The day after Oliver Twist's defence article, the Leaky Cauldron was packed with people.
"Ah can't believe tha' th' Minister dared t' accuse a teenager o' lyin'!" One of the regulars exclaimed angrily. "Goin' 'gainst a boy! Makin' sure tha' th' boy can't e'en defend himself by not e'en invitin' him! Tha's despicable! Ah wonder how we c'd e'er think th' Minister was doin' us righ'!"
A lot of others nodded at that.
Tom meanwhile shook his head, looking at the newspaper.
"The lad has helped us a lot 'till now," he said. "And considering the things the lad has found out 'bout our Minister, I'm not sure how long that man will be able to keep his place at the top. We definitely don't need someone who goes against teenagers while at the same time playing with our laws himself!"
A lot of the patrons nodded in agreement at that.
"Iffn th' Minister doesn' straight'n up soon, mayhap he sh'd be replaced," one of the more hag-like woman in the Leaky Cauldron said. Others nodded in agreement.
"Ah'm definitely wif th' lad if Ah'm asked," another wizard said. "He's definitely got th' better arguments!"
"Aye," others said in agreement.
"Yeah," another part exclaimed.
Tom guessed that the Minister might have done himself no favour when he went to the Wizarding Wireless to speak up against Oliver Twist. Maybe a year ago, people would have bought into his claims, but since then Oliver Twist had emerged and become the voice of justice in this dark, dreary world. The lad had challenged people, had pointed out truths and he had made sure that whoever wanted to look up his claims, would have no trouble verifying them.
Maybe Tom had to admit in easing the verification by adding some prove to his counter next to the newspaper - but then, he was a simple innkeeper; who would suspect an innkeeper like him when it came to influencing the public by making them verify the things written down in their paper…?
Tom smiled inwardly, righting the pages that showed an excerpt of the log book of Azkaban as well as several excerpts of laws mentioned in the article and some statements of students about the mentioned issues.
Some of those things, Tom had put together himself, other had been left with him by an old friend of his father and again others had accumulated after people saw that Tom didn't mind if somebody put down their written statement about the year before last at Hogwarts. A lot of those who wrote down their experience where passer-bys who had back then still been students. Others were the parents of said students.
Tom suppressed another grin, when a new statement was added by one Oliver Wood to the pile already there.
Without looking at it, Tom reached into his pocket and touched the paper slip inside.
" Some evidence for your collection, my friend, " the slip read. " I am thoroughly baffled that the Minister's lackeys haven't seen your contribution to those articles, yet. Sincerely, Sal Sanctuary."
Tom definitely wondered if the Minister would ever find out that one of the reasons why his plan so thoroughly backfired was the man who served him his after-work fire whiskey.
Probably not.
"Heir Black," Augusta addressed the younger man frowning. "I am not quite sure that your idea is the best way to go ahead with our search."
Regulus looked at her, innocent in his eyes.
"Madam Longbottom," he said. "We need to get more information on the Gaunts. We've looked through all your books but just knowing the family history won't be enough. We need tangible information."
"So you want to break into the Ministry," Augusta said frowning.
Regulus looked at her innocently.
"It would be the fastest way," he said. "And I don't plan on breaking into the Ministry. I thought that you would distract the clerk who's monitoring the knowledge about the estates of wizarding nobility while I search the information about the Gaunts and copy them."
"That's still breaking into the Ministry, Heir Black!" Augusta replied. "You're planning theft!"
Regulus shrugged.
"I'd say I borrow some things I need," he corrected her, still looking as innocent as he managed. "It's not as if I plan on removing anything that would be missed, after all."
"Heir Black!"
Regulus' face turned serious.
"It's this or running around the country, hoping for a lead," he replied.
"There has to be -"
"We don't have time to search for another way," Regulus said. "We all know that the Dark Lord will return to the public as soon as he has gathered his army. If we want to stop him before it comes to an all-out war, we have to do it now!"
Augusta frowned at that.
"But why didn't you stop him before he returned?" She asked concerned.
Regulus sighed.
"Sal told me that he couldn't act until after the Dark Lord regained his body," he said. "Without his body the Dark Lord would have felt the destruction of most of his Horcruxes. And as a wraith he would have been able to intercept the destruction. He would have been able to stop us. Now, that he has a body again, he won't feel the destruction of most of his devices meaning that he won't be able to stop us until it's too late."
Augusta narrowed her eyes.
"You said 'the most of his devices'," she repeated.
Regulus shrugged.
"There's a chance that he will notice it when he has lost the most of them. The pull towards death will be stronger the more of his devices are destroyed. But he won't be able to notice it until he's mostly gone already - if he isn't preoccupied. If he is, the chances that he won't notice until they're all gone is quite high," Regulus replied.
Augusta sighed.
"Still," she said. "Breaking into the Ministry -"
Regulus tried another innocent look on the Longbottom matriarch.
