Ministry of Magic, London, 5/17/1992, 08:39
The lift on level one clanged open seconds before a pallid and dour-looking man dressed in grey robes stepped out onto the quiet floor. The man walked down the corridor with purpose the purple carpeting in the hallway muffling his steps.
The ministry officials didn't give him a second look as he made his way down the corridor towards the largest office on the floor.
The unspeakable made his way to the receptionist's desk and waited patiently to be acknowledged.
It had been a long time since he had taken on a mission like this but after the events of the other night, he wasn't taking the chance of one of his servants messing things up.
If all went to plan then Thomas would use what was about to happen as cover to free the Carrow twins and the other captured death eaters from their cells before portkeying them away when the wards fell.
"May I help you, Mister Bode?" The young lady behind the desk asked cheerfully.
"Good morning Miss Fawley. Mister Croaker asked me to personally hand the minister a report of our findings on her security," Voldemort/Bode said taking on the man he was impersonating's nervous manner of speech.
"I will inform her that you are here," the receptionist said as she rose to her feet.
Voldemort/Bode nodded his understanding and watched the receptionist scurry across the room to the double doors that led into the minister's private office.
Voldemort/Bode stood there waiting patiently until the receptionist returned a few minutes later.
"The minister is ready to see you," the receptionist said as soon as she exited the minister's office.
"Thank you," Bode/Voldemort said politely before he walked over to the minister's door and stepped into the room.
"Mister Bode, what have you got for me?" Augusta asked in her usual no-nonsense tone.
"We have discovered quite a few weaknesses in your personal security," Bode/Voldemort said as he passed her to the folder that was tucked under his arm.
"What weaknesses?" Agusta demanded as she snatched the folder out of his hand and hastily flipped it open.
"There are many but the biggest is that you are not screening for polyjuiced imposters, Minister," Bode/Voldemort said as he casually drew his yew wand and aimed it at the side of her head.
"We are planning to start implementing-
"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort hissed cutting off Augusta mid-sentence.
Augusta had been too busy reading over the file on weaknesses in her security detail and was too slow in recognizing the incantation for the killing curse.
Voldemort watched with satisfaction as the spell struck her in the side of the head. Augusta collapsed backwards onto the floor narrowly missing her desk. Her eyes were still wide in shock as she stared unseeingly up at her attacker.
"I believe by the time you implement the screening process it will be too late, Minister," Voldemort chuckled as he turned on the spot and exited the office.
"Good day Mister Bode," the receptionist said cheerfully.
"It certainly is," Voldemort/Bode agreed before he raised his wand and directed it at the stunned receptionist.
"Wh-what are you doin-
"Avada kedavra," Voldemort said sounding almost pleasant.
Voldemort's spell struck her square in the chest and she slumped forward onto her desk sending quills and parchment tumbling to the floor.
Almost immediately alarms began sounding all over the floor as the ward detecting the use of an unforgivable was triggered. The minister's office wasn't warded with this specific ward which was also in the report that he had just handed to Augusta though he doubted it would do her any good.
Just as he had planned, aurors began pouring onto level one with their wands drawn. Voldemort hoped that his servants were taking advantage of this window he had created or there would be hell to pay.
Voldemort waited patiently for the aurors to fan out to surround him. He was surprised at how many there were if truth be told but their numbers were not an issue, if all went to plan he would be leaving any second now.
He felt the polyjuice starting to wear off as he felt the signal that his people had achieved their objectives when he felt Thomas Avery push magic into his mark through their connection.
"Voldemort," a familiar voice exclaimed as Voldemort sensed the transportation wards over the ministry collapse.
"Indeed, long time no see Alastor. There seems to be a lot less of you than I remember," Voldemort chuckled as he gestured to the man's wooden leg.
"Aye, but you should see what the other guy looks like," Moody grunted as he made a stop gesture with his left hand.
