The Privy Councilors 12/35

[herumtreiber]

Title: The Privy Councilors 12/35
Chapter: Consequences - II
Author:herumtreiber 
Genre: AU to HBP, romance, adventure
Disclaimer:  I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from the writing of these stories.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length:  ~4,320 words
Summary: Draco/Harry, Luna/Neville, Ron/Hermione, Narcissa/??? Harry is about to be sent to Azkaban. The story explores Wizengamot politics and the fight against evil Dumbledore - where he gets vanquished early and does not prattle on and on - but is he gone? Plus de-aging. Someone returns whose name begins with a S. (And my revenge on characters whose accents are hard to read – like Hagrid and Fleur ;-)


Table of contents




9. Family trouble

Take that look off your face.
I can see through your smile.
You would love to be right.
I bet you didn't sleep good last night,
Couldn't wait to bring all of that bad news to my door.
Well, I've got news for you: I knew before.
(Take that look off your face; Lloyd Webber, Black)

They spent some days in this manner, Ron visiting daily the Diamond Manor and trying to get through his thickheaded older brothers and Ginny. Mrs. Weasley had recognized that she acted egregiously wrong and begged Harry for his forgiveness.

Harry just smirked when told this, and continued eating. He would eventually forgive Mrs. Weasley, but she had to endure a little of what he went through first.
Crookshanks and Hermione were reunited, and the cat seemingly prospered in the atmosphere of the Manor, too much according to Hermione.

There had been an infestation of mice near the South Wing for 210 years, and it was curbed and stopped by the mighty orange feline. Trouble was, the half-Kneazle took it upon himself to attack the house-elves. Apparently he thought the Malfoy elves were there only for his perusal and consumption. The harried elves took on increasingly panicked looks, the only ones who were able to defend themselves were Kreacher and Dobby, when they visited.

Crookshanks also took to stalking the owls, hoping to munch on one someday. Only Hedwig and Hermes retaliated and used their beaks to chastise the half-Kneazle.

What was infuriating for Hermione was that Crookshanks had taken a liking to Draco Malfoy and viceversa. The cat seemed to know when Draco entered a room and went to rub himself across his legs. Hermione would swear he even purred, or maybe it wasn't the cat but the human. At any rate, it was unsettling.

Narcissa had a chat with Hermione, and she peremptorily told her to watch her cat or else.
Hermione left this meeting with a heavy heart. When he got to Harry's room, Harry, Ron and Draco wanted to know what was wrong, so she told them.

Harry managed to hide his chuckles for five seconds, while Ron and Draco were guffawing loudly and even rolling on the floor. An enraged Hermione cast a very powerful Grey spell to shut them up and make them afraid.

She said, "Oh, shut it you! I've had it enough with testosterone-driven individuals. You will help me with Crookshanks, or else! I will put a bell on that orange furball so the stupid elves can get away! That will also alert the stupid owls! Don't just stand there and help me!"

"Oh, yes, the curse, I forgot." Hermione swished her wand and the curse was lifted.

A visibly cowed group comprised of Draco, Ron and Harry followed her commands.

oOoOo

Later, in Draco's room, Harry was writing to Sirius:

Are you sure you want to do that, kiddo?

Yes, I am, Sirius. It may be the only way they understand, I don't owe them anything, not a happy life, or a normal one. Will you still care for me?

I will care for you and love you always, Prongslet.

(Sigh) By the way, Draco said to remind you about the press conference today at 3.00 pm. (Grumbles)

Really, Harry, it doesn't matter how much I may currently resemble an Appointment Book, I am not one!

Quit whining, Sirius, it doesn't become you, you sound like a disco remake!

Cissa, when did you get here?

Just now, when you were chastising poor Harry.

(SIGH) Everyone chastises him, including me, I'm afraid to say. It isn't fair.

Please, Narcissa, don't shout at me! Your use of exclamations was not aristocratic at all!

Sirius! I swear I will hex you once you're back with us.

Whatever, Cissa, what will we do about the D/H situation?

What situation?

The situation between Draco and Harry. I hope that, having eyes and brains and other stuff I don't have, you have managed to observe their behavior and come to some conclusion.

Sirius, your pitiful attempts at Slytherin sarcasm are duly noted and appreciated. Yes, I am cognizant of their attraction for each other and even managed to give them a hint; buying them color coordinated clothes.

Cissa, such daring features of your plan! No wonder none of them succeed, they are loony! (Sigh) We're dealing with an oblivious Harry, who wouldn't notice a hint if it smacked him in the face, and an equally oblivious Draco. If there was a prize for obliviousness, he would lose it because he'd be unaware.
We have to help them, Sarcasm Mistress (sighs).

