Lettered Update
Disclaimer: J.K.R owns Harry Potter, not me. That's why she's making the big bucks, and I'm deciding between paying for books and buying food.
Warning: This is a Slash Story. That means boy/boy lovin'.
I'll reply to any and all comments in my livejournal, which is linked in my profile.
:Parseltongue:
------
The next morning, Harry was in a much better mood. At breakfast, the first of the howlers had arrived for Dumbledore. A number of students had received letters from their parents telling them that they were going to be transfered to Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. At lunch, there was another round of red envelopes waiting fro the Headmaster. By dinner, the man wasn't even able to leave his office without being swarmed.
Harry, for his part, had received a request for an interview with Rita for a follow up entitled "Reactions from the Light", which was set to run on Sunday. He had declined the interview, but had sent a written statement, voicing his disbelief and stating that he was still planning on fighting for the good of all mankind, et cetera. Draco had nearly pissed himself laughing when he read it.
"You really think they're going to buy that?"
"Why wouldn't they? I mean, I'm The Boy Who Wouldn't Die- I don't need to be realistic. Hell, the public at large would rather I act like Gilderoy fucking Lockhart instead of Harry Potter. Enough of that." Draco rolled his eyes. "So, other than getting stuck with another girl, how was your Christmas?"
Draco was quiet for a minute. When he finally spoke, it was barely a whisper. "We went to visit my father." Harry looked down.
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry-" Draco was shaking his head.
"No, no, it's alright. Now that the Dementors have left, it's not so bad- or so he says. That's not the problem. He's still set on the same path, you know? He was telling me that I should "continue reaching for the future I've been pursuing". Of course, you know what that means. You'd think he have learned his lesson, but no..." He laughed hoarsely. "Whatever. There's not much doing, is there?" Harry swallowed and nodded. A thought hit him out of nowhere.
"Hey Draco, what exactly do you tell people when they ask why you've stopped fighting with me, anyways?" Draco snorted.
"I just tell them I found a strategic advantage. Nobody knows what I mean, and everyone's afraid to ask. " The boys both snickered.
------
Three days later, and the howlers had finally started to let up. Around fifty students had left, mostly first through third years, with the majority of the students coming from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Only three students from Slytherin had left- all neutral- and only one Gryffindor had been pulled, a first year who had been transfered to Beauxbatons.
Harry had finally gotten a chance to sit down and search through the memories the Sorting hat had presented him with. Apparently, Dumbledore had spent the last months in South America, searching for a ritual which could be used to steal the magic of any person. It required the target to cast a spell which requires large amounts of power and will, at which point the caster would recite the spell and drain the target, leaving them as a squib. From the memory, it was obvious that he planned on casting it on Harry as he killed Voldemort, or vice versa. Fuming, he made his way to Lupin's office.
------
"Professor, where can I get a pensieve?" Remus looked up, frowning.
"I think you can get them by owl order. But why?" Harry narrowed his eyes.
"The old coot has another scheme." He quickly described the memories which the sorting hat had shared with him. The werewolf sat there, stunned.
"...So, just in case something happens, I need a pensieve." Harry finished. Remus nodded.
"I'll ask Severus if he knows where you can get one. Until then, be careful. If Dumbledore thinks you know, he won't think twice about obliviating you. In fact, you should probably tell Severus as well- the more people who know, the safer, and Dumbledore hasn't been able to break through his Occlumency shields yet. Do you have class this afternoon?"
Harry nodded. "Care of Magical Creatures. Why?"
"We need to talk- all of us. Listen, you tell Ginny, Neville and Draco to meet me here after class. I'll talk to Professor McGonagall- she surely won't have any objection to the four of you spending the night at your godfather's house, especially if Professor Snape and I are also there. I'll see you this afternoon." Harry nodded, and got up. "Oh, and Harry? I hear Hagrid's found something new and exciting. You may want to warn your classmates." Harry managed a grin as he left.
------
Hagrid had indeed brought something new and exciting to show them. Hagrid had managed to procure a young runespoor which had managed to keep all three of its heads intact. Hagrid had set the young serpent in a large crate with mesh over the top. Sitting beside the crate was a box, from which slight scratching noises could be heard.
