gave a
small flick of his eyes upwards and smiled.
From the expression of surprise on her
face and her eyes widening in
understanding, it was only a moment
before she smirked and nodded.
Turning to Daphne he gave the same
signal, but she didn't seem to understand.
He said, "Requirement."
Suddenly, she understood and, when
Harry indicated the professor with a slight
tilt of his head towards the man, she
smiled and nodded.
Turning back to face the Professor, Harry
could see the man knew they were talking
about something between them, and
smiled back.
"Professor," he calmly said, "We're going
to show you a really big Hogwarts secret.
It's somewhere well beyond any magic
that we, daresay, even you could
understand. But, we're very sure it's
something the founders put in place."
"I doubt there's much about Hogwarts I
do not already know of, Mister Potter,"
smiled the Professor, as if he was
humouring Harry. "However, you have me
suitably intrigued, and the Ravenclaw in
me urges me to learn more."
With a grin Harry and his wives stood and
led the Professor out the door of the
classroom they were using.
Entering the dead ended corridor with the
tapestry, Daphne and Hermione had the
professor stand between them with his
back to it.
"Watch," smiled Harry.
He began to walk back and forth the
required three times. As he passed on the
third time, he heard the Professor gasp as
the door appeared in the wall directly in
front of him.
"My word!" the professor exclaimed.
Grinning and walking to the door, Harry
said, "Professor; welcome to the Room of
Requirements, and pushed the door open
and stood aside."
Flitwick walked in to see the room
configuration the three Potters had been
using up until they started configuring it
like the atrium at the Ministry of Magic.
There was the wide platform with the five
duelling dummies at one end; the
ablutions room with it's toilet, hand basins,
mirror, shower and bath; the study table
they used that was still loaded with books
on offensive and defensive spell casting,
especially curses, charms, hexes, jinxes,
cantrips and the like; and the small
potions workbench with it's small cabinet
of ingredients, a cauldron with a cauldron
fire, and a couple of potion recipe books.
"My word!" the Professor near whispered
again.
"Now watch this," said Hermione, who
stared hard at a section of wall off to the
right.
A few moments later, a fireplace appeared
surrounded with a mantelpiece.
"Merlin!" the Professor gasped.
"The room can configure itself into any
configuration you want," explained
Daphne. "It can even assume the form of
an island oasis, complete with sea breezes,
the sounds of birds cawing and chirping,
and living plants.
"The only limitations we have found is
that most of what appears in here cannot
be removed from the room. They're
conjurations that do not last beyond the
boundaries of the room."
"Can I... see something else it can do?"
asked the Professor, still a little awed.
"Of course," said Hermione, pleased. "For
minor changes, we can stay in the room.
For major changes, though; we need to
step outside."
With a gesture from her, the four of them
stepped outside again, and the Professor
watched as the door faded back into the
stone wall until it has disappeared.
"Now, let's see..." mused, Hermione.
"Ah!" she suddenly said.
She then developed an expression of deep
concentration before she walked back and
forth in front of the wall. As she passed for
the third time, a new door appeared.
Harry could see the professor was
surprised by it's appearance.
"Surprising, isn't it?" chuckled Harry. "It
seems to pick a door that would best suit,
shall we say, the decor within."
Hermione walked over and opened the
door, holding it open as she gestured
everyone in. Having recognised the door,
inside Harry wasn't surprised by what he
found. It was the Room of Lost Things.
Professor Flitwick stood just inside the
door with his mouth agape. It was the
most flummoxed Harry had ever seen his
Head of House in all the years, both
timelines, he'd been attending Hogwarts.
It caused him to burst out laughing.
After giving Harry a dirty look, Hermione
turned to Professor Flitwick and said,
"Welcome, sir, to the Room of Lost Things.
Any time over the past one thousand
years that the House Elves have not
known to whom a lost item belonged, or
something was damaged beyond repair,
they brought it here.
"In here, besides broken furniture, you will
find a full millennium's worth of items
belonging to students who never claimed
them back. In here, I've no doubt you will
find copies of old text books and the like
that have been out of print for hundreds
of years; priceless antiques and other
works of art.
Chapter 363
"For instance," she said, before raising her
wand and clearly intoning, "Accio an
original edition of Hogwarts, a History!"
It took a few moments but, suddenly a
copy of the book soared through the air
from out of the stacks towards her. She
caught it on her chest.
Checking she had the right one, she then
offered the book to the Professor.
The professor took the book with
trembling hands. "It's real," he softly said.
"It's a first edition, and quite well
preserved. It must be worth a fortune."
"In here, Professor," said Daphne. "Is the
answer to Hogwarts financial problems. If
you were to use the castle's house elves
during a period when the school is empty
and they've little to do to begin to sort
through all this, you'll find there is plenty
here that can be sold to raise funds for the
school. From what's in here it shouldn't be
too difficult to create a bursary fund to
keep the school well funded in perpetuity.
It'll just take a little effort, and the services
of an expert on antiques... and a selling
agent... to create that fund."
The little Charms Master and Deputy
Headmaster was completely gobsmacked.
"Let's step back outside, shall we?" asked
Harry, after a moment. "We came here to
show the Professor what we've been up to,
duelling-wise."
Once everyone stepped back outside, with
the Professor still holding the original
edition of Hogwarts A History, Harry
reconfigured the room back to their
personal duelling self-study classroom.
Stepping back in, Harry said, "Now, for
what we've been practicing. Professor, if
you wouldn't mind remaining off the
platform? It has a containment area to
stop spell fire exceeding the boundaries of
it."
"Understood, Mister Potter," replied
Flitwick with a bit of a bow.
Turning to his wives, he gestured to the
platform and said, "Ladies?"
Once the three were on the platform and
ready, Harry called to the Room, "Five
inner circle Death Eaters, please. Level
Five."
The five duelling dummies immediately
reconfigured to look like five death eaters
in robes and masks.
"Okay, here we go," he warned his wives.
He then barked, "Begin!"
And the three of them were then battling
the five duelling dummies as a single
team.
After about thirty seconds Hermione
called, "Hold!" And the five dummies,
immediately froze in place. "I think that
should be enough," she said, as the three
of them relaxed.
As the three stepped off the platform the
Professor looked at them with an
expression that looked like it kept
changing from awe to a little anger.
"You've been holding back even more
than I thought during our sessions," he
accused them.