"There is no point trying to flank me, Alastor. my work here is... complete," Voldemort said emphasizing the last word as it was the activation word for the portkey around his neck.
As Voldemort felt the pull behind his navel and he was sucked into the blue vortex, he couldn't help but feel pleased with what he had accomplished this morning.
Grounds, Hogwarts, 5/17/1992, 15:38
Harry was currently sitting on the edge of the Black Lake as he and his group of friends worked on their charms homework while they all sipped big jugs of ice-cold pumpkin juice.
The weather here had been uncommonly warm for the last few days and Harry had convinced his friends to finish up their homework outside today.
The weather outside was quite pleasant today but the atmosphere around the school was not.
This morning the paper arrived with horrifying news about the Wizengamot session yesterday. According to the paper, vampires were running loose around Britain!
If the news about vampires wasn't horrifying enough then seeing a whole team of aurors arrive this morning and approach the headmaster before leading Neville Longbottom out of the hall was enough to terrify some.
Neville Longbottom hadn't been seen since this morning spawning all sorts of rumours. It was no secret that his grandmother was the minister for magic, leading some to suspect that the ministry was taking him to a top-secret bunker or something else equally ridiculous due to the new threat of vampires.
"Harry you're daydreaming again," Hermione admonished from her place beside him.
"I'm done," Harry said absentmindedly as he looked down at his completed essay.
"Already?" Susan asked sounding surprised.
"It was pretty a pretty easy essay," Harry shrugged.
"Good, you can help me figure out that ridiculous tap-dancing spell," Susan said matter-of-factly.
"Sure," Harry agreed.
"I don't know why we have to learn the spell anyway," Draco muttered tiredly.
"It is the precursor for more advanced animation charms and it says in the Standard Book of Spells that-
"I don't care, Granger," Draco said cutting Hermione off mid-sentence.
"Use your manners, Draco," Daphne admonished though she looked amused at the look on Hermione's face.
"Yes Malfoy, that was very rude," Hermione agreed sounding incensed.
"Alright knock it off the both of you. You two quarrelling constantly gives me a headache," Susan sighed before Draco could reply with a sarcastic retort.
"Hermione is right, though. We have to learn the tap-dancing spell so we can get the basics for more complex spells when animating inanimate objects," Harry added helpfully.
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione beamed.
"But you could be less annoying when explaining things," Harry smirked.
"Now you're just being mean," Hermione huffed.
"Alright back to this spell," Susan said shooting Harry an exasperated look.
"Well it works on inanimate objects but it can also work on people," Harry shrugged.
"The incantation is tarantallegra," Hermione added helpfully.
"It is. From what I've read, the caster dictates the dance steps. So if I wanted Draco to dance the conga, I would think of that dance while I cast the spell on him," Harry elaborated.
"I would rather see him dance Ballet," Daphne giggled.
"With a tutu?" Susan asked looking like she was fighting laughter.
"Of course, it's traditional," Daphne agreed seeming to be delighted at the horrified look on Draco's face.
"That is nightmare-inducing," Harry shuddered.
"Agreed," Draco nodded.
"You lot are easily distracted," Hermione sighed.
"We're eleven," Harry pointed out.
"Ah, actually I turned twelve last month," Daphne corrected.
"I turned twelve in September" Hermione smirked.
"Alright three of us are eleven," Harry corrected.
"And this has nothing to do with the spell," Susan added sounding impatient.
"Calm down Bones, we'll get back to the spell," Harry promised rolling his eyes at the redhead.
"I want to get this done so we can do something fun," Susan defended.
"Like what?" Hermione asked warily.
"We could sunbathe," Susan suggested.
"The sun will only be out for another hour at most," Daphne pointed out.
"I would suggest we go flying but Draco would object," Harry chuckled.
"To right I would. I still have punishment from my mother to look forward to after our last flight," Draco scowled.
"We still haven't perfected the end-of-the-year prank," Susan suggested.
