HPWW481-490
Chapter 481
The auror gave a smile, a nod and re-established the
disillusionment charm, fading away again.
Less than a minute later, Finch-Fletchley rounded the
corner at the Grand Staircase end and walked towards
Harry. He looked both worried and happy.
Harry immediately went to the door and escorted the
boy inside.
As soon as Harry opened the door to the apartment he
could see the girls weren't in sight and were probably
changing. He called, "If any of you ladies are thinking
of walking through here naked, you need to rethink
that. We have a guest!"
Hermione came out of the office and barked back,
"Harrison James Potter!" A bit more calmly she
demanded, "When have we ever walked through the
apartment, naked?"
"Well, you haven't," he said, as both Daphne and Fleur
came out of Fleur's room; deliberately ignoring the
two times she'd done precisely that. "Buu-uut... that
doesn't mean you weren't considering it; or that you
weren't considering it, today."
As Justin snickered and moved to sit on a sofa,
Hermione gave a huff and said, "Well it's certainly not
going to happen, now."
"Oh, I don't know," said Fleur, also moving to sit on a
sofa. "Sounds like fun."
"Fleur!" Hermione whined. "Don't encourage him."
As both Daphne and Hermione came over Harry
snickered and said, "Come and sit down. Justin has
news for us."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After the Hufflepuff boy laid out for them what had
been happening of late, he said, "So, tomorrow
morning I go to Gringotts. I perform the Rite of
Inheritance and sign the papers creating the Noble
and Magical House of Finch-Fletchley. Chief Warlock
Lord Ogden will immediately alert the Minister and get
the papers moving to establish the Seat. At the same
time Lady Marchbanks will be made my magical
guardian.
"Then, at the next Wizengamot meeting, I present my
credentials and officially claim the Seat. And Lady
Marchbanks, as my magical guardian, will act as my
Regent until I take the Seat in my own right. Officially
in the magical world I remain Heir Apparent FinchFletchley until I'm either of-age or emancipated earlier.
Somehow, I think that's going to happen earlier."
Harry nodded and replied, "What about here at
school? While you might be Heir Apparent FinchFletchley of the Noble and Magical House of FinchFletchley, with your father and grandfather being
considered non-magical it creates an interesting
situation. As muggles do not have rights in wizarding
Britain, you'd legally be an orphan and Head of your
House."
"Yeah, that feels... odd," he replied. "But,
Headmistress Lady Marchbanks and Professor Sprout
said that's what all muggleborns are considered under
law. That's what I'm already considered."
"You need to be careful about what you want made
public," said Daphne. "Once the single witches, plus
many of their Heads of Houses, figure out you're
actually a descendant of the Great Pendragon,
betrothal contracts are going to come flying at you,
literally, by way of owls. And girls are going to throw
themselves at you; some boys, who think you might
beat for the other team, will too."
"We're aware," he blushed. "Professor Sprout is going
to screen my mail for me."
Harry leaned forward and said, "Justin. This is
important. If you get a girl pregnant... unlike in the
muggle world... you will have to marry her.
Understand?"
Though with a slight blush, Justin looked Harry right
in the eye, nodded and said, "Yeah, I know. That, too,
has been made clear to me, my father and my
grandfather. Lord Ogden's already taken me aside and
taught me... umm..."
"The temporary sterility charms," Harry finished for
him. "Good. Don't ever forget to use them."
Before leaving a little later, Justin asked, "After
everything's complete tomorrow, do you mind if I
come up and visit?"
"Not at all," said Hermione. "We'd love to have you."
As Acting Lady of the House, it was Hermione's
position to accept. It was one of the thing's Daphne
and Fleur had taught her.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As good as he asked, the next day Justin came up and
visited a little after lunch. He looked so 'burned out'
Harry immediately offered him a seat. The boy almost
bonelessly dropped into it.
That's when he noticed Neville was in the room.
"Where's―?" he started to ask.
Neville replied, "Harry's three are in with my two.
They're having a 'girl talk' session. I got out of there
as fast as I could and came over to visit Harry, since I
knew he'd be alone."
Looking to Justin, Harry asked, "Have you eaten lunch
let?"
"No," Justin replied. "It took longer than we thought."
Harry called, "Dobby."
With barely a pop Dobby appeared. "Yes, Master
Harry, Sir?"
"Justin, here, hasn't eaten lunch," he said. "Would
you mind making him something?"
"Dobby can," the elf replied, before popping away.
"Harry," said the other boy. "You don't have to go to
so much trouble."
"What trouble?" Harry asked right back. "Dobby loves
the work. So, you just made him happy by needing
something he can get for you."
Only a couple of seconds later, a dinner plate loaded
with sandwiches and chips (fries), together with a
goblet of pumpkin juice appeared on the coffee table.
Indicating it, Harry said, "There ya go."
Justin looked at it, gave a huff of amusement and sat
forward. He was quickly getting it down.
As both Harry and Neville knew the boy would
immediately stop if they talked to him, they remained
silent. Instead, Harry picked up two books, handed
one to Neville and both read until the boy finished.
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Chapter 482
Once he'd polished off the plate and the goblet, Justin
sat back with a contented sigh and said, "Thanks,
Harry."
"You're welcome," he smiled back.
"Well," said the boy, sitting forward again. "About
what happened today."
"You don't need to tell us, Justin," said Harry.
"I know," he replied. "I just wanted to share it with
someone."
"Then, we're all ears," said Harry, flicking the book
closed and setting it aside, as Neville did the same.
Once he'd finished explaining, Neville gave a low
whistle. "Your grandfather just dumped one million
galleons into a vault for you, just like that?"
"Yeah," replied Finch-Fletchley. "He does things like
that, sometimes. I think he was 'sending a message'
about the wealth of my family."
"What does he expect you to do with it?" asked
Neville.
"Through me, his instructions to the goblins were to
invest about eighty percent of it," he replied. "I think
he wants to find out just how good the goblins really
are, compared to muggle investment bankers."
"Clever," mused Harry. "While he might lose five
million Pounds Sterling, he stands to gain a Hell of a
lot more. If nothing else, he learns something of the
ways the goblins handle money."
Justin said, "I didn't see that, but you're right. Mainly, I
think he did it to get the goblins to treat me with
respect. Apparently, I'm now in their top five percent
of most wealthiest customers.
"Grandfather also told them that, if they make a good
showing with the investments, he'll deposit even
more."
Harry gave a bark of laughter. "It appears Lord Ogden,
probably, told your grandfather how to impress the
goblins."
