An hour later Moody and Remus came through the Floo. Harry and the other kids were still sitting at the table, just messing around. Harry and Ron were playing chess. Hermione and Ginny were going over Ginny's next year's DADA studies. The twins were watching the boys and giving Harry some really bad advice, just to see if he'd take it. He didn't.
The two men staggered in looking like they needed a nap. Their clothes were rumpled, and there was dirt on their face and in their hair, not to mention on their robes. There were even bits of branches sticking out of their hair.
"Harry, where's Sirius?" Moony asked, wiping the dirt and ash off his shoulders, and looking around the room like the man he was asking about was in the cupboards. You never knew with that prankster.
"In the study with Bill, last I looked," the teen answered, giving him a quizzical look. "Are you two okay? You look like you fought with a tree and lost," he said, smirking a bit when Moody glared at him.
"No, this is just from staking out a certain place. We found something," Remus said, still brushing off his clothes. Then he looked up and the worried faces and added with a grin, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It might actually be good news."
"Come on, Lupin, let's check in," the retired Auror said, stomping out of the room. He had already cleaned his clothes and wanted to get the report in so he could wash his hands and face.
Remus just shrugged, cast a cleaning charm, then waved to the kids and followed.
They two came to the study and entered the open door. Alastor made sure to close it behind them. He felt the wards on the room and added a few of his own. Not that the news they brought back was overly classified, but it needed to be talked out first.
"Well, we've got the lay of the land and it's good news," the one-eyed man said, taking a seat across from Bill.
"That's good," Sirius said, releasing his tense shoulders. He had been tensed for a while now, these two should have been back ages ago. "We've enough bad news today," he added, waving them to continue.
"Right, so, we landed outside the trip zone, and cased the area. It's all open area, except in the back, where there's an ornamental garden, with topiary. A lot of topiary," Remus began, looking to Moody to continue.
"Malfoy being a bit of a showoff can work to our advantage. We also confirmed that old Voldy is there as well and his horcrux. It seems he's keeping his Death Eaters there as well. I think we might have made him a bit paranoid, not that that was hard to do. Riddle has always thought the world was out to get him," Alastor said, leaning back in his chair to indicate that he was done.
"All good news, but what about the wards?" Bill asked, since it would be him to bring them down. "Did you get the schematics down?"
"Yeah, that part was easy. It's the standard Malfoy Family Wards, with the trip ward. If we can bring the trip ward down, it should be a matter of an hour for you to bring down the major ones," Moody said, taking out a piece of paper that he had made notes on.
"Wouldn't Riddle put up some of his own?" Sirius asked, thinking that's what he'd do.
"No, it'll leave a signature and he's hiding at the moment. Fudge burying his head in the sand is working to Riddle's advantage. The less people think he around, the more he has the element of surprise," Moody explained.
"How far do the main wards go again?" Bill asked, looking at the paper he was just handed.
"Seventy-five feet out from the house. Then the trip wards end fifteen feet beyond that," was the answer.
"These notes are really good, Alastor," the curse-breaker said, still going over them. They were very concise, and he should have no problem bring both wards down.
"There's a meeting in two hours," Sirius said, looking at his watch. "You two might want to go and clean up, take a nap, get something to eat. I'm not sure which, but take the time to relax," he added with a smile.
"Who's going to be here?" Moody asked, getting up from his chair. He could use something to eat.
"Me, you, Remus, Bill, Tonks, Kingsley, Harry, the twins, and possible Amelia," the dogman answered, picking up his tea and taking a sip. House elves are wonderful creatures, they can keep your teacup full and at just the right temperature. "Andi and Ted don't want to join us. Andi said that if there was something they needed to know; Tonks would tell them. They are just here to help with the kids."
"Good, I like the fact that Bones might be here. We could use her help on a few things. She's got some influence that we don't. Not even you, with all your money," the old man said, stretching out some kinks in his back. He was far too old to be casting houses but needs must.