"An' yeh see, here, this one's still a baby. Jus' hatched two days ago. Cute, innit?" Harry heard several people snort in disbelief, including Draco. "Hey, Harry, come over here an' help me, will ya? " Harry walked over, unsure of what Hagrid wanted him to do. Hagrid leaned over to the boy, speaking softly. "Alrigh', can yeh talk to 'er? Maybe tell 'er what's going on, so she stays calm?" Harry nodded. "Alrigh', everyone, move back, I'm goin' ter take the mesh off now and give 'er some food. You ready, Harry?" Harry nodded again, and turned to the crate.
:Hello, little one.: The runespoor turned all three of her heads to face Harry.
:Hello, speaker. What is happening? We were so warm and cozy before, and now it's cold in here.:
:It's alright, I'll tell Hagrid to put a heating charm on your box- a spell to make the box nice and warm for you. Tell me, would you like some food?:
:Yes, speaker, we would.:
:Good. The big man will lift up the wire and give you food. Please don't bite him.: Harry looked up.
"The crate could use a heating charm, Hagrid." Hagrid nodded.
"Alrigh' Harry, Thanks fer tellin' me. They ready?" Harry nodded, and in one swift motion Hagrid had lifted the mesh and dumped the contents of the box- 3 small rodents- into the crate. The runespoor swiftly caught the mice, one in each mouth, and after finishing it's meal, curled up, content.
"Well, I think that's all fer today- I'll see yeh all nex' week. Harry, can yeh stay fer a minute, introduce me to 'er proper so she won' bite me?"
The class left, everyone but Neville and Draco rushing for the school. Harry turned back to the crate.
:So, what is your name, little one?:
:Speranza: Hissed the middle head.
:Satya: Responded the rightmost head.
:Zahina: Answered the leftmost head.
:It is nice to meet you. I am Harry. The big man is named Hagrid. He will take care of you, but he is not a speaker. I ask that you do not bite him, as he is my friend. Will you do that for me?:
:Yes, speaker.: the heads hissed in unison.
:Thank you. Hagrid is going to take you somewhere warm now.: He looked up.
"Alright, Hagrid. I told her not to bite you, and that you were going to care for her. I'll be at Sirius' tonight, so if there are any problems, floo me and I'll be right here."
"Righ', Harry, I'll see yeh when you get back, then."
As Harry walked back to the school, Neville and Draco were quick to follow him.
"Wow, Harry, I keep forgetting you can do that!" Neville breathed. Draco had to agree.
"So, you have any other party tricks for us?" Harry laughed.
"Nah, none that I can talk about in polite company, anyways." He wiggled his eyebrows, a trick he had learned from Sirius. Draco punched him in the shoulder. "So, how do you blokes feel about a party at Sirius'? Just the group? Remus is taking care of McGonagall." The two boys nodded, understanding that something major must have come up for Harry to feel the need to leave Hogwarts.
"Yeah, sounds like fun. You talk to Gin yet?" Harry shook his head.
"Haven't seen her." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, Draco, how much do you trust Blaise?"
Draco paused, thinking. "Well, he is a Slytherin," Harry chuckled, "but he's also fairly dependable. You thinking of getting him involved?"
"Well, he did help at Halloween, and he knows about the Prophet. I mean, if we're going to use him, it's only fair that we let him know how and why. Plus, he's discreet, and he has a good excuse. I'll mention it to Remus, see what he thinks."
"Sounds good. Meet you in Lupin's office?" Harry nodded. "Great, I'll meet you in twenty. I'll tell Blaise not to make any plans tonight." Nodding to the Gryffindors, he made his way to the dungeons.
"Alright. Nev, how are you set for tonight? I'm not buggering up anything, am I?" Neville shrugged.