Neville, grinning, said, "You'll get premium treatment
from them, from now on."
"So, Justin," said Harry. "Marchbanks is now your
regent?"
"Yup."
"Has she told you about the Alliance meeting next
Saturday?"
"Yeah," he replied. "She says, I'm to come along."
"Good," said Harry as Neville nodded. "Dress will be
smart wizarding casual. Have enough wizarding
casual wear?"
"I do now," the boy replied. "Lady Marchbanks
practically forced me into Madam Malkins', as soon as
we left the bank."
"You're lucky neither Harry's nor my girls were with
you," grinned Neville. "You'd probably not be back
even now."
"Oh! And Justin?" said Harry. When the other boy
looked to him, he said, "Now that you're one of us,
dinner is in here tonight at 7.00pm. Us Heirs of the
Alliance all get together on a Saturday night."
Neville grinned and said, "We come because Harry
cooks on Saturday nights. You're in for a treat."
Justin looked at Harry in surprise and asked, "You
cook?"
"I chef!" Harry declared with a smile.
Neville snickered in amusement.
After taking his leave for a while, Justin returned for
dinner that night. And found himself just as amazed at
Harry's cooking as everyone else did the first time
they tried it.
But Harry did have to threaten 'that misbegotten and
unwanted spawn of a goblin and hinkypuck' not to try
to cook before he got into the kitchen to do it himself.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
A week later, Justin joined them in the trip to Abbott's
Ford, the ancestral home of the Abbotts. He was, as
requested, dressed in good quality wizarding casual.
"Looking good, Justin," said Harry, upon seeing him.
"Thank you," he smiled. "Professor Sprout picked it
out for me."
"She has nice taste," said Daphne.
When they arrived, one of the first groups to do so,
Harry handed the boy off to Miles Ogden; who then
introduced him around to the members of the Alliance
that were already there, then to those who arrived
after their group.
At the table in the Abbott's dining room he was sat
behind Lady Marchbanks, who quietly instructed him
on what he needed to know. And to write down any
questions he had and she'd do her best to answer
them for him.
The first order of business was the official welcoming
of the Noble and Magical House of Finch-Fletchley to
their ranks, with Lady Marchbanks acting as his
regent.
As with Jean-Paul a couple meetings earlier, Frank
presented Justin with his very own copy of the
Alliance Charter. His had a feature that allowed him to
open it in the presence of his father and or
grandfather and discuss what was within. However,
once Justin came of age, that feature would be
removed through the master copy, currently held by
Frank. It was also through the master copy Frank held
why he was the one who presented new copies of the
Charter.
The other members also made sure that Justin knew
he could 'call upon them' if he needed assistance or
information on any matter. He thanked them all with a
smile.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
On return to the castle the group headed directly to
the Lords' Quarters where Harry immediately headed
for the kitchen to try and get there before Dobby
started to cook, only to find the little munchkin had
already anticipated him and had begun.
"Damn it!"
Though it wasn't a 'Harry' meal, due to the meeting
running a little over time, the group still met. Of
course, one of the main subjects was Justin's views
on the meeting.
Apparently, he found it interesting, but also similar to
meetings his father had to attend with his grandfather
with Alliances relating to the House of Lords.
"They're a good group of people, though," he said.
"Just like in the muggle world... for most of them...
once you get past the pomp and circumstance, they're
okay. Except MacMillan's father, he's... I wouldn't quite
call him a bigot. But, he's not far off."
"It explains why Ernie MacMillan is such a pompous
arse though, doesn't it?" asked Harry.
Justin nodded back with a smirk. "At least you don't
have to put up with him in a dorm for seven years. In
there, he's even worse. During the first week here in
First Year, he tried to tell the rest of us how important
he is because of how important his grandfather is.
"It was Zack Smith who figured out how to handle
him. Every time he'd gotten stroppy, Zack would ask
him things like, 'How close are you related to Draco
Malfoy, Ernie? You and he sure behave a lot alike';
things like that."
Neville snorted at that one. "That's clever," he quietly
said.
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Chapter 483
Justin nodded and said, "He'd be fine again for about
a week or so. Then he'd stick his nose in the air again.
And one of us would then have to go and cut him
down all over again. 'Ernie, are you sure you're not
from a dark family? You're starting to behave like you
are'. And we'd get another period of peace."
"Well," sighed Harry, "For now, the Seat of MacMillan
is another vote in the Wizengamot. At a time when we
need all the votes we can get which we don't have to
fight for, I don't want to just go and throw it away,
probably across to the opposition, if we can help it.
"We'll revisit the membership of MacMillan in the
Alliance after old Augustus passes."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The next day was the final match of the foreshortened
Quidditch season with Hufflepuff playing Gryffindor.
Again, the heirs trooped down to the pitch to watch.
As they passed the maze and across to their left,
Neville said, "That's the Nipponese Strangle Box
Hedge. Fast growing, they are. They have a tendency
to rearrange themselves into hedges of their own
design."
"That forms part of the Third Task, Nev," said Harry.
Neville looked back and said, "Watch out for the roots.
They'll try and ensnare you and drag you into and
against the trunks."
"Noted," said Harry. "Thanks."
"They're fast, too, Harry," the boy further warned.
"They'll lash out in a second."
"Thank you," he said. Then looked to Fleur. "Got that,
Fleur?"
"Yes, my Love," she said. Then turned to Neville and
said, "Thank you, my friend."
Neville nodded back, happy he'd been able to
contribute and warned his friends.
As for the game, it was won by Gryffindor with Ginny,
again, catching the snitch. The size difference
between her and Cedric, who chose to still play as
both captain and seeker for the Badgers, was telling.
He just could not, quite, keep up with her. Her pulling
ahead just that extra two feet was enough to see her
grab the snitch before he could.
The end scores, once all were tallied, even meant that
Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, yet again.
As they walked back to the castle, Harry was feeling
quite relieved. With Ginny proven now to be a capable
seeker, any pressure that might have been brought to
bear on him if she hadn't performed as well as he'd
hoped would be non-existent. He truly was free of the
so-called sport.
Separating a little from the group but with Neville in
tow, Harry quietly told him, "When Johnson
approaches you to return the broom Ginny's using,
tell her Ginny's 'benefactor' said the young Miss
Weasley is to keep the broom for performing so well
upon it."
Neville smiled back and replied, "I thought you might
end up saying that. I'll tell her."
"Thanks, Nev," said Harry.