"We have," agreed Daphne, not in the
least embarrassed to make that admission.
"Even now we don't know how much we
can trust Professor Snape. We feel it's best
we don't show our true level of ability in
his presence; just in case his position
within Riddle's ranks is compromised and
Riddle learns the truth."
The Professor looked a little thoughtful
before he gave a slow nod of recognition.
"Wise, I suppose."
He then looked more fully at them and
said, "Who else knows of this room?"
"We know Riddle knows of it, but not how
much he knows of it," replied Hermione.
"We found something that belonged to
him in the Room of Lost Things. It was
something we had to destroy."
"Even so, it's too good a training aid we
need for my eventual confrontation with
the Dark Tosser," said Harry.
"Then, I suppose we should move all your
combat training to here," said the
Professor. "You're right. It's too good a
training aid not to make use of it. However,
once the... unpleasantness with Riddle is
done with... I want you to teach me
everything you can about this room."
"Agreed," smiled Harry, as both wives
smiled and nodded.
The next evening, after dropping into his...
as he called it... communication trance in
the common room of their apartment
about fifteen minutes earlier, Harry
suddenly popped out of it and crowed, "It
worked!"
Surprising both wives with his sudden
movement, it took a moment for
Hermione to exclaim, "Merlin, Harry!"
Daphne asked, "What worked?"
"Riddle's taken the bait!" he laughed.
"He's going after the prophecy and the
Heads of Department on Tuesday evening,
as we expected."
Quickly rising from where he sat on the
floor on a thick piece of carpet, he hurried
to his stationery and pulled out
parchment, quill and ink.
Quickly, he wrote, 'Carrot is a go!' before
blow-drying the ink and hurrying over to
Hedwig on her roost.
"To Madam Bones, Hed," he whispered to
her. "Quick as you can."
After Hedwig gave his finger a quick and
affectionate nip before flying out the
window, Harry turned back to his wives.
"That was the 'go' signal to Madam Bones.
Riddle took the bait. He attacks the
Ministry on Tuesday night."
Even though both were clearly worried,
both grinned back.
"That means this whole thing can be over
in a couple of days," said Daphne. "Thank
Merlin!"
""What was the 'go' signal?" asked
Hermione.
"Carrot," replied a grinning Harry.
"Carr... Oh!" said Hermione, a little
sheepishly. "As in, 'You dangled a carrot
and he took it'."
"Yep!" he positively grinned.
"Clever," she smiled.
"Pardon?" asked Daphne, confused.
"It comes from a muggle expression,"
explained Hermione. "You dangle a carrot
in front of a donkey to get it moving in the
direction you want it to go. By holding the
carrot before it, it will continue to head
towards it."
"And the carrot for Riddle was the
opportunity for him to take out the
leadership of the Ministry at the same
time as he went for the prophecy," added
Harry. "Madam Bones has an auror who
reports back to Riddle. And she used him
to ensure Riddle knew of the
opportunity."
"So, that's how you're going to get Riddle
into the atrium at the Ministry," said
Daphne. "I was wondering why you were
so sure the final battle was going to take
place there, rather than at Hogwarts as in
the old timeline."
Chapter 364
During the intervening days between
when they learned Riddle took the bait,
and the actual day of the battle, the three
increased their training. They were just
pleased that two of those days was the
weekend.
Finally, the Tuesday rolled around. The
previous evening, the three all took
sleeping draughts to make sure they had a
decent night's sleep, and then followed it
up with a morning of stress relief in the
form of sex.
Professor Flitwick was made aware the
three would not be attending classes, that
day, so ran interference for them from the
other professors.
That they never put in an appearance for
either breakfast or lunch led to their
fellow students believing the three of
them were sick; and were staying in their
apartment due to their illness being
contagious. The Professor did not
dissuade that belief. If anything, he
encouraged it.
Finally, at six in the evening after an early
light dinner, the three snuck out of the
school and were collected from the
Shrieking Shack by one of Madam Bones's
trusted senior aurors, Shacklebolt.
They were taken under glamour direct to
her office, where they settled in to wait.
"How're you making sure the rest of the
Ministry is evacuated before Riddle gets
here?" asked Hermione.
"We're publicly claiming it's so the whole
building can be fumigated," explained
Madam Bones. "But, we're privately
claiming it's for a special war council
meeting of the Heads of Department. And
that's an open secret."
"Of course," said Daphne. "You tell a lie
they all know is a lie, and let slip a second
lie everyone then believes is the truth for
which the first lie is the cover."
"Precisely," smirked the older woman.
"And actually holding the Heads of
Departments back adds to the evidence of
the second lie," said Hermione. "A lie,
hiding a lie, covering the truth."
"Is everything else in place?" Harry
suddenly asked.
"It is," replied Madam Bones.
"So... now we wait," he sighed.
"Now we wait," she agreed.
As soon as the aurors and Unspeakables
were pretty much assured the building
had been cleared of 'all non-essential
personnel', the three were hustled under
disillusionment charms down to a room
off the atrium. It was a broom closet that
had been hidden and magically expanded
within.
Inside, the room had a magical toilet
installed behind a temporary wall and
door, and other equipment moved in. The
room had all the appearance of a tactical
operations room. There were
Unspeakables and aurors moving about
within.
The three had just entered when they
were approached by Croaker. "Potter," he
softly said. "I didn't expect your wives to
be accompanying you."
"You argue with them," Harry shot back.
"It was them who reminded me we fight
as a team, and that the prophecy only
requires I be the one to kill him. They, as
can everyone else, can still hurt him."
Croaker turned to look at each of the
ladies before he gave a grunt and said,
"No thanks. However, their safety is your
responsibility."
"We know that," snapped Daphne.
Croaker just gave another grunt before he
moved away again.
Moving further into the room, Harry and
his wives could see that one of the long
walls was covered in large mirrors. And
those large mirrors were acting as
communication mirrors similar to the
paired ones he had between he and Sirius.
On the screen, they could see that certain
rooms and hallways were being displayed.
Harry could see one that showed the
narrow aisle between racks of prophecy
orbs, and guessed it was the aisle that
contained the prophecy orb containing
the fake prophecy they had cause to be
made.
Another was of a lavishly appointed
boardroom. And guessed it was the room
where the supposed meeting of the Heads
of Department would take place.