"Nah. Luna reckons that a flabbering banderboyle is following her, and she's been too busy trying to discourage it to even notice me. Or, at least that's her excuse." Harry raised an eyebrow. "She gets like this for about a week every month- I figure it's her polite way of telling me to fuck off." Harry rolled his eyes and snorted. Neville and Luna had the oddest relationship- but then again, who was he to talk? He was sleeping with a dark lord. Humming, Harry excused himself and went off to find Ginny.
------
"Alright, Blaise. This cannot go beyond this group. If you don't feel that you can keep this a secret, we will obliviate you." The five teens were sitting around Sirius' kitchen table, along with Tom, Snape and Lupin. Sirius was hunting through the cupboards for some food that didn't contain the word "instant" on the label. "Are you sure you want to know?"
Blaise swallowed hard and nodded, squeezing Ginny's hand. Harry gave him a quick rundown of the recent events, until the printing of the article. The Slytherin's eyes went wide when Harry told him who Tom was, and only Ginny's firm grip kept him from getting up and running as far away as he possibly could. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Harry finished.
"...So, now that that's out of the way, who here could use a drink?" Remus and Severus both gave him warning looks. "I'm not talking about getting drunk, I just think it might keep Blaise from keeling over." He looked over at Sirius, who had finished searching and was contemplating just taking the lot of them out for dinner. "Hey, Sirius, where do you keep your spirits?" The animagus gestured to a cupboard, which Harry rummaged through before pulling out an almost full bottle of rum. Remus got up and took out a glass for each person. After pouring out drinks for everyone, Harry sat back down. "So, you have any questions, Blaise?"
Blaise thought for a moment, then looked up confused. "You mean to tell me that the Dark Lord has spent the last few months being bossed around by third years?" The other students laughed. It looked like this was going to be interesting.
------
After the group had settled back down, Harry had quickly explained what the sorting hat had shown him. Severus looked shocked, and had immediately agreed that Harry needed a pensieve, just in case. Ten minutes later, he had helped the boy write out a letter requesting one, with the necessary information to charge the expenses to the Black family vaults. After this, they got down to business.
"So, we know that the public at large is pissed off at him, but what about the ministry? They've been really quiet." Severus smiled.
"There's a rumor going around that Dumbledore is going to be forced to step down from the Wizengamot. Of course, it's not official- it's "pending further investigation"- but it seems likely that it will be announced on Sunday. Of course, the old man is going to be forced to make an official response sometime soon. How do we plan on acting?"
"I'm not sure yet. I think I can manage to incapacitate him for a day or so after his statement is released, though. Say, Sirius, did my mum tell you how allergic he is to shellfish?" The animagus made a see-sawing motion with his hand. "Alright, well, an allergic attack should buy us a few hours, anyways. Hm, what else... Oh, I know! Maybe we should see if we can get a few more students pulled. I'm sure Rita would love to know about some of our previous Defense instructors- especially Quirrell and Crouch. Who knows, maybe we can even get him up on child endangerment charges or something like that. Maybe bring up the basilisk from before, too." The rest of the group nodded thoughtfully. Then Ginny spoke up.
"Harry, I know you don't really like to spread it around, but maybe if the rest of the world saw where Dumbledore had sent the Boy-Who-Lived, it might help. Hell, all we'd need is for Rita to show up and ask your Aunt and Uncle for an interview-" Harry cut her off.
"No. I don't need the rest of the world to know- well, it's none of their business. It was shitty, but I'm not planning on living there any longer than necessary. I wonder... Tom, you used my blood to get your body back. Do you think that blood wards would be effective?" Tom frowned.
"I don't know. Maybe... I'll check it out next weekend. Maybe I'll bring a few people, make it look like a raid. You mind if I torture the muggles?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"Hey- I thought you were good now."
"Hey, I'm good! That's why I said "torture", and not "brutally slaughter". Besides, they deserve it." His upper lip curled into a sneer. Ginny saw this, and decided to change the subject.
"Alright. So, do you think you could arrange for Rita to accidentally overhear us reminiscing, or whatever we're using as an excuse?" Everyone looked at Draco.
"Oh, definitely. I'm sure we can work with that- let's say, tomorrow at 3 in the room of requirement? I'm sure she'll rearrange her schedule for this. In fact, I'll write out the note now- the post office is still open, I'll mail it tonight." Sirius looked over at Harry.