"Nobody will ever find out," he said. "It's not as if anybody would suspect Regulus Black and Augusta Longbottom when they find out that somebody took some things from the Ministry."
August opened her mouth to object, but then closed it again.
She sighed.
"I guess you're right, Heir Black," she said, giving in.
"So… we're breaking into the Ministry?" Regulus asked interested.
Augusta raised an eyebrow.
"I thought we don't break in anywhere," she said dryly.
Regulus nodded seriously.
"Of course not," he said, sounding as serious as he could manage. "We're just visiting and borrowing some things."
Augusta had to fight hard to not roll her eyes at that. Regrettably, a lady didn't roll her eyes - even if she wished to do so sometimes…
At Hogwarts, the latest article and the interview with the Wizarding Wireless was also one of the important gossip pieces.
"I think the Minister's actions were utterly despicable," Minerva McGonagall huffed while leaning back in her chair in the staff room. "Going verbally against a child without even having the decency to invite it so that it could actually defend itself - despicable, really!"
"Well, it definitely wasn't the first time," Poppy Pomphrey replied sighing.
McGonagall frowned.
"What are you talking about, Poppy?"
The nurse shrugged.
"We all know that he proclaimed Potter and his friends confounded nearly two years ago and he went against Potter's claim of You-Know-Who's return by actually slandering the boy!" Pomphrey said. "I'm definitely not surprised that he tried to do the same again this time around. It worked the last two times, after all…"
"You sound as if you don't believe it will this time around, Poppy," Pomona Sprout entered the conversation surprised.
"Of course it won't!" Filius Flitwick, the diminutive Charm's master exclaimed. "Potter might have shown hesitance in using the press to reach his goals - Twist on the other hand has been using the press all year to get out his own opinion! Like the counter article shows, Twist won't sit back and let the Minister walk all over him. Twist lives for the confrontation - and I bet that this won't be the last time he'll confront anyone in public."
Albus Dumbledore frowned at that.
"So you think that he will do that again?" He asked concerned.
The Charms master shrugged.
"Certainly," he said. "If the Minister doesn't back down or if someone else tries to confront Twist…"
The Headmaster's brows furrowed further at that.
"Maybe we should start looking into Twist further," he said. "It won't do us any good if he manages to split the unity of the British wizarding world now that Voldemort's back. It will just aid the dark elements if we can't unite us because of some minor misunderstandings."
Filius Flitwick frowned at that.
"I don't think that Twist is the one destroying our unity," he finally said. "The boy is trying to right our world. He's trying to make us see reason, to open our eyes to the faults of our current situation. I'm sure that his articles and his ability to make people think will just aid against You-Know-Who and his cohorts, not hinder our side."
Albus Dumbledore just smiled benignantly.
"Nevertheless, don't forget the saying 'The way to hell is paved with good intentions'," he reminded them. "Mr. Twist might be too young to understand this, so we definitely have to find him and explain to him that there are better times than now to show his displeasure with our current leadership. Now we have to fight - afterwards we can take the time and look at politics."
A lot of the teachers nodded at that.
Only Flitwick shook his head sighing while Snape barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes, scoffing nearly silently.
"I'm not even sure if the Headmaster understands the meaning of that saying."
Filius Flitwick, surprisingly, was thinking along the same ways.
Later that day a new secret of Hogwarts started to come together the first time.
While thanks to the new Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor Hogwarts had started to change - yes, that woman had started up her inquisition not only of the teachers but of Hogwarts' social live - a few determined Gryffindors had decided to act and put together a group to safe their OWL grates in Defence.
They had spread the word by mouth, hoping to reach all those people who wanted to learn Defence without reaching those that were utterly loyal to the new High Inquisitor - that promotion had happened just a day before, shortly after the interview in the Wizarding Wireless.
Spreading word had gone well. They had told those they trusted the time and date of the first meeting, telling them that if they trusted someone else, to bring them along as well. Harry had insisted that nobody was discriminated just because a house or his or her parents. If you trusted the person, then you could invite them along.
Hermione had guessed that they would maybe be ten or fifteen students at most.
She was quite surprised when stepping into the room she saw the people who were willing to train with them in secret. She hadn't thought that that many people were willing to break school rules and start a secret club.
There were even quite a lot Slytherins in the crowd, all of them looking a little bit hesitating to mingle with the other houses, yet willing to stand among them and work with them.
Hermione wondered who had had the guts to invite them along to the ride. She hadn't thought that anybody in the other three houses was close enough to a Slytherin to believe that they wouldn't squeal on them on the first opportunity.
She would have been shocked if she had known that the person who did it was standing currently right next to her.
Harry - standing next to her - looked quite smug.
"Seems like they took the bait," he said half-amused, half-relieved.
Ron looked a little bit ill at that.
"So you'll force us to work together with Slytherins now?" He asked a little bit green in the face at that thought.
Harry threw him a half-annoyed look, then stepped up in front of the crowd.
"Welcome to the old training hall of Hogwarts," he told them.