A third was the Floo control room. A
fourth was the room of spinning doors in
the Department of Mysteries. A fifth was
of the lobby immediately in front of the
lifts leading in from the atrium beyond the
security point. A sixth was of the security
checkpoint. A seventh, eighth, ninth and
tenth were of rooms and corridors Harry
didn't recognise.
"Alright," he told both his wives. "I'm
going to find a corner, drop into my
communication trance, and see if I can get
a handle on what Riddle's up to now."
Both wives nodded and followed him to
the corner. He conjured himself a wide
stool with a large cushion and settled onto
it, lotus fashion, before dropping into his
meditative state.
Five minutes later, he was back.
When he opened his eyes it was see
Croaker standing directly in front of him,
staring at him. "Well?" he asked.
"He's just finished assembling his troops,"
replied Harry. "I pulled out just before he
started what I'm sure was an impressive
monologue into how great he is. I'll go
back in a couple of minutes."
Croaker gave a firm nod and said, "Let me
know when he makes his move."
With murmurs of assurance to both his
wives, Harry caught Croaker's eyes before
letting him know he was dropping back in.
When he came back out about fifteen
minutes later, it was to again face Croaker.
This time, everyone else was watching him,
too.
"They're minutes away," said Harry.
"You know how they're coming and the
break up of teams?" asked Croaker.
"I do," he nodded back.
"Right," said Croaker, reaching out and
dragging him to his feet. "You're up front
and briefing everyone. I was unable to use
Legilimency on you."
"Me?" squeaked Harry.
"Yes. You," growled the older man,
dragging him to the front of the room in
front of the mirrors.
Turning to the crowd, Croaker barked,
"Listen up! Potter's giving the briefing!"
Then stepped away to listen, himself.
Taking a deep breath, Harry said, "Okay..."
Plucking his Gryffindor courage, he firmly
said, "Riddle's broken his forces
into seven groups. With the exception of
the last group, they'll be coming about
fifteen seconds apart.
Chapter 365
"First, is a team of four that appears to be
led by someone with knowledge of the
Ministry's ward keystone. They'll be
heading directly for the wardstone. They
seem to know exactly where that is."
That had a few Unspeakables lightly
muttering between themselves for a
moment, before they turned back.
"Second is a team of four mercenaries led
by a Death Eater. They're heading directly
for the Ministry boardroom to assassinate
the Ministry leadership. They're armoured
with various dragon hide under their
robes.
"Third is two Death Eaters tasked with
going to the Floo control room to take
control of it. They have someone on the
inside for that."
"Fourth is a group of four low-level Death
Eaters who are setting up a fallback
position in the atrium near the lifts.
"The fifth is a group of Four Inner Circle
Death Eaters and three not-so inner circle,
with Riddle himself leading. They're
heading straight for the Hall of Prophecies
in the Department of Mysteries.
"The sixth is a group of six, I think, Death
Eaters led by an Inner Circle member. They
come through about five minutes behind
Riddle and take up positions near the
apparition point. They're Riddle's forward
support.
"The final group of what's left remain at
Nott Manor, where they've all assembled.
I think it might be about half a dozen to a
dozen but I'm unsure of the exact
numbers. They provide extra wands, if
called; and they're his rear support.
They're intending to apparate in at the
apparation point if they are. But, Riddle
doesn't believe he'll need to call them, so
they're not expecting such.
"All teams know their objectives and know
they'll be killed if they don't accomplish it.
So, be prepared for them all to fight to the
death. Give no quarter.
"That's all."
Croaker immediately stepped forward and
barked, "Team Baker; you've got the
wardstone. As Mister Potter said, give no
quarter. Go!"
And four Unspeakables suddenly
apparated out with the barest sound of
cracks.
"Everyone else, you know what's coming,
when, and what their objectives are.
There are no surprises except for the
wardstone, and that's now covered. Teams
Alpha, Charlie, Wolf and Shadow... go!"
Almost all the remaining Unspeakables
left almost as one. The slight cracks of
apparation sounded like a muffled string
of firecrackers going off.
"Teams Cracker and Warden, prepare for
an assault on Nott Manor immediately but
hold. As soon as we know Riddle's dealt
with, you'll be leading the remaining
forces on that Manor."
When Harry looked around the number of
occupants had been reduced by about half.
Those who had gone were all
Unspeakables. But, there were still a few
of them mixed in with the aurors or
carefully watching the mirrors.
Once he'd finished giving orders to his
people, Croaker turned to Harry and said,
"Good job, Mister Potter. Again, I hope
you'll consider a career in our ranks once
you've completed your studies."
Harry just smiled back. It was something
he'd have to discuss with his ladies. Last
run through he had his sights originally set
on becoming an auror. This time, he really
didn't know what he wanted to do.
However, any position within the Ministry
other than as a seated member upon the
Wizengamot was low down on his list. It
would all depend on what the angels had
in mind for them.
A couple of minutes later, one of the
aurors watching the large mirrors
suddenly pointed and said, "There!"
As expected, the first group of four had
apparated in and were hurrying across the
floor of the atrium towards the lifts.
"That's group one," said Harry.
They'd no sooner disappeared when the
second group arrived. This group had the
single Inner Circle member and the
mercenaries. They, too, hurried over to
the lifts and disappeared.
"That's the group heading for the
Boardroom," said Harry.
The third and fourth groups arrived
together and hurried to the lifts.
"That's groups three and four arriving
together, it seems," he said. "Two will
head for the Floo Control Room while the
other four remain behind in the atrium."
This time two continued into the lifts and
were away, while the other four simply
stopped in the little foyer between the
check point and lifts and proceeded to
mask their appearance. One kept an eye
on the lifts while the other three kept an
eye on the check point.
Finally, Riddle and his group arrived.
"Heeeeerrre's Tom!" said Harry. "Next
stop, the Hall of Prophecies. I wonder if
he'll enjoy what he hears?"
Croaker just grinned at him, while
everyone else appeared slightly confused.
Clearly, Croaker hadn't told his people of
the switch.
Riddle simply strode across the floor with
his bald head held high, heading direct for
the lifts. He didn't even bother to look to
either side as he went. He simply relied on
his flunkies to watch his flanks.
He'd barely been gone when the final
group arrived. They immediately
separated to each side of the room and
donned invisibility cloaks or
disillusionment charms.