"Harry, you should mail out your letter, too. We may as well just stop at the Three Broomsticks for dinner, while we're at it." Satisfied, Sirius leaned against the counter, ignoring Remus' muttered "lazy git."
------
"Hey." Draco stepped into the room of requirement, slamming the door behind him.
"Hey, Draco. Something wrong?" Harry smirked from one of the two couches in the room.
"Oh, it's Pansy. She's fighting with good old what's-his-face, so she's hanging over me, trying to make him jealous Stupid bint doesn't seem to realize that it only works if he knows about it..." He flopped down next to Blaise. Ginny turned back to Neville.
"Really, I don't care what you say. Nobody was worse than Lockhart. I mean, the wanker was planning on telling everyone that I died down there!" Neville snorted.
"No, Ginny, you never met Quirrell. Not only did he have V-Voldemort in the back of his bloody head, but he stuttered so badly that you couldn't make out anything he said. Even Crouch was better, and that bastard tortured my parents. Where exactly did Dumbledore find these people, anyways?"
Harry leaned over. "I have no idea. You know, though, that except for third year, I had to face the evil git every year. Dumbledore didn't even step in until the ministry. Speaking of which, did you see that lovely tribute statue they put in the Atrium to replace the one that got smashed?" Ginny nodded.
"He finally gets off his arse and protects his students, and he gets a statue. You defeated a fucking basilisk at the age of twelve- one which had been petrifying students left, right, and center- and you get an obsessive house elf and a handshake. How the hell did he not know that there was a basilisk in the school, anyways? I mean, a second year swot figured it out before him! But then again, he also managed to miss the git who had a Dark Lord growing out of his skull. Merlin, it's a wonder we've made it this long!" Neville smiled.
"Well, at least Lupin knows what he's talking about. I've learned more from that man in the two years he's taught than I did from any of the other teachers. Except maybe Crouch, but then again, learning how to cast unforgivables is hardly a useful skill for most people, is it?" The rest of the group, including Draco, nodded.
The group continued sitting and talking about nothing in particular for the next twenty minutes or so, before Draco excused himself. He made his way out to the lake, where he paused for a moment and appeared to be talking to himself. A few seconds later, a small beetle dropped out of his cloak, transforming into Rita Skeeter.
"Alright, then. I assume you've got enough to run with for a while?" Rita nodded.
"More than enough. Although I must admit, that set up seemed a little... contrived. Are you sure that they didn't know I was there?"
Draco laughed hollowly. "As far as you're concerned, they had no idea. I can assure you that everything they said in there regarding certain teachers is true." Rita nodded, seeming satisfied. "Now, I'm sure you can figure out how to spread those out, right? I'm sure you can find anonymous students willing to let you interview them to add depth..." The two shared a grin.
"I might just take you up on that offer. There's a Hogsmeade trip in a week, is there not? I'll be in the Three Broomsticks, should anyone happen to feel the need to let something slip." She frowned. "You know, Draco, you have a beautiful owl. How long did that research take, anyways?" Draco laughed.
"Rita, honey, you know me better than that. All I did was send some mail." Draco smiled at the woman, and turned away, heading back to the warmth of the castle.
------
Dumbledore Removed From Wizengamot!
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has been removed from his position as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, after several documents came to light showing that Dumbledore allowed researchers several students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as part of a highly controversial experiment dealing with multiple personalities, which have already have disastrous effects. This statement comes as no surprise to this reporter, who has to ask about the safety of the current students...
------
Dumbledore Claims Ignorance!
Albus Dumbledore released this statement today, claiming his innocence:
"I was wholly unaware of the extent of the experiments. I was lead to believe that Westhover and Zephyrwilde were only observing the lives of several students, most of whom had already been labeled "high risk", meaning that they had a high possibility of displaying mental disorders. Were I to know the true extent, I would have never allowed students under my care to participate, and I wholeheartedly apologize for the harm my actions have caused."
