Amelia's POV
Amelia sat patiently waiting for the unpleasant man to finish his tale. When he was done, she folded her hands, and put them on the table. "Well, that was quite a story. However, I hate to tell you, but there isn't anything I can do for you. All Black did was tell you where the entrance was. You took it upon yourself to go there, knowing that you could be putting your life in jeopardy. Don't tell me a smart man like you had no idea that Mr. Lupin is inflicted with lycanthropy," she stated firmly. Although it did show that the fugitive was more than willing to let the man die, he didn't really do anything wrong.
"So as usual Black will just get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. You are just like Dumbledore. It's because he's a pureblood and a Gryffindor, and I'm not, isn't it?" Snape snarled, leaning forward in an accusing manner. He seemed to forget that the man had spent over a decade in Azkaban, or he simply felt it wasn't long enough. "I knew the government was corrupt, but I had hopes that you were at least loyal to the law, being Hufflepuff."
"Yes, that is not bias at all," she sniped back, and then looked over her notes. She came across the part of his story that showed that he was determined to get Lupin kicked out of the school. She read it back to him, and then slammed the pad on the table, and said, "No, it's because you were so hell-bent on getting a fellow student in trouble, and possibly killed, that I have very little sympathy for you. You were a cruel, and bitter teen, Mr. Snape and you've grown to be a cruel and bitter man, no matter what Dumbledore says."
"Black set me up," was the rebuttal.
"No, you walked right into it. You just told me that you had been following Mr. Lupin around to prove that he was a werewolf. It was your own folly that you wound up in a situation that would see you turned or dead. Had James Potter not rescued you, both you and Mr. Lupin could have died. You by werewolf, him by euthanasia. Plus, you don't seem to think you've done anything wrong. You were just as culpable as Black. You were both trying to kill a fellow student. The only reason you would have gotten away with it is the Lupin is a werewolf," she stated firmly. Though she was more than a bit mad that this was one other thing that Dumbledore had to answer for. He put the whole school at risk to educate the werewolf, which was against their laws. Not that she had anything against it, but the law was the law.
"Werewolves are animals that deserve to die. I am not, and I demand satisfaction. It was attempted murder at best," Snape snarled, he was determined that he would see that man behind bars—again.
"Look," she said more calmly, "even if I brought this to trial, Mr. Black won't serve any more time. The Wizengamot will say that he had been punished enough for that. Not to mention that it was over a decade ago, and the Statute of Limitations is up. I'm sorry, it is out of my hands," she said with finality. She waved her hand at the mirror, and seconds later a young female Auror walked in. "Take Mr. Snape back to his cell, and bring Mr. Dumbledore in." She rubbed her brow, trying to fend off the headache she was sure was on its way.
The uniformed woman nodded and frog-marched the Potions Master away. Ten minutes later the Headmaster was led in and guided to a chair.
"What can I do for you today, Amelia?" the old man asked as if he hadn't just spent the night in jail.
"You can tell me why you keep putting the children in danger, when it was your duty to keep them safe," the head of the DMLE demanded, making sure that a new sheet of paper was taking down the session.
"I have never done such a thing," Albus said aghast. As long as he was at Hogwarts, it was safe. He did fear for it now. The school would be vulnerable without him there to protect it, but first he had a few things that needed tending to. However, since both Severus, and Karkaroff felt that something was happening with their Dark Mark, he was sure that it was time for the prophecy to come to pass. Now, all he had to do was get Harry to understand his part in it.
"Having a werewolf on campus is against the law," she stated, tapping her finger on the table. "Not fortifying the wards puts everyone in that castle in peril. Then there are the rumors of all the things that have been happening over the years. Ones I never believed, not even when Susan said they were true, but now I think I will consider what's been going on at that school. After everything I've heard, how can you sit there, and tell me you've done nothing wrong?" the irate woman asked, ready to reach over, and pluck the man's twinkling eyes out, and play marbles with them.
"Are you saying young Remus should not have received an education? How very bias of you, Amelia," he said in his most disappointed voice, not answering the question, and ignoring the accusations. What's done was done, and there was little she would find. Not that he cared, no, in his mind he was untouchable.
"My opinion doesn't matter; it is the law. One you broke. When I'm done digging up all the rumors finding out what is fact, and what it not, I will have no choice but to put you on trial."