"What prank?" Hermione exclaimed looking disapproving.
"Harry wants to put coloured dye in all of the dormitory shower heads so that it turns anyone who takes a shower bright blue," Susan explained.
"Unbelievable," Draco snorted shooting Harry an exasperated look.
"It was either that or rigging dung bombs to detonate in all of the school carriages when they passed through the main gates of the castle," Harry explained.
"If you did that, I would feed you to the giant squid myself," Daphne threatened.
"And I would help her," Draco promised.
"Which is why we decided on a more pleasant prank," Susan said smirking when she saw Harry shooting a wary look over at Daphne.
"Does the giant squid even eat people?" Hermione asked sceptically.
"No, it eats fish and sometimes... toast," Harry said feeling a bit relieved at this realization.
"Then I will transfigure Harry into a mackerel before I feed him to the squid," Daphne shrugged sounding very serious.
"So yeah, the dung bomb prank is definitely out," Harry said as he looked over at Susan.
"I wonder what is the matter with her," Susan said as she looked past Harry.
"Is that Hannah?" Harry asked as he glanced in the direction Susan was looking and spotted a familiar figure running towards their group
"It is," Susan answered as Hannah ran past Ron Weasley nearly knocking him over in the process.
"Wonder why she's running like she saw Draco in a tutu?" Harry muttered.
"Oi," Draco exclaimed over Hermione's giggles.
"I think we're about to find out," Daphne said as Hannah was getting closer.
"Susan, it's awful!" Hannah exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of the group.
"Hannah, what's the matter?" Susan asked as the girl plopped down between her and Harry and began gasping for breath.
"The *ah* minister was killed *ah* this morning, I just heard it on the wireless," Hannah panted out.
"You've got to be joking?" Harry exclaimed as he turned to look at the chubby blonde girl sitting beside him.
"I wouldn't joke about something like this, Harry," Hannah protested as she managed to catch her breath.
"How did it happen?" Draco asked sounding more serious than usual.
"They aren't saying," Hannah shrugged as she looked over at Draco.
"This isn't good," Daphne muttered as Hannah took Harry's bottle of pumpkin juice out of his hand and took a deep drink.
"It's not, I wonder who will be the temporary minister," Draco muttered more to himself.
"In cases where the minister dies in office, the head of the DMLE usually becomes interim minister until the Wizengamot can elect another minister," Hermione answered sounding as though she were regurgitating the history of magic textbook.
"Lovely," Harry said as he watched Hannah drink the rest of his juice.
"Here, you can have this back," Hannah said as she handed him the empty pumpkin juice jug.
"Thanks," Harry snorted.
"Sorry, I was thirsty," Hannah apologized her cheeks turning pink.
"It's fine, so did you find out anything else?" Harry asked as he tucked the empty jug into his open bag.
"No, the broadcast said more details would be in the Evening Prophet," Hannah said.
"That can't be a good sign," Daphne muttered.
"No, the ministry is in chaos according to the report," Hannah agreed as she subconsciously leaned into Harry's side.
"Is the ministry in lockdown?" Susan asked urgently.
"Yes, no one is allowed in or out," Hannah answered.
"Then I would bet anything that it wasn't natural causes," Daphne said thoughtfully.
"What are you lot doing?" Hannah asked curiously as she noticed all their books and quills on the ground in front of them.
"Charms essay," Harry answered feeling very aware of Hannah's head resting on his shoulder.
"Potter was supposed to help me with the spell but he keeps getting sidetracked," Susan said giving Harry a pointed look.
"There isn't much to the spell," Harry said as he drew his wand from his arm holster and pointed it at a frog that was about to hop into the lake.
"Tarantallegra," Harry intoned causing a green beam of light to strike the frog making it freeze in place.
All six first years watched on with interest as the frog stood upright on its long back legs and began to dance a vaudeville-style dance.