With Ginny highly likely slotting into the team as
seeker for next year as well, once Johnson, Spinnet
and the Weasley twins all retired at the end of that
year, that would mean Bell would take over as
Captain. She'd only have the one year as it would be
her Seventh and would be a year he highly doubted
the team would do better than take the wooden spoon
as the team in last place.
However, by giving the broom to Ginny as
'congratulations' on winning the shortened season as
seeker, they might just have a chance not to come
last, after all. He did not believe for a single moment
they'd win the Cup.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As the Wizengamot meeting was called to order on the
following Tuesday, all the major players were already
aware that a supposed muggleborn was about to take
Seat in the tiers of members.
Madam Bones had aurors stationed, disillusioned,
behind those who were the most likely to react
violently, with even more being on the floor.
Lady Marchbanks hadn't taken her seat, either. She
was at the back of the chamber under the visitors'
gallery waiting with young Justin.
Justin believed it was normal for one's magical
guardian to stand with them. It was not. She was there
and would act as his last line of defence if anyone
managed to get a curse off at him. Very few
remembered the formidable woman, though quite old,
still held a Mastery in Defence.
When Ogden brought the session to order, he gave a
short speech about the decorum of the nobility before
calling for new business.
While quite a few were confused by his remarks, they
were deliberate. It was a warning about the
consequences of 'uncouth' or 'improper' behaviour in
the chambers.
The first item of new business was always left for new
members about to take Seat to step forward and
present themselves. And Justin, with Lady
Marchbanks at his heel, did just that.
"I, Justin Edward Finch-Fletchley, Viscount of
Lonsdale, have business before this chamber."
That had a few mutterings. It was obvious the young
man was here to take Seat or sit a Regent or Proxy.
But, no one seemed to know who he was. And those
who did, weren't talking.
Ogden immediately returned, as was proper, "Step
forward, Mister Finch-Fletchley, and state your
business."
Justin took a breath, took the one pace forward
required and said, "I, Justin Edward Finch-Fletchley,
Viscount of Lonsdale, both wizard of good standing
and holding noble title within The Right Honourable
the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in
Parliament assembled, come before you to accept
what is mine by right, by magic and by Charter; to
have my House be Seated among you, my magical
peers."
That caused a major kerfuffle, but not anywhere near
what Harry thought there'd be. Mainly, people were
looking to one another in confusion, asking one
another what Justin was talking about.
Ogden, before the noise could become too loud,
replied, "By the Charter of the Wizengamot, you must
be of an established House to take Seat. Are you of
such a House, Mister Finch-Fletchley?"
"I am," he replied. "Through the good offices of the
Goblin Nation and under authority of Director Ragnok
of Gringotts, as per existing and established treaty,
the Noble and Magical House of Finch-Fletchley has
been created."
Ogden gave a nod and gestured with his off-hand,
"Then bring your authorities up to me, so I may verify
them."
Justin removed from his robes a small stack of
parchment, walked forward and reached up to hand
them to Ogden. Then he backed away to return to his
spot.
Ogden made a show of going through them before
creating two copies and sending one to the Scribe.
"Your authorities have been confirmed, Lord FinchFletchley," he said. "However, are you of age to take
Seat?"
"Nay, Chief Warlock," said Justin. "As such, I name as
my proxy, my regent and magical guardian, Lady
Griselda Marchbanks of the Noble and Ancient House
of Marchbanks, to the Seat of Finch-Fletchley, to vote
as warranted and required in my name."
Ogden immediately turned to Marchbanks and asked,
"Lady Marchbanks; do you accept this honour and
responsibility?"
Marchbanks stepped forward beside Justin and
replied, "I do, Chief Warlock."
Chapter 484
"Then, let it be so," said Ogden, banging his gavel once.
Justin said, "My thanks and the thanks of the Noble and
Magical House of Finch-Fletchley, Chief Warlock." Then he
bowed and walked back to the visitors' gallery as Marchbanks
walked to the stairs.
Harry was quick to step down to offer his elbow to escort her
up.
When he turned back to see where Justin had gone, he could
see he was sitting in the gallery with three adults, two men and
a woman, all dressed in expensive clothing; all congratulating
him. It wasn't hard to figure out they were his parents and
grandfather.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
While there wasn't much of a kerfuffle in the Wizengamot
when Justin claimed his Seat, that was mainly because the
members had little idea about what was going on. And,
whenever the Charter is mentioned, members are generally
always very wary of coming out in opposition of that.
However, the Daily Prophet the next morning had not only that
Justin had claimed a Seat, but the whole background as to why
he could. The Slytherins, especially Malfoy, were not the first,
but were definitely the most noisily, to react. The Ravenclaws
were, unsurprisingly, the first. And even some of them seemed
a little irate. Harry was careful to note the ones who were.
The Hufflepuffs were, almost unanimously, pleased as punch.
Harry was careful to note the ones who weren't of that House,
too.
And the Gryffindors, while some were at first upset, as soon as
they saw the Slytherins were even more upset, immediately
changed their tunes and appeared happy. Harry still took note
of the ones who originally weren't, though.
Hermione and Daphne were collating a list of the ones who
most strongly reacted in the negative. They'd be the ones
who'd be closely watched in order to protect Justin.
Malfoy was one of the ones who earned a detention for his
'rude behaviour' then appeared almost terrified he was. That
he hadn't reacted scared when previously given detention, but
did now, set alarm bells ringing in Harry's mind. Unusual
behaviour was an oddity that didn't gel.
Finally, Marchbanks had enough and fired off a triple of
Cannonblast charms.
In the ensuing silence she stood and firmly said, "That is
enough." Then she turned to Professor Goodstone and said,
"Professor, as our resident expert on Magical History, perhaps in
your classes for the next week you educate our students on just
how it is that Lord Finch-Fletchley was able to claim a Seat in
the Wizengamot."
He nodded back and clearly said, "That sounds like a wonderful
topic, Headmistress."
As the man returned to his meal and mail, Harry looked to
Tracey and said, "Tracey; Malfoy's reaction to earning a
detention was near panic. That is odd, considering his previous
behaviour in reaction to such. Perhaps you might subtly try to
find out why?"
She nodded and replied, "I noticed that, too. It is most curious."
Daphne begged her, "Be careful."
"Always," she replied with a smile.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Another who was very unhappy with what he read in the Daily
Prophet, was homunculus-Riddle.