It had been Harry who picked the location and made sure that everybody knew how to find it. Hermione had never heard about the training area they were inhabiting right now, but Harry seemed to know it well enough.
She wondered how long he had known of the location and how he had learned about it. She was quite sure that it wasn't on the map.
The crowd quietened when Harry's voice echoed of the walls.
"We're here because the current teacher for Defence is more than inadequate. At the same time we need to know those things we should learn in that class to pass our OWLs," Harry continued to say. A lot of the people in front of him nodded at that exclamation. "So here we are - every one of Hogwarts who's interested to learn more Defence than what is currently taught by our… dear Professor of Defence."
There was a murmur at that, finally one of the Slytherins spoke up.
"Tell me, Potter, who's planning to teach us? I can only see students in this room," Theodore Nott said, looking around frowning.
"Well, we planned Harry teaching us," Hermione spoke up nervously. When the others started to whisper at that, most of them not sounding too sure about that, she continued hastily. "He's the best in Defence class in our year," she said. "He also knows a lot more than us about Defence - so he's a good choice!"
Draco Malfoy sneered at that, but before he could say anything about Hermione's exclamation, Nott spoke up.
"I guess you are right, Granger," he said gruffly. "Potter is the best in Defence we have in our year. He has proven it by winning the Triwizard tournament last year. Still, who will teach Potter so that he can teach us? It's not as if he knows all the spells up to the OWLs, does he?"
At that, Hermione looked a little bit uncertain at the crowd. She was surprised when Harry spoke up.
"I do know them," he said. "I know not only the spells in Defence up to the OWLs, but also at least up to the NEWTs. If I wanted to, I could write my NEWTs tomorrow."
Hermione looked at Harry in surprise - she hadn't known that as well.
Malfoy frowned.
"Can you prove it?" He asked icily.
Harry shrugged, then he gestured to one of the seventh years.
"If you don't trust me, I can duel one of your seventh years - or whoever you want me to. If I win, it should prove that I am able to teach you things. If I'm not then we still can look for another teacher for this Defence Association," he said amused.
Hermione send an unsure look at Harry, but the boy didn't look at her at all.
The Slytherins exchanged a look with each other, then one of them, a seventh year, stepped forward.
"I am willing to duel you, Potter," the seventh year said.
Harry looked at the older boy with a cool, assessing eye.
Then he nodded, pulled out his wand and raised a duelling platform out of the ground with a casual flick of his wand.
The seventh year raised a surprised eyebrow at that.
Hermione stared.
She had seen Harry perform in class, speaking each spell like the rest of his year did. To see him use magic without saying anything was surprising, at least.
The other students in the room exchanged glances with their neighbour at that.
Harry meanwhile didn't even seem to think that he had done something surprising, because he walked to the platform and hopped on top of it.
"Well," he said, turning to the Slytherin seventh year. "You coming?"
The Slytherin hesitated for a moment, then he nodded and stepped onto the platform as well.
"We need a referee," he said.
Harry inclined his head at that, then looked around the room.
"Maybe a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff seventh year?" He asked.
One of the Ravenclaws stepped forward.
"I'll do it," she said and Hermione thought that finding a seventh year in this room was no problem at all. It looked as if nearly the whole school had decided to come.
She wondered how many of them were willing to tell Umbridge about their little rebellion, but Harry had insisted on asking everybody if they started their little club.
In his eyes it wouldn't be fair if they didn't ask everybody if they decided to teach anybody.
So they had spread the word as good as they could.
Hermione just wondered how long it would take until Umbridge heard about their doings. The vile woman would use that to add another Education Decree to those she had already added to the school over the last months.
Hermione sometimes wondered if Harry was aiming for the decree…
"Alright," the seventh year Ravenclaw referee said in that moment. "Ready?"
The opponents nodded both.
"Begin!"
The duel, Hermione observed, was somehow anticlimactic.
The Slytherin seventh year was good - but he had no chance against Harry.
Every spell the Slytherin threw, Harry countered, stopped or dodged - the last one not that often, since it obviously wouldn't show his skills and the duel was to assert his skills in defence and not solely in dodging.
In the end, Harry changed from his defensive stance to the offence. His wand, instead of performing silent counters, suddenly stabbed the air harshly and rapidly. The spells he threw at the Seventh year were too fast to counter for the other student.
He was felled by the first before the rest even hit.
Harry just waited for a moment until the Ravenclaw had proclaimed him the winner of the duel, then he waved his wand again and performed the counter.
Harry didn't even look out of breath.
"Anybody else?" He asked amused. The other students, even the Slytherins shook their head and some even took a step backwards.
It was his Slytherin opponent who spoke up first.
"I think you clearly showed us that you can trounce even the seventh years," he said while taking Harry's hand to stand up. "The only thing you need to learn is to step out of the way of a spell instead of countering it."
Harry snorted at that.
"Normally I would have sidestepped nearly all of your spells," he replied. "I just didn't think that it would have showed up my knowledge if I simply sidestepped everything."