"Dear sweet Amelia, you will never win against me. I have power you could not even imagine. The political power I wield is something you will never match. However, I do not plan on staying here a moment longer. There are things I must do, and I cannot do them from inside a cell. I must get to Harry and explain important things to him before it is too late. Fawkes," he called to the air, making her jump from her seat, and brandish her wand.
She fired curses at the flaming bird, but it was quick, and those that hit him had no effect. She watched helplessly as it landed on the old man's shoulder and flamed them out.
"Argh!" she yelled, slamming both fists on the table. Then she took several deep breaths and tried to calm down. This would be one more nail in that old bastard's coffin. "Find him. Make it your top priority," she ordered the Aurors that had flooded the room.
They knew it would be futile but went to follow that order.
Madam Bones sighed, she'd call an emergency meeting with the Wizengamot. At that time, she would put Crouch, and Snape on trial, get Black exonerated or at least a trial date set, and put an order to capture Dumbledore. With that plan in her head, she went back to her office, and wrote to Waters. He would need to know what was going on.
Harry's POV
"Wait," Harry said holding up his hands to stop Luna from saying anything. He just remembered something. "Before you guys do anything, Padfoot, explain to me how you were able to tell Mr. Lupin about my magic. You promised that you wouldn't, and took a vow with the goblins, so what gives?" the teen asked bitterly. He didn't want to think that the one adult that he liked would betray him.
"Harry, I thought he'd seen the whole task, and that I wouldn't be breaking my word if I talked about it. It wasn't until I bragged about you a little that he told me he wasn't there. So, I made him take the vow," Sirius said solemnly. He was hurt that his godson didn't trust him. He had done his utmost best to make sure that he did nothing to give the teen reason not to believe in him. He enjoyed his time with the boy and hoped that nothing got in the way of that. "I'd never betray you, Harry. I hope one day you'll know that. I may have screwed up in the past, but I'd like to think we're better now," he said firmly, with a hurt and chastising look.
"Oh," came the contrite answer complete with sagging shoulders. "I'm sorry, Sirius, I just… it's just…" He didn't know how to explain it without making it worse, so he let it trail off. He really needed to stop thinking bad about people. These last few weeks have been trying on him, and he wondered if maybe his old self had it right. To just be compliant, and let others lead. He mulled that over for a minute, and then decided that that wasn't for him. He liked what he had become, and now he had great friends, who put up with his bullshit. A wonderful godfather, who did his best to make him happy. No, he was content. He gave Sirius his best remorseful expression, to convey what he couldn't find the words to.
"No, I kinda get it, but you're going to have to trust someone sometime. You can't keep directing all your anger at the wrong people," his godfather answered with a serious nod. Then he broke out with a wicked grin, clapped the teen on the back, and said, "What say you and I go to Hogsmeade, while these two try and get Moony up to the rest of us? I think it'll get your mind off the last few days."
Harry looked at Luna, who nodded as she picked up the book, and started talking to Mr. Lupin. "Alright, I've got nothing to do right now," he said as he got up, and drifted to the opening of tunnel. "I'll see you later, Luna. Enjoy your lessons, Mr. Lupin," he stated as he put on his outer-cloak and waited for Padfoot.
The two waved at him distractedly, already deep in a debate on how the magic worked. Harry didn't take offence though; he was just glad that she had a distraction from the bittersweet day the two of them had had. He really hoped they could maintain a friendship. Knowing her, she'd put on a mask, and blame the Humperdinks or something, it was just Luna's way.
Sirius came back from the other room pulling a jacket on. "Come on, Harry, let's go and see what mischief we can find," he said as he donned his gloves.
The two went to the village and spent the day just messing around, while spending loads of money. It relaxed Harry enough that when he picked up Luna, he felt like he could just drift off to sleep and dream teenage dreams. So, after escorting her to her dorm, giving her a peck on the forehead, he went to bed, and crashed.
Luna's POV
While the two men were gallivanting around Hogsmeade, Luna was getting frustrated, not a good emotion for her. Normally she was serene, and calm, not even the bullying Ravenclaws could penetrated her Zen. But right now, she was convinced that the man in front of her was infested with Wrackspurts, and she was determined to not let them win. She asked him if he wanted to borrow her earrings, but he did what everyone else did when asked; he gave her a queer look, shook his head, and then ignored the question.
It was the only reason she could think of as to why Mr. Lupin kept arguing over what she was trying to teach him. He was steadfast in his conviction that he was right, and she was wrong. When she would show him that she was correct, he would justify it in his mind as something else, or that he was seeing something different. It was making her irritated, but being the docile person, she was, she held it in and kept trying.