He'd taken one quick read of the article, before he demanded
Pettigrew bring him his potion. As soon as Pettigrew did so,
Riddle Cruciatus cursed him right then and there.
Once he'd vented his immediate anger, he demanded, "Give me
your arm!"
As Pettigrew shakily raised his arm with it's Dark Mark -
Pettigrew knew his master wouldn't have asked for his other
arm - Riddle jabbed his wand-tip into the Mark and cast magic
through it.
While painful for Pettigrew when he did that, it was nowhere
near the level of pain from the Cruciatus curse.
A few moments later, Riddle withdrew his wand-tip and
snarled, "As soon as Walden and Lucius turn up, send them
directly in to see me. Now, get out and wait for them!"
Pettigrew whimpered, "Yes, Master." And hurried to stagger to
his feet and escape the room.
As he left, Riddle imbibed of his potion and returned to the
newspaper.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As MacNair needed to try to make his excuses to get out of the
Ministry, Malfoy didn't need such and was first before his
Master.
As soon as the long-haired blonde was in his 'rightful' place
before his master - on his knees with his head bowed, as was
proper - Riddle threw his copy of the Daily Prophet onto the
ground before Malfoy and demanded, "Why am I learning of
this... mudblood's... elevation to the Wizengamot through the
newspaper!? Why were not members of my inner circle first to
bring me this news?"
Malfoy was quick to reply, "My own investigations have
informed me it appears the so-called Potter-Longbottom
Alliance conspired to hide this atrocity from the pure and
faithful, My Lord. No one worthy was aware it was going to
happen until the mudblood stepped forward, spat on our
traditions and demanded a Seat."
"No word, at all?" demanded Riddle.
"None, My Lord," replied Malfoy. "As My Lord is aware, the
blood-traitor Black has stripped me of my rightful Seat and,
with it, much of my political power. Parkinson and Nott have
proven ineffective in gathering the information, as they should.
As such, they did not inform me this was in the wind."
Riddle demanded, "This new Minister, Brunt; can he be enticed
to my side?"
"I believe not, My Lord," he replied. "Brunt is drunk on his own
self-importance and, when I approached him about seeing me
returned to the Wizengamot with healthy bribes, spurned me
and my gold."
Riddle thought things through for a long moment, before he
sneered, "Very well. Then we shall have to replace him with one
who can be bent to our will.
"Now, while we await MacNair, how goes your mission?"
As Malfoy explained and laid out what he'd done and set in
motion, Riddle slowly smiled.
When MacNair turned up about half an hour later, he was first
met with the torture curse and Riddle's admonishment to
develop a way he could more quickly answer his master's call.
When questioned as to why he did not report on the
mudblood's 'theft' of a Seat on the Wizengamot, he could only
offer that, as he worked in the Department for the Regulation
and Control of Magical Creatures, he was not privy to
information that related directly to the Wizengamot outside of
the auspices of the Department in which he worked.
That earned him another dose of the Cruciatus curse.
"Then fix it!" snapped Riddle. "I expect you to be more
knowledgeable to what is happening within the halls of the
Ministry from this point in time."
"Y-yes, My Lord," the man whimpered.
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Chapter 485
It was only the next day that unknown individuals accosted
Justin as he was heading from the DADA classroom to the
library on his own.
Whoever it was, hurt him enough he ended up in the
Infirmary. However, whoever it was were also smart
enough to attack him in such a way they would not get
caught. They only used physical attacks, beating on him
with their fists and feet, then obliviated him of any
knowledge of exactly who it was except to leave him only
enough knowledge of the event to know it was Slytherin
and Ravenclaw upperclassmen; and that the punishment
would be even worse if he did not immediately uncreate
his House and remove said House from the Wizengamot.
Harry, for one, was furious. However, apparently Madam
Marchbanks and her staff were even more furious;
especially Professor Sprout.
The auror who was supposed to be watching him, a
female and suspected blood bigot, had claimed he'd
entered a male toilet and she had used the opportunity,
herself, to visit the female toilets. She was not immediately
dismissed because she was also supposedly the first one
to find him in that male toilet, bloody and clearly beaten. It
was her, who sent out the alert and rushed him to the
Infirmary. Instead, after a quick investigation she was
immediately stripped of her assigned duties at the castle,
considered a 'cushy' posting, and tasked with duties at
Azkaban.
Professors Vector and Sprout with Deputy Headmaster
Goodstone, stormed into the Slytherin common rooms and
searched all possessions looking for signs of blood on
dirty clothing. They found none. Then they searched the
Ravenclaw dorms for the same thing, also finding none.
Annoyingly, the ward that covered the casting of curses
and the like in the corridors did not also apply to the
toilets. The obliviation charm was picked up, but the
attackers had scarpered before a member of staff could
get there. And that was only moments after the auror.
It is what led the staff and senior aurors to deeply suspect
the auror saw who actually did the deed, but she flatly and
continued to deny all knowledge. Hence, her
reassignment to Azkaban as a guard.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Justin was released from the Infirmary less than two days
later, on the next Friday. And immediately moved into the
Lords' Quarters in an apartment of his own - a twobedroom.
At first, he tried to refuse. However, Harry convinced him it
made the job of protecting him from further attacks that
much easier for the aurors and staff.
Surprisingly, it wasn't just Susan and Hannah, as fellow
Hufflepuffs, that spent the most time visiting him while he
was infirmed. It was Tracey. Eventually, she confessed to
feeling guilty about him being hurt, because she had not
learned it was in the wind in advance.
And it was Justin who had to comfort her for her selfbelieved guilt. And assure her he, in no way, thought her at
fault.
As his magical guardian, Marchbanks had come to visit a
couple times each day. She saw Justin having to comfort
Tracey after the first day, the Thursday, smirked and
quietly left without a word and without either teen seeing
her. Only Robinson knew she was there for that few
moments.
The only thing the others thought she did was to alert the
other heirs about Tracey's perceived self-blame over the
issue. And the others made sure Tracey knew that none of
them thought her to blame. They did not know
Marchbanks had been in daily contact with Justin's
parents, or that she'd also contacted Tracey's parents.
With Justin out of the Infirmary, the others made sure he
felt no guilt, himself, over what happened; or that he now
had a set of Lords' Quarters of his own.
"You're entitled to it, Justin," said Harry. "While you're not
yet a magical of-age Lord, you are still the rightful Head of
a Noble House. An apartment like this falls under
entitlement. Enjoy it!"
Justin sighed and said, "But, all this room... I don't even
have this much to myself at Bedford Castle."