"How long do we wait?" asked Hermione.
Croaker turned slightly towards her and
said, "I give the signal to go when Riddle
picks up the prophecy globe. You wait
until I've got the atrium clear."
The first group of Death Eaters to reach
their target was the team of mercenaries
targeting the, now empty, board room. As
soon as they breached the double doors
with wands ready and spells flying they
were shot from behind with stunners to
the heads. Two went down immediately,
the Death Eater and one of the
mercenaries. The other three were taken
down with stunners to the face as soon as
they whirled about.
In the monitor mirrors, they watched as
Madam Bones stepped forward and shot
each of them at close range to the face
with a potionball gun.
As each shot was fired, the three
bondmates winced. "Ouch!" said Harry.
"That's gonna leave a welt."
As he was talking, Harry watched as a
young auror leaned down and dabbed his
finger into one of the splats of potion on a
mercenary's cheek. As he raised his finger
to peer at it, he suddenly keeled over.
That had the three bondmates and the
Unspeakables all laughing, while Madam
Bones looked directly at what must've
been the other mirror, high on the wall in
the corner and seemed to roll her eyes.
"Well, that's one auror who's going to find
himself on perpetual night watch duties
when this is done," muttered an
Unspeakable.
One of the aurors still with them said,
"Tompkins. He always was an idiot."
"Remind me to talk to those Weasley
twins," Croaker chuckled to Harry.
"Will do, sir," he dutifully replied.
Next group was the two heading for the
Floo Control Room. They walked in, bold
as brass, and immediately toppled over to
stunners. A third stunner was fired at
someone who had been hiding under a
desk, and rose to greet them with a smile
on his face.
All three were dabbed with potion by
Master Auror Scrimgeour before they
were stripped of wands, portkeys, masks
and whatever else before being bound.
After watching Riddle move through the
Department of Mysteries, he finally made
his way into the Hall of Prophecies. Just as
clearly, someone was leading him to the
right area.
"Another traitor," sighed Croaker.
"Whoever it is, they're a walking dead
man."
As Riddle strode up the aisle of prophecy
spheres, the one leading him turned and
indicated the correct sphere.
Croaker, almost surreptitiously, raised his
hand to hover a finger over a pip on the
hem his hood.
Riddle reached out with his left hand,
appeared to almost begin to caress the
sphere, then quickly plucked it off it's little
stand before raising his wand to it.
Croaker suddenly pressed the pip and
almost barked, "Execute!"
Immediately, Harry watched as there was
sudden movement at both ends of the
atrium on the mirror monitors. Spells flew
and bodies went down. All Death Eaters.
With swishes and shimmers, invisibility
cloaks and disillusionment charms were
removed.
On the monitors, Harry saw Alastor
Moody stomping over from a door at the
security end of the atrium and pull out
one of the potion-guns from his robes.
Just like Madam Bones, he quickly shot his
four in the face with the gun, and didn't
even blink when he did it. He left the four
for the two aurors who were with him to
finish policing as he quickly glanced at the
lifts before stomping back out through the
security gate.
A quick double tap on their door from
outside and a head peered in. "We're
clear," it said, before pulling out and away
again.
"Come on, lad," said another Unspeakable,
who indicated Harry on his way out. "Let's
get you set up for your confrontation, shall
we?"
Croaker, from where he was watching his
mirrors, gave Harry a quick glance and nod
before turning back to them.
Harry indicated for his wives to join him
and the three followed the Unspeakable
out the door, leading most of the
remainder of the room out.
As he walked out the door, Harry heard
Croaker say, "The white knight is crossing
the chessboard. The black king is on his
way."
Chapter 366
As Harry, Daphne and Hermione led the
others out onto the floor of the atrium, he
watched as aurors began levitating the
unconscious forms of unmasked Death
Eaters back in through the doors of the
expanded broom closet they'd just left.
Once in the middle of the floor, about two
thirds of the way back from the fountain,
Harry turned to his ladies and those
behind and said, "Us three will make our
stand, here. Remember: Riddle's mine. For
those who haven't figured it out yet,
there's a prophecy that states only I can
kill him.
"However, everyone he's with is fair game.
Take them down... hard. If you just stun
them, their... friends... will simply revive
them again. We cannot afford for anyone
taken down to be revived and getting back
into the fight.
"If you get a free shot at Tommy-boy...
then, by all means, take it. However, you
will fail if you try to kill him. The prophecy
and Lady Destiny won't let you. That,
however, does not mean you cannot hurt
him.
"Now, we've got a bit of time. Conjure
yourselves up some shields, walls and
revetments to shield yourselves; even if
it's just something that's hip high.
They will be throwing killing curses at you.
Make sure those walls are strong and thick.
Angled up polished marble is the best; but,
anything is better than nothing."
Putting actions to words, Harry and his
ladies immediately transfigured a few of
those stones they carried about in their
pockets into thick, angled polished black
marble walls that rose to hip high. To each
side, the walls went even higher; to
almost shoulder height.
In less than a minute they'd fashioned for
themselves a suitably strong three-sided
marble roofless redoubt from where to
make their stand.
They paused for only a few seconds when
a voice from the door to the broom closet
firmly called, "Here they come!"
"Alright, my lovelies," said Harry a little
tensely. "Remember: Safety first. No
heroics. We just pour the firepower at him
and take him down hard and fast."
Calling over his shoulder, Harry called,
"Remember: Wait until they pass the
fountain. We don't want them using it to
hide behind. We want them between the
fountain and us."
While he'd been talking, either Hermione
or Daphne had created a small stack of
marble blocks in front of their walls, ready
for them or Harry to use to shield them
from killing curses. The more they could
block from reaching their walls, the less
time they'd have to spend repairing those
walls.
Hearing a ding from the direction of the
lifts, everyone tensely waited.
Riddle strode out of the lift foyer and
immediately turned and walked through
the security gate. At first, it didn't appear
he'd seen them. Suddenly, he hesitated in
his stride just a little, before continuing in
their direction. They'd been seen.
Once past the fountain he slowed before
coming to a stop, evilly grinning at them.
He only had five Death Eaters with him.
Two stood to his left with the remainder
stood to his right.
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat," he silkily
smirked. "However, I have a prior
engagement."
He gave a quick snap turn to apparate and
only staggered.
