46-50

Ch.46 - New Directions

A few minutes after leaving Little Whinging, Alex arrived in his country house in Norwich. Harry Potter was there in the foyer waiting for him with his trunk and an owl in a cage. Mr Baxter was currently preparing the bedroom for their guest.

"I'm sorry for the abruptness of it all, but welcome to Hermes Country House," said Alex. "This is my personal residence which Mr Baxter is taking care of."

"You have a beautiful home, Mr Grey."

"Thank you, it is well looked after. Let's leave your things here for a while and I'll give you the tour of the property."

"Mr Grey, can I let Hedwig fly around a bit? She has been cooped up for some time now."

"Of course. Let her fly around so she can get used to the place."

Harry opened the birdcage and the owl was eager to get out.

"Now, let's start on our tour," Alex said as he began to walk. "Here is the living room, it's a great open space where I receive some guests once in a while. There is also a music player there, I can show you how to use it later. One thing that you must know is that this is a wizard's house, Harry. That means within the property, you can use magic as much as you want. They won't catch you for underaged magic here. So, you can practice your spells as much as you want."

"That's great! Hermione is always complaining about not being able to practise spells during the summer."

"Don't worry about Hermione. She got the practice that she wanted in the AIM Centre. She might surprise you the next time you see her."

"That's right. They all attended your lectures. I have to keep up!"

"There will be enough time for that. Let's go to the dining room."

They both walked back into the foyer and to the dining room. Harry asked about the kitchens and Alex showed him where it is.

"Wow! You have a big kitchen. It would be so easy to cook in here," said Harry.

Alex frowned when he heard that. He was reminded of what he learned about the boy's life.

"If you want to cook something yourself, that will be fine. But, Harry, you won't be asked to cook here ever. We have the house-elves that takes care of the cooking here."

"You have house-elves like Dobby?"

"I don't know about Dobby. But, we do have great house-elves here."

"Yeah. Dobby is not normal, I think the Malfoys punishes him."

"That's unfortunate. Let's continue with our tour," he went and opened what looked like a cupboard door. "The staircase here leads to the potions laboratory. You can also use it if you want, as long as you stick to the potions in your current curriculum."

Harry winced hearing that. Mr Baxter had already cleared away all the dangerous things in the house before the Ministry stared doing their raids of people's houses. In fact, they had already visited the country house and they found nothing of note in it.

"Potions is not really my favourite. Snape and I don't really get along well."

Normally, Alex would tell him that he should still give Prof. Snape the respect he deserved. But after learning the man's connection to Harry, he thought that there might really be something behind Harry's words that were more than Prof. Snape's usual demeanour.

"Well, no matter how he is, the art of Potions is still a worthwhile subject to learn. Now, let's go to the back gardens. You will like it there."

When they arrived at the garden, Harry was very impressed. There was a combination of magical and non-magical plants that made a beautiful sight.

"Beautiful right? Matt and Patt, the house-elves, created this garden. They are really good at gardening and it makes them happy."

"It's really amazing, Mr Grey. Some of these plants are even unknown to me."

"Well, the house-elves could tell you all about them some other time. But, they tend to have their own names for these plants. If you want to learn about them yourself, there are books in the study about all the plants in here. Anyway, if you look there across the field, you will find the amphitheatre where I practice spells that shouldn't be used inside the house. But, is there anything else you notice?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can fly around here on your broom!"

"What! Really!?"

"Really. As long as you don't go over the trees over there and don't go over 100 feet in the air, it should be well within the wards. The open land here could probably fit a whole quidditch pitch."

"This is really a great place!"

"I'm glad you like it. That should be enough for now. Why don't you settle in your room first? It should be ready now. — Matt! Patt!"

Two house-elves appeared in front of them, one female and one male. Unlike Dobby, they were wearing their clothes proudly.

"You called, Master Grey?"

"Harry, this is Matt and Patt. They are the caretakers, gardeners, and cooks around here."

"Hi! Nice to meet you!" greeted Harry.

"It's nice to meet the young wizard as well. My name is Matt and this one is Patt."

Matt, the male house-elf learned how to talk better than his partner. Patt, on the other hand, was always very quiet unless she had to talk.

"Good," said Alex. "Please take Harry here to his bedroom and have his things taken there as well if you haven't already done so."

"Yes, Master Grey! Please come with me, sir Harry."

"Oh, Harry? Write to your friends and tell them that you are fine."

"Yes, Mr Grey. I'll do it the first chance I get."

×××

Alex was planning to spend some more time with Katie after his summer lectures where finished. But with Harry Potter staying in his country house, he wouldn't be able to do so as frequently. It was a good thing that Katie had a lot of things to do as well.

For the next couple of weeks, Alex had taught Harry how to improve his spell-casting. The boy was really lacking practice and his studying habits could be improved just a bit. Because of the boy's attitude, Alex had to lecture Harry on not being afraid to excel and stand out.

Despite that, Harry was very talented indeed. However, it was his general knowledge about the wizarding world that he was truly lacking. And so, he asked Mr Baxter to tutor Harry about the wizarding world's customs and histories.

Alex's own training with the Flamel was progressing just as well. His arsenal of quick Transfigurations was improved a lot. He learned about a lot of spells from Nicolas Flamel that he had never heard about. His wandless magic had also been refined quite a lot. He could already cast a 'Stunning Charm' non-verbally and wandlessly. It may sound like a simple spell to learn, but there are very few wizards who could cast that spell non-verbally. Even fewer were the wizards who could cast it wandless.

Another simple improvement that he made was the additional enchantment on his golden Order of Prometheus ring. He added some enchantment to give it the same function of a 'Sneakoscope'. The ring would produce a number of vibration pulses when a person under a disguise is near him. Quirrell being possessed by the Dark Lord for an entire school year without anyone knowing left an impression on him. He wasn't sure whether the ring could detect the type of possession that the Dark Lord did to Quirrell, but it couldn't hurt to be more careful.

×××

On August 19th, Harry received his Hogwarts letter for the new school term. It looked like Prof. Dumbledore had learned about Harry's location in some way or perhaps that was just the way the Hogwarts letters work. Interestingly, Alex had also received a letter from the Headmaster inviting him to go to Hogwarts that day. He wondered if it had anything to do with Harry Potter being in his country house.

So, Alex showed Harry how to travel to Diagon Alley by Floo so the boy could go there and meet with his friends.

"Just say 'Diagon Alley' then throw some of the Floo powder to the pit. And say it clearly, okay?"

"Yes, Mr Grey," replied Harry.

"Good. Don't do anything that I wouldn't do. Now, off with you."

"Diagon Alley!" exclaimed Harry before throwing the powder down of the ground.

A green fire rose up and engulfed him before disappearing. Alex couldn't help but worry about the boy. He had never met anyone who could attract trouble as well as Harry Potter.

"Patt!" he called out.

The house-elf appeared beside him in an instant.

"How can Patt serve Master?" asked Patt.

"I want you to follow Harry Potter in Diagon Alley. Stay unseen and do not do anything unless Harry is in extreme danger."

"Patt will do so, Master," said the female house-elf before vanishing.

×××

An hour later, Alex arrived in Hogwarts via the Hogsmeade entrance. He went directly to the Headmaster's office without wasting any time.

"Headmaster, you called for me?"

"Sit down, Mr Grey. We have some things to talk about," said the Headmaster very seriously.

"I suppose we do," said Alex while taking a seat.

"When did you take Harry Potter from his home in Surrey?"

"About the beginning of the month."

"And why did it occurred to you that it was acceptable for you to remove Harry from his home?"

"They were imprisoning him, literally. There were padlocks on his door and bars on his windows. So, I made the decision to take Harry Potter away from there."

"Harry must return to Privet Drive. It is the only safe place for him to return to when he is not in Hogwarts. There are protections that are in place for him there."

"So, as I suspected, you really are the one who placed Harry in that house, with those people. How could you do that!? They treated him as a servant, called him names, insulted his parents for the past 10 years."