It was one of the pitfalls of teaching an older bookworm, not to mention an ex-professor. They were harder to convince that everything they knew had to be… adjusted. She was just glad they got to Hermione before all that knowledge set in.
Heaving a heavy sigh, she picked up Merlin's book, and tried again.
Harry's POV
Nothing had happened for days; the rumors had drifted, and everything had settled. Harry was sitting with his friends at the Gryffindor table, eating lunch. It was a school day, but the fourth year Gryffs had the afternoon off since their professor was in jail. A large brown owl swooped in with a rather large letter. The boy-wonder took it, feed the bird some ham, and opened the envelope. He quickly read the missive, and an evil smile broke out on his face, until he got to the last part. His face took on a red hue as the anger built up about what he read.
"Harry?" Luna asked, putting a hand on his arm.
"It's from Waters," he said, handing the letter to her. She'd finish it and gave it to Hermione after a nod from him. It wasn't secret knowledge, so he had no problems sharing. "Crouch Jr. is dead, and it seems that the trials for Crouch Sr. and Snape went off without a hitch. Crouch received ten years for breaking his son out of prison. Snape was put away for thirty, for multiple counts of mind-rape and the potion. He would have received longer, but he never used it. So, since there's no law against that particular potion, only creating mind-altering potions without Ministry approval, they could only do so much. They're going to give it to the Unspeakables, when they prove it's akin to the Unforgivables, then it will be outlawed. Good news is that Sirius is free, since he didn't receive a trial. The law states that they could only hold him for two weeks, and that was supposed to be a holding cell, but since he didn't get tried before that time was up, then they should have released him."
"Oh, do you think he'll go back to being him?" Hermione asked in a low tone, wondering if the now free man would want to look like he had before. She really hoped he didn't, mostly because he wasn't found innocent, but let go on a technicality. People would think he was still guilty, and that could be bad for him. Perhaps they could use the new magic to make a new identity for him.
"I don't know, I hope not," Harry said, thinking much on the same lines as his friend. He'd have to talk to Waters to see if there was something they could do to get Sirius' life back. But first, he'd talk to his godfather, and see what he wanted.
"So why the frown, everything you've said is good news?" Neville asked, hoping it wasn't too terrible.
"Well, the problem is that the old man escaped, and they think he's after me. Well, not after, but he really wants to talk to me," he snarled, wondering what Albus wanted to tell him so bad that he fled the Ministry.
"How did he escape?" the sandy-haired boy asked.
"His phoenix," Harry answered as he regained the letter and read that part again. "I thought phoenixes were Light creatures? Why would he aid Dumbledore in getting away?"
"Phoenixes are actually neutral. They're indifferent to what goes on around them. However, they are drawn to Light wizards, mostly because of the pure magic. As long as Professor Dumbledore doesn't darken his soul, Fawkes will stay with him," Hermione stated, biting her lower lip.
"Dumbledore feels that everything he is doing is for the right reasons. Too him he is still good and Light. Like Hermione said, as long as his doesn't darken his soul…" Luna explained with a shrug as she batted her earrings with her fingers. She was still trying to think of a way to combat Wrackspurts.
"Well, there goes another myth," the dark-haired boy said with a smile. "How does one 'darken their soul'?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
"Mostly by doing some very Dark, or just plain evil, magic," Neville said with a shudder.
Harry nodded in understanding. He was sure that no matter how annoying the old man was, he didn't dabble. The teen then shrugged it off as not his problem, and said aloud, "I wonder what the old man wants."
"I'm sure it is not malicious," reasoned Hermione. She didn't want Harry to think that the Headmaster was out to kill him. You could say a lot of things about the man, but he was historically a pacifist. He didn't even kill Grindlewald. "However," she added quickly, not wanting Harry to think she wasn't on his side, "I wouldn't put it past him to kidnap you, so perhaps you should be on guard."
"Yeah," he said softly, glad that he amped the school wards. He was hopeful that they held off the old man. He would be extra cautious when he left the castle. Maybe take Sirius or the twins along. If nothing else, they could sound the alarm if he were kidnapped. With that thought he finished off his ham sandwich, and he, and his friends spent the afternoon doing more things in the Room.
Harry's crews POV
Nothing happened for a long time. The group went to classes, while Harry hung out with his godfather, or practiced his magic more. With two wizards after him, he didn't want to be caught unawares. So, he had sparring matches with Worf, and debates on protective strategy with Spock. They were good times, and he felt that if he couldn't beat them, he could at the very least get away.