"You don't?" asked Neville. "I thought, it being a castle and
all―"
Justin shook his head and replied, "No. The family only
occupies all of the second floor and the end of the bottom
floor of the same wing, the west wing, which houses the
family kitchen and dining room. All the rest is given over to
the local community for community events and the like."
Hermione said, "That's actually normal in the modern
muggle world, Neville. There is no longer a need for
castles, but they're too important to the history of our
nation to get rid of them."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 486
To make sure Justin was no longer left alone, except for
when he was in his apartment at night, Harry called,
"Willy."
When the Pottermore major domo elf appeared, clearly
pleased to have been called, it brightly asked, "Yes,
Master Harry?"
"Willy, with the exception of Dobby and Betsy, which of the
Potter elves is currently the least busy and would
appreciate some more work?"
"That be Raggy," Willy immediately replied. "With no
guests at Pottermore, he been feeling... unwanted."
"Excellent," said Harry. "Raggy!"
When the elf appeared, Harry dropped to one knee so he
wasn't looking down so much and explained what he
wanted Raggy to do.
"Raggy no longer be a Potter elf?" the elf worriedly asked.
"Of course you'll be a Potter elf. You'll be a Potter elf for as
long as you want, Raggy," he explained. "I'm asking you to
do this because Master Justin does not yet have elves of
his own. As such, you're on temporary loan. You can also
return to Pottermore as often as you wish as long as
Master Justin does not need you at that time. Is that
helpful?"
Raggy grinned back, clearly both relieved and happy for
the work he knew would be coming his way and replied,
"Yes, Master Harry."
Harry 'presented' the loan of Raggy to Justin at the
conclusion of dinner that night.
The boy was, of course, stunned at the generosity.
After dinner and the other Heirs had left for the evening,
Daphne whirled on Harry and said, "Damn, Harry! Loaning
Justin an elf was a bloody clever idea."
Surprised Daphne had used 'vulgarity', Harry was a
moment before he quietly replied, "Thank you. Raggy will
keep an eye on him and protect him, it'll give Justin the
chance to get used to having a house elf personal servant
and Raggy gets to help someone and not feel unwanted."
She nodded and said, "I know. You've done good."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
With only a few days to go until the final Task and with all
the Heirs - including Justin, now - involved in 'magical
combat' training in the Come and Go Room on the
seventh floor, more of the others were trying to press
Harry for what his tactics would be for the Task.
He just kept smirking and saying, "Read the rules of the
Task."
On the night before, he finally relented. However, Fleur
had to either tell him if she'd already figured out what he
was getting at, or wasn't allowed to copy him.
She had no idea and agreed not to copy him.
So, with a grin, he told them.
That had almost all of them groaning in dismay they'd not
figured that out for themselves.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
On the ninth floor of the Ministry, within a wizard-spaced
section of the Department of Mysteries, three sections of
combat Unspeakables were hard at work training for 'whoknew-what' 'not-sure-when' 'if-at-all'. Such was the nature
of their job.
"So," said one to a team mate. "Intel has it this will be a
night op, it will occur on the night of the Third Task of the
Tri-Wiz, it will likely be in the British Isles and it must be
kept small and quick. That's all we've got?"
"We also know we're likely facing an extremely dangerous
and powerful individual with a great wealth and depth of
knowledge of the dark arts," his partner added. "Plus,
likely others."
"In other words, a probable wannabe dark lord."
"Yep."
The first sighed and said, "Join the Unspeakables, they
said. You'll get to meet new and interesting people, they
said. You'll delve into the ways of new and powerful
magics, they said. They just never said those new and
interesting people were likely to use those new and
powerful magics to kill my arse."
His partner, clearly full of love and care, snickered back.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The day before the Task saw the return of both
Beauxbatons and Durmstrang representatives, along with
Victor Krum.
Again, they'd be accommodated in the castle for the night.
However, because the Task the next day would be well
into the evening, they'd be staying that night, as well.
The original planned Feast for Friday, though, had been
cancelled. It was supposed to mark the return of the two
foreign schools to their home countries. However, since
they weren't staying in Britain for the entire time after all,
holding a feast to say goodbye seemed a bit pointless.
Fleur was most eager to see who from Beauxbatons was
attending and was both surprised and delighted to see her
sister, Gabrielle, among the Beauxbatons contingent. As
soon as they saw each other it was a dual squeal of
delight, with both running into the arms of the other. Quick,
almost babbled, French was swiftly spoken between them.
Finally, Fleur led Gabrielle over to introduce her to Harry,
Hermione and Daphne. And all three individually received
big hugs from the three year younger, clearly Veela, girl.
That night, though it was a 'school' night being a
Wednesday night, Hermione slept with Harry in his room.
She was desperately worried about the Third Task the
next evening and needed to sleep in his arms.
Gabrielle, without even asking permission - Fleur had to
go do it for her - decided she'd be staying with her big
sister, that night, in Fleur's room and shared her big
sister's bed with her.
Apparently, it was something they'd used to do quite often
when they were both younger, before Fleur started at
Beauxbatons or when she would come home on breaks.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Expecting to just have a normal school day during the lead
up to the Task, Harry was surprised when both he and
Fleur were approached by Professor Babbling and told to
meet with the 'other champions' after breakfast in the antechamber, where the champions had all met on the night of
the draw. She then seemed to think about it for a moment
before she added that Hermione and Daphne could join
him there.
Walking in while holding Hermione's hand he was met by
Sirius, Remus and the Grangers.
On seeing her parents, Hermione let out a happy squeal
and practically jumped into a three-way group hug with
both.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 487
With Hermione's parents occupied, Harry walked over and
got a hug each out of Remus and Sirius. As he stepped
back, thinking to head over to the now 'Hermi-Hug'-
released Grangers, Daphne gave a startled yelp as Sirius
reached out, snagged her and dragged her into her own
hug; which had Harry snickering.
Not intent on 'rescuing' his concubine from the recidivist
'glom-hugger' named Sirius Black, knowing she was safe,
Harry moved over to the Grangers. Monica received a
hug, but also a surprising kiss on the cheek, before he
moved across and gave Wendell a 'manly' hug. It seemed
to delight both when he initiated such.
"Not that we mind," said Harry, "But, how and why are you
here?"
Wendell replied, "The 'why' is because we were told it was
tradition for family to join the champions for the day
leading up to the Third Task."
"And the 'how'," said Monica, "Is a bracelet given to us by
Sirius via Lady Marchbanks that excludes us from the anti-
muggle wards on the school."