Harry could have laughed as he read that day's copy of the Daily Prophet. Looking across the great hall, he managed to catch Draco's eye over at the Slytherin table. Draco raised an eyebrow, and Harry nodded. He expected to see the first expose on previous Hogwarts Defense professors tomorrow morning. Getting up, Harry headed to Lupin's office. Knocking, he didn't wait before opening the door. Remus looked up from his desk.
"Well?"
"He's made his move. He's claiming ignorance, like we thought. Rita's series will probably start tomorrow. Meanwhile... Kreacher?"
The house elf popped into the office, looking decidedly sulky.
"Kreacher, could you make sure that Dumbledore's lunch has some form of shellfish in it? Discreetly, of course, no one can know- especially the other elves. As much as you can without him catching on- it wouldn't be any good if all he got was a rash, now would it?" The house elf looked positively gleeful at the thought of this.
"Yes Master! Kreacher is doing that for you!" Harry smiled.
"Great. Oh, and don't tell anyone we had this conversation. If you are caught, pretend you didn't know that he was allergic." The house elf nodded. "Thank you- you can go back to the kitchen now, but remember, discretion!" The house elf nodded again and popped out of sight. He looked at the werewolf. "So, now to wait. So, how long until the Board of Governors gives him the boot?" Remus thought for a minute.
"You know, without Malfoy on the board, he might last a while. At least until too many students are pulled out. I think he has at least a month and a half, depending on how rough these next few articles are. By the way, you didn't mention-?" Harry shook his head.
"Nope. We made sure to mention that you were the best teacher we'd had, the only worthwhile one, and that we were- and still are- extremely grateful to have you. You know, only the truth. Hey, that wouldn't happen to be my essay you're marking, would it?" The werewolf chuckled and playfully swatted his cub.
"Get on with you- I know you're boyfriend's supposed to be working today, go bug him." Harry tried to pout, but couldn't help but grin. Yes, everything was working out just fine.
------
Tom was scowling at his young lover, who was bouncing around the cellar. "If you don't sit down soon, I'm going to nail you to the crate." Harry rolled his eyes, but sat down.
"So, how was the meeting last night?" Tom had called the Death Eaters last night and gotten reports. Tom sighed.
"They're getting restless. I think I need to find something bigger for them. Otherwise, they might think I'm going soft, or something." Harry looked pensive for a moment.
"How about Azkaban? That should satisfy them, and make everyone nervous. Especially if they break everyone out. Hell, even if it fails, all that means is that there's less of them to mess with."
Tom nodded. "Yeah, I think that would work. Should we wait, or do you think the sooner the better?"
"Well, Rita's going to be printing her articles over the next few days, so you might want to wait until they're out- you know, spread out the bad news a little." Harry smirked. "Actually, I was thinking about how we're going to end this charade. Do you know- can you put the kissed under imperio?"
"I don't see why not, but I've never tried. Most people wouldn't bother- it's obvious that, if, say, Wormtail was to walk up to the counter at the Hog's Head, he wouldn't be doing it of his own volition. Why?"
"Well, someone needs to die, don't they?" Tom chuckled.
"I see. I'll get them to bring back Wormtail and Bellatrix if they can, then, and maybe Crouch, too. I'll start working on how this is going to work for next weekend, then. Maybe I'll use it as a diversion while I check the wards around the Dursleys, as well- that way, I can cause chaos and send a message to the Boy-Who-Lived. By this time next week, I think we can guarantee that the wizarding world will be in a bit of turmoil. So, now that we've gotten that taken care of..." Tom bent down to kiss Harry fiercely. Oh, yes, life is good, Harry thought, before he lost all coherency.
------
Well, here's chapter 10! It's a little shorter than the last few, but it's here! Um, there really isn't that much to say. I think Harry was sneaking some sort of caffinated beverage during the last bit- he ended up really bouncy and ramble-y for some reason. I ended cutting part of it because he just kept talking and not really going anywhere. Much like I am right now.
Next Chapter- Azkaban! Confrontations! Fucking with Wormtail- he's such a fun target :) And maybe a peak of allergic!Dumbles, just for shits and giggles.