"It is regrettable, but Harry is protected from Voldemort by the sacrifice of his mother. So, I connected that sacrifice to his mother's only relative. As long as Harry Potter lives in a house with his aunt, he will be protected from Voldemort and his followers."

Alex thought about what the Headmaster said. From what he learned about Lily Potter, she was a very smart woman and a genius in charms. Could she have found a way to protect his son from the Dark Lord using some sort of charm or ritual at the cost of her life?

However, Alex said, "That is no longer an option. Petunia no longer have any recollection of her connection to Harry and Lily Potter. I made sure of it. I doubt that even you could undo it."

Dumbledore stood up in surprise. "What have you done!?" he said with a raised voice. "You could find your self in Azkaban for this!"

"If the Ministry starts asking questions, I will be happy to tell them the reason behind my actions. You are the one who cursed Harry Potter with such a situation! Do not presume that you have the higher ground here, Dumbledore!" said Alex.

He couldn't believe that he was raising his voice against the Headmaster. But, he had lost his patience with the old man. How dare he accused him? What happened during the last school term was bad enough, but learning about Harry's home life which Dumbledore was partially responsible for was too much.

"It is for the greater good! I thought you of all people would understand. You have seen the spirit of Voldemort. He will return one day. He will come back for Harry."

"Then we fight him when he comes!"

"And how many people would die if it comes to war?"

"You and I have a very different definition of the greater good. Do you really believe that we can avoid a war when the Dark Lord returns? If you have done a better job at rooting out his followers after his defeat, it could very well be as you think. But now? They are even more powerful than before, the law has also gotten worse. It is not a question of whether or not we can avoid a war. You should be asking yourself, how we can prepare for the coming war."

"You are too young to understand the terrible waste that war creates," Dumbledore said shaking his head. "Our world exists in a very delicate state."

"I understand just fine, believe me in that..." said Alex with his voice becoming darker. "I will stand against Voldemort. And there are people who will stand beside me when that happens. I will rather have you stand beside me as well. But, if you are too afraid to take action, then the least you could do is to step out of the way. This fight is not just between you, Harry, and Voldemort alone. It is a fight between all decent people and those who would try to step all over us."

Dumbledore was speechless. He didn't quite know what to say to the young man in front of him. He doesn't want to lose another talented wizard to a dark path, but there was also something in Alex's words that resonated with him. Alex's passion reminded him of his friend Grindelwald, and that had alarmed him. However, Alex was talking about a very different idea.

Alex stood up to leave after seeing that they couldn't get anywhere in their conversation. He didn't want to have a complete falling out with the Headmaster. No matter the difference in their opinion, they were still on the same side. That was what he wanted to believe.

"Before I leave, let me share with you a quote from an Irish muggle philosopher that I agree with. 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'. Our hesitation to act is the thing that evil people is counting on the most. That was Voldemort's advantage in the last war. He simply didn't hesitate.—I do not want to become like him. I want to be better than him! And I will never give him an advantage if I could help it."

Then, he walked out of the office not looking back. Dumbledore was still frozen on his seat.

Fawkes flew from his perch to comfort his depressed friend. Dumbledore reached out to pet the phoenix on its head.

"Have I really done nothing?" Dumbledore asked the phoenix. The bird trilled at him. "I can't condone his approach. I just can't, Fawkes. But, perhaps the younger generation has a bigger stake in how the future turns out. Maybe, its time for an old man like me to make way. Alexander and his Association are indeed in a better position to resist the enemy."

Fawkes sang for him to comfort his spirit. Dumbledore really had a great friend in his companion.

Ch.47 - Behind the Curtains

Alex was in his study that afternoon catching up on the day's news when Patt, the house-elf, appeared.

"Master, young Harry had just returned to the house after his trip to Diagon Alley," said Patt.

"Thank you. I will listen to your report later on. For now, you can take a break or get back to your daily duties."

Alex met with Harry in the living room. The boy was looking over the things that he has bought from the shops.

"Harry, had a nice trip?" asked Alex.

"Yes, Mr Grey. It was fun to see my friends again. Everyone was there, Neville, Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys."

"Did you get everything that you need for Hogwarts?"

"Yes. Mrs Weasley helped me in buying all the books. It was so busy in Flourish and Blotts today because Lockhart was there signing books."

"Gilderoy Lockhart, I read about his book signing in the papers."

"Yes, but that's not all!" protested Harry. "He also announced that he would be the new professor of DADA for the year!"

Gilderoy Lockhart? The writer? Did Dumbledore finally ran out of applicants for the position? Alex wondered.

"Oh? It sounds like you are not too happy about that," said Alex.

"It just that Lockhart was very interested in me, well, in my fame, to be exact. I'm not so sure about him."

"I'm sure it will be fine," said Alex.

Later that night, he sent an order to Mrs Pearce and Mr Dewey to investigate Gilderoy Lockhart thoroughly. After the last DADA teacher was used by the Dark Lord to sneak into Hogwarts, he couldn't take the chance of it happening again. The DADA position was occupied by a different person each year, so, it was a huge vulnerability to the security of the school.

Then, Alex called Patt once again in his study. The house-elf appeared suddenly as usual.

"Master, you called Patt?"

"Yes, I did. Tell what happened with Harry during his trip to Diagon Alley."

"Yes, Master!" said the house-elf. "...Harry Potter arrived through Diagon Alley Floo without a problem. He immediately found his friend, Hermione Granger. They met with Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley at the bookstore Flourish and Blotts. The Weasley boy introduce young Harry to the Weasley patriarch inside the bookstore. Harry was spotted by Gilderoy Lockhart and the man created a scene that made Harry feel uncomfortable. Harry was dragged in by a Daily Prophet reporter so the boy and Lockhart could be photographed together."

"No doubt, it would make the front page of the Daily Prophet. They have been running of articles lately. What else happened?" asked Alex.

"There was an altercation between Malfoy patriarch and the Weasley patriarch. They fought with punches and books until some other people managed to hold them apart."

Alex thought about the matter between Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley. Those two were always at odds with one another. Perhaps Lucius knew about Arthur's status as the most likely inheritor of the Black fortune which would explain his antagonistic attitude with the Weasley family.

From what they learned in the interrogation of the house-elf Dobby, Lucius Malfoy was definitely planning something in Hogwarts. He would have to keep a close eye on what was happening in the school. As for Dobby, he was spending his time as a prisoner. He protested so much at first, but now he was enjoying it quite. His masters couldn't give him another punishment as long as he stayed in there.

After that part of the report, there was nothing more that stood out. Harry and his friends completed their shopping. After that, he said his goodbyes and left via Floo.

×××

On the next day, Alex called in Harry in his study for a talk.

"Good morning, Mr Grey. Matt said that you wanted to me," said Harry.

"Yes. Sit down, Harry. — As you know, I was in Hogwarts last term as an apprentice under Prof. Flitwick. As part of my apprenticeship, I was developing a healing charm. I had just received some word that my 'Vision Correcting Charm' had just passed its testing and was now being endorsed by St. Mungo's Hospital."

"Congratulations, Mr Grey," Harry happily said.

"Thanks. Now, since the charm had passed the scrutiny of the Ministry, I want to offer you my services. I can adjust your eyesight so you would be able to see normally. Or, if you want, we can go to St. Mungos and have the treatment there."

"My eyes will really be better? I don't have to wear eyeglasses anymore?" asked the boy excitedly.

"Yes, if you want to. But, I have some other ideas about your eyeglasses."

"I want you to perform the charm, Mr Grey. It's your own invention. I'm sure no one else can perform it better than you."

"Very well. Put your eyeglasses on the table and just sit very still. — Are you ready?"

"Yes, Mr Grey."

Alex pointed his wand at Harry's eyes and said, "Visuremedium!"

There were no spell flare that resulted from using the charm. It was directly affecting Harry's cornea on both his eyes, shaping them to take on the optimal curve over the retina.