And both showed off their clearly rune engraved bracelets.
Wendell, added, "Clearly, your headmistress considers us
part of your family."
"Good," Harry firmly stated. "Because, I do too."
That had both Grangers again smiling.
Turning to look back at Sirius, he could now see the man
had enveloped Fleur into a hug for a long moment and
was just in time to catch him releasing her.
"So," he asked, "What's the plan for the day?"
"We get to give my parents a tour, at least," said
Hermione.
Harry nodded and said, "Sounds good. How about we
start with our apartment?"
"Also sounds good," said Sirius, coming closer. "I've not
seen your new one and Moony's not seen either."
No one was against that.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
With Hermione leading the way, they all trooped up to the
fifth floor and the Lords' Quarters wing, entering about ten
minutes after leaving the ante-chamber.
Opening the door for everyone, Hermione ushered them
inside.
"This is the Potter apartment," said Harry, waving a hand
about.
After a quick look about, Monica and Wendell found
themselves dragged to Hermione's bedroom door.
"Mum, Daddy," she said, opening the door and gesturing
within. "This is my room."
Her father stepped within and asked, "Where's the desk?"
"In the office," she replied. "But, we tend to sit on the
couches and use lap tables anyway, so we can chat
whenever."
She then showed them the office and explained, "Harry
asked Dobby to organise a selection of books be brought
over from the Potter family library. These ones are all
related to the subjects we're studying."
"Someone works in here, though," said Monica.
"Harry," said Hermione. "He prefers to do House of Potter
work in here, but sits out in the living room with the rest of
us when doing homework. He's trying to keep the two
current facets of who he is, separate. I do too, at times,
but only when working on getting a handle on being the
Lady of a Noble House."
After the apartment tour, they headed up to the Come and
Go Room. And they were all taught the secret of the room
and shown some of the configurations they used.
"So, you train up here?" asked Sirius.
"Yes," replied Daphne. "Here's where Harry trained for the
Second Task and both Harry and Fleur have trained for
the Third Task."
"In-credible," said a stunned Remus. "We never found this
room when we were students here."
"We'd have not known of it, either, if it wasn't for Dobby
volunteering the information about it to Harry," said
Hermione. "Apparently, the castle's elves are all fully
aware of the room and what it's capable of."
"Yes," said Daphne. "And Harry only learned of it because
he's specifically ordered Dobby to treat him in a certain
way; to speak up when he believed it was warranted."
After a slow tour of a lot of the rest of the school, they
headed down to the Great Hall for lunch. They had
morning tea in the apartment.
This time, they sat at the Gryffindor table. Partly, that was
because the Gryff's would be more accepting of muggles.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After an afternoon spent walking around the grounds, with
Remus and Sirius telling reminiscing stories of their times
at the school and the teens telling of their times over the
past nearly four years, they finally ended up back in the
Great Hall for an early dinner.
Finally, Headmistress Marchbanks stood and got
everyone's attention.
"In less than an hour the four competitors - three willing
and one not - of the Tri-Wizard Tournament will be
undertaking their Third and final Task," she explained. "At
this time I ask those four to accompany Deputy
Headmaster Goodstone down to where a hedge maze has
been erected near the Quidditch pitch for the Task.
"The rest of us will be making our way down in five
minutes, giving the four and their escorts plenty of time to
arrive before they are mobbed by well-wishers... or those
who stupidly might wish to interfere."
She gave a wave to the Hall and waited as the Deputy
Headmaster rounded up the four and escorted them out.
No one noticed a missing student. Especially as that
student had been keeping their head down and staying
quieter than normal of late.
When the rest were permitted to head down to the stands
erected to watch the Task, Hermione held right back with
Daphne. She had a specific task to do, first.
Ducking aside and out of sight, she whisper-called,
"Dobby."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
While the four competitors waited in the open space
before the 'grand' entrance to the maze in the middle
along one side of it, they were given instructions and
further information from those tasked with watching over
them. Unlike the Second Task, they had been made aware
there were quite a number of people - aurors and
professors - spaced both outside the maze and at some
places within.
Harry, from where he was standing, gently rubbed his arm
where he was bitten by the basilisk. Inside that, deep
within, was a tiny mithral pellet, which was engraved with
near microscopic runes. It was a 'tracker', or so Croaker
had informed him before he magically injected it into his
arm, that would allow the Unspeakables to instantly home
in on him if, as Dumbledore suspected, he'd be kidnapped
some time during the Task.
Harry had no intention of being kidnapped, so was happy
with his plan to solve the Task far quicker than anyone
even thought could be done. Leastwise, it should cause
any plan to kidnap him to come to naught. However, he
wasn't that foolish he'd not accept the tracking pellet for
what it meant.
Once all the brand new bleachers had filled and the
judges sat their table, it was Headmistress Marchbanks
who made the announcements. Harry looked across and
saw Bagman sitting at the table with a scowl on his face,
refusing to look at anyone.
Marchbanks went through how 'the Champions and Lord
Potter' (thankyou, for that) would enter, before ensuring
everything was ready.
On the mark of 7.00pm Krum, who had the most points,
was sent in. Two minutes later, Cedric was sent in. Ten
minutes after that, Fleur went in.
Before she left, though, she kissed Harry on the cheek
and said, "I know I've not got a chance. So, I'll be making
sure I'm safe."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 488
He gave her a smile and a nod.
That left Harry waiting outside. As soon as Fleur entered,
he conjured a recliner, sat in it and relaxed.
Finally, and after quite some time, Marchbanks said, "Ten
seconds, Lord Potter."
Harry gave her a nod, stood up, vanished the recliner and
waited the last few seconds.
"Time, Lord Potter!" barked Marchbanks.
He smiled, walked over to stand just inside the maze,
turned back and raised his wand.
Softly, he muttered, "Accio Firebolt." And his broom soared
from the stands where Hermione had 'stashed' it and into
his hands.
He deftly caught it and, as he heard loud gasps of shock
and not a few cries of dismay.
Casting a Sonorus on himself, he looked to the stands and
judges and said, "Come on! Who didn't see this coming a
mile away? Seriously? Oh, that's right! Ludo Bagman and
co, that's who.
"The rules of this event state I must enter the maze and
then make my way to the Cup, hidden somewhere within.
Nowhere does it state I must remain in the maze, while I'm
doing that."