"Is that from the cartoon?" Hannah giggled as the frog danced over to them.
"Probably, he and Sirius watch those cartoons constantly," Susan said between giggles of her own.
"Finite," Harry said as he cancelled the spell causing the frog to drop back onto all fours and freeze about ten feet away from them.
"You're up, Bones," Harry said as he gestured to the frog.
"So all I have to do is concentrate on how I want the frog to dance?" Susan asked nervously.
"Yes," Harry nodded encouragingly as he watched her take aim at the frog.
"Tarantallegra," Susan intoned causing a second beam of green light to hit the frog.
Harry watched eagerly as the frog stood upright and began to elegantly pirouette before it balanced on the tips of its long toes and started to spin in place.
"See, it's easy," Harry beamed as the frog began to spin faster.
"Now you have to try the spell on Draco," Daphne suggested between giggles.
"Don't even think about it Bones," Draco warned.
"It would be funny to see," Hermione smirked.
"Shut it, Granger," Draco scowled.
"That's just rude," Hannah admonished.
"He's always rude," Hermione agreed.
"Finite," Susan said as she cancelled the spell and the frog made a frantic dash for the lake.
"I don't think he liked dancing Ballet," Harry chuckled as the frog leapt into the water.
"I noticed," Susan said as she turned away from the lake.
"So now what are the rest of us going to practice on?" Draco asked.
"The spell works on just about anything with legs," Harry shrugged.
"Too bad we don't know that chair conjuring spell," Hermione sighed.
"According to Professor Peverell, our cores are not developed enough for spells like that," Harry pointed out.
"I still wish I could get private lessons with him," Daphne muttered.
"Yuck," Draco exclaimed.
"He is quite handsome," Hermione admitted her face coluring at the admission.
"He kind of looks like Harry," Hannah said thoughtfully.
"Maybe if Harry put on a bunch of muscles," Susan giggled.
"Alright now who's getting off topic," Harry scowled as he tried to fight the blush that was colourung his own cheeks.
The rest of the afternoon Harry and his growing group of friends spent their time sitting by the lake's edge and talking about nothing in particular. They talked about the minister but that discussion got depressing and they quickly changed topics to something more lighthearted.
As the group walked back to the castle to get dinner he couldn't help but notice that their group was represented by all four houses now.
Avery Manor, Hampshire, 5/17/17:39
Voldemort stood over the trembling form of Albert Runcorn as he released the cruciatus curse.
"So Albert, tell me how it is that you neglected to inform me about the other guests staying at the minister's manor," Voldemort asked testily as he towered over Albert's prone form.
"Th-they had had never sta-stayed over before that night, my lo-lord," Albert stuttered weakly.
"Well that one little detail ruined the mission, Albert," Voldemort hissed.
"I apologize, my lord," Albert whimpered.
"And then when I was leaving the ministry in disguise that night, this ruffian accosted me in the atrium. This barbarian told me to watch it Bode and then shoved me," Voldemort said in a silky hiss and took pleasure in seeing the colour leaving his servant's face.
"I didn't-
"I broke my servants out for the cause but I had personal motivations as well, Albert. I believe that you deserve to suffer for your disrespect," Voldemort continued cutting Runcorn off.
"Pl-please, I beg you have mercy," Albert stammered.
"Mercy? I have no need for mercy, Albert," Voldemort chuckled as he directed his wand at his servant's chest.
"Ma-master?!" Albert gasped.
"CRUCIO!" Voldemort roared.
Runcorn began flailing wildly as the torture curse began to assault his body.
Voldemort knew it was petty to punish Albert when the man had no way of knowing who he really was that night. That fact still didn't change how much he was enjoying the sound of Albert's bloodcurdling shrieks echoing around the room. As Voldemort watched the man convulse wildly and his eyes began rolling back in his head, the dark lord wondered if he should drag out this punishment all night and if his servant would survive if he did.
Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London, 5/17/1992, 14:00
Sirius was having a rough few days and he hadn't seen his wife since Friday. The chaos going on at the ministry meant for the most part it had just been him and Edgar. At the house. Amelia's brother had agreed to watch the boy while Sirius attended the meeting today but if what he hears was true, he probably wouldn't be seeing much of Amelia for the foreseeable future.
This meeting was originally scheduled for yesterday but the Wizengamot session had gone much longer than expected. Unfortunately, after this morning, the tone of the meeting would become if possible even more depressing.
Frank and Alice weren't here yet though considering what had happened earlier, Sirius really wasn't expecting them to show up for this meeting.
Sirius watched as Dumbledore swept into the kitchen looking very subdued and took his usual seat at the head of the table. More members continued to arrive over the next ten minutes though not much conversation was exchanged. It was fairly clear that what had happened this morning had shaken them.
Snape was the last to arrive and he swept into the dining room with an unreadable expression before taking his seat beside the headmaster.
"As most of you already know, the minister was assassinated this morning as well as her secretary," Dumbledore began.
"From what I have heard, Voldemort carried out the attack personally," Dumbledore said giving Alastor a questioning look.
"He did, I saw him right after he killed Valerie Fawley," Moody growled.
"How is Rufus planning on handling things in the immediate future?" Dumbledore asked.
"The ministry will be focusing on cleaning house and purging any spies that still remain," Kingsley spoke up.
"We will also be plugging up gaps in security. that bastard walked into the minister's office and killed the minister. He could have walked out unnoticed if he hadn't murdered the receptionist and set off the unforgiveable alert wards," Moody explained.
"How did he get out of the ministry, they have some formidable transportation wards," Bill Weasley asked.
"He had someone enter the ward control room and take down the ministry wards, whoever did it was good they didn't leave a trace of magic behind," Kingsley answered sounding almost impressed.
"There was more to this attack than the public knows about," Arthur Weasley admitted.
"How so?" Dumbledore asked with interest.
"All six of the prisoners we caught the other night escaped via portkey while the aurors were distracted with Voldemort," Arthur said looking very worried.
"So the attack was just a distraction," Sirius nodded in understanding.
"There is one more thing," Kingsley said sounding almost exhausted.
"Go ahead, Kingsley," Dumbledore encouraged.
"Voldemort entered the ministry disguised as Broderick Bode. Since then a search is being conducted for Unspeakable Bode but we have been unable to locate him," Kingsley explained.
"Do we know how long he has been missing?" Elphias Doge spoke up.
"He was last seen on the evening of the fifteenth. Many of the witnesses we interviewed reported seeing him in the atrium on their way home," Kingsley answered.
"That is very troubling indeed, if Voldemort interrogated Broderick, he could have in-depth information about the Department of Mysteries," Dumbledore said after a moment of silence.
"Lovely, has there been in activity in the D.o.M?" Sirius asked warily.
"Not that we're aware of but we're still waiting on the report from Croaker," Kingsley replied.
"Great so he could have already visited the D.o.M and we'd never know," Moody muttered darkly.
"Yes," Kingsley answered gravelly.
"What have we learned about the vampires?" Dumbledore asked before Moody could respond.
"The East Side is almost completely cleared but the other places we've found activity are just as bad if not worse than in London," Kingsley admitted.
"I feared as much," Dumbledore sighed.
"We have teams searching the country but realistically speaking, it could take until after Christmas to round them all up," Kingsley explained.
"Great, so what are we going to do? The order doesn't have the manpower to take on a horde of vampires," Sirius exclaimed.
"We will continue to watch over the village of Hogsmeade and collect information on Voldemort's movements," Dumbledore replied.
"We're not going to help hunt the vampires?" Bill Weasley asked sounding disappointed
"Of course we're not," Molly exclaimed looking at her son as if he had grown a second head.
"We simply do not have enough experienced fighters in the order to confront such superior numbers," Albus explained.