After two seconds, the process was over. Harry blinked a couple of times to confirm how he was seeing.

"It's really better! I can really see clearly! Thank you, Mr Grey! With this, I could read books as much as I want without my eyes hurting. I would even be able to see the Snitch better!"

Alex laughed and said, "Oh no! Now the Hufflepuffs would have a harder time beating you!"

"Yeah, it will be your fault. But seriously, thank you for this."

When Harry made a move to reach for his old glasses to put it away, Alex stopped him.

"Leave it here for now. There is something that I am thinking about doing on it"

"What do you mean?"

"Well Harry, you might have learned about it from Mr Baxter, but there are some wizards and witches who could read your mind."

"Using Legilimency you mean. Mr Baxter taught me all about them. But, they are rare, right?"

"They are rare, but not so rare from your perspective. In fact, you know three wizards who are Legilimens?"

"Three? Who are they!?" asked the boy alarmed.

"Prof. Dumbledore, Prof. Snape, and me."

"Snape? No wonder he always seem to know what I am thinking. But you as well?"

"Don't worry. I only use it when I need to. But, I would like for you to be able to defend yourself against it."

"How?"

"The defence against Legilimency is Occlumency. I would like to teach it to you, but we do not have that much time this summer. For now, we can use a different type of protection."

"You mean my eyeglasses?"

"I will apply some enchantments on the lenses that would protect you from any Legilimency attacks."

"So I would still have to wear the eyeglasses?"

"Yes, but you don't need to wear it all the time anymore, like during quidditch. Remember that I don't want you to spread that you are staying with me. You also shouldn't tell anyone about your eyeglasses. Alright?"

"Yes, of course, Mr Grey. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Furthermore, the Hermes Country House is also not affiliated publicly with me. Everyone else know that my house is in Hogsmeade. Maybe you can tell your friends as long as they promise not to tell anyone else. I am not really worried about what the Ministry will say, but I am worried that other wizard families would protest the fact that you are living with me. Mr Baxter had told you about the Potter family, am I right?"

"Yes. He told me that they were a wealthy and old family who fought against the Dark Lord. Now I am the last remaining member of the Potter lineage."

"That is true. Someday you will have to take over the responsibilities of restoring your family. I hope you become a man that won't try to hide from your obligations, even if it is not one you have chosen for yourself. — But my point is, the old wizarding families of the British Isles are all related to one another in some fashion. You are probably related to the Weasleys and the Malfoys."

"Ugh... I am related to Draco?" asked Harry with an expression as if he had just eaten something disgusting.

Alex laughed at the boy's reaction.

"Distantly, but, yes. That is why I don't want you to spread the fact that you are living with me. There are some people who would claim that you should be living with a relative instead of living with me."

"But, what if I say that I like living with you?"

"Unfortunately, you are still a minor in the eyes of the law. Once you turn seventeen, you will be free to do anything that you want to, but not before."

"I understand, Mr Grey."

×××

From that day on, Alex left Harry alone to study his new books for the new school term. It would be good for him to study the materials ahead of time for once. Mr Baxter would still be continuing his lessons in the mornings.

For a week, Alex spent most of his time with Katie in Hogsmeade. She had a break in her study in the muggle college. Alex admired her dedication. The two of them were really a hard-working couple. It was no wonder why they couldn't spend much time with one another. Thankfully, magic made things a little easier. They could talk anytime face to face with their glass communicator. And, they could 'pop-in' in each other's home on a moment's notice.

However, her schedule was still quite intense. She was taking twice the minimum credit per semester of a full-time student. Furthermore, she was also taking some summer classes in her core courses. Luckily, she had potions to help her along. She was expecting to graduate with a Bachelors in Psychology and Neuroscience after one more year.

Alex procured a 1956 BMW 507 Roadster from his classic car restoration business for them to use during their time that week. They went on a road trip all over England and Scotland just as they did in France more than a year ago. It was a much needed holiday for the two of them.

×××

When Alex returned to London, there was a message waiting for him from Mrs Pearce and Mr Dewey. Apparently, their investigations had uncovered a surprising fact about Gilderoy Lockhart.

As it turned out, Lockhart had stolen the stories of his books from the actual wizards and witches who had performed the feats that he claimed to have done. Then, he 'Obliviated' them to keep the stories for himself. However, he didn't do quite a thorough job. There was always some remaining local story of the events that he was claiming to be responsible for and they were quite different from what he had written in his books.

Mr and Mrs Dewey had already prepared several articles to expose Lockhart's actions. It would the biggest scoop of the year for them. But, they were waiting for Alex to give them the go-ahead before publishing their story.

So, Alex had given them his permission but also asked them to inform their security and their legal counsel ahead of time so they could be ready for the backlash of the story. Alex also instructed Mrs Pearce to have their Auror agents arrest Lockhart at the same time when the story would break.

Dumbledore might receive some flak for this. The man that he just hired turned out to be a fraud. He wondered how the old man would react. Hopefully, the Headmaster wouldn't see this as an attack from him.

×××

After a few days, the story was released. The reaction from the people was just as they expected. Many readers of the Lockhart's books were clamouring in front of the Observer building in Diagon Alley and in the lobby of the MoM HQ demanding answers.

However, Lockhart had already been taken into custody. He had actually opened the door into his house for the Aurors that arrested him. He simply didn't expect for them to catch on his crimes.

The articles in the paper listed the proofs of his crimes and they also listed the inconsistencies that Lockhart had written about in his books. His most avid fans couldn't believe it. They were crying about the defamation of their favourite author to anyone who would listen.

The Daily Prophet actually joined the outcry. They were saying that the Observer was willfully destroying the reputation of Gilderoy Lockhart after the author had decided to give an exclusive interview to the Prophet.

The truth was that the literary critics of the Observers were not very interested in the works of Lockhart. They were too fantastical for an autobiography. And they lack the structure for a proper fiction. Lockhart's stories exists between fiction and non-fiction. They may be the norm in the magical world. But to the muggleborn critics who were more familiar with muggle literature, those categories were very strictly differentiated.

Mr and Mrs Dewey just laughed at the Daily Prophet's claims. Their support of the fraudulent author would be the Prophet's downfall. Aside from failing to see the inconsistencies about the author's works, they were also defending him even after the revelation of plenty of compelling evidence.

The trial of Lockhart was pushed forward as soon as possible. With Edward Tonks representing the prosecution, it was pretty much a done deal from the beginning. Before the questioning ended, Lockhart admitted to his crimes. Everyone who were following the trials gasped when they heard him. Lockhart had finally created a compelling story of his own.

Gilderoy Lockhart was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment in the lower level of Azkaban. The jury had given him as much mercy as they could. But, with the number of victims that the man had left behind, it was the very minimum sentence that they could award.

×××

On August 30th, Alex had visited Dumbledore once again at the professor's request.

"Was it your doing?" asked Dumbledore, not even bothering to exchange pleasantries with Alex.

"What was my doing?" asked Alex.

"The matter with Lockhart!" Dumbledore said impatiently. "Did you have him investigated to discredit me? The man is going to Azkaban because of this."

"I had him investigated because I was suspicious of him, not because of you. And for the record, the man is going to Azkaban because of his own actions."

"And it's only a coincidence that it would reflect badly on my management of Hogwarts?"

"That would be the consequences of your action, not mine. It would be naive of me to assume that you didn't know about Lockhart's crimes. You interviewed him yourself, did you not? After what happened with Quirrell you must have tighten your hiring process. So, why did you hire him?"

"There was simply no other choice. Everyone else who applied was politically attached. Only Lockhart was not involved in politics."

"You simply cannot go on like this. You are the Headmaster of Hogwarts first and foremost. You can't make your choices depending on politics."

"And that brings us to why I invited you here. I need someone to fill the position of DADA professor. You are more than qualified," said Dumbledore looking at Alex expectantly.

"Me?" asked Alex with eyebrows raised.