"Yeah, I have a feeling she and I are going to be working hand in hand. I've got blackmail, and money. She's got political pull," Sirius agreed, raising his cup up in an agreeing gesture.
"Too right," Moody said, and then left the room. The first thing he did was hit the loo. Using the little sink, he cleaned up as best he could. Then he wandered around looking for somewhere to settle his old bones. He needed to eat and then grab a quick nap. He headed to one of the lady's parlors, that no one used, called an elf, got food, then kicked back on a fainting couch.
Back in the study, Remus got up too. "I'm going to talk to the kids. I want to see what they've been up to. We haven't had much time to catch up," the ex-professor said, then putting words to action, he too left.
"Are those notes going to do you any good?" Sirius asked, putting his cup down and standing. He wanted to walk around a bit. His legs were asleep. He and Bill had been sitting too long, going over strategies. Like what to do about Umbridge.
"Oh, yeah, like I told Alastor, they are very good," Bill said, folding the paper and putting it in his pocket.
"Great, I'm going to join Moony in the kitchen, feel free to hit the library. I'll tell an elf to open it for you. Who knows, you might find something to make your easy job easier," Sirius said, heading for the door.
"I'll do that," Bill said, joining him.
Sirius did call Kreacher and had him let Bill in the library, then he joined the teens and his friend. They spent the next two hours going over pranks and Quidditch. Everyone was comparing notes, even Hermione. They had thought up some elaborate schemes, that the twins couldn't wait to enact.
Dinner was served right before the meeting, those that were going to be in the meeting Flooed in and sat drinking tea or coffee, whichever they preferred. When dinner was over the kids, bar Harry and the twins, left. But not without a lot of grumbling. Andi made sure they all headed upstairs and got ready for bed. Not that they had a curfew, but at least they were staying out of trouble.
Everyone that was going to the meeting was there in the kitchen. Sirius and Alastor both put up some impressive wards. Amelia wanted to add a few of her own, but trusted Moody to plug up any holes.
"Great," Sirius said, sitting at the head of the table, "everyone is here. Does everyone know everyone else?" he asked, looking around to see if they did.
There were nods all around. Even the twins knew everyone since their dad work with most here.
"Amy, glad you could come," Sirius said, giving her a winning grin.
"Don't call me Amy," she snapped. "I happen to like my name, unlike others." She mock glared at Tonks.
Tonks saw her look and shrugged. She made no qualms about telling anybody and everybody that she detested her name.
"Sorry, sorry," Sirius said, not looking sorry at all. "Okay, Moody and Moony have figured out that Riddle is hiding out at Malfoy Manor. They've given the ward plans to Bill here. We're going to take our time and suss it all out."
"I looked up a few things in the library," Bill said, pulling out Moody's notes. "I am positive that I can circumvent them with little problem," he added smugly.
"Who is this Riddle person, and why is he hiding? I thought you said Voldemort was hiding there? Oh," Amelia said, as it dawned on her that it might be Voldemort's real name.
She didn't like that they were working as vigilantes. However, they couldn't work with the Aurors because Fudge was in denial. Damn that man anyway. He tied her hands at every effort she made to fight a war. Since Harry and Sirius had come to her office, she had been putting things into motion, on the sly. But like she said, her hands were tied, so she couldn't do much. Stupid politics.
"Yeah, we found out how Riddle, or Voldy as you know him, is still among us," Sirius answered, pulling out the vial if stuff that came out of Harry. He leaned over and handed it to her. "Like is said earlier, he made horcruxes."
"And this is one of them" she asked, eyeballing the vial.
"It's the remains of one," Bill explained, watching her face to see her reaction.
"Oh, dear Merlin, and you just handed it to me?" she gasped, dropping the vial on the table.