Harry could see the look of shock as it
passed across his face before he quickly
donned his superior, disdainful smirk
again. His sudden whisper to activate a
portkey also failed; making his smirk even
wider.
"It appears my friends have failed in their
task of taking down the wards," he said.
"No matter. I'll just have to walk past you
to apparate out."
Harry couldn't help it. He began to
chuckle.
Riddle turned to look at him, clearly only
seeing him properly for the first time.
With a cruel smile he said, "Ah... Harry
Potter, come to die. Are you aware of the
prophecy, young Harry? Did you know it
says I'll kill you?"
"Oh, Tom," smirked Harry. "You were quite
foolish to think the only copy of the
prophecy was in the Hall of Prophecies.
Dumbledore kept a copy in his pensieve.
That's the one I listened to.
"And, I know full well I'm destined to kill
you. Just as you're destined to be killed by
my hand."
Angrily, Riddle retorted, "This is not where
it all began, boy! It is only there could that
come to pass."
"But this is where it all began, Tom,"
replied Harry. "It is here, where magical
Britain formed as a unified society. It is
this spot, at ground level above us, where
the original eight powerful families met to
form the original Council of Twelve. It
is this you wanted to tear down and
replace with a dictatorship, with you as
the dictator.
"And, it is to here where you willingly,
even eagerly, came to meet your death."
As Harry spoke, Riddle stared back with an
expression of superiority, then fear, then
anger.
"I am immortal, Potter!" snarled Riddle.
"You, at least, witnessed my resurrection.
I cannot be permanently killed!"
Harry chuckled back and, in an innocent
voice, asked, "Oh; you mean your little
trinkets?"
At the look of shock on Riddle's face, he
continued, "Sorry, Tom. We found all your
little anchors and dealt with them;
including the one you were unaware of.
Diary, ring, cup, locket, diadem, your pet
snake and my scar. You're now back to
being as mortal as everyone else."
With another look of comprehending
horror that transformed to rage, Riddle
suddenly raised his wand and slashed
down with it, point first, as he yelled a
snarl of, "Avada Ked..."
He was interrupted by Harry having snap
cast back both a tongue-locking hex and
knockback jinx with each wand, stopping
Riddle's killing curse before he could even
finish casting it, as the so-called Dark Lord
staggered on his feet and had to dispel
Harry's overpowered Langlock hex.
Chuckling, Harry called, "And that, folks, is
how you stop the killing curse in it's tracks
with two first year minor charms."
Building up to a full rage, Riddle began his
attack, throwing everything he could at
Harry.
And Harry and his wives retaliated.
Riddle's barraging attack was the signal to
start the main part of the battle. However,
only two of his remaining Death Eaters
even managed to get a curse off before
the five of them were blasted back off
their feet by the combined power of the
aurors and Unspeakables.
As curses flew back and forth Riddle
managed to maintain his own against
Harry - his wives, who joined in when they
could - and the occasional curse from one
of the Unspeakables and aurors arrayed
behind them and to their sides.
Chapter 367
What became apparent pretty quickly was
that Riddle had managed to find a ritual or
two to build up either his magical core or
power or both.
However, it wasn't nearly enough.
Whether it was because of a distraction
caused by an auror or Unspeakable - or a
drop in his magical power, or similar -
Harry managed to get a curse through
Riddle's formidable shields. The curse
tagged Riddle in his wand arm. He even
saw the sudden fluctuation of power
Riddle was using, and subconsciously
capitalised upon it with his own attack.
It was just enough to throw Riddle's
casting off. The follow up reductor curse
to his head impacted without being
sufficiently shielded and blew his head
clean off his shoulders.
The headless body was flung backwards
until it impacted the low wall of the
fountain, where it clearly snapped it's
spine.
Spell fire immediately stopped. Shocked at
how anti-climactic the battle actually was,
Harry and his wives just stood there for a
few moments wondering where the next
attack would come from.
However, it was over. Riddle was dead.
And, with the destruction of his horcruxes,
he wasn't coming back.
In the silence, Harry didn't know who, but
someone began to cheer. Very quickly
there was cheering from all the surviving
forces of the light behind them.
Harry just stood there, staring at the body
of Riddle when it was draped over the wall
of the fountain, as his wives wrapped him
in a hug from either side.
"It's over," sobbed Hermione. "It's...
really... over!"
When Riddle suddenly woke up, he was
lying on his back in the middle of a pale
blue plush wool carpet. It actually felt
quite comfortable.
"Hello, Thomas Marvolo," said a deep
baritone voice.
Suddenly snapping up into a sitting
position, Tom reached for his wand with a
snarl on his lips. It wasn't there.
A quick look around for his missing wand
and he found he was sitting on said carpet
in the middle of a room. Other than the
carpet, everything was white. Looking
down at himself, he also found his robe
was white. That he was barefoot, however,
was not that unusual for him.
Standing just off the rug before him was a
white man of average height, with long
wavy black shoulder-length hair on broad
shoulders. His hair was loose and hung to
his shoulder blades. He, too, wore white
robes and was, apparently, barefoot under
them.
"And who might you be to be standing in
the presence of Lord Voldemort," sneered
Tom.
The man smirked back and allowed...
something... to happen. From behind his
back stretched out two massive white
wings clearly anchored behind his
shoulders. And, shimmering into existence
above his head, a golden halo formed.
"I am called Michael," said the man. "And,
to you, I am your angel of death."
Tom gaped back in shock, and great fear.
"You cheated us in October, 1981, Thomas
Marvolo," said Michael, as his voice
became colder. "However, thanks to Harry
James and his wives, you don't get to
cheat us this time."
Suddenly the angel's face turned to one of
great anger and he barked, "Now; get up!
Judgement awaits you!"
Once the initial celebrations finally abated,
Harry joined Madam Bones and
Unspeakable Croaker in the Minister's
Office. The Minister, who'd been
immediately summoned once Riddle was
dead, was one of the first back to the
Ministry building; and ensured Harry,
Hermione and Daphne were immediately
escorted directly to his office.
For the first time in either timeline, Harry
actually drank a glass of firewhiskey. And
immediately decided he didn't like it.
Minister Ogden was gushing in his effusive
praise of Harry and his wives.
"There's another Order of Merlin, First
Class, in this for you, Mister Potter," he
rapidly gushed. "My... I don't think there's
been a dual winner of such an honour..."