While this was going on, the away team finally found the end of the white space, but there was a stronger barrier holding them back. They were working on finding a hole in it, and then relaying a… tube to syphon the memories slowly into Harry's sleeping mind. That way the teen could adapt to them better and wouldn't undergo a compete personality change. Right now, they had to penetrate that shield. On their journey here, they found wisps of memories in the white space, and were hopeful to find a leak that they could expand on. It would make their mission much easier.
The science team made their way to the scar. They had slowly severed the parasite's connection from our hero's magic and were now poking and prodding the leech. They had come to the conclusion that it was a small part of a soul. Voldemort's. They took samples to see if there was anything they could learn, but so far it was just a mass of magic that expressed emotions, mostly hate and anger. Seeing that the last thing they wanted was to combine this tainted magic with Harry's. So, they were coming up with a way that they could remove it from the forehead and place it in a containment field. Then Harry could put it in another container and give it to someone else to deal with.
Harry's POV
Now, Harry and his gang were resting at Padfoot's, who was ecstatic about being a free man, but agreed with the kids and maintained his glamor. Waters said that the best he could do was get his side of the story in the newspapers. That was a gamble though. As it was Rita was printing the Ministry's side, and it didn't look good for Sirius. The hard part was that she was being completely honest. He didn't know if that was Harry's curse, or she learned her lesson. Either way, he couldn't dispute her articles.
Perhaps, he'd pick up his life when the heat died down. Hopefully the work he was doing with the kids in getting funds for Hogwarts would go a long way getting recognized in the public. He had already sold off many of the antiques and made a ton of money. They had set up a vault, and wasn't that a fun visit, that would be given to the school when they were done with the Room. Harry's fund for the homeless was also growing strong. Only Sirius knew about it, since he was selling stuff for the kid.
Sirius was hopeful that one day he could walk down Diagon Alley as himself. After all, if Malfoy could get away with being a murderer, he was sure that he could get his life back, eventually, maybe. Well, he'd see. If worse came to worse, he'd stay under the glamor, open new vaults, transfer the old ones, and call the Black Family Line dead. He had little love for the family's history, maybe it was time to start a new line.
The kids had just finished tea, and were all talking about how Snape was gone, and the new professor was loads better. The way his friends were talking almost made Harry want to sit in on the class. He didn't remember how the greasy git taught but had been told enough that he was glad the bastard was gone.
"He is ever so instructive. When he taught his first class, he was shocked that we didn't know anything about safety. It took two sessions to teach us what we should have learned in first year," Hermione gushed, bouncing in her seat, making the boys look down. She was thinking about how much she admired the new teacher and didn't note where those wandering eyes were. Besides, it didn't hurt that the new teacher was youngish, and not bad on the eyes.
"He is really smart," agreed Luna with a dreamy smile. "It's too bad he will get that job offer next year," she predicted with a vacant look.
"Luna, you can't know that," the bushy-haired witch said with a great deal of exasperation.
"And you can't prove she's wrong," Neville stated, not wanting to see the two argue again.
"Fine, but when he's here next year, then I reserve the right to say, 'I told you so'," she huffed.
"Let's not fight," Harry said from the chair to the right of Neville. "How are things going with Lupin?" he asked Luna.
"He's getting better. He finally grasped that you can do almost anything if you put your mind to it. Mr. Lupin is a very smart man, albeit stubborn, and I am glad that he has progressed as well as he has," she answered with a serene smile. It had taken a bit of work, but she did get the tenacious man to do wandless magic. "He's also been working with the twins, they seem to be able to get things through his head in ways of pranks," she added.
"I'm not sure how I feel about those for getting together all the time," Harry said with a smirk. He just knew that they would cause chaos.
"Where are the troublemakers?" Hermione asked, looking around the room for the four missing men. She remembered the twins coming in but had been so caught up in her description of the new Potions Master that she had no idea where they went. Or that the older men left.
"Out making trouble," the dark-haired wizard said with a smile to show he was joking. "Seriously, they're upstairs planning something. I know Sirius and Lupin are talking about selling more furniture, or at least they were. Then the twins showed, and they sequestered themselves in the upstairs bedroom."
"Oh, dear, that could be bad," she fretted.
"Let's go to Hogsmeade. I need some warmer shirts, and a heavier jacket," the boy hero suggested as he got up, and headed to the tunnel.