He wasn't expecting this after everything he had said to Dumbledore. Should he accept or not? It wasn't a bad option. He was planning on staying in Hogsmeade anyway to keep an eye of Hogwarts. Being a teacher would make that easier. But, there was the curse on the DADA position. He couldn't predict how the curse would manifest at the end of the school term. Quirrell had died last year and plenty of former DADA teacher has been gravely injured at around the time of the end of the school term before. Perhaps he could get ahead of the curse instead.

"Okay. I'll do it," said Alex. "However, we have to agree that the post would only last for a year."

"That is fine. Thank you for accepting. I will expect you to get here before the Welcoming Feast."

Alex excused himself from the room. He felt weirded out by what just happened. He wasn't expecting Dumbledore to make this move. Perhaps, the Headmaster truly didn't have much of choice. But knowing the man, it is unlikely. Alex felt that Dumbledore offered him the job to keep him close and keep an eye on him.

After leaving Dumbledore's office, he went to visit Prof. Flitwick to give the professor the news that he would be the next DADA professor of Hogwarts. The small professor congratulated him, but, he also gave Alex a warning about the curse on the position. Alex explained about his arrangement with the Headmaster.

After that, he had to prepare for his class. Since his appointment was so abrupt, he didn't have the time to issue the required texts for his class. So, he just purchased the books in bulk from Flourish and Blotts, about 50 copies of the books that he had used during his time as a student in Hogwarts from first-years to seventh-years. He would just have to hand them to the students on the first session of his classes.

END OF CHAPTER

Side Story:

The loud noise from the door had awakened him. Who could it possibly be, he wondered. He didn't have an appointment that morning as far as he could recall.

The groggy man put on the robe that was hanging from a stand by his bed. It was a nice silk robe that he had purchased during one of his trips in China. He went to check his reflection in the mirror. He fixed his blond hair a bit and applied some rouge on his cheeks. He looked divine, as always. His hair, his jawline, the silhouette of his body, everything was perfect. It was a sin to look so beautiful. The beautiful embroidery on the robes was just his cup of tea. They were elegant and dashing, very fitting for himself.

He heard the knocking on the door once again. They were louder this time.

"Who is it!?" he yelled. Some people did not have the patience to see him.

"It's the Aurors, Mr Lockhart. We would like to speak with you regarding a case," said the voice of a woman.

Gilderoy was intrigued. Perhaps, his greatness had finally reached the Aurors that they would be begging him to give his consultation on one of their cases. If he helped them along, it could possibly lead to another book for him.

He could imagine the headlines now. 'Gilderoy Lockhart assisted clueless Aurors in their case'. If only the Observer would pick his stories up, then his magnificence would reach a wider audience. But, he would have to be satisfied with the attention from the Daily Prophet.

Gilderoy opened the door and said, "Welcome Ms Auror! It is such a privilege to have a beautiful and dedicated Auror like you to protect us. Please come in and make yourself comfortable. I will prepare some tea that I got from my trip to China. I think you'll find it very pleasing. I would offer you breakfast, but perhaps we can have that on another day!" He laughed at his own joke.

"Mr Lockhart, you are under arrest for Fraud, Assault, and Misuse of Magic. Please surrender yourself or we will have to use force," said the female Auror.

"I don't quite understand what you—"

"You are under arrest for Fraud, Assault, and Misuse of Magic," said the female Auror again.

"What are you ta—"

"Stupefy!" yelled two other Aurors.

Lockhart was sent backwards with the force. He was completely out of it.

Ch.48 - The New DADA Professor

Alex had finished his training with Nicolas Flamel. There were still more he could learn from the ancient wizard, but their time had run out. Nicolas and his wife still had to take care of many things before they finally face their eternal rest.

Alex was officially entrusted with Perenelle's Philosopher's stone. There was a small ritual involved in transferring the ownership of the stone. From that moment on, the stone would be linked to Alex. He would still need to protect it from being stolen, but he would always know where it was at all time.

Aside from that, Nicolas had entrusted him with his personal journals about Alchemy and Martial Magic. There was also a journal about all the feats that Nicolas performed in his prime. The ancient wizard was actually a real-life hero who had acted as a vigilante at times when the muggle and wizard rulers had failed to curb the chaos.

Using the unlimited wealth in his disposal, he manipulated things behind the curtains to establish the Statute of Secrecy. The man had lamented the necessity of it. He had always supported peaceful coexistence with the muggles. However, the separation of the worlds were the only thing that could prevent a war of extinction between muggles and wizards.

"It's up to you now, young wizard. The world is not perfect, and it will never be. But, we do our best regardless," said Nicolas.

"I will. Be at ease and don't worry," said Alex. "I will take care of everything from now on."

Alex wanted to spend more time learning from the old man. He was sure that there are still plenty of things that he could learn from him. But after getting to know them, he understood the exhaustion that they might be feeling. They had endured for so long and he could never, in good conscience, ask them to stay any longer.

×××

On September 1st, Alex and Harry decided to take the Hogwarts Express together. Hermione, Neville, and Ron were quite surprised to see Alex.

"Mr Grey, why are you taking the Hogwarts Express with us?" asked Hermione while they were in 'Platform 9 3/4'.

"Don't tell anyone yet, but l will be your DADA professor for this semester."

"Really? That's great!" said Neville.

"Yeah. Especially after the news about Lockhart. My mum was quite sad about it," said Ron.

"It's hard to believe it. I already read all his books! I thought that he was some kind of a hero," said Hermione pouting.

"It looks like Hermione had a crush on Lockhart!" teased Ron.

"Shut up! I didn't!"

They all laughed at Hermione's expense. Alex's Prometheus Ring had given off a warning. But, there were too many people on the platform to tell which person it was warning him about. Then, Mr and Mrs Weasley joined them with 4 other children. All of them had red hairs.

There was Percy who would be in his sixth year. The twins who would be in their fourth year. And, there was a little girl who was most likely their youngest sibling, Ginny.

The students decided to get on the train and Alex told them that he would be sitting on a different compartment. The ring stopped pulsating after he had left the kids on their own. He wondered who was the person that it was warning him about. Was it a person on the platform? He would like to believe it. But, knowing Harry Potter was involved, it was probably someone around the boy. He would have to pay attention to any new person that was hanging around Harry.

On the way to Hogwarts, Alex reviewed all the materials that he would be covering in his classes. Preparing the lessons plans was actually very time-consuming. There were only a few spells involved in DADA, but, most of the lectures are more academic in nature. Furthermore, the amount of information that they would have to cover was great.

×××

After the sorting of the new students was done, Headmaster Dumbledore made an announcement.

"Before we begin the Welcoming Feast, I would like to welcome Prof. Alexander Grey to the Hogwarts faculty! He will be taking over the role of the teacher for the Defence Against the Dark Arts class."

The students applauded and Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were the loudest. Dumbledore had cleared away any doubt that the student might have regarding their DADA class for that year. Despite, the scandal about Lockhart, having a duelling champion as their instructor was a definite improvement.

"I will also remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is particularly dangerous this year. After last year's attacks on the unicorns in the forest, the creatures there have become more territorial. Mr Filtch would also like to remind everyone that spell casting is not allowed in the corridors of the school," said Dumbledore. He continued for some time before finally signalling the beginning of the feast.

On the next day, he had his first class with Harry's group. The students were all waiting eagerly for their teacher. Having Alex as their official professor in DADA was very different from having him as a teaching assistant in Charms. Their imaginations were going wild thinking about what they could possibly learn from Alexander Grey. Unfortunately, Alex prepared quite a different kind of lesson for them. If the students were expecting to learn how to subdue a troll from him, they would be disappointed.

"Good morning, class. You already know who I am. For this year, I will be your professor for DADA," said Alex as he entered the class.

The students applauded him as he walked to the front of the class.

"Now, who could tell me what is the most important thing for wizards and witches to have when facing against danger?"

Several students raised their hands eagerly. Alex pointed at Ron to speak since he was not usually the type to raise his hand during class.

"Your wand!" said Ron.