"Stop! Please!" Harry interrupted, raising
his hand in a warding off gesture, as if in
pain.
Once he realised the Minister had finally
shut up he calmly said, "Minister, it wasn't
just me and my actions that led to the
final death of Tom Riddle. Both Daphne
and Hermione played significant roles; as
did Madam Bones, Unspeakable Croaker
and Professors Flitwick and Snape. I was
just the one who got in the final kill shot.
"For a start, both these ladies..." he
indicated his wives, "... have trained with
me since September, the year before last,
to fight and ultimately defeat that monster.
And both Madam Bones and Unspeakable
Croaker, together with their people, and
the two Professors were deeply involved
in that."
Both adults snorted; and Madam Bones
scoffed and said, "Rubbish! This was all
you and your wives."
"Nevertheless," retorted Harry. "I simply
will not accept any formal
acknowledgement of what happened if, at
least, everyone else involved is not also
recognised for their efforts. So, forget it."
"Ah!" exclaimed the Minister, settling back
into his seat. "Mmmm... Yes... I see."
"In the meantime," said Harry, leaning
forward to place his partially drunk glass
of Ogden's Finest on the Minister's desk.
"I'm tired. I'm a sixteen year old boy who's
just had to kill a man; all because of some
blasted prophecy given by a batty old
drunken fraud.
"I'd like to go to bed, cuddle my wives,
and... if they'll let me... make mad and
passionate love with them…"
"Haaarrrrryyyy!" squealed both girls, as
they both blushed to the tips of their
roots.
"… before dropping off to sleep," he
finished. "I think we can leave it to you
people to handle the media and...
whatnot," he said with a wave-off gesture.
"Starting tomorrow, us three have OWLs
to prepare for. They're only in a few weeks,
you know."
"Oh... ummm... o-of course!" stuttered
the Minister.
Standing up, with both girls moments
behind him, Harry asked, "May we use
your Floo, Minister?"
As the Minister was about to reply,
Croaker said, "I've a better idea."
He stood and pulled an old quill out of his
robes. He then popped his wand out of his
holster and, while intoning 'Portus!',
tapped the quill with the tip of it. The quill
glowed blue for a few moments.
Offering it to Harry, he said, "This will take
you right to the front steps of the castle."
Chapter 368
Taking it, Harry nodded his thanks while
holding it before him. Turning to the
Minister he said, "Please, let me know
sometime tomorrow after classes what
your final decision is. I'm too tired to be of
much use, at the moment."
As both wives stepped forward to grab a
pinch of the quill, the Minister said, "Of
course, Mister Potter... ladies... leave
everything to us. I'll talk to you tomorrow
afternoon."
As Harry gave the Minister a small smile
and nod, Croaker tapped the quill with his
wand and said, "Activate!"
The three teens disappeared in the swirl
of a portkey.
Once the three teens had disappeared,
the Minister sighed and said to the other
two, "I cannot not award Mister Potter an
Order of Merlin, First Class, for this. The
public would lynch me in the middle of
Diagon Alley, and I cannot say I'd blame
them for it."
"He didn't say you couldn't award him one,
Minister," said Croaker. "He said you'd also
have to recognise his wives and teachers
for their contributions, if you did."
"Ah!" said the Minister, understanding.
"Yes... Interesting..."
"And, might I also say, Minister," said
Madam Bones, "Sometimes it is better to
beg forgiveness than ask permission.
Mayhap it would be better to present
Mister Potter and his wives with a... fait
accompli?"
"Oh!" exclaimed the Minister.
"Capital idea!"
As the Minister appeared to stare off into
the distance, thinking deep thoughts,
Croaker and Bones just looked at one
another and rolled their eyes.
As promised, the portkey dropped all
three teens on the steps immediately
outside the main doors of the castle. And,
surprisingly, Harry only managed to
stumble a little from the landing. If he
hadn't felt so tired, he might have thought
it was from a much reduced reserve of
magical power he was currently
experiencing.
Walking in through the doors, he said, "I
think we'd better go see the Headmistress
and tell her what's happened, before we
head for bed."
"Yeah, I think that'd be the right thing to
do," agreed Hermione as Daphne just
nodded.
While it was well past the evening meal, it
was not yet past curfew. So, all the lights
were still on. The three walked through
the castle to the gargoyle at the bottom of
the stairs to the Headmistress's office.
Stopping in front of it, Harry said, "Oi! We
need to see the Headmistress. We have
important news."
The gargoyle stared back impassively for a
few moments before it gave a curt nod
and stepped out of the way. A few
seconds later, the three were standing on
the landing before the office door.
As Hermione raised her hand to knock,
the Headmistress called from beyond,
"Come!"
No longer surprised they were now
detected when approaching any
Professor's private rooms Harry reached
out and opened the door, before stepping
back to allow his wives to precede him.
Headmistress McGonagall was sitting at
her desk, obviously going through
paperwork.
As they stepped through and approached,
she looked up and said, "I had been
informed you three had snuck out of the
school. I trust you had a very important
reason for doing so?"
"We did," smiled Daphne.
After staring at the three of them for a
long moment, and recognising how tired
the three were, the Headmistress
conjured three matching chairs before her
desk and indicated they should sit.
Once the three were sitting down, Harry
sighed and said, "In leaving the school, as
we did, this afternoon; I'd first like to say
that we did so with the full knowledge of
Minister Ogden, Madam Bones and
Unspeakable Croaker."
That clearly surprised the Headmistress,
but she didn't respond. Instead, she
simply raised an enquiring eyebrow and
waited to hear more.
"We had specific intelligence relating to
Riddle and his activities. We knew an
attack was planned on the Ministry, this
evening.
"As we learned of it in plenty of time, we...
together with the Departments of Magical
Law Enforcement and Mysteries... set up
an ambush for the Dark Tosser Dork Lard.
And, this evening, Riddle and his
remaining forces walked into a trap of our
making."
That surprised McGonagall. But, before
she could voice anything, Harry continued.
"About two hours ago, Riddle entered the
Ministry with the intention of
accomplishing two main objectives. The
first was to assassinate the entire
leadership of the Ministry; the Minister,
his undersecretary, and the Heads of all
the Departments was the first. His second
objective was to enter the Hall of
Prophecies and collect the prophecy that
was specifically related to him... and me."
"Prophecy?" exclaimed the Headmistress.