The seventh year Slytherin blinked at that, then he nodded slowly, clearly contemplating Harry's answer.
"I guess you're right," he said. "And even if you're lying. You know the spells - and that's what we're here to learn. That should be enough."
"Well," Hermione batted in at that. "Now that we've decided who'll train us, I've got a list for you to write down your name so that we know whose part of this group."
She had prepared that paper before and she was quite happy with that, considering that they had that many people who might go to the new Defence Professor and tell her about their little group…
"The list is hexed," she warned nevertheless. "We need to make sure that we know if someone goes squealing on us."
The other students looked at each other at that, some looking quite unsure after hearing that announcement. To Hermione's surprise, the Slytherins only nodded and then the first held out their hand for the quill.
"Good idea," the Slytherin said. "That should make people think twice about going to dear Umbridge."
And Hermione wondered if she might have picked some of the Slytherins wrong.
After the first signing, the rest swiftly followed.
Those who were already done signing were taken aside by Harry who set them up with a target and some basic spells.
"I will start from the beginning," he warned them. "Those who already know the spells show me and if I'm certain that you are able to cast them, I will give you some others to practise."
All in all, Hermione definitely didn't regret to ask Harry to teach.
He seemed to have memorised a list of spells or something because he had no trouble at all to set up even those students who were already able to cast the first spells he had told them to do.
Hermione also noticed that some students of the older years knew a lot less spells than others. Harry didn't seem to mind that, his system not based on year but on knowledge.
After another hour of training, he stopped everyone.
"Well," he said. "That's it for today. Hermione's got some fake galleons for you that will tell you the time of our next meeting the moment we've set it up."
"Wait!" That was Ginny Weasley.
Everyone stopped in whatever they were doing.
"What about naming this group?" She asked.
Others nodded.
Hermione looked at Harry, while Harry clearly thought it over.
"Alright," he finally said. "I guess we will have to name this group something else than 'Study group of Defence to work against the faulty ideas of Ministry Employees'."
Some of the students snorted in amusement at that. Hermione send Harry an exasperated look. Harry just shrugged as an answer while the students all came back to surround them.
"Well, as you wished - the only thing left for today is giving our Defence Association a name," Harry said, slightly amused.
Some of the Slytherins exchanged a look at that.
"Didn't you already call it 'Defence Association', Potter?" Malfoy drawled at that, rolling his eyes.
Harry just shrugged.
"Ginny didn't seem to like it," he replied amused.
Ginny blushed.
"I don't think that 'Defence Association' sounds very… aggressive," she mumbled. "It doesn't sound like we fight against the stupidity of the Ministry, and all…"
"And you want it to sound aggressive?" Malfoy drawled.
Ginny shrugged, but other students nodded.
"Aggressive definitely sounds right to me," one of the Ravenclaws replied. "We should at least try to make it sound as if we're unhappy with the Ministry or some such…"
"So what? You want to call it the 'Ministry Sucks Group'?" Nott said amused.
A lot of the students grinned or chuckled at that. Even Harry's face showed clear amusement.
"Something like that definitely would do some good for this group," he said snorting. A lot of other students nodded.
Malfoy sighed at that, oddly resigned already for someone who had been Harry's enemy until just a few months ago.
"Alright," he drawled. "But I'm not for 'The Ministry Sucks Group'. Find something else!"
At that, a discussion started and ideas were thrown around.
"How 'bout 'Down With Umbitch Group'?" A Gryffindor suggested.
"How about 'We're Learning Anyway Group'?" A Ravenclaw replied.
"Or 'Hogwarts United'?" A Hufflepuff added.
In that moment, a nearly insane grin split Harry's face.
It was oddly disconcerting to see, considering that Harry was a lot more stoic since the beginning of the year, Hermione thought.
She also wasn't the only one seeing that grin.
"Alright, Potter," Malfoy said. "What did your idiotic brain come up with to call this… club?"
Everyone quieted at that exclamation, turning to Harry and Malfoy.
Harry's grin broadened.
"Dumbledore's Army," he said, fletching blinding white teeth at the Malfoy heir. "We're calling it exactly what the Minister is fearing that Dumbledore is doing. There's definitely nothing more aggressive than adding to the enemies' fears."
There was some commotion at that, then a lot of people nodded.
"Definitely a good one," a Ravenclaw said. "And we could shorten it to 'D.A.' so that nobody knows what we're talking about." A lot of the Ravenclaws nodded at that, clearly liking the name.
"It also implies that we're one and won't stand for the Ministry's manipulations of our lessons," one of the Hufflepuff's said. Other Hufflepuffs and a lot of Gryffindors nodded their consent.
"It's also definitively aggressive," Ginny Weasley said. "I like it!" The most of the room nodded at that.
Then Harry's exclamation seemed to reach Malfoys brain.
"Dumbledore's Army?!" he screeched, his eyes nearly bugging out of his face. "We're not calling this little club 'Dumbledore's Army'! There're Slytherin's in the room - there's no way we won't object to that name!"
