"Merlin, what now?" Remus asked, his head landing on the table now that the sticking charm was removed. He didn't know how much more he could take. The full moon was in a few days, and the fight with Bill had taken a bit out of him. He closed his eyes and listened, he didn't hold much hope that he'd stay awake, but he was hoping that if he did fall asleep, someone would fill him in in the morning.
"We Apparated about seventy-five feet from where the two horcruxes were. It was a standard distance, that they taught us in Auror training. I've used it hundreds of times. We thought it would be far enough that it wouldn't trip any wards," Kingsley said, running a shaky hand down his face.
"We were wrong," Tonks said, taking deep breaths. "We-"
"Tonks, before you say any more, send a Patronus to your mum," Sirius suggested, holding his hand up. "I don't want her mad at me. She asked that I tell you to let her know," he said, smiling to take any bite out of his words. "You do know the charm, right?"
"Yeah, after we heard that a third-year student could cast it, all of the Aurors learned it right quick. Madam Bones was very adamant about that," she said, lifting her wand to cast the charm. "Mum, I'm home. I'm safe. Let me get in my report and I'll find you when we're done," she said to the chameleon mist.
When she was done, it nodded its head and flew through the wall.
"Right, you were saying," Sirius said, pouring her and Kingsley shots of firewhiskey.
"Anyway, we landed right inside some sort of trip wards at Malfoy Manor. I didn't feel anything, we didn't realize it until a whole shitload of Death Eaters came pouring out of the house," Tonks said, her voice a bit wobbly.
"It was daunting how many Death Eaters there were. I'd say between fifty to a hundred. There must have been a meeting going on. At least I hope that was all of them. We're in big trouble if there's more. Either way, Dumbledore's information is grossly incorrect. I have to wonder if Snape is giving true reports, or is the Headmaster withholding information," Kingsley said, looking at Moody, who knew the man better than anyone.
"Probably the latter, lad," the retired Auror grumbled. "I will be having words with both of them to find out," he promised, his one good eye narrowed at the thought that his friend of many years would go so low as to not keep his comrades informed on what they were facing.
"What happened next?" Sirius asked, pouring everyone more alcohol. He figured that one more shot should be fine. Any more than that, and they'd be useless.
Moony didn't touch his glass and if they didn't know better, they would have thought the man asleep. But his eyelids were roaming like he was thinking.
Bill, on the other hand, took his but instead of downing it, he just sipped. Little burst of smoke came from his mouth.
"We immediately took cover in the woods behind us and tried to port away. We do have emergency portkeys, thanks to being Aurors," Kingsley added, taking the glass of firewhiskey that Sirius handed him. "The portkeys didn't work. I think some anti-travel wards popped up as soon as we landed."
"Any idea why the 'trip' wards let you in?" Bill asked, putting his glass on the table.
"No, I think it's a trap of some sort. I felt stronger wards further up, about six feet or so," Kingsley stated, moving his head side to side, trying to relieve some tension. "We're going to have to adjust accordingly. I'll have to let Bones know as well."
"Anyway, the Death Eaters hadn't seen us right away, so we disillusioned ourselves, and stuck around for a moment. We listened in, while trying to make it to the ward line. Meanwhile, they looked for us using revealing spells, and we heard them say that their master would not be happy if they didn't find us," Tonks continued, she asked for water and Kreacher complied.
"It was at that time You-Know… Riddle came out of the house," the dark Auror said, still trying to relax a bit. "It was strange, while his minions were running around shouting spells, he simply walked, easy as you please, barefoot to boot, until he got to the woods. He then called those looking for us fools, and then pinpointed where we were," he said, giving up on trying to relax. "I think he caught our thoughts. I don't know about Tonks, but I quickly threw up my Occlumency shields."
"I did as well, but not before he got in. Scariest fucking thing I ever saw, or felt," Tonks said with a full body shudder.
"Too right," her partner agreed. "We exchanged spells for a moment, and then this big ruddy snake come slithering into the fight. Riddle spoke to it, and it came our way. We buggered out of there as fast as we could. Riddle and his minions stood back and laughed at us as we ran."
"Stupid snake was quick too. We almost didn't make it," grumbled Tonks, thumping her empty glass on the table in frustration.
"Anyway, as soon as I felt the end of the anti-travel wards, we ported to the Auror Headquarters. Amelia was not happy when we told her what we had been up to. We didn't tell of the horcruxes but did say we were scouting things that keep Riddle in the here and now. There were too many people around, to tell her everything, so I hinted that we needed to talk later. She heard us out, and made comment that she wanted a full report, off the record," Kingsley finished, leaning back in his chair and pinching his nose.
"It would be good to have Amelia on our side. Now that you're free, Black, she could be a great boon," Mad-Eye said, giving Sirius a thoughtful look.