"Yes, that is important. But, it's not the most important. Who else can answer?"

Alex pointed at Draco Malfoy to answer next.

"Magic! Magic is the most important of all," said Draco proudly.

"It is important indeed. But, what is the one thing that you absolutely cannot lose?"

Alex pointed at the only student who still had her hand raised.

"Our mind, Mr Grey. We cannot lose our mind to panic," said Hermione.

"That's right, Hermione. Take five points for Gryffindor. — When faced with danger, we cannot lose our wits. And this is what we will be learning in this class. Defending yourselves against the dark arts or dark creatures is not the same as duelling. So, if you were expecting to learn how to fight from me, you will be quite disappointed."

A lot of students were visibly disappointed. Alex just laughed at their reactions. However, every student was still listening intently, even the Slytherins. In his time as a teaching assistant for Charms, he had always treated the Slytherins fairly. So, they respected him in return.

"Now, for our first lesson, we will go discuss what exactly are these so-called 'dark charms' and the differences between the three types of 'dark charms', namely, Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses. You might have learned about them last year, but now, we will discuss them more in-depth. This way, we can learn how to defend against them better. — Now, I want you all to understand that the books that you have purchased for this class which are written by Gilderoy Lockhart will no longer be used in this class. Instead, I have brought the books that you will be using from now on."

"But, Professor, what would we do with Lockhart's books? My mum even had them signed personally," asked Seamus Finnegan.

The other students were sympathetic to the issue, especially some of the female students.

"Well knowing where the stories in these books come from, it is important to remember not to take them literally. One cannot simply punch a werewolf in the head to drive it away. You also cannot trick an inferi by talking to it. If you can keep that in mind, you can use it however you want. Read them for entertainment or use them as counterweights, I don't care."

Once Alex had handed out the books, the class continued without any problem.

But inwardly, Alex noted that his ring was not giving any reaction. Meaning, there was nobody under a disguise in the room. Whoever was following Harry Potter was not doing so during his classes. That also ruled out anyone of the same year in Gryffindor and Slytherins. He would have to find some other opportunity to be around Harry Potter outside of classes when the boy would be around some other students.

×××

About a week later, Alex walked past Harry and his friends during breakfast in the Great Hall. There was a reaction once again from his ring. However, there were only students that were close in proximity with Harry at the time.

"Good morning, kids. How are you guys doing?" asked Alex.

"We're fine, Prof. Grey! How are you today?" replied Harry with everyone saying the same thing.

"I'm doing alright myself. I heard that your quidditch practice was cancelled yesterday."

"Yes. The Slytherins needed the pitch to train their new Seeker. They got a note from Prof. Snape," said Harry.

"Yeah!" added Ron. "They got Malfoy as their new Seeker. His father bought everyone on the Slytherin team new brooms. They all have 'Nimbus 2001s'!"

Alex laughed at their team's predicament. He was acting as casual as he could while observing every other students nearby.

"Well, at least the Quidditch Cup would be interesting this year. The Ravenclaws also have a new Seeker this year."

Alex went ahead to the teachers' table. He got no reaction from ring over there. The hidden person was most likely disguised as a student. And, that was even more alarming to him.

After breakfast at the Great Hall, Alex followed the Gryffindor quartet on the way back to their dorms. When he caught up to them, he asked them to stop for a minute.

"Prof. Grey, is there a problem?" asked Harry.

The Order of Prometheus ring was still giving Alex a warning. It was detecting a disguised person around, but the only people in the corridor that they were in was him and the four children. He knew it couldn't be the children because he had already crossed them out during their classes with him.

Just then, Ron was feeding his pet rat some food that he pocketed during breakfast. Alex realized it then. It was an animagus in the form of a rat! How could he not think of it?

Did the wizard or witch took Ron's rat and switched with it just to stay close with Harry? No.— A person can't really choose his or her animagus form. It could only mean that the rat has been an animagus all along.

This rat had been in Ron's family even before the boy started going to Hogwarts! Who would be conniving enough to pretend to be a rat for years just for a chance to get close to Harry Potter? How could they even be sure that Ron and Harry would be friends in Hogwarts?

Alex concluded that whoever it could be was actually doing so to keep himself hidden. His proximity with Harry was a matter of chance. And unfortunately for him, Alex couldn't risk leaving him alone.

"Nothing is wrong," he said after remembering Harry's question. "I just want to remind you not to bother with Slytherin team too much. The brooms do not always determine the winner of the game. Remember, you also had that same advantage last year."

"I know, Professor. But, Oliver Wood scheduled even more practice because of it," complained Harry.

"Well, he is certainly very eager about quidditch. And from my perspective, he is right to be that way. The Gryffindor really has a good chance to win it all this year. The changes in the Slytherin team might have affected your odds. But, don't count out the Hufflepuffs just yet."

"We'll beat the Hufflepuffs no problem this year!" yelled Ron.

×××

Later at night, Alex sneaked in the Gryffindor common room. He used a combination of 'Notice-Me-Not' and 'Invisibility Charm' to spy on the entrance to the room as the students come in and out.

After learning the password, he waited until around 10 pm. He disguised himself as an older Gryffindor student complete with the matching uniform. Then, he stood before the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Wattlebird," he said.

"The Fat Lady in the picture was too uninterested to scrutinize him any further. He wouldn't be the first senior student to return late at night. The doorway was opened for him without any trouble.

After crossing the threshold to the common room, he restored his invisibility before proceeding. There were still some students in the common room and it took quite the effort for him to stay unnoticed while moving about.

With some difficulty, he finally found Ron's room. Alex sneaked in when Dean Thomas entered the room.

He waited in the corner as the boys mess around with one another before going to bed. In one side of the room, Ron and Neville were trying to console Harry about something strange away from the other boys in the room.

"Harry, maybe we can ask Prof. McGonagall about this voice that you are hearing," said Neville.

"No. She'll think I am crazy. Remember what Hermione said, even in wizards hearing voices is not a good sign."

"What about Prof. Grey? As the defence professor this year, he might be able to help us with this," Ron suggested.

"Maybe. I will talk to him when the time is right. But, don't tell anyone else, okay?"

Alex could only sigh in resignation after hearing their conversation. He couldn't believe that there was something else going on with Harry. When did it become so difficult to keep just one boy safe in school?

After everyone was asleep, Alex proceeded to do what he came there to do. He found 'Scabbers' sleeping in his cage. Whoever this wizard was, he was really good at playing the part of a fat and lazy rat.

He Stupefied the rat silently and placed it in his pocket. He made sure that the spell he used was strong enough to keep an elephant unconscious.

×××

He left Hogwarts via the Floo in his office. After arriving at his country house, he used the Floo again to go to the Poros Farm where they have the facilities to detain anyone. Interestingly, the house-eld Dobby was detained there as well.

Mr Grant was there to receive to him. They had already prepared the interrogation room for their guest.

He handed the rat to Auror Bailey, an Order member, who had recently made the headlines when she arrested Gilderoy Lockhart.

Bailey was one of the members that were recruited at the same time as Edward Tonks. Her first role was being one of Mrs Pearce's agents in the Auror department.

"This is an animagus wizard. He was disguised as a pet of Ron Weasley, a second-year Gryffindor student in Hogwarts. Interrogate him as rough as you can. I want to know the reason why he was hiding as a pet rat for many years and if he has any connection to Harry Potter. I want you to find out whether or not he has any connection to Lucius Malfoy. Be very careful him, he might still have a wand. Take all the precaution that you can."

"Yes, Archon. We won't let you down!"

Ch.49 - Pettigrew the Rat

Auror Bailey reversed the animagus transformation of the rat. What it turned out to be was a 30-40 years old balding man whose ragged clothes were too small for him. His nails and teeth were too long for a normal person and his ears were too big as well. They were the side-effects from staying in his animagus form for too long.

The Auror searched the man and found a wand hidden in the man's sleeve. The man carried no other items. He didn't even have a single Knut on him.