Some of the Slytherins nodded at that, others didn't really seem to care.
Harry just shrugged.
"We could also call it 'Dolores' Angels'," he suggested reasonably. "Like that it's more backwards-aggressive, but aggressive nevertheless, considering that we're doing the exact opposite to what the toad wants us to do…"
"It should definitely appeal to your Slytherin senses," Ginny Weasley said frowning. "I wouldn't object to that as well."
A lot of people thought that over and nodded, others looked like they were about to get sick.
Malfoy on the other hand yelped at that.
There was silence in the room for at least a minute or two, then Nott coughed and spoke up when it was obvious that Malfoy wasn't going to do it any time soon.
"Dumbledore's Army's fine, Potter," he said, his voice strained. "Dumbledore's Army's fine." The Slytherins could live with the name - as long as they wouldn't have to call themselves 'Dolores' Angels' every other name was bearable. They might be Slytherins, but there was no way in hell that they would use the name of a pink wearing toad - especially not if it was combined with calling themselves their 'angels'. Anything but that!
"Thought as much," Harry said grinning.
"We're… we're simply just using DA, if that's alright with you, Potter," Malfoy said finally, still sounding oddly traumatized. "DA is nice and short, don't you think so, too?"
Harry's grin was oddly feral at that - something that felt oddly wrong in Hermione's gut. Suddenly she wondered why Harry had insisted on the name 'Dumbledore's Army', and she had the odd feeling that the answer wasn't because he was 'Dumbledore's man through and through'…
She also didn't think that Harry decided on the name because of the reason he told the others. He didn't seem to like the headmaster this year that much, so using the headmaster's name had to have a different reason…
Sadly enough, Hermione couldn't think of any other reason at all.
"Well," Harry said, writing the name on top of the parchment with their names. "Then I welcome you all to ' Dumbledore's Army' ! Until next time!"
With that, the group scattered after receiving their fake galleons.
In the end, only Hermione, Neville, Ron and Harry were left.
"Harry," Hermione spoke up hesitatingly.
Harry who had been putting away the targets turned to look at her, the same stoic boy again that he had been all year.
"What else do you need, Hermione?" He asked.
She hesitated for a moment.
"Why did you decide to call this group 'Dumbledore's Army'?" She asked. "You didn't seem too fond of Dumbledore since the trial."
Harry shrugged.
"He's still the leader of the light," Harry said. "He's also the one Fudge and his lackeys fear, so using his name in our group was definitely the best thing to do. This has nothing to do with personal feelings, just with simple facts. It was a logical choice."
Hermione couldn't object to that, so she let it go in the end.
Maybe she was just paranoid and Harry hadn't meant anything else by using that name…
Augusta Longbottom was currently standing in one of the less frequented corridors of the Ministry, looking for everyone else like she belonged there. Nobody even thought about questioning her why she was standing near the Estate Office.
The most people passing guessed that she was waiting for the clerk of the office to return - he was on lunch break, currently, after all. If people would have been asked what she wanted with the Estate Office, then people would have shrugged. She was the lady regent of a noble and ancient house - nobody could ever guess what people like her wanted. Maybe it had something to do with the Longbottom Estate, she was its regent, after all.
If they had asked Augusta, and if she had been truthful, they would have been stunned by her answer.
Augusta Longbottom, the Dowager Longbottom, Regent of Longbottom Estate, was currently on the look-out like a child securing its friends while they were preparing a prank. That was definitely nothing anybody would have ever thought the dowager doing.
Not that it was the first time she stood on the look-out - but most people had forgotten her wilder youth after all these decades she had been alive.
In that moment a gangly looking man with huge glasses rounded the corner. He was clearly on the way to the currently empty Estate office.
The moment he reached the Dowager Longbottom, she finally left her place.
"Tell me, Mr. Appleby, if a family has died out, what will happen to their estates?" Augusta Longbottom asked the clerk.
The clerk had been about to return from lunch, but Regulus hadn't yet come out of the office. Augusta felt oddly remembered of her youth and the fact that she always had been the look-out while Charlus Potter and Eloise Mintumble had set the pranks.
Oddly enough it made her feel young again.
"Er… that d… depends, Madam Longbottom," the clerk stuttered. "If there's a known r… related family, th… they will get the e… estate. I… If there isn't th… then it might be s… sold. I… If it's i… in a muggle area th… then i… it might just b… be left l… like it is."
It was in that moment that she saw the door of the office she had been monitoring, opening and a shadow - hidden beneath a delusion charm - left the office.
So Augusta decided that she had stopped the clerk long enough.
"Then I might come by another time to see if there's a free estate of a deceased family I might be interested in sometime in the future," she said haughtily, nodded at the man and then turned and left. The clerk behind her shook his head, sighed, murmured something about 'damn nobles and their odd ideas' before deciding to forget that odd meeting.