Cancelling the charm, he mounted the broom and took off
into the sky. He had really wanted to snark at the
organisers of the events some more, but had promised his
ladies he'd keep it to the minimum this time.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Just outside the wards of the school and hidden inside a
Fidelius charmed tent, a team of Unspeakables were
monitoring both Harry's tracker and watching and listening
to what was happening through some of their hidden
'observation' mirrors, plus through direct observation using
omnioculars.
Just about all of them immediately burst into the
Unspeakable form of gales of laughter, 'light snickering' for
everyone else, as Harry took to the sky.
The only one not laughing barked, "Watch the boy! If it's
going to happen, it will happen soon after he reaches the
Cup, or just before."
That quietened them all down again.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Harry soared right up into the sky and used his now
excellent vision to look down on the entirety of the maze.
Surprising even him it only took him a moment to spot the
Cup. It was situated right in the very middle of the maze in
a small courtyard. And even right in the middle of that.
And, further, it was softly glowing with a gentle blue light.
Around it and deep into the maze he could barely make
out some movement he thought were either the other
champions or were some of the traps or 'foul beasts' he
and the others were supposed to get past.
Giving a snort of amusement, he dove directly down into
the courtyard, coming to a rump sliding halt right alongside
the Cup.
Total time since he started, including the Sonorus
message; fifteen seconds.
As he landed, however, he heard a gasp of shock. Quickly
abandoning the broom he rolled across the grass and was
quickly to one knee with his wand drawn.
He waited a good ten seconds, looking about and not
finding anything out of the ordinary, before he carefully
walked over to grab his broom.
Just as his hand reached for it, he could see the reflecting
of a flash of red light off the damp leaves of the
surrounding hedges and tried to dive out of the way. He
didn't make it.
Slumped on the ground and unconscious, he didn't see
Draco Malfoy doff an invisibility cloak from in the corner.
Nor did he see him walk over to grab a fistful of his collar
before then dragging him closer to the hip-height
eighteen-inch-square hedge on which the Cup sat.
Checking to make sure his grip on Harry's robes was
secure, Malfoy slid his wand into his pocket, then reached
out and grabbed the nearest handle of the Cup.
The whirl-flash of an activated Portkey later and Harry,
Malfoy and the Cup were gone.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Over in the hidden tent, the lead Unspeakable, the one
who told them off less than a thirty seconds earlier, said,
"Right. He's gone. Track him. Let the combat teams know
the White Knight was stunned when he was taken. I want
that arrival point now, people."
"On it!" one of the others barked back.
And messages were quickly sent.
On a huge metal map of the British Isles and much of the
western portion of Europe, a single white dot was slowly
moving south east.
A quick swish of wand by the Unspeakable closely
monitoring the map and the map zoomed in on southern
Scotland and northern England. And the dot rapidly
increased speed as it moved across the metal.
"Come ooooonn―" muttered the team lead.
A few moments later, the dot suddenly stopped.
"Zoom!" he snapped.
Another wand swish of the Unspeakable controlling the
map and the area that the board covered zoomed in close
enough streets and the like appeared.
"Hangleton... no! Little Hangleton!" cried the map monitor.
"The graveyard of Little Hangleton!"
"Confirmed!" said another, tasked with monitoring the
information coming from the tracker. "I've got coordinates!"
"Get them to the teams and tell them they're entering a
hostile environment," said the leader. "White Knight is
down; alive, but believed stunned. He cannot withdraw as
planned."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 489
As more messages were quickly sent, complete with
apparation and portkey co-ordinates, others wearing the
Unspeakables robes within and without the maze,
suddenly dropped disillusionment charms and charged in.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
For those watching of the judges and spectators, they saw
Harry mount his broom and take off into the sky. While it
was night, there was still sufficient light from the moon in
the cloudless sky to watch him.
They saw him soar up high, hesitate a bare moment and
then dive down into the middle of the maze.
At the judges table, Bagman saw Potter summon his
broom, yet again call him an idiot via a Sonorus and take
off into the sky.
He didn't see the rest, as he had turned back forward and
was in the process of slowly and repeatedly banging his
forehead off the table in front of him at which he sat.
Less than thirty seconds later, all the hedges collapsed
with a soft 'Whump!', seemed to whither away and
disappeared. Even all the hazards and traps disappeared.
It left three competitors standing in various areas where
the maze had sat, clearly in the process of navigating said
maze.
There was no sign of Harry Potter, except for his broom. It
was hovering at hip height approximately where he'd
disappeared from sight after diving into the centre of the
maze.
They then also saw other wizards and wizards charging
towards the broom, with even aurors dropping
disillusionment charms and the like and running towards
the same spot.
Marchbanks's announcement had informed them all that
the maze would disappear once the Cup was grabbed.
However, she'd also told them that a portkey on the Cup
would instantly transport that person to the middle of the
winner's stage, so they could accept their prize.
And he wasn't there.
It took only a couple of seconds before there were shouts
and demands for information.
Minister Brunt, who was there to present the winner with
their one thousand galleons prize money, immediately
whirled on the judges table and loudly demanded, "Where
is he?"
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When Harry was harshly enervated, it was to look into the
face of Lucius Malfoy. The man was standing there in full
Death Eater regalia with silver mask; but, of course, his
long blonde hair gave him away.
As soon as Harry tried to move, he realised he'd been
tied, arms spread out wide, to something.
"You're not going anywhere, Potter," Malfoy sneered.
"You're early, but the Dark Lord anticipated you would be."
Harry began to look around and realised he was in an old
graveyard of some form. Nothing looked relatively new, so
it had to be one that was no longer in service. He also
spotted Draco, watching over the largest cauldron Harry
had ever seen and tending a fire underneath. Standing
next to 'Mini-Malfoy' were two others, also in death eater
regalia. The short little fat one was carrying a bundle of
some form.
Turning back to Malfoy senior, Harry said, "Hey, Lucy. If
you wanted to have a chat, you should have sent me an
owl."
Malfoy glared back and seemed on the edge of cursing
him before the an forcefully willed himself relaxed and
said, "You're here at the Dark Lord's invitation, Potter.
You're to witness his rebirth. Then he's going to kill you."
Before Harry had a chance to snark back, just as he
opened his mouth, Malfoy shoved something deep within.
Looking down, Harry could see it appeared to be a dark
grey or black glove of some form.
'Well; how rude,' he thought.
Without another word, Malfoy turned and walked away
from him, towards the cauldron.
Harry spat the glove back out again. 'Sticking charms,
silencing charms, a tongue-locking charm, all sorts of
magic available to him and he uses a glove as a gag?