The wand was passed on to Alex who was watching the interrogation behind a charmed wall that was transparent from his side. From his observation, the wand was made with chestnut wood with a dragon's heartstring for its core. They kept it just in case it could be useful later on.

Bailey had their prisoner tied up in a chair as she administered four drops of 'Veritaserum' into his mouth just to be safe.

Using the serum was inadmissible in a court trial because some wizards had been known to resist it. There was also the fact that the person being questioned could only speak about the truth to the extent of his or her knowledge. Despite this, it was still a very convenient serum to have during an interrogation.

"Rennervate," said the Auror pointing her wand on the prisoner. Due to the spell, the prisoner awakened surprised to find himself bound to a chair in his human form.

"Wha-who are you!?" asked the man.

Bailey didn't reply. Instead, she asked her own question.

"What is your name?" she asked.

The man winced before saying, "My name is Peter Pettigrew."

That had surprised Alex. He had heard that name before.

Peter Pettigrew was a friend of the Potters. When Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord, he was killed when he chased after Black. He was awarded an Order of Melin First-Class medal posthumously. Apparently, that was not the truth.

"Since when did you start posing as a pet for one of the Weasley sons?" continued Bailey.

"Since the year 1982. Percy Weasley found me in their field and brought me home as his pet rat," said Pettigrew with a miserable expression. "Then, I was given to Ron Weasley last year before he began attending Hogwarts."

"Why did you pretend as the Weasley's pet?"

"I was hiding. I faked my death to frame Sirius Black and I was also hiding from other Death Eaters because my information about the Potters led to the Dark Lord's defeat."

"What do you know about Lucius Malfoy's plans for Hogwarts?"

"I don't know anything about that."

That had disappointed Alex. From what they had managed to learn from Dobby, Lucius Malfoy was planning to smuggle an artefact in Hogwarts that would unleash a calamity. Alex was watching Draco Malfoy because of it, but, there wasn't anything suspicious about the boy. It made sense that Lucius wouldn't want to involve his son. But, that gave him practically nothing to go on with.

"What is your interest in Harry Potter?" Bailey pressed on with her questions.

"I have no interest with Harry," answered Pettigrew.

Alex was unsatisfied. He directed Bailey to change the terms of her questioning a bit.

"What is your connection with Lucius Malfoy?" asked Bailey.

"We were both Death Eaters when the Dark Lord was still with us. But, he always doubted my loyalty. I posed as a pet rat to hide from him mostly."

"What is your connection with Harry Potter?"

"I took care of him sometimes when he was only a babe. He was such a sweet little boy. But, the Dark Lord wanted to kill him. I was asked to spy on the Potters when they started hiding. The Potters made me the Secret Keeper of the Fidelius Charm on their house without knowing that I was a Death Eater. The Dark Lord killed Lily and James Potter after I reported their whereabouts." cried Pettigrew.

Alex could tell that Pettigrew regretted his actions somewhat. He was probably forced to serve the Dark Lord. But, he only felt disdain for the man.

Pettigrew was a weak man. And, his weakness killed the very people who cared for and trusted him.

"Bailey, I will take over from now on," said Alex as he entered the interrogation room.

He would have preferred to keep his involvement hidden from Pettigrew. But after learning the man's involvement in the Potter's death, he decided to carry out the interrogation himself.

"Pettigrew, you've had plenty of opportunities to kill Harry Potter for your Dark Lord, why haven't you done so?" asked Alex

"The Dark Lord is not around to protect me if I did. When he returns, only then could I take the chance."

Auror Bailey and Mr Grant were surprised by what they just heard. Alex had never shared the knowledge about the impending return of Voldemort to anyone.

He looked at his two followers and said, "The Dark Lord will indeed return. I have foreseen it. When he does, we will be ready to fight him. This is why we can never fail. Remember this, but, keep this information to yourselves for now."

"Yes, Archon!" said the two Order members.

Then, he faced Pettigrew and used a focused Legilimency on him without using a wand.

He saw the man's memories. There were the four Marauders, Lily Evans, and Severus Snape. Then, there was also his bullies in school, Mulciber and many others. There was the ridicule that Pettigrew had experienced from other pureblood wizards.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Pettigrew got involved with the Death Eaters out of fear. Suddenly, the Dark Lord was very adamant about killing the Potters. So, he spied on his best friends and their infant son for the Dark Lord. Then, Sirius Black proposed for them to make him the Secret Keeper.

He reported it to the Dark Lord. And on that fateful Haloween day, the Dark Lord killed the Potters as he waited outside the house in Godric's Hallow. He heard the fight between Voldemort and his friend, James Potter. Pettigrew was crying as he tried to block out the noise.

Then unexpectedly, there was an explosion from the second floor of the Potters' home. Pettigrew was stunned. He waited there without doing anything. But, the Dark Lord didn't come out.

He ran inside the house, looking for the Dark Lord. But, all he found was the bodies of James and Lily Potter and the crying infant Harry. The Dark Lord was gone. All that remained was his wand.

Pettigrew picked up the wand. He left the house in a hurry. He hid the Dark Lord's wand in a place that only he knew. After a few days of hiding, a delirious Sirius Black finally found him in a place that was populated by muggles. But, he was expecting it. Pettigrew started shouting for all the people to hear that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters. Then, he used a 'Blasting Curse' to cause a big explosion, killing about 10 muggles. He cut off his finger and left the injured Sirius Black there.

After learning Pettigrew's story, Alex had 'Stupefied' the man once again.

He was puzzled about the fact that the Dark Lord was actually trying to kill Harry and not his parents. Why was he so decided on killing a baby? No doubt, Dumbledore would know. But, trying to get the answers from him would be a fruitless effort.

Alex was shocked most of all about the matter regarding Sirius Black. The man who had been in Azkaban for almost 11 years was actually innocent. And the real culprit was in front of him.

He wondered, what would it mean for the Ministry? No doubt, Fudge would try to cover it up.

What about the Association? What would the implication be when a member of the Black family was actually the victim of injustice. Alex knew from Pettigrew's story about Sirius Black's situation with his family. But, he was still a member of the 'darkest' family around.

If they exposed Pettigrew, they could exonerate Sirius Black. It would remove the Black fortune from Malfoy's reach. And, it would embarrass the Ministry.

Alex didn't want to weaken the Ministry, but he could also use this situation to 'clean-up' a little bit.

"Place Pettigrew in a high-security cell. Feed him once a day and make sure he doesn't die," ordered Alex.

"We will take care of it, Archon."

"Good, I will have to return to Hogwarts for now. We will have a meeting to decide what to do with Pettigrew this Thursday. I will give you the details later."

×××

After returning to Hogwarts, Alex received a message from Dumbledore the very next day. As he suspected, the Headmaster was keeping tabs on him. His absence from Hogwarts had been noticed even though he was only gone for a couple of hours. But, he wasn't worried. There was no need to lie to Dumbledore. There was also no need to tell him anything, he realized.

"Alex, I can't help but noticed that you had left the premises in the middle of the night. Is everything alright?" asked the Headmaster.

"Everything is fine, Headmaster. I just had to take care of something urgent."

"Is it something I should be worried about?"

"Not for now. But, I will need to speak to you about it soon. I hope you can trust me on this."

Dumbledore looked at Alex sceptically. Apparently, he was unfamiliar with the 'trust me' approach when it was being used on him.

"It is not something that will endanger the students, is it? You will have to tell me if it does."

"Don't worry, Headmaster. That is the last thing I want to do."

After that, Alex carried on like normal. When he heard that Ron was looking everywhere for his pet, he just ignored it.

×××

On the following Thursday night, Alex was meeting with the leaders of the Order of Prometheus. There were Mr and Mrs Dewey from the Media Division, Mrs Pearce from the Intelligence Division, Mr Tonks from the Legal Division, and Ms Bailey, the Auror, and Mr Grant from the Martial Division.