It simply was not worth to ponder on the nobles and their ideas.
Amelia Bones was startled out of her work by the knock on her door.
"Come in," she said, quite surprised that when the door opened, an old man was standing in front of it - a man she hadn't seen since her niece had been eleven.
"Mr. Ollivander," she said surprised.
The old man smiled at her.
"Miss Bones," he replied and then closed the door behind himself.
Amelia set down her quill and folded her hands on top of her desk.
"How may I help you, Mr. Ollivander?" She asked the old man. She had heard from others that the old man had lost his sanity at the end of the last school holidays, but she hadn't been sure if she could trust those rumours and Garrick Ollivander's serious face didn't make her feel as if he truly was insane.
"I am not sure that you may help me," the old man said. "But I decided to come and ask you nevertheless."
Amelia raised an eyebrow at that.
"What are you here for?" She asked confused.
Ollivander sighed.
"The world is changing, Miss Bones," he said. "Soon it will change even more. The question I need to ask is: What side will you be on? The Minister's? Dumbledore's? Or that of 'Oliver Twist'?"
Amelia widened her eyes at the last question.
"Oliver Twist?" She repeated surprised.
The old man inclined his head.
"He's the fourth side of this war," he said. "I've known this for quite some time now."
Amelia stared at the old man.
He had solely named three sides, but yet talked about the 'fourth side'. It was unusual, and there was just one explanation that fit to that.
"He's back, isn't he?" She asked. "You-Know-Who."
The old man sighed.
"Yes," he said tiredly. "That he is. But he isn't the only one who's back - and this time around I decided to ask you, since the last time you refused to join Albus."
She raised an eyebrow at that.
"My brother joined him," she said darkly. "It led to him and his wife never seeing their daughter growing up. I'm an auror, even now that I'm the head of the DMLE. I refuse to follow Dumbledore's idea of stunning spells and second chances."
The answer was a smile from a man she had always suspected of being a close friend of Albus Dumbledore.
"It seems that there's still some brain left in your generation, Miss Bones," he said amused. "I already hoped that you might not see it his way, but hearing it confirmed definitely soothes my mind."
She looked at him in surprise at that.
"It thought that you were a friend of Albus Dumbledore," she said amused. "I always thought that you were one of those who would use a stunning spell first."
Garrick Ollivander looked at her in amusement.
"Have you ever heard of the Resistance?" She frowned, but shook her head.
"Or of the Dragon Division fighting against Grindelwald?" This time her eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes," she said. "I heard of them."
Her eyes narrowed.
"They are nothing but a legend. Nobody but Grindelwald ever had a dragon division in this war. They were Grindelwald's elite - people we hadn't had a chance against when we met them in battle."
Ollivander snorted at that in amusement.
"That's Dumbledore's tale," he said darkly. "It was his way of changing our look on the war. If you would have ever left Britain and asked anyone else in Europe, you might have heard about the Resistance, about the dragon division and a lot of other things."
Amelia narrowed her eyes at that.
"If that's so, why doesn't Britain tell the same tale?" She asked confused.
Ollivander sighed.
"Mostly?" He said. "Because Britain saw itself as the winners and didn't want to hear anything about the deeds of all those who worked for the end of the war before it even thought of joining. I was part of the war, Miss Bones. Unlike the most of Britain I was in the Resistance. I was there when Grindelwald was defeated. I know what happened that day - and it's quite a bit different than what British history says."
Amelia looked at the old wand maker in surprise. He didn't look like he would ever think about fighting in a war in any way or form. She knew for sure that he hadn't fought against Voldemort - at least not on Dumbledore's or the Ministry's side.
"If you wish to, I can leave you some memories of the final days," the old man said. "You should be able to verify them without any trouble."
Amelia nodded.
She pulled out her pensive and the wand maker pulled out some of his memories for her.
"Tell me, Ollivander," she said while watching him. "Why did you come to me?"
The old wand maker entered the last strand of memory into the pensive and then looked up to meet her eyes.
"I came to ask you for an alliance, Miss Bones," he said. "I plan to return to the Wizengamot in January - and I decided to search out some people for an alliance before that. I know that you're not allied with Albus Dumbledore or with any Death Eaters, so I decided to search you out for an alliance."
Amelia looked at the old wand maker in surprise. Ollivander hadn't taken their place in the Wizengamot for generations. They had been far too involved with their work to go to the Wizengamot. To hear that after all this time Ollivander would return to the Wizengamot was quite a surprise for her. Amelia was sure that a lot of people had already forgotten that Ollivander was actually one of them.
"You want to return to the Wizengamot," she repeated concerned.
The old man inclined his head.
"It's time," he said. "I should have done that, years ago. Maybe if I had, Britain would have gone to war a lot faster than it did when Grindelwald was active…"
For a moment, Ollivander seemed to contemplate that, then he shook his head.
"No," he said sighing. "I would have just been one voice against many. It wouldn't have changed a thing."