Moron.'
As soon as Moron - err, Malfoy - reached the cauldron, a
ritual was begun.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The combat Unspeakables were gathered in their section
within Level 9 on 'alert'. That meant they were supposed
to remain ready to go at any moment, but spent almost the
entire time just... waiting. For similar events, sometimes
they'd go, but most times they'd not.
As their Mission Commander walked in they all knew this
was a 'go' time.
"On yer feet!" he barked. "If you're too muddleheaded
because you've been sitting on yer arses for so long, me
being here means we have a 'Go' for an insertion into a
probable hostile environment. You're insertion point is just
outside a disused graveyard in the muggle town of Little
Hangleton up near the border between England and
Wales.
"This has become a rescue op with kill all hostiles on site.
The victim is one Lord Harrison James Potter... yes, him.
He's believed to have been stunned unconscious.
"We suspect this will be some ritual to resurrect one Tom
Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. The bigwigs want the ritual to go ahead with the dark wanker
terminated again as soon as he wakes up. I suggest you
do it before he gets a wand in his hand.
"It's also suspected a soul anchor will be used as part of
the ritual, or will be in the vicinity. A team of soul magic
experts will accompany you in, but will remain out of the
combat area until they can move in to verify. Don't let any
of them get dead.
"The big-wigs would also appreciate it, very much, if you
don't let Potter get dead either."
As he was speaking, Portkeys were distributed to the
teams of five.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 490
"Your portkeys will drop you one hundred yards south of
the graveyard and ten yards apart. Disillusion now.
As soon as they were all disillusioned, he barked,
"Ready?... Departing in three... two... one... Execute!"
As one, all the portkeys activated. The sudden loss of that
much mass in one room at one time cause a sudden drop
in air pressure, which gave a decent yank forward on the
robes of the Mission Commander as air rushed into the
room from the open door behind to fill the space. Used to
it, he barely had to take a short step forward against the
pull.
A quick check with a snap-cast revealing charm and he
couldn't see anything that wasn't supposed to be there,
gave a grunt of satisfaction and walked out again.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Back at the school, the aurors were trying to order
information out of those they knew to be Unspeakables.
They were ignored until Madam Bones stormed over.
"Why are you here?" she demanded.
One, off to the left, replied, "We're determining how a
portkey was created that worked through the wards of
Hogwarts that was not created by Marchbanks."
Turning her attention to that person... and it was annoying
not being able to address them by gender... she said, "We
believe a second portkey was overlaid on the first."
"Nice theory," the Unspeakable drolled. "However, that
would make it a separate portkey charm. And, as portkeys
can only be made by the Headmistress, it would not get
through the wards."
That had her stumped. "Then, what's your theory?" she
demanded.
"The existing portkey charm was modified," the
Unspeakable immediately replied. "They've been clever in
being able to arithmetically pull the original charm apart
and rebuild it in place with a different destination."
That surprised Bones. That took a high level of education
and training. It also represented a huge security breach if
existing portkeys could be modified that way. That meant,
portkeys created by her for her aurors, could be used by
the bad guys.
"So, if you've deduced that," she said, "Where'd the
portkey take him?"
"Our people are already on that," replied the Unspeakable.
While their voices and appearances were blurred as a
result of their Unspeakable robes, the confidence in the
person's voice bled through clear.
"I want in," said said. "This is, after all, the kidnapping of
One of the Seven. That makes it fall within my purview."
The Unspeakable stood still for a few moments before
they said, "You; and you, alone. Come with me." Then
began walking towards the school main gates."
Bones spun and stared at one of her Masters. "Hammer.
You're in command here. See what you can discover as to
who took our boy. Start with a head count of students and
staff."
"On it, boss," replied Hammer, who was nearby and
listening in.
As Hammer hurried off back towards the stands, Bones
turned and strode quickly to catch up with the
Unspeakable.
Hammer grabbed another auror and said, "Grab someone
else, disillusion, silence, scent mask, everything... and
follow the Boss."
"Yes, Ma'am!" replied the young auror.
The Boss did not go anywhere without backup and
bodyguards.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
While Harry waited, tied to what he now knew to be a
grave-site gargoyle marker, the ritual had gone ahead.
The potion in the cauldron, for that was what it clearly
was, had reached the stage it was steaming. What looked
like a disgusting, deformed toddler with red eyes was then
lowered into the potion by the fat death eater, whom he
now recognised to be Pettigrew.
After that, some bone had been ripped from the soil under
his, Harry's, feet and dropped into the cauldron. Then
Malfoy - the Elder, that is - had cut off his pinky finger on
his off hand and let that drop in. And, finally, Draco had
taken the knife out of his father's hand, come over,
slashed Harry on the cheek with the tip of it and used a
vial to collect blood that seeped from it. That was then
poured into the cauldron.
Once they were done, all four - Draco and the three adults
- had backed away and waited. The resultant steam
coming from the cauldron obscured everything from sight.
When the steam finally cleared, a very naked, ritualenhanced Tom Riddle stood before the cauldron and was
slowly checking himself over, running his fingers and
hands over himself.
Harry thought, 'Ewww... not in public!'
Moments later, Riddle sneered, "Robe me."
A few moments after that, all Hell let loose.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Arriving on site south of their target location, the
Unspeakable combat teams were quick to immediately
scan the surrounds to ensure they weren't spotted. Then
immediately began checking over themselves and their
equipment. Once done, they masked themselves from
unwanted eyes, ears and noses and moved north.
They arrived where they needed to be and could see the
anticipated ritual was already in full swing. The White
Knight was clearly alive, though firmly secured to a grave
marker of a large winged angel carrying a scythe; and
wasn't that all sorts of wrong.
Through their ear bugs, the teams were given their orders.
One team of four immediately faded back and quickly
circled around, coming at their target from the rear.
However, they nearly came undone when they were
accosted by a dirty great big magical snake. That got
stunned, bagged, had a portkey affixed to it and was
portkeyed away.
That had them a little late on the site of their target, but
within timeframes.
A tap of his ear bug by their team leader, informing the
others and the on-site commander they were in position,
and they waited; ready.
As the magically enhanced steam from the cauldron
dissipated, they were looking at what was very clearly a
very naked Tom Riddle - Voldemort - copping a feel of
himself.
Riddle sneered, "Robe me."
The on-site commander took a final report of readiness
from his people, then sub-vocally snapped, "Now!"
Almost as one, the Unspeakables moved.