"Aye, let the DMLE round the blood-suckers up. Ole Rufus is already talking with the Romanian government on how best to deal with large numbers of vampires," Moody added.
"I'm surprised they didn't volunteer to send one of their hunter teams here to deal with them for us," Malcolm Vaisley said.
"They did but Rufus doesn't take for granted that Voldemort hasn't infiltrated government agencies in other countries," Kingsley answered.
"Rufus was always cautious," Moody said sounding approving.
"He was cut from the same cloth as you were, Mad-Eye," Sirius chuckled.
"Too right lad. We were in the same year at the academy and that was back when the academy wasn't the glorified daycare it is today," Moody exclaimed.
"Yes well I suppose our last order of business for this evening is to set up a watch rotation over Hogsmeade," Albus said.
Sirius couldn't blame Albus for his cautious approach but he also couldn't deny that he was disappointed in the order's lack of action either.
The bottom line was the order wasn't an offensive group. The order mainly gathered information and reacted to attacks. Most of the members had no legal authority to arrest death eaters and certainly couldn't go around killing purebloods or the ministry would class the order as a terrorist group just like the death eaters.
As Sirius watched the other members leaving he couldn't help but wonder when Harry would be ready to return the favour to these bastards for all of the madness that had been going on in the past few days.
Peverell Beach House, Cornwall, 5/17/1992, 17:49
Harry stepped through the door to find his wife waiting on him without the kids which was unusual.
"I sent the kids to stay with Andi for the night," Bella said as if reading his mind.
"Oh, I take it you heard about Augusta?" Harry asked as he hung his robes.
"I did, Cissa is quite upset," Bella said as she took his hand and led him toward the kitchen.
"I heard Voldemort took care of her personally," Harry admitted as the two of them walked down the hall.
"Yes, I heard that too," Bellatrix agreed.
"So you want to know about the Avery job," Harry asked shrewdly.
"Yes, I know he will be travelling to meet with Karkaroff after Durmstrang lets out for their term," Bellatrix said as they took their seat.
"I would pay to know where Cissa gets her information," Harry muttered as food appeared on the table.
"She owns twenty per cent of The Drunken Pixie, the place is covered in listening charms," Bellatrix smirked.
"And everybody says you're the evil sister," Harry snorted.
"So are we finally going to deal with Avery?" Bella asked looking amused at his comment.
"Yes, but we are going to be bringing Sirius along with us this time," Harry answered.
"He could be useful," Bellatrix said looking thoughtful.
"Really?" Harry asked feeling a bit surprised she was open to the idea.
"Oh yes, if Bella gets in trouble she can use cousin Sirius as a human shield," Bella said matter-of-factly.
"Human shield?" Harry asked in amusement as food appeared on the table.
"Yes, a human shield can stop the unforgiveables or so I'm told," Bellatrix smirked as she scooped some shrimp alfredo onto her plate.
"Well he asked to help us and we may need more wands for this job, Avery is almost certain to have people with him," Harry said as he fixed himself a plate.
"He probably will. Avery is going there to meet with possible recruits fresh out of Durmstrang, there is a chance he will be meeting with them at his summer home," Bellatrix agreed as she poured herself a tall glass of wine.
"My thoughts exactly," Harry agreed.
"Have you heard anything about what the order is up to?" Bella asked after a few minutes of eating in companionable silence.
"No, though I try and avoid interaction with the order if I can avoid it," Harty admitted.
"Probably for the best," Bella said.
"They are better off than they were in my timeline but they are still going about things the wrong way," Harry sighed.
"We've been dragging our feet lately," Bella pointed out.
"I know, after we deal with Avery we can do a lot more though I fear if we attack too many death eaters then the ministry will start hunting for us," Harry confessed.
"Yes, I assumed as much. Perhaps we can point them in the other direction," Bellatrix suggested.
"Like frame someone," Harry asked with interest.