They were meeting in the new base that Mr Baxter had prepared for the Order located 20 miles north of Nottingham. The property was at least 10 acres in size, consisting of meadows and some forested area. The lone house on it was a contemporary looking building built with concrete, steel, and glass. It was hidden under a Fidelius Charm in addition to the other protective Charms that Alex could think of.

Alex explained the situation to his comrades. Those who didn't already know were very shocked.

"Now that you are all caught up, I want us to determine how we would deal with this," said Alex.

He trusted his comrades to be able to help. After all, he picked all of them because of their capabilities and dedication. He definitely did not want to be like Dumbledore or Voldemort in terms of their leadership methods.

"I want to bring Peter Pettigrew to a real trial and exonerate Sirius Black," said Alex.

"Archon, are you sure? He is still a member of the House of Black. They are the darkest family in the British Isle. I mean no offence, Mr Tonks," said Mrs Pearce.

"None taken," said Mr Tonks. "I hear it enough from my wife. However, she did mention that Sirius Black was her favourite cousin. And, she was very confused when he betrayed the Potters."

"From what I have gathered, Sirius Black was some kind of rebel to his family. He didn't follow their beliefs and was driven away while he was still very young. The Potters had taken him in after that," explained Alex. "If he is exonerated, the Black fortune will be secured against the plotting of the Malfoys."

"They would ask how Pettigrew was captured," said Mr Grant. "How will we explain how we interrogated him without incriminating ourselves?"

"I suggest we go with the truth in this without giving the details of the interrogation," said Mr Dewey. "What was the story here? 'Alexander Grey' had captured an illegal animagus that was hanging around the children in Hogwarts. He contacted Auror Bailey who took over the investigation. It is a compelling story on its own."

"Very well, we will release the story at the same time that we report the incident to the Ministry," said Alex. "Auror Bailey, did you managed to acquire the details about Sirius Black's trial?"

"Archon, after digging up all the court records at the time, I could not find any records of a trial for Sirius Black."

"It is possible that there wasn't any trial in the first place," said Mr Tonks. "They were processing too many criminals at the time. If the evidence against Sirius Black was too apparent, they could have decided that a trial was not necessary."

"The Ministry would be under scrutiny. They might see this as an offence," said Mrs Dewey.

"They might. We will take this opportunity to see who react the loudest," declared Alex.

Mr Grant nodded in silent agreement.

"What about the Weasley family?" asked Mrs Pearce. "They would be labelled as a family who gave refuge to a Death Eater. Arthur Weasley is already in a controversial position after writing the 'Muggle Protection Act'. His enemies would take this chance to discredit him."

Alex was also worried about this scenario. Bill Weasley was his friend and he didn't want to inconvenience the Weasley family. But as Archon, he couldn't refrain for personal reason.

"The only way we could avoid incriminating them would be to paint them as a victim," said Mr Tonks. "However, they would need to admit to the fact. They had unknowingly taken in a disguised Death Eater in their home. They might try to deny it thinking that it would protect themselves but that would only make them look guilty. So, we would have to convince them to be honest, for their sake and for the trial's sake.."

"We will have to inform them before breaking the news to make them understand and convince them not to lie," said Alex. "Sirius Black will have to be at the trial to give his testimony. Mr Grant and his people will make certain that he is healthy enough to attend the trial and that he doesn't receive any unauthorized visitors. Pettigrew will have to be protected as well."

Mr Grant and Ms Bailey had gladly received their orders.

"Mrs Pearce and Ms Bailey will keep us informed about the movements within the Ministry and push forward the trial. The DMLE must not take over the investigation. Give them any reason you can to refuse handing over Pettigrew after we have gone public."

"Yes, Archon," said Mrs Pearce.

"It will be hard to keep this from Amelia Bones, but I think she would understand why I have to refuse to hand over the suspect. I won't let you down, Archon!" said Ms Bailey.

"Mr Tonks will work on the case for us in the meantime. Mr and Mrs Dewey will prepare a series of articles that will be released in succession to keep the public from drawing their own conclusion. After all, we are working against the majority opinion here. I want morning and evening issue updates on the Observer and the WWN. Make the people think that we are giving them all the information as fast as we could gather them."

"Yes, Archon!" they said.

"I will talk to the Weasley personally this Saturday. Then, we will go public with the capture of Pettigrew on Sunday.

Ch.50 - The Trial of Pettigrew (1)

On the next morning, Alex sent a short letter to Arthur Weasley via owl. Owl post was still a convenient way of communication between people, especially for official purposes.

He wrote, 'Mr Weasley, please come to Hogwarts tomorrow morning at 9 am to meet with the Headmaster and me. There is a matter of grave importance that we have to talk about. Please be assured that the danger has been averted already. Please refrain in talking about this letter to anyone including your children. Sincerely, Alexander Grey.'

Alex would have to hope that the Weasleys wouldn't worry too much. But, he also needed to impress the importance of the meeting to them without giving too many details through the post.

After that, he also sent a note to the Headmaster about the meeting. No doubt Dumbledore would be puzzled about it, but, he offered no explanation.

×××

On the appointed time, Alex showed up in the Headmaster's office to find that Mr and Mrs Weasley was already there talking with Dumbledore. Auror Bailey was with Alex as he requested.

"Prof. Dumbledore, Mr and Mrs Weasley, this is Ms Bailey, a senior Auror," said Alex.

"Of course, I'm pleased to see you again Ms Bailey. But, why is an Auror present in this meeting that you requested, Prof. Grey?"

Mr and Mrs Weasley seconded the Headmaster's question.

"I'm afraid the situation we find ourselves in is quite grave. Please remain calm when you hear what I am about to say."

"And this matter involves our family?" asked Mr Weasley.

"Is it Fred and George? They finally overstepped the line this time!?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"No, Mrs Weasley. This is not about what your children might have done. But, yes. This involves your family very much."

"Please explain it then."

"Last Tuesday, I happened to talk with Ron and his friends during breakfast in the Great Hall. I noticed something very peculiar about the rat that your son was keeping as a pet. What can you tell me about the rat, Mrs Weasley?"

"Scabbers?" asked the confused woman. "It's just a common rat that my son Percy found in the field long ago."

"That's right. Percy had found the rat in 1982, more than ten years ago. The very same rat that Ron was keeping as a pet. Did you not notice that it was a very long-lived rat?"

"What? Is it? What are you saying, Prof. Grey?" asked Mr Weasley.

"You are not suggesting that it was an — Oh my..." said Dumbledore. The man was greatly surprised.

"Yes, Professor. That is what I am saying. — Mr and Mrs Weasley, the rat that you call 'Scabbers' was actually a grown wizard who was in his animagus form as he posed as your sons' pet."

"Oh, Merlin! It couldn't be!" cried Mrs Weasley.

"But that is not the whole story. After I caught the rat and determined that it was indeed an animagus posing as a pet for one of our students, I called Auror Bailey here who took over the investigation. Auror Bailey, would you kindly share your findings to these people?"

"Of course, Prof. Grey," said Bailey. "But please understand that I won't be able to answer all of your questions as it is still an on-going investigation. Also, please know that you can't share anything about the case until the DMLE has decided to go public with the case. I am merely sharing this information with you as a courtesy since your family is involved in the case."

"Of course, Auror Bailey. We will be thankful for anything you can tell us," said Mr Weasley.

Dumbledore was still speechless. He was probably processing the information in his head. If he was privy to the animagus abilities of the Marauders, he would already arrived at his own conclusion.

"We have determined the identity of the rat," continued Bailey. "It is, in fact, Peter Pettigrew, Order of Merlin First Class, declared dead in November 1981."

"But, Sirius Black had killed him!" responded Mrs Weasley.

"In our investigation, we have determined that Sirius Black was actually innocent of the crimes he was accused of. Peter Pettigrew was the one who framed him. — He was the one who was secretly a Death Eater and the one who betrayed the Potters' location to the Dark Lord."

"But, Sirius Black was their Secret Keeper! I applied the Fidelius Charm on the Potters' house myself," said Dumbledore.