"I'll look into it," Black promised.
"Weird thing is, she wanted to know if we knew where Harry was. I think Dumbledore has reported him missing, Sirius," the pink-haired woman said, finally picking up the whiskey and shooting it down.
"That doesn't make sense, he knows exactly where Harry is. Well, he knows he's with me," the dogman said, rubbing his forehead.
"I think he's trying to get you for kidnapping. You did take him from his relatives' home," Kingsley added, furrowing he brow.
"Arsehole," Sirius muttered, pouring himself another shot. "To bad for him, I've already covered that with my lawyers. I'll get your dad to go with me to the Ministry tomorrow, Tonks. I'll bring Harry along, so they know the full story. We still have to report the Dementors."
"What Dementors?" came the shout from all but Moony, who was lightly snoring.
"Right, I didn't tell you guys. The reason I went to get Harry was because he contacted me, via his house elf, that a pair of Dementors were near his home. If it hadn't been for his house elf, he and his cousin could have been Kissed. We're not sure if it was a set up to make him use magic, or someone… else, is trying to kill him," Sirius explained with a deep sigh.
"Sounds like something Fudge, or his lot, would do," Mad-Eye said, his eye roaming around the room like those foul demons would float in at any moment.
"Yeah, that's why I want to take him with me. He can give his statement to Amelia and we can brush our hands of it," the dogman said, then cracked a huge yawn.
"Well, back to the report on Harry being kidnapped, I told her I haven't seen Harry in a while, which is partially true. I haven't seen him since yesterday," she said, grinning impishly. "I also implied that the address I had seen him at couldn't be disclosed. She seemed to find that funny." Her hair cycled in many bright colors, reflecting her mirth.
"I knew I could count on you," her cousin said, winking in her direction.
"So," Moody said, getting them back on track, "old Tom is at Malfoy Manor. Did they recognize you two?" he asked the Aurors.
"I think Malfoy did, when our disillusions fell. He's at the Ministry often enough," Kingsley reported, thinking back to the fight and going over what might be spilled.
"How did they fall?" Bill asked, looking between the two.
"Some spell Riddle did. We need to watch out for that," Tonks answered, asking for more water.
Kreacher snapped his fingers and her glass filled.
"Malfoy, or Riddle even, probably thinks your spying for Albus," Moody said, sipping his flask.
"Probably," the other man agreed. "It's not like it's a secret that we fight with the Order. Though, calling what the Order does as fighting is a bit of a stretch. I mean, the only thing I've done for Albus is tell him who is get arrested and why. I'm going to stop doing that since he can't do anything for them anyway. What with him being kicked out of the Wizengamot," the tired man said, stifling a yawn.
"How far out were the wards?" Bill asked, conjuring up some parchment and writing utensils.
"I'd say they are seventy-five feet from the house. Like I said, there are trip wards about fifteen feet from the main wards. We landed six feet in, so yeah, about fifteen feet. Remember that they activate some anti-traveling wards. If you do plan on scouting, then shoot for one hundred twenty feet away. That will put you in the woods, and you can figure everything out from there," Kingsley said thoughtfully.
"Right," the curse-breaker said, jotting it all down. "Do you think old Tom will move bases?"
"Probably not. Riddle is too full of himself, and if you're correct, he has surrounded himself with enough people loyal to him to feel safe. However, I think we should cast that spell again, to see if he, whatever his horcrux is, and his snake have gone to ground," Moody said, thinking over many scenarios that could help with this.
"Now that you mention that blasted snake, could it be a horcrux, like Harry," Sirius speculated.
"Might be," Alastor said, thinking hard. "It does seem smart for a snake. If it has got a bit of Riddle hiding in its head, then that would account for that. Bill, if you get near the thing, kill it."
"I will," Bill said, taking all this in so he could tell his boss. "I'll be careful about it. Because if you're right, that means I won't be dealing with a simple snake. Though, maybe we should leave it there for now. That way Riddle doesn't know we're on to him," he said, tapping his quill on the parchment. Too deep in thought to realize he was making ink blots.
"That is a good idea," Kingsley said, looking around at everyone, who were all nodding in agreement. Expect for Remus, who was still snoring.
"Anyway, Sirius, I think we should get Harry to Gringotts tomorrow, or the next day," the younger man said. "The sooner we get that thing out of his head, the better I'll feel."
"Let's shoot for the day after tomorrow. I have something planned for tomorrow," the head of the house mentioned, trying to think of what he needed to do over the next few days. First thing in the morning though, he was making Harry part of the family. Dumbledore be damned.
"Oh?" came the questioning voice of everyone except the sleeping werewolf.
"Don't you guys worry none. It's family stuff," he waved their questions away.