"We've destroyed two, accidently, there are two here. The rest as you see are going to be hard to get," Moody said, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, Sirius told me this morning that they had been destroyed," she agreed, knowing that if anyone could help, it would be Mad-Eye Moody. "I looked over the list he gave me, and if you're right and they are in Malfoy Manor, then yes, they will be hard to get to. Especially if… Riddle is there," she said, adjusting her monocle.
"We're making a plan," Bill assured her. "Plausible deniability on your part," he hinted, giving her a wink, when made her frown.
"I see," was all she said.
"Until then, Tonks, you had news," Sirius said, directing his and everyone else's attention to the Metamorphmagus.
"Yeah, I heard a rumor that I'm sure is 100% true," the young woman said, her hair turning a bright blue. "It's been bandied about the Ministry that Umbridge is the one who sent the Dementors after Harry," she said anger in her voice.
"Is there proof?" Amelia asked instantly, writing that down on her notebook. She hadn't had time to look into it after they had left. Honestly, she was more worried about Riddle. Now that Tonks was offering her a lead, she might just be able to finally put that pink monstrosity in prison.
"No," was the frustrated answer, making many of them frown. "What the rumors says, is that she had orders from Fudge to silence Harry. Unless she slipped up and left a written order, I'm not sure how you can pin it on her."
"Wait, she wanted to kill me?" Harry asked angrily. "I don't even know the woman. I've only met her once, and I can tell you that, yeah, come to think of it, she seems the type."
"It's worse," Amelia said, putting her notepad down. "She's going to be teaching at Hogwarts," she dropped that bombshell.
"Fuck," Harry said, throwing himself back in his chair.
"I'd say 'language', but I happen to agree. Whose bright idea was that… never mind, Fudge, right?" Sirius said, his hands clenching in rage.
"Got it in one. From what I understand, Malfoy has been whispering in his ear that Dumbledore wants his job and is forming an army of students to get it from him. Nothing will sway him from this," Bones said, shaking her head at the Minster's stupidity.
Everyone knows Dumbledore doesn't want that position. He had been content with the three he had. He had lost two, due to Fudge, but Amelia would bet her pension that those would be handed back to the man the second that Voldemort was declared alive. She also knew that there was no way to stop it.
In her opinion that was too much power for one man.
"Good thing I'm not going back to Hogwarts, but what of my friends. If she's out to 'silence' me then she might use them," Harry said, a great deal of defeat in his voice.
"Hey, Tonks, can you get some time off, say, I don't know, about a year. Maybe, talk to your boss, Amelia *hint, hint*," Sirius asked, making everyone perk up.
"I'm not changing my naughty bits," the Metamorphmagus stated firmly, making quite a few of them chuckle. "I also don't think I want to spend a year in the boys' dormitory," she added, huffing a bit.
"Yeah, that might be a problem," Alastor agreed.
"Well, what if you slept somewhere else?" Harry asked, thinking of the room Dobby told them about.
"What do you mean?" Tonks inquired, lifting an eyebrow in question.
"Well, Dobby, my house elf friend, told me that there was a room on the seventh floor that can turn into anything you wanted. So, you could have it turn into a flat, or something, then you wouldn't have to sleep with blokes," the teen said, tapping is finger on the table.
"Why have I never heard of the room?" asked both Remus and Sirius.
"Well, from what Dobby told me, it's a blank wall until you call it," Harry tried to explain. "That's pretty much all I know about it. You'd have to talk to Dobby to find out more."
"That's a great idea, but how would she get around the bed checks?" Bill asked, remembering all the times he got caught sneaking around the castle.
"McGonagall doesn't do bed checks," Fred said, wondering when that changed.
"Yeah, she's never done one while we've been there," George agreed, looking confused.
"Still, we might want to bring her in on this part of our plan. That way she can run interference with Albus, and Umbridge," Moody said, adding his two knuts worth.
"Good idea. No reason to bring her all the way in, but that might work," Sirius agreed. "Still, a vow would not go amiss. I know she's tight with Albus, so I want some insurance that she won't go running to him," he added.