"But now you're going," Amelia said. Ollivander smiled.
"This time I'm looking for allies first," he said.
"So you came to me," Amelia said sighing. "You should know that I don't have a lot of allies in the Wizengamot. Even with an alliance with me, you would still be just a voice against many like you put it."
Ollivander just smiled at her.
"You aren't the only one I plan to ally with," he said. "But you are the one whom I have no guarantee that they would ally with me."
"The others?"
"The most of them have been allied with my house for longer than even Albus Dumbledore is alive. If they're still true to their ancestry, they won't say 'no'."
For a moment, Amelia hesitated. Then she sighed.
"I will think about it after I watched your memories," she said.
Ollivander inclined his head.
"Just know that I don't plan to ally with Albus Dumbledore or the Ministry. I plan to ally with… let's call the fraction 'Oliver Twist'," he said, sounding a little bit amused at that.
"In other words: This is about a new fraction," Amelia said.
Ollivander just smiled.
"Miss Bones," he said in a way of saying good-bye.
Amelia sighed. It seemed that she wouldn't get further answers.
"Mr. Ollivander," she replied. He then bowed to her, turned around and left, leaving her with some unseen memories and an important decision to make.
"So… this is it?" Regulus looked around in disgust.
The person next to him frowned, her face showing displease and some disgust as well.
"According to the old laws this is the ancestral ground of the Gaunts," Augusta Longbottom said sighing.
Regulus shook his head.
"They were filthy rich for centuries," he said. "I can't believe that that's all that's left!"
Augusta raised an eyebrow at that and the younger man sighed.
"Yes, ma'am," he said. "I remember that the books said that their manor burned down in the 1750th, but I never thought that they didn't even have enough left by then to build at least a decent home if not a manor!"
Augusta shrugged.
"The Gaunts have had long since paid the price for their arrogance," she said. "If I remember it rightly, there was even a rumour that they had been cursed since the day they took over Slytherin's headship."
Regulus snorted.
"I read about that rumour," he said amused. "It sounded more like them being punished by the Wizengamot obelisk for a deliberate false family claim and stupidity than a true curse."
That observation stopped Augusta dead in her tracks.
"That… sounds surprisingly right if you take a look at it like that," she said astonished. "There have never been a lot of tries to claim a false family as your own and even less were stupid enough to repeat that action over and over again… but from what we know about the obelisks enchantment, ruining the family who tries to do just that is certainly a possibility… !"
For a moment she pondered on that silently.
"I just wonder why they would even try to do that," she said while shaking her head. "Why would they go up to the obelisk in the Wizengamot Chamber and try to take on another family's name over and over again if they had claim to Slytherin and Gaunt?"
Regulus shrugged while staring at the ground.
"Except they didn't have Slytherin but tried to get it nevertheless," he said slowly.
The older woman looked at him in surprise.
"But everybody knows that the Gaunts are the last of Slytherin!" She exclaimed.
Regulus looked up and in her eyes at that.
"Maybe," he said slowly. "Everybody was wrong with that assumption…"
Augusta stared at the younger man; in the end she shook her head.
"It doesn't matter right now," she said. "We found what we've been looking for. Should we go in or do you want to go back and tell the Professor?"
For a moment, Regulus looked hesitatingly at the shack in front of them. Then he sighed.
"It's best I go back to Sal and he'll take a look himself. Who knows what kind of protections are around this place? I might have some abilities when it comes to Dark Magic, but even I would prefer to have him around when we try to break in."
Augusta just nodded at that.
"He's frightening efficient when it comes to wards and the like," she said. "I remember that quite well from my time as his student at Hogwarts."
Regulus nodded.
"That he is," he said and then shook his head. "That also makes him totally different to the last two Headmasters of Hogwarts."
Augusta frowned at that.
"Why…?" She started to ask, but Regulus answered her before she could even finish her question.
"He took a look at the wards this year," he said. "There's a ward book for the school, left to the Headmasters of Hogwarts to ensure that the wards they would add to the existing ones wouldn't destroy or intercept the old ones. As far as I know, Sal had checked the wards when he was a professor back in your youth."
"I don't understand," Augusta said frowning. "If there's a book to make sure that the other wards haven't been harmed - why did you bring up the last two Headmasters of Hogwarts and the wards?"
Regulus grimaced.
"He checked them again this year, just to see if some repair has to be done," he replied. "From what I understood, at least one of the last two Headmasters refused to read or listen to the book before adding to the wards. They are in a deplorable condition. Sal's not happy at all. He hadn't foreseen the need to repair the wards in that extent at all."
Augusta snorted at that, barely refraining from keeping her lady like composure.
"I'm not surprised that he didn't plan on that. The wards stood tall for about a thousand years. I don't think that anyone would have even thought about seeing them in shambles!"
"And yet, here they are," Regulus said darkly.
The older woman nodded, ice in her eyes.
