He was letting Lucius's crimes slip…he was letting Draco suffer at the hands of his father, just so that he could save more lives later down the line when Voldemort inevitably returned.
"You think I shouldn't?" Harry's voice was unsure when he asked Hedwig this question.
Hedwig's voice lacked any edge when she replied, "I'm not your moral compass Harry. I stay with you as long as you have your heart in the right place. If you would have shot that arrow through Lisa's heart without listening to me back then, I would still have stayed with you. It's not up to me to decide what is good or bad. I can only see your intention, and your intention every time, even now, has been to do good. The definition of that good, however, is for you to decide. Not me. Not anyone else. You."
Harry thought over it for a while, before he hesitantly replied, "I…I want to do this. For now at least. Logic tells me that Voldemort would be more devastating a problem that Lucius is now. I can counter Lucius, maybe even control him to some degree, but Voldemort is just…destruction. I could just take Malfoy out after Voldemort is gone for good."
"If that is what you think is right, then I'm with you. All the way."
There was nothing but pure honesty in Hedwig's voice when she said that, and Harry appreciated it.
They lapsed into silence after that, Harry pondering the conversation that he had just had with his phoenix familiar and Hedwig going back to whatever she did to entertain herself in Harry's pocket.
As long as she didn't try to peck Harry's nipple off, he wasn't going to complain.
Soon, Nicholas came out of the Interrogation room and they headed out into the 2nd Floor corridor, where Nicholas told Harry to wait for him for a second and promptly excused himself to the bathroom.
As Harry waited, he curiously watched the uniformed people who walked in and out of the door to the Auror Headquarters, levitating baskets full of rocks in front of them.
Inconspicuously walking closer to the stream of people who were walking in and out of the huge pair of doors, Harry listened for any indication of what was actually going on. His answer came fairly soon in the form of a bearded Auror standing just outside the doors who was loudly giving instructions to a younger looking Auror who was apparently a Trainee.
"Oi Jeremy! I need you to get this to the Department of Magical History." The older of the two said, handing his own basket full of rocks over to the younger Auror, who seemed to be trembling with nervousness.
"Sir! Yes, sir!" the younger Auror nervously said as he took the basket, "If it's alright to ask sir, what are these?"
"Just a bunch of rocks and things from the Chamber of Secrets," the older Auror nonchalantly said, "The guys over at the Department of Magical History are trying to see if any of these are magic or not."
"Sir! Understood sir!"
"Oh shut up," the older Auror grumbled as he headed back into the Auror Headquarters, "Loosen up a little will ya."
The younger Auror looked downtrodden, but Harry didn't have his focus on that. He had something else on his mind.
'The rocks could be magical? What did that mean? Did they have some sort of strange properties? Were they layered with listening charms or something?' he curiously thought.
Quickly switching to Mage Sight before Jeremy the Auror could take the baskets out of sight, Harry looked over the piles upon piles of rocks.
There was no significant glow coming from the rocks that anyone in the stream of people around him was carrying, that could signify any significant magic, but what was interesting was the greenish rectangular shaped glow that shone through the pile of rocks in Jeremy's basket.
Frowning, Harry cast an Observe on it.
Founders Clue #2!
Memory Page (2/4)
A piece of paper capable of showing the user a pre-programmed memory once the paper's password is written on it. This particular memory page was created 982 AD.
Password: Speak to me Slytherin. Scourge of the Hogwarts Four
Harry's eyes widened as he read the Observe screen.
That day, the paper that had been inconspicuously lodged between the rocks of Jeremy the Auror's basket never made it to the Department of Magical History.
Margaret Turpin had mixed feelings about her daughter being kidnapped from her jail cell.
On one hand, it was hard to argue that it was not a good thing, considering the fact that she would surely have been sentenced to Azkaban or even Kissed if she had been brought to the court. But on the other hand, now her little girl was out there alone, hurt and damaged as she was being hunted by the Law Enforcement. And worst of all, she, her mother, had no idea where she was.
All those thoughts and more idly churned through her mind as she washed the silverware for the third time. There was no point to it. No one other than the occasional guest even used the silverware, and she hadn't really had any guests ever since the Trial debacle had started.
At this point, the chores were just there as a distraction from the dark thoughts that threatened to take her over every single day.
A persistent knock on the window glass startled Margaret out of her thoughts. Swiftly turning around, she looked at the kitchen window before sighing with relief.
It was Birdabo, her boss Esther's tawny owl.
Opening the window, she let the bird in, taking the envelope tied to his leg before serving up a bowl of water for the avian messenger. With a tired hoot, Birdabo started drinking it up.
Margaret opened the envelope, and a note and a second envelope fell out. Picking up the note, she read through it first.
Dear Margaret,
You won't BELIEVE this! Oh my goodness, I'm SO happy for you! The letter came in to the office this morning, and I know you're on leave today but I just couldn't wait for you to come back in tomorrow.
Oh and accept it. That's an order. A change of air will do you good.
Love,
Esther McGoogly
Curious about what was in the other envelope now, Margaret tore it open, pulling out the letter inside.
Margaret Turpin,
This is to inform you that due to your exemplary work in previous projects with the Ministry of Magic in the Archives section, you have been chosen as the Ministry's Research Assistant and Ambassador to the Nepalese government.
Since Nepal is not a member of the ICW and is not a region with strong diplomatic ties to Britain, you will be working alongside Albus Dumbledore to strengthen our ties with them while studying their rich culture and magic as well as the ways of the people of that region.
This new promotion comes with several benefits, including a raised salary and Ministry provided housing during your visit to Nepal. However, it is mandatory for you to leave for Nepal as soon as possible for a very long stay there.
Please contact Albus Dumbledore for further details.
Signed: Gregory Marlin (Head of British Ministry of Magic Employment Services)
Cosigned: Albus Percival Wulfric Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)
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