"That would make it better, but I'm not sure I can pull being you off very well," Tonks said, going over what she knew about the teen in her mind.
"If I put you on undercover duty, you can start tonight, that way you can spend the next few weeks shadowing him, and get some of his quirks down," Amelia said, liking the idea that one of her Auror would be in the castle where her niece slept.
"I think," started Remus, "that you might not be there that long." He rubbed his chin in thought.
"Why do you say that?" Kingsley asked, pulling out his own notepad.
"I think that Umbridge will break the law sooner, rather than later. When she does, Tonks here can arrest her," the werewolf said, winking at Tonks.
"Oh, I like how you think," the currently blue-haired woman said, winking back.
"While you guys scheme this up. I'm going to pay a visit to the toad tomorrow," Sirius said, his face set in granite.
"Don't go doing anything I'd have to arrest you for. You know that there are quite a few people looking for a reason to get you tossed back in Azkaban. Dumbledore being on the forefront," Amelia said, cleaning her eyepiece. "Well, not really, but he does seem to be paying extra special attention to you and Harry."
"What are we going to do about Dumbledore?" the dogman asked exasperated.
"You leave Albus to me," Moody answered, his electric blue eye swirling around in its socket. "I've known him longer than all of you, so I'll tend to him and his pet Death Eater."
"Tonks," Amelia said, "while you're there, keep an eye on Snape."
"You bet," the Auror replied with a wicked grin. Payback is a bitch.
"What do you want us to do?" Fred asked, reminding everyone that they were there.
"Yeah, besides watching out for the others, is there something we can do?" George concurred.
"I have a spell I want to teach you two. There's a horcrux at the school that needs finding," Bill said, pulling out a piece of parchment and asking Amelia for her pen. "I was going to talk to you after the meeting, but… well, see me then and I'll teach it to you, and you too, Tonks," he said, reaching across the table for the writing implement.
Bones handed it to him, and he wrote the spell down, copied it twice and hand it to the three. He then gave Amelia back her pen.
"Good idea," Remus said, nodding in agreement.
"Come see me tomorrow, Tonks. I want to talk to my brothers tonight," Bill stated, seeing they were reading the spell, "and I'll make sure you get it down. If you find what we're looking for, just leave it there and call us. I'm sure we can sneak into the castle to retrieve it," he added, glaring at the twins.
"We will, no worries," Fred said, looking at the spell. It didn't seem hard.
"Yeah, if it's to do with Riddle, I don't want to touch it," George said, also reading the spell.
"I've got some two-way mirrors I need to dig up. I've only got two, so you two will have to share," Sirius said, going over in his mind where he last left them.
"I can make more," Remus offered.
"We share everything," the twins said haughtily.
"Everything?" both Tonks and Harry teased.
"Yes, take that as you will," they replied, going cross-eyed at the teasing pair.
"Just joking," Fred said, laughing at the looks on everyone's face.
"Yeah, we keep the naughty bits separate," George stated, he too laughing.
"Thank Merlin," Bill grumbled, needing to bleach his brain on that one.
"Bill," Kingsley said, grabbing the curse-breakers attention, "what about the one at Gringotts. You are our only lead there."
"I'm going to talk to my boss tomorrow. If I tell him what it is, who it belongs to, I'm sure that there must be a way to get it," Bill replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't positive that that would be the outcome, but he had to try.
"That might work," Kingsley said, making a note.
"Sirius," the redhead said, bringing the other man's attention away from teasing the twins, "it might help if you came with me," he said, looking toward the older man. "I'm pretty sure someone in your family, or connected to your family, is hiding it in their vault," he added, giving him an inquiring look.
"I was going there anyway," the dogman replied with a shrug.
"Am I still coming?" Harry wanted to know.
"Why wouldn't you be?" was the rejoinder.