"And here they are," she agreed. "I bet it was Albus fault. He's always been too arrogant for his own good. Since the day he was named a prodigy and the next coming of Merlin, he's had a big head. His defeat of Grindelwald and the hero worship following it, definitely didn't help."
The younger Black sibling nodded at that.
"It didn't," he said. "Sometimes I'm really, really glad that a Black can never ever ally himself again directly with Dumbledore. At least like that nobody of our family can be ensnared by his grandfatherly act."
Augusta raised an eyebrow at that.
"What about your brother?" She asked surprised.
Regulus shrugged.
"Allied with the Potters, not Dumbledore," he said. "I'm quite sure Sirius has been questioning Dumbledore for quite some time now. I truly wonder how long it will take until Sirius has enough and will break the ties. And he will do it - he's a Black, even if he refuses to acknowledge it; and Blacks don't ally with Albus Dumbledore."
Augusta snorted at that in amusement, then she shook her head.
"Let's go and get the Professor," she said, still slightly amused at the thought that Dumbledore thought someone his ally who for whatever reason was never allied with him at all.
Regulus nodded.
"Let's," and with that they were off.
That night, all over the country, letters were delivered to different people.
Adrian Greengrass looked at the letter in his hands before looking up at his wife.
"I am invited to a full family meeting the coming Saturday," he said.
His wife frowned.
"Who else will come?"
Her husband shrugged.
"I will see," he said. "I guess I will see."
Meanwhile, Lucius Malfoy looked at the newest letter he had received before he squared his shoulders and stepped in front of Riddle who was currently frothing thanks to the vampire in the candelabra. Lucius decided that he didn't even want to know what that damn vampire had done this time again.
"My Lord," he said hesitatingly.
The Dark Lord turned to him and for a moment, Lucius was sure that he would be crucioed. But then the Dark Lord took a deep breath.
"This is better important, Lucius," he hissed.
"Of course, my Lord," Lucius replied, gulping.
"What is it?"
"I need to leave in three days' time, my Lord," Lucius replied. "I was asked to a meeting by some of the Lords of the Wizengamot."
The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed at that and Lucius braced himself for the curse.
"It's important for our cause!" Lucius added hastily.
For a moment the Dark Lord just stared at him.
"As you wish, Lucius," he hissed. "You may leave. But until then: Crucio !"
Somewhere in Scotland another letter reached a young, dark skinned boy. The boy read it, then slipped it away and continued eating breakfast. After breakfast he went to his Head of House's office.
"Sir?" He said, after he was allowed to enter. "I need your permission to leave the castle in three days' time."
"This Saturday, Mr. Zabini?" The hooked-nosed man asked.
"Yes, sir," the youth said. "I was asked to attend a meeting of some Lords of the Wizengamot. As a new Lord myself, I can't refuse."
The older man narrowed his eyes at that.
"Is there a possibility that the meeting you're talking about is in Gringotts, Mr. Zabini?" He asked the boy. The youth looked at him in hidden surprise.
"Sir?" He asked.
The older man pinched his nose at that before removing a letter himself, opening it and turning it so that the boy could take a look at it.
The boy's eyes this time around visibly widened.
"You as well, sir?" He asked in surprise.
"I could say the same thing, Mr. Zabini," the teacher said dryly. The boy looked at him, this time showing visible amusement.
"I guess you could, sir," he said. "Now, am I allowed to go?"
"I guess I will allow it as long as you won't go alone," the older man said dryly.
The boy grinned wryly.
"Would you accompany me, Professor?" He asked amused.
"I guess I will," the teacher replied as amused as the youth.
The answer was an amused snort.
In another part of the castle, another Head of House was visited by her student as well.
"Professor?" The boy entering asked hesitatingly.
"Yes, Mr. Longbottom?" The teacher replied.
The boy entered fully and closed the door.
"I need to leave the castle next Saturday," he said.
"Mr. Longbottom! You are a student and -"
"This is part of my duty as the new head of my house," the boy replied. "My grandmother decided to remove my father from the inheritance line, meaning that I am the current Lord of Longbottom now that I have turned fifteen. My grandmother might still be my regent and able to decide for me until the Wizengamot meeting in January at least, but that doesn't mean that I don't have any responsibility as the current Head of House Longbottom."
"Mr. Longbottom, your grandmother -"
"Decided that I had a right to come to the meeting our family has been invited to," Neville Longbottom replied strongly. "If I'm not allowed to go, my grandmother will come and fetch me. It's your choice, Professor."
His Head of House frowned at that, but in the end gave it.
"Alright, Mr. Longbottom," she said. "You will use the floo in my office and your grandmother will wait for you on the other side. I will make sure of that!"
Neville Longbottom inclined his head.
"Of course, Professor," he said. "I will tell my grandmother of your conditions."
He bowed stiffly - a mannerism he hadn't shown before - and then left the office.
Minerva McGonagall frowned, wondering why Longbottom suddenly took an interest in his lordship when he hadn't shown any before now.
What had changed?
She wouldn't get an answer for quite some time.