At that moment Andi came in, and beelined to her daughter. "I waited long enough, young lady. You've had ample time to give your report. You should have let me check you the moment you returned," she scolded, waving her wand over Tonks, who mumbled something about being grown. "Nymphadora, you know better than to let things go untreated."
"I'm fine, Mum. I didn't get hit once, this is all from dodging," she said, trying to bat her mum away.
"I'll be the judge of that," the older woman stated, still waving her wand.
"I'm going to put this away," Sirius said, picking up the iron box. "Someone might want to wake the wolf. Carefully, he bites. Just kidding, the most he'll do is growl at you," he said, laughing at their faces and moving towards the door. "And you guys either go home or take one of the empty rooms on any floor but the third. Either way, get some rest. You all look like shite," he finished, hurrying out the door in case one of them fired in retaliation.
A stinging hex hit the doorway, and he laughed his way to the study.
Tomorrow was going to mark a milestone in his and Harry's life. He only hoped that it all worked out. These rituals could be deadly, if Magic didn't agree with what you wanted. Very few people realized that Magic was alive. One didn't interact with it, per se, but if you learned to feel it, it would help you obtain what you needed. However, you have to really need what you're asking for, or even if your wish was granted, there'd be a price to pay. Hence the reason why Dark Magic was so costly. Usually your sanity or your soul.
With those dark thoughts, he put the horcrux in his safe, and went to find the kids.
Hphphp
While that was going on, the teens were still talking and playing Bullshit. They had been playing for a while when Hermione spoke up.
"Harry, I have an idea. About you leaving Hogwarts, that it. Well, a compromise, really," she said, leaning forward a bit. "I know you don't want to go to Hogwarts because you think someone will try and kill you, again, but hear me out."
"Okay, what are you thinking?" he asked, putting his cards down and turning in her direction. It had better be good, his mind was pretty much made up.
"Maybe, you can come anyway but have someone create an emergency portkey for you. That way if someone does try to kill you, you can escape and come here. I really will miss you if you are not in school," she added shyly, blushing a bit at being emotional.
"I will miss you guys too," Harry said softly, looking at all his friends, who all seemed to have different emotions playing across their faces. "But, Hermione, I'd still be looking over my shoulder all the time," he said, rubbing his scar in thought. "Even if I had one on me, how would it get through the wards? Besides, don't you think Dumbledore would prevent me from leaving if I were in the school? That man's interest in me is sometimes downright creepy."
"Don't say those things about the Headmaster," Hermione said, trying not to sound bossy while doing it, but failing miserably.
"Really? After everything I told you, you're going to defend him?" Harry asked, miffed that she wasn't listening to his concerns.
"Right, Hermione, I get that you think the world of authority figures, but Harry is right, Dumbledore is fixated on him. And if what I heard today is anything to go by, I'd not want to be around that old man either," Fred said, not breaking into twin-speak. His brother nodding along with him.
"I don't know what you guys learned today," she said, looking at the serious faces of the three boys.
"I told you that there was a bit of dark magic in my scar. Well, Dumbledore know it was there and he's done nothing to get rid of it," Harry said, still upset that she was taking the old man's side. Again.
"Oh, well, I mean…" was all she could get out.
"Think about that for a while," Harry said, picking up his cards again.
"Her suggestion isn't a bad one," Ginny ventured. "If we can get the Headmaster to create you a portkey, or someone who can bypass the wards, like Bill. Then you could come back and not miss being around your friends."
"If you do that, I'll stick with you like glue, mate" Ron said, clapping his hand on the other boy's shoulder. "We can get our other roommates to stay with us. I know Neville would help. He might be shy, but he hates all the crap you've been through," he added, nodding towards the twins so they'd back him.
"It's true. I've heard him complaining many times that if your folks were still alive, none of what happened to you would have," Ginny answered instead. "It got a bit repetitive when we were at the ball, but I felt… I don't know, like he was growing?" she finished in a questioning tone.
"I always knew there was a lion under that quiet demeanor," Harry said with a beaming smile.
"If you come back, we'll make sure you're never alone. Even if you have detention, we'll figure out a way for one of us to be there. Promise," George said, he too not going into twin-speak.
"But if you must run, we'll be right behind you. Covering your tracks, and taking out whoever it after you," promised Fred.
"Alright, let me talk it over with Sirius and see what he says," Harry said. It was a good compromise, and he could leave anytime he wanted. His heart swelled with joy that his friends wanted to make such an effort to be near him. Still, he could not shake the feeling that it might not be a great idea.
The papers had stopped vilifying him, but they were still raking the old man over the coals. His article must have touched a lot of people. He wasn't getting any mail, but the reviews were good.
He wondered about the mail thing. It was weird that he hadn't heard from anyone not in this house. On one hand, that was good. Too many owls at the Dursleys would have caused problems. On the other hand, it was just one more thing keeping him in the dark. Something to investigate.