I think I know a way. Tell them to talk to me, together.

Hello, Sirius! Hello Black!

Nice to see you runts. Now I have a question to ask of you. Do you want to become Animagi?

Wow, really, Sirius, that would be just great. I'd love to!

That would be great, Sirius. I always wanted to learn but couldn't find anyone with the proper qualifications who I could trust.

(Sighs) It would be easier if we could get Remus' help. Can he be trusted?

Yes, he can, he was with us at the Burrow and helped Snape during my trial. He's grown.

That is true. He seems a lot more observant and incisive than before. He'd be a fine addition.

Who do you think I can trust with the news of my present state?

I'd say Ron, Hermione, Remus, Neville, and the Twins.

I agree with the above and would also include Pansy.

(Shudders) I'm giving you permission to reveal my current conditions to the persons you mentioned before. Please don't hand this information like candy, because it could fall in the wrong hands, not only of Death Eaters, but the leftover Order, and all hell would break loose.

oOoOo

It was two o'clock and Harry was munching on a sandwich, under the vigilant gaze of Draco.

Draco was fuming because Blaise was laughing uproariously. Zabini was saying, "Really, that red color of your face complements beautifully the red and golden tie of Gryffindor you're wearing." Pansy added mockingly, "Is there something you're not telling me? Have you become a Gryffindork?"

Draco was debating whether to take out his wand and just curse Blaise, when other persons entered the Dining Room. Luna was talking about some mythical beast in the Andes which only fed from crystalline streams and protected passers-by from the cold. Neville was gazing intently at Luna, as had become common for him. Hermione was trying to act collected when it was obvious she wanted to laugh. The last person to enter was a green-faced Ron Weasley. He was wearing the uniform of a Slytherin, including green tie.

Blaise saw this and couldn't stop needling Ron, "Come on, Weasley! I knew you secretly wanted to be with us, but it is not necessary to wear the House colors on your face, though that green hue complements beautifully your tie." He chortled and the others followed suit.

Draco's eyes found Ron's, and they nodded, agreeing to a game of Potter-chess later on. The goal of the game was to off as many figures as possible pretending it was Harry. Draco had even invented a potion that made the chess pieces look like Potter. They released their frustrations in this way, and if Harry looked worried the next day, well, he deserved it for being a prat!

Talking about pests, maybe it was time to start being a Slytherin prat, notwithstanding the clothes. He seemingly glared at Ron, and said "It is all your fault, weasel!"

"Why do you say so, ferret?"

Time to deliver the payload, "If you hadn't insisted on that stupid bet…"

Harry looked alarmed, Hermione looked interested and asked pointedly. "What bet, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

Ron gulped, and said, "When Crookshanks stayed with your parents, I was talking to Draco and forecasting that you could spend some weeks away from him. Draco insisted you would need him sooner, so we made a bet. The bet stipulated that the loser would carry the winner's books around school for a month. Later Harry heard us talking about the bet and wanted to find out about it. He did, and selected a date when you would call for your cat. We knew he'd win. He's always been aware of your moods and needs. However he chose to have us wear the uniforms of the opposite Hogwarts House during the press conference. It is awful!"

Hermione's expression clouded. She looked furiously at the three boys, Ron and Draco started to wish they hadn't told her about the bet. She said with an ice-cold voice, "It is awful what you did, but we must need attend to our tasks today. I hope you meditate on your actions and see what led you astray."

"I will meet you at Hogwarts."

After some wrangling with the dates and places, Hermione had gotten what she wanted, Hogwarts and the open air.

Harry looked from behind the safe walls of Hagrid's hut as the last of the reporter stragglers arrived and looked for a place to sit. There were about 120 people present, and Harry was in a twist.

Hagrid had hastily bid them welcome, and then left, presumably to visit Madame Maxine.

Ron, Draco and Hermione were trying to cheer him up and failing. Finally, Draco was tired of the moody Potter. He commented, "Come on, Harry. Give them what they deserve! They didn't care at all during the long 10 years you spent in solitude in Privet Drive, they didn't care about your Hogwarts misadventures, they still didn't care when you were almost sent to Azkaban. If you don't take corrective actions, you will have them around your neck like that albatross around the Ancient Mariner."

Harry left the correct time pass by and entered twenty minutes late. He wanted them to feel what it was to wait inevitably for something. He was accompanied by Luna, Neville, Pansy, Blaise, Snape, Remus, Tonks, Narcissa and of course the fearsome trio, Draco, Ron and Hermione.

They took their positions around him, while Harry stood and leaned on the makeshift lectern.

Harry