"Exactly, put the blame on one of the death eaters," Bellatrix beamed.
"That would be great but who would we set up to take the fall?" Harry questioned.
"I don't know," Bella admitted.
"We'll table that for now, how was your day?" Harry questioned.
"Quite nice, I had tea will Andi and Cissa," Bella answered.
"At Cissa's?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I got to see the children in their etiquette class," Bella smirked.
"Bet Iggy loved that," Harry sniggered.
"He seemed to be very uncomfortable especially when I asked Cissa how he was doing in his dance lessons," Bella giggled.
"Imagine that, did you happen to mention ballet by chance?" Harry asked with a knowing smile.
"I may have asked Cissa how her advanced classes were coming along," Bella answered.
"Hm, Iggy may have thought we were serious the other day," Harry chuckled.
"You may be right," Bella agreed looking highly amused.
"Anything else?" Harry asked after sipping his wine.
"Cissa is becoming obsessed with those songbirds," Bella said after a moment.
"Well I can't really throw stones, there are far more poisonous snakes in this house than most people are comfortable with," Harry said reasonably.
"Cissa said something similar," Bellatrix sighed.
"I am finally done overseeing my own detentions," Harry said quite feeling quite pleased at this news.
"Good, though it's only a matter of time before you get yourself in trouble again," Bella smirked.
"Agreed, I am pretty sure the little brats are planning something for the end of the year," Harry admitted.
"Probably, that was what my cousin usually did at the end of the year," Bellatrix sniggered.
"So if we go to Bulgaria, how are we going to get there unnoticed," Bellatrix asked getting serious again.
"Fly out to Paris or Berlin and then travel the rest of the way by apparition hop or that smoke cloud spell," Harry answered.
"Both would be exhausting, we could just fly the entire way," Bella countered as if it were obvious.
"I didn't think you would want to, I know how much you hate air travel," Harry shrugged.
"I do and I swear I will crucio the first muggle that lights a cigarette," Bella warned.
"Imagine if the muggles had that as an incentive to quit smoking," Harry chortled.
"Yes, that would certainly make them quit smoking," Bella agreed.
"Especially if you made an example out of one or two of them for the others to see," Harry agreed.
"So we make a flight into Sofia and make our way to Avery's summer home?" Bella pressed looking amused at his last comment.
"Yeah, I figure we'll have to check out the property preferably while he's not home so we know what we're getting ourselves into," Harry said before taking his last bite of Alfredo.
"What if there are dark mark wards?" Bella asked.
"We'll have to break through them," Harry said after draining his glass.
"You mean I'll have to break through them," Bella smirked.
"You understand them better than I do," Harry said as their plates and the serving bowl disappeared.
"I shouldn't have much trouble taking them down, I've certainly set them up enough," Bellatrix said as she refilled her glass.
"It would be good if we can take them down without tripping the manor's alert wards," Harry pointed out as he refilled his own glass
"I will look over the arithmancy of the ward to be certain but I think we should be able to take them down or at least alter them to suit our purposes," Bellatrix assured him.
"Excellent, then we'll just have to babysit Sirius," Harry snorted.
"That may be the most difficult part," Bella said as she stood up.
"It will be, I just hope he doesn't want a catsuit," Harry shuddered as he rose to his feet.
"That is a disturbing mental image," Bellatrix giggled as she took his hand and led him towards the deck.
As they stepped onto the deck Harry couldn't help but appreciate how beautiful the sun setting over the crashing waves with the vibrant pink sky as a backdrop looked.
"We just about missed the sunset," Bella said as she leaned her head onto Harry's shoulder.
"I don't think we've watched the sunset in a while," Harry whispered before placing a kiss on her forehead.
As the two of them got comfortable on the bench and watched the sun disappear over the horizon Harry couldn't help but feel content. He knew that the next few weeks were going to be chaotic but for this evening he planned on spending some quality time with his wife.