That and they could hide it from Dumbledore that he was not still impressed with the old man. Now that he was learning that badass Occlumency, he couldn't wait until someone tried peeking. He had some awesome ideas.
One particular one came to mind. Chucky. He smirked as he thought of the scenario.
He could just imagine the look on Dumbledore's or Snape's or Voldy's faces when they open the door to his cupboard. They'd be all battered from fighting the aliens and thinking that was all he had to protect his mind.
They'd open the door and see Chucky grinning at them.
"This is your final defense Potter/Harry? A doll? Pathetic/Disappointing. Would you like some candy, my boy?" Pending on who said it.
Chucky would do his evil laugh, and spring into action.
"ARRGH, NO! PLEASE MERLIN NO! 'bloody gurgling'"...
...Chucky looks at his bloody knife as the intruder fades away, smiles, and closes the cupboard door. Chuckling all the while.
His face broke out in a wicked grin as he pictured that. He might have to let them through just to see that. He laughed out loud at those images and waved the others away when they looked at him funny. He didn't think that Hermione would appreciate the humor but vowed to explain it to the others when she wasn't around. He didn't need the lecture.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The teens jumped a bit, they were all in deep thought over Hermione's suggestion. Except Harry, who was still envisioning the demises via Chucky.
Hermione was also deep in thought, but her mind wasn't on a psycho murdering doll. She was going over everything she learned this last week, and she wasn't liking the conclusions she was coming up with. Maybe Harry was right, maybe he should stay here.
"Yeah?" came the response from many teens.
Sirius walked in grinning like a fool. "I know it's later than I had planned, but there's still a few hours left until I hit the hay. Anyone want to spar?" he asked, looking around at the kids who all stood and moved as one towards the door. "Guess that answers that," he said, leading the way.
They spent a few hours in the cellar, Sirius teaching them some down and dirty tricks. When they had finished, they all went upstairs, except Harry, who was being held back.
"What's up, Sirius?" the teen asked after the others had left.
"I want to do the adoption, either now, or in the morning. We both have to leave the house tomorrow, and I don't want to take any chances that Malfoy would try to bump me off. If that does happen, you would have a clear shot to my fortune and title," his godfather said, leaning against the wall.
Harry joined him there and thought a moment. "While I don't want you to die, in any way shape or form, I think you may have a point. Question. I'll still be a Potter, right?" he asked, turning his head towards Sirius.
"Yeah, no worries there. You will be like a first cousin or younger brother. Maybe even a nephew. It'll be up to magic to decide," he said.
"What do you mean, magic to decide?" Harry asked, with a cock of his head.
"You see, I'll be asking magic to make you family. It'll weigh you, your blood, our relationship, and then decide how close we'll be. Magic hardly ever makes one a progeny. There are darker rituals for that, but those who do it can be accused of line theft, so they are banned. That and there's a heavy price to pay. Still, I'll try and make you as close to me as possible," he explained, hoping that Harry understood.
The boy was doing marvelous in all his training, and Sirius had no doubt he could pass himself off as a snobby pureblood by the end of summer.
"Oh, okay, that's actually better. I don't know if I want to be considered a son of a reprobate like you," Harry said, shoving the man in jest.
"Prat," Sirius growled playfully, "You take that back. I'll have you know any offspring of mine would be thankful to have a handsome, charming, rich man like me as a father." He put his nose in the air and sniffed pompously.
"You keep telling yourself that," Harry said, shoving him again. "Seriously, Sirius, I'm knackered. Can we do this in the morning?" he said with a yawn. "I don't want to mess anything up, and I can't get my mind to settle. Ask me tomorrow and I'll tell you why, but right now, it's all crazy up there. Maybe after a good night's sleep, I can think clearer," he added, not wanting Sirius to think he was putting him off for the wrong reasons.
"Might be best. Alright, go to bed, but you'll need to get up bright and early. Say around six. Have Dobby wake you," Sirius said, pushing himself off the wall and headed out of the room. He was let down that it couldn't be right now, but the boy was right, he needed a clear mind.
"Alright," Harry said, following the man up the stairs. His mind whirling about what was going to take place in the morning.
"Don't worry, it's a simple piece of magic," his godfather said as the crest the stairs.
"I'll try not to," was all the answer he got.
"Good night, Harry," Sirius said, sitting at the kitchen table and pouring himself a glass of firewhiskey. Just one more, to calm his nerves. What he was going to do tomorrow was risky. Not deadly so, but still…
"Good night, Sirius," the boy said, and headed to bed.
Sirius sat and looked at the amber liquid in his glass. He really had had too much tonight as it was. But his thoughts were deep, and he was concerned about all that was happening to his godson. He shrugged, downed the liquor, and put his head in his hands. He could only pray to the Powers-That-Be that he was doing the right thing.
He soon put his thoughts away and went to bed.