"Yes, Ma'am," said Harry. "It was one that
said Riddle and I would face each other,
and that one of us would kill the other."
"My word!" she exclaimed, clearly
shocked.
"Yes; well," said Harry. "Us three have
known about it for quite some time.
However, Riddle only knew of the first two
lines of it. He went to the Hall of
Prophecies, this evening, to collect it, so
he could hear the rest of it."
As the Headmistress sat there staring back
in shock, Harry said, "As I said, because we
knew of the attack, and when it was going
to happen, a trap was set.
"And, at about 7.00pm this evening, in the
middle of the atrium at the Ministry of
Magic, with Daphne and Hermione by my
side... and a great deal of aurors and
Unspeakables assisting... I managed to
finally 'off' the bastard for good.
"He's dead... and he ain't ever coming
back. The threat of Voldemort is over, and
the ranks of his Death Eaters are well and
truly broken. Not that there are many of
them left alive, at any rate."
At Hermione's suggestion, Headmistress
McGonagall summoned the four Heads of
House to her office; Professors Snape,
Sprout, Flitwick and Babbling - who had
become Head of Gryffindor House when
Professor McGonagall accepted the
permanent post of Headmistress.
When all four Heads of House arrived and
were offered chairs, they were surprised
to see the three Potters sitting off to one
side alongside the Headmistress's desk.
Their curiosity was quite clear.
Once the four Professors were sitting,
Headmistress McGonagall cleared her
throat and said, "I have little doubt we'll
learn more of what has actually transpired,
earlier this evening, over the coming days.
However, Missus Granger-Potter feels you
four... and I'd have to agree... need to be
aware of the wonderful news that's about
to befall our student population, once
the Daily Prophet arrives tomorrow
morning.
Chapter 369
Professor Snape almost unobtrusively
reached down and bared his left forearm
to his side, and glanced at it before
looking back at Harry in shock.
Harry caught it and gave a snort of
amusement.
"I shall be blunt," said Harry. "At
approximately 7.00pm this evening, in the
middle of the atrium at the Ministry of
Magic, I killed Tom Riddle. Voldemort is
dead. And..."
What else he was going to say was
suddenly drowned out by the
exclamations of shock from three of the
heads of Houses. Professor Snape just sat
there, completely stunned. However,
Harry caught the almost imperceptible
look of gratitude on the man's face. And
gave a nod and smile back.
Once the shock had passed, the
Headmistress and senior staff of the
school, with input from Harry and the two
girls, decided how they wanted the school
populace to learn of this momentous
occasion.
While they were working things out,
Professor Snape said to Harry, "You'd best
summon the mutt. If he finds out about
this through any way, other than directly
from you, he'll kill you.
"Mind you," he smiled. "He might just
decide to kill you, anyway; for not letting
him know what you were up to, in
advance."
Professor McGonagall smirked and said,
"That's a wise idea. Harry, the Floo
powder is on the mantelpiece. Professor
Black's floo address is 'Defence Office'.
Ask him to come up here, won't you?"
With a pained expression and a sigh, Harry
said, "I'd rather not." But, did as he was
bid.
With his head in the fireplace he ended up
having to yell, "Hey, Padfoot!" before his
godfather walked into the room, probably
from his private quarters.
"Pup?" he asked, a bit sleepy. "How'd you
manage to get a floo call through to me?"
"I'm in the Headmistress's office," replied
Harry. "We need you to step through.
There's important news in the offering."
As Sirius hurried to don a pair of boots
and make himself better presentable, he
asked, "What sort of news?"
"Too important for a simple Floo call sort
of news," he replied. "That's why the
Headmistress asks you to come through."
Then he pulled his head back out of the
flames and waited.
As Sirius stepped into the office, Harry
moved back to his chair between his wives.
Professor McGonagall conjured him
another chair and bid him to sit.
"Once a thoroughly confused Sirius sat
down, McGonagall smirked at Harry and
said, "Mister Potter, would you like to do
the honours?"
"Nope!" Harry instantly replied, folding his
arms and looking adamant. "He's gonna
wanna hug me, then kill me, then hug me
again. And, all the time, he's gonna yell at
me."
That earned him a few chuckles from the
staff. Even Snape smirked at that one.
It was Hermione who spoke up. "Mister
Padfoot. Mister Hunter, Miss Tracker and
Miss Pouncer formally advise you that
Mister Hunter ended the Dark Tosser
tonight, in the presence of Miss Tracker
and Miss Pouncer; and Madam Bones,
Unspeakable Croaker and a host of other
supporting cast members."
Sirius appeared confused and shocked as
he tried to figure that out.
"In other words," smirked Daphne, staring
at a very shocked godfather. "Harry killed
Voldemort tonight. The Dork Lard, as
Harry often calls him, is dead. And, it's for
good, this time."
Sirius stared back in shock and a little
horror, his mouth gaping open and closed.
"Wait for it..." muttered Harry.
Suddenly, Sirius surged to his feet and
appeared one moment as if he wanted to
attack his godson, while the next storm
out of the office, before turning back
again. His mouth still not working.
"Here it comes..." muttered Harry,
cringing back a little.
"Harry James Potter!" Sirius finally barked,
getting his brain and mouth to sync,
before finally managing to half push other
staff members out of his way heading for
his godson.
"What the bloody hell have you done?!"
his godfather cried at an almost screech
level, before grabbing Harry by the front
of his robes and dragging him to his feet,
to envelop him in a hug.
Sirius hugged him very tightly for a couple
of seconds, before then shoving him out
to arms length. Harry just went with it.
As Sirius began to spin him about, looking
him over, he babbled, "Are you hurt? Did
he get you? Do you need to see Pomfrey?
What the bloody hell were you thinking?"
"No... no... no... getting an annoying
prophecy out of the way, so I could live,"
replied Harry in all the right places.
Past Sirius's shoulder, Harry managed to
see Snape sitting with a hand shielding his
face and his shoulders jiggling up and
down. Apparently, the Potions Master
thought the whole thing hilarious.
"You could have been bloody killed!"
yelled Sirius. "Moony would kill me..."
Sirius suddenly stopped, so befuddled he
was apparently unable to think and act at
the same time. He suddenly shouted,
"Moony's gonna kill you! Then me! Then
you, again! You're gonna be grounded!
"Wait, I'm your godfather.