The girls squealed at the thought of dressing Harry again, while Neville just shook his head. The group made their way to Tylor's Threads, and commenced with the shopping. It only took an hour to get him outfitted for Scotland winters, and they started their way to the Shack. They needed to sneak back onto the grounds since it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend. When they left the violent tree's reach, they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner chatting and laughing.
McGonagall's POV
McGonagall was giving them dirty looks, like she knew they had been up to something, but couldn't pin anything on them. She kept a very close eye on the amnesiac, hoping that his memories would come back, and perhaps his manners with them. She missed the polite Harry.
There had been many more incidences where children were put in embarrassing situations. Mr. Potter was there for quite a few, yet his wand was clear of any wrong doing. He said it was the wards, which was ridiculous. Albus would have told her if there were such wards. She really wished the headmaster would have shown up by now, but with him on the run there was no telling when he would be back. And he still had control of the wards, or at least she thought so since she couldn't. Still, she couldn't pin anything on the child, but with the way he continued to act, she had attempted to get him kicked out. However, the Board and the Ministry were adamant that he stayed where they could find him. They lost the boy hero once and didn't want it to happen again. McGonagall was hopeful that Potter would up and leave, like he had threatened to many times, then it would be out of her hands.
Just when she was about to make the evening announcements, the wards sounded a warning that someone was trying to breech them. The current Headmistress sounded some large bangs with her wand to calm the panicking students. "Stay here," she told them. "The professors and I will go and see if there is anything to worry about. Prefects, do a head count, and make sure everyone stays in the Hall." And with that she nodded to Flitwick, Sprout, and the new Head of Slytherin, Professor Hawthorn. "The rest of you stay, and keep the children calm," she said briskly to the remaining staff.
The four teachers then hustled out of the Hall, and outside to where the wards were going off, which was the front gate.
There standing in all his colorful glory was Dumbledore, looking a bit ruffled and worn. "Ah, Minerva, it appears that I cannot enter the school. Would you be so kind as to let me in? I must talk to Harry," he said in his best grandfather voice. He had tried to get Fawkes to help him go to the child, but the wards prevented that. That and the phoenix was giving him the cold shoulder. He was worried that he had offended his feathered friend. Nevertheless, his mission had to be complete, so he came to see what could be done about getting the boy alone.
"Albus, where have you been? The Aurors have been here many times looking for you," she said as she went to open the gate. However, it held fast. While she never liked his methods, she would never believe that this great man would jeopardize the school, no matter what Bones said. She yanked on the gate, but it wouldn't budge.
"Minerva, why do you not simply ask the wards to open them?" the baffled man inquired, stroking his beard as he wondered who charged them to full strength. No one he knew had that kind of power, barring Voldemort, who he had on good authority was still weak.
"I do not have control of them. I would not even be Headmistress, but the Board could not fill the position for the rest of year. It was our understanding that you still had control, since we have tried everything to get them to recognize me. Did you not put a shield around the stone?"
"No, the wards have been the same for many of years," the old man confessed. Well, he wasn't going to tell them that he weakened them himself, first for Remus, then for Severus, and yet again for Harry's first year. That would only get him in more trouble. He had gone back the boy's second year to see if he could boost them back up, but the drain was far more powerful than it had been the year before.
McGonagall harrumphed, "If I did not know better I would say that Mr. Potter was to blame." She had been hurt when the castle did not acknowledge her. After all her years of loyal service, she felt that the post was hers, so she continued to try to get Hogwarts to hand over control of the wards.
"That is most destressing," the old man stated. His eyes twinkled as he examined the barrier that was keeping him from his school. If Harry was the reason for them, then it might be harder to convince him to do what he must.
"Yes, it is," she agreed. "You had better leave, Albus. I do not want you to be caught. There is no telling where the alarm sounded. For all we know the Ministry has been alerted," she stressed, looking at her friend, and hoping that he had a place to hide.
"Very well. I will endeavor to find another way to speak to young Harry. Would you tell him that it is imperative that I speak with him?" he asked as he adjusted his robes and got ready to leave. "I can meet him in the village, if he desires. I will find a way to contact you."
"I will do what I can, but you know how he has been since he lost his memory. I cannot even reprimand him without argument," she huffed, hating that he still treated the adults of the castle with little respect.
"Nevertheless, please pass my message along." And with that Dumbledore Disapparated.
"This isn't going to end well," the temporary Headmistress said, wringing her hands together as she made her way back to the children to let them know everything was okay.