"Actually, Professor, this was the most tragic of all," Alex interjected. "Sirius Black was indeed the initial Secret Keeper, but they had decided to transfer the role to Peter Pettigrew. It was because Black was famously known as James Potter's best friend, everyone would assume he was the Secret Keeper. He would lure the Dark Lord's followers to him while Pettigrew would be safe as the true Secret Keeper. What they didn't know was that Pettigrew had been a secret Death Eater all along."

"Oh Merlin..." said Dumbledore. He had almost collapsed after hearing Alex's words.

"I'm afraid it's true, Headmaster," said Bailey. "This has been revealed after Pettigrew's interrogation. Pettigrew escorted the Dark Lord himself to the Potters' residence in Godric's Hallow. When the Dark Lord was vanquished that Halloween night, he went into hiding knowing that Sirius Black was going to hunt him down. He created a trap for Black. When he was finally found, he shouted for all to hear that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters. The muggle witnesses wouldn't know what they were talking about, but they would be able to give their witness accounts to the Aurors and Hit-wizards just fine. He created the explosion that knocked down Black and killed 12 of the muggles that were there. He cut off his own finger to fake his death and escaped the scene in his rat form. Everything else is as you know. Sirius was sentenced with life in Azkaban without a trial and he has been there all this time."

"But, why disguise as a rat for all these years? Why us!?" raged Arthur.

"From what we could gather, Pettigrew was a very cowardly man," said Alex. "He betrayed the Potters out of fear to the Dark Lord. He feared that Sirius Black would be released and would hunt him down in case he was exposed so he remained hidden. And, he feared that the other Death Eaters would kill him because his information resulted in the defeat of the Dark Lord. Therefore, he chose a family who was not affiliated with any Death Eaters to hide in."

"To think that he was hiding beside our children. A murderer was hanging about our children!" yelled Mrs Weasley.

Molly Weasley was visibly distraught. She was whimpering by herself.

"Don't worry, Mrs Weasley. We will be bringing him to justice soon," said Auror Bailey.

"But, what would people say? My husband is already under a lot of pressure with the Ministry," said Mrs Weasley.

"I must agree with Molly here. We must handle this matter delicately," said Dumbledore.

"An innocent man is in Azkaban right now," said Alex. "He was a member of your 'Order', was he not? He had fought against the Dark Lord even after his own family had cursed him for it. We will have to go to trial not only to bring Pettigrew to justice but to also exonerate an innocent man."

"They are right, Molly. We cannot pretend that this does not concern us," said Arthur.

"Mr and Mrs Weasley, we are informing you in advance only as a courtesy," said Bailey. "I understand that you are worried about your family, but, we will be going to trial regardless."

"Mr and Mrs Weasley, you must admit to the findings of the investigation," said Alex. "After Peter Pettigrew was revealed to be alive, they would demand to know where he was hiding all this time and how he was caught. We cannot lie to the Ministry in this case."

"I understand. It is partially our fault for not noticing anything," said Mr Weasley.

Mrs Weasley agreed with her husband.

"No, it's not. You are a victim here as well. The man in question had managed to fool all of the wizarding world, not just you. — Some people from the Observer will get in touch with you later to get your side of the story. It is important to be truthful here, that you didn't know that the man was hiding among your family, but do not deny that it has indeed happened. Just place your trust to the people that are handling this case."

"Thank you, Alex," said Mr Weasley. "You have always been a friend to the Weasley family. We will not forget this."

×××

On the next day, there was a special Sunday issue from the Observer with the article, 'Pettigrew the Rat!'. It details the story of how Alexander Grey had captured the animagus in Hogwarts after noticing some peculiarity in one of the students' pets.

The investigation had also been filed in the DMLE. Auror Bailey had been criticized by the upper echelons of her department for going public with an on-going investigation. But, she had called-in every favour that she had earned to carry out the investigation her way. Pettigrew was located in an undisclosed place and she wouldn't give him up in any way.

She got some help from Mrs Pearce. Everyone who got it in their head to say something about how Bailey was handling the case was accused by their agents of being a blood supremacist, a secret follower of the Dark Lord, or a corrupt Ministry official. Their accusations were probably true in some cases, but more importantly, it highlighted the implication of the upcoming trial. A Death Eater had been captured after more than ten years. Furthermore, one of the most hated men of all time has turned out to be innocent.

There was a lot of question on everyone's mind. What did it mean to be a pureblood? What is the true face of blood supremacy? Who were the real people who were standing up against it?

In Hogwarts, Alex had explained everything with Harry and Ron. Ron couldn't believe that his pet was actually a middle-aged man. And, Harry was affected because of how Pettigrew and Black was related to his parents' death.

Harry was seething in rage. He couldn't believe that the man who betrayed his parents was hanging around them all this time.

"There is nothing we can do about the past, Harry. I know it's very painful for you to relive the loss of your parents, but, I want you to know that everything will be alright. You have me, Ron, Neville, and Hermione. You also have Mr Baxter, Matt, and Patt waiting for you at home. And after this, hopefully, you will have Sirius Black as well. He is your godfather, you know, your father's best friend. I'm sure he will have many stories about them to tell you."

The boy could only nod at him. It was certainly a very confusing time for Harry.

Among all the chaos, Alex also had given a live interview to the WWN. In it, he talked about how he captured Pettigrew and why did he choose to leave it to Auror Bailey. In which he responded that he trusted Auror Bailey to carry out the investigation with the utmost integrity.

He made a point to keep his voice calm throughout the interview.

Then, he interviewer asked him for his opinion of Sirius Black and the rest of the Black family.

He said, "I think we should all re-evaluate what it means to be 'dark' or 'light' families. Surely, not everyone who is from these dark families are actually evil and not everyone from the light families are faultless. The Black family is one such example. I did a little studying by myself after these recent revelations, and I encourage everyone to do the same. — For example, people might not know this, but, the Black family has the biggest number of disowned family members.

"One example that I can say is Phineas Black, son of the illustrious Phineas Nigellus Black. He was disowned when he expressed a different belief from his father. Another example is Andromeda Tonks neé Black. She was disowned by marrying a muggleborn wizard. Then, we have Sirius Black, eldest son of Orion Black and heir of the Black family. He also didn't follow his families beliefs. He was disowned as a child. He ran away from his family and was taken in by Charles and Dorea Potters who were the parents of his best friend James Potter. The people who knew Sirius Black personally at that time were probably confused when the news came that he had betrayed the Potters.

"Of course, there were also those who are on the other side of the spectrum. They are the worse that the Black Family had to offer. The one I mentioned before, Phineas Nigellus Black, former Headmaster of Hogwarts and member of the Wizengamot, had campaigned to make 'Muggle hunting' legal. Thankfully, good sense had prevailed. There was also Bellatrix Lestrange neé Black who was a devout follower of the Dark Lord. She had tortured the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom who fought and resisted the Dark Lord and his followers bravely.

"But, let us stop for a moment and ask ourselves. Was Bellatrix Lestrange evil simply because she was a member of the Black Family? Did she torture and kill because she was the daughter of the Black Family? The answer is no. She and herself alone is responsible for her actions."

"What do you think should be done with Sirius Black?" asked the interviewer, "To this day, he is still locked up in the highest level of Azkaban were the dementors' presence is the strongest."

"I believe the Ministry would do what's right here. This great injustice will be corrected soon."

It was important for Alex not to be seen as Anti-Ministry. But, there were ways to put pressure on the Minister without criticizing the Ministry.

He had already planned everything that he wanted to say. He knew that he was setting up a precedence of questioning the wizarding tradition. But, it was what he wanted to happen. He was hoping that his message would be received well by the members of the Association and the purebloods.

Therefore, he chose Sirius Black as an example. He was an evocative figure and Alex thought that his story will tug at the heartstrings of the people. Sirius Black was an heir of a wealthy family who decided to throw it all away to stand for what was right. Alex knew that the story was not that simple, it never was. But, it was how the people would see it.

END OF CHAPTER