That's my job. You're grounded, Mister!
You're grounded until you're... like...
ninety, or something!"
"Sirius," Harry calmly said. "I'm
fine. We're fine. It's done."
When it appeared Sirius was going to start
yelling again, it was Professor McGonagall
that 'rescued' Harry. "Professor
Black! Enough!"
Sirius whirled on her and it looked like he
was going to yell at her before his brain
obviously kicked in, in time. "He's my
godson, Minnie," he whined.
"I'm allowed to yell..."
"And you have," she cut in. "And now
you're done. Sit down!"
Looking like he was going to disagree,
Sirius hesitated a moment before he cast
one last filthy look at Harry before
returning to his chair.
As he moved back to it with his back to
Harry, Harry turned to the Headmistress
and mouthed, "Thank you."
McGonagall then proceeded to tell Sirius
how the staff was going to break the news
to the students the next morning.
Apparently, something very similar
occurred after Riddle was destroyed the
first time, back in 1981.
Chapter 270
Once the decisions had been made, the
Headmistress shoo'ed everyone out of her
office while saying, "I need to confirm
everything with Madam Bones or the
Minister first, before we act tomorrow. I
do not want students complaining to their
parents how we withheld their mail, even
if for only a little while, with the Minister
unaware of the why of it."
As they filed out of the office, Sirius
quickly tagged the three bondmates and
said, "My office, before you head for bed.
You need to tell both Moony and the
Greengrasses, at least, of what has
happened.
"Like me, you do not want them learning
of it from the Daily Prophet, tomorrow
morning."
"And you need to send Hedwig to your
parents tonight with similar news," said
Harry, looking at Hermione.
When the three trudged after Sirius into
his office; Sirius, noticing how tired they
were looking, suggested they call Dobby
and share a Pepper Up potion between
them.
Dobby was happy to bring the potion from
Madam Pomfrey's stores.
While they were getting that done with,
Sirius attempted to Floo call Remus, but
was unsuccessful. Eventually, he called
'Chuckles', and had him wake Remus and
get him to the fireplace and Floo call him.
Remus appeared in the flames a few
minutes later.
"Damn it, Padfoot!" Remus half whined
half snarled. "What the bloody hell was so
important you had to drag me out of bed
on a work night?"
"Your boss wants a word," replied Sirius.
After Harry gave his godfather a filthy look,
he turned to fireplace and calmly said,
"Your boss is telling you he has no
problems with you taking a day off
tomorrow. Voldemort is dead."
"What?... Pardon?... I mean... what?"
spluttered Remus.
Sirius leaned in and barked, "Your bloody
idiotic honourary nephew and his wives
snuck out of the school, today; and 'offed'
the Dark bastard!"
"He... what?" Remus almost snarled.
"Sirius," whined Harry, wincing.
"Mister Hunter, accompanied by Miss
Pouncer and Miss Tracker, laid a trap for
Mouldyshorts at the Ministry, explained
Sirius. "When ol' Snake Face turned up,
Harry killed him. Voldemort's dead! This
time, apparently, for good!"
"Padfoot, if this is a prank..." snarled
Remus.
"Marauder's honour," said Sirius. "No
prank. Harry's offed the Snake-faced
bastard. He did it earlier tonight."
Remus appeared to stare back for a few
moments before he snarled, "I'm coming
through."
"And, I'm outta here!" exclaimed Harry.
However, as he made a break for the door,
Sirius hit him with an Incarcerous from
behind, causing him to trip and fall to the
floor, well short of the door.
In the meantime, Daphne had transfigured
a desk chair into a long couch, and she
and Hermione were sitting on it.
As Remus stepped through the Floo into
the office, Harry was being levitated onto
the couch. Harry thought it was Hermione
using a Mobilicorpus levitation charm. She
was quite good with charms.
Remus took one look at a bound and
floating Harry, before turning to Sirius
with fire in his amber eyes.
"Harry tried to make a break for it before
you stepped through," explained Sirius.
"Then, how about you explain to me just
how it is the Cub managed to kill the Dark
Lord?" demanded Remus. After a glance
at Harry he continued, "And, apparently,
come through unscathed."
As Harry was reluctant to speak, as he was
bound and all, Daphne and Hermione
explained everything to him.
"Was it Snape that gave you this
intelligence you spoke of?" asked Remus,
once they'd done describing their day and
evening.
"That we can't tell you," explained Daphne.
"Sorry."
"We had both experience and reason to
believe it was accurate," said Hermione.
"This evening proved that."
"The entire operation was placed under
the tightest and highest security
restrictions by both the Departments of
Magical Law Enforcement and Mysteries,"
said Daphne. "And much of it is still under
a knowledge Fidelius."
"And why were you three involved?"
asked Remus.
"There is... was... a prophecy that stated
only I could kill him," Harry finally spoke.
"Both Madam Bones and Unspeakable
Croaker were both aware of it, and knew I
had to be there to kill him. Hermione and
Daphne wouldn't let me go alone."
"You could have been bloody killed!"
barked Remus.
"That was not likely with the way we
planned and carried out me facing him,"
snapped Harry. He was tired and
becoming irritable. "With Hermione and
Daphne providing point defence, and
about thirty aurors and Unspeakables
behind me in support, it was more likely I
was going to get killed by a piece of falling
masonry than Riddle hitting me with a
curse."
"Bloody hell!" sighed the old wolf, finally
starting to calm down.
"Yeah. Bloody hell!" echoed Sirius.
With Remus calming down, faster than
Sirius did, Sirius looked to Daphne and
said, "You'd better hurry up and Floo call
your Mum and Dad."
Daphne gave a slight wince before she
sighed and nodded. Then she moved to
the Floo to make her call.
By the time Daphne finished her call to
her parents, with almost as much drama
as with Remus but without her parents
stepping through, the three finally made
their way back to their apartment.
As she'd well and truly finished her letter,
having drafted and edited it a number of
times while in Sirius's office, Hermione
moved to Hedwig and sent her off with
her letter to her parents. At least with a
written letter, there would not be an
immediate bout of yelling. All three were
thankful for that.
What they didn't know, and may not have
slept as well if they did, was that the
yelling part was only delayed.
The three went directly to bed, afterwards.
And, contrary to Harry's stated intentions
in the Minister's office, the three
immediately went to sleep. All three were
simply too tired.