"Well if that… woman is out to kill me, aren't you going to keep me here?" the teen asked, knowing that's what the Headmaster would have done.
"Harry, you are fifteen years old, I think you can handle yourself with us around. All you would have to do if trouble started was to get out of the way," his brother told him. "I know Albus wanted to wrap you up in cotton, but that's not the way life works. Hiding didn't help your parents, or the Longbottoms. I don't mean to be tactless, but it is the truth," Sirius said with a sigh.
"Alright, and thanks," Harry said, happy that he wasn't going to be confined to this house. The thought of his parents was a bit of a downer, but he could see the wisdom in those words.
"Anything else to discuss?" Sirius asked, looking around the room.
"Yeah, I have something," Tonks said, perking up a bit. "Mum wants to know why you are still letting Malfoy have you seat on the Board of Governors, and the Wizengamot."
"That slimy bastard has been sitting in my seat?" Sirius said, slamming his hand on the table. "Whose bright idea… Fudge. I'm going to bury that man, you just wait and see if I don't," he promised, angry and hating that so much had gone wrong due to his illegal incarceration.
"Not that it helps, but those seats are entailed, so there might be a precedent. You'd have to look, and talk to your lawyer," Kingsley stated, going over what he knew about that type of stuff.
"You bet, I'm talking to Waters first thing in the morning," Sirius said, still seething. "Actually, I'll Floo him when we're done."
"Hey, I thought Malfoy was kicked off the Board?" Harry said, remembering what Dumbledore had told him. Well, not to him, but at Malfoy.
"He bought his way back on," grumbled Tonks. "I'm sure he used persuasion too."
"Oh, yeah, he's a bastard," Harry said, watching his new brother's face get redder.
"I'm going to kill him," Sirius stated, still fuming. Who knows what laws that Dark wizard passed using his vote? Or what he did under the Black name to the school. Well, he'd find out and fix it, that's for sure.
"Go to the Ministry tomorrow, you were planning to anyway, and claim them back. You might even be able to impose a penalty for the slight. Like Shacklebolt said, talk to your lawyer," Amelia stated, reaching over and covering his hand. They didn't need him going off half-cocked.
Sirius took a deep breath, once, twice, three times. He relaxed a bit and looked at Amelia. "Thanks, I needed that. Well, that and a shot of firewhiskey," he said, settling back in his chair.
"Good, now that that is over, I think we've done all we can for the night. I have to get home, I don't want Susan alone longer than necessary," Bones said, standing up and putting her notebook away.
Thanks to Harry's warning, she had beefed up her wards. Still, wards fall, and Susan was there alone. If she continued to come to these meetings, then she'd have to ask if her niece could come too.
"Yeah, I'm knackered," Remus said, giving out a jaw breaking yawn, "so I'm headed to bed."
"Okay, meeting over. You can use the same rooms you did last night," Sirius said, everyone standing at his words. "Harry, Fred, George, you can tell the others about Umbridge, but nothing else, okay?" he looked at the teens.
"Not a problem," Harry said as the twins nodded.
"Maybe, we can have Hermione tell us more about her plan. She's going to need to know what's happening on that front," Fred said, started to leave.
"Can we tell them about Tonks?" George asked, putting a hand on his twin's shoulder, making his brother stop for a moment.
"Yeah, that too, I guess. It's not like we can hide it," Sirius agreed, putting his arm over Harry's shoulder and keeping him there while everyone else left.
The twins nodded and left to talk to Bill, then they'd hunt the rest down and tell them what they could.
"Are you sure you want to stay here?" Sirius asked one more time, after everyone else left the room.
"Yeah, especially since that woman is going to be at Hogwarts. Are you going to reclaim your seats?" the teen asked stifling a yawn.
"You bet your arse I am. And I'm going to make quite a few people's lives a living hell," the dogman said maliciously.
"Good," was all the answer needed.
They headed out of the kitchen when a voice drew them back.
"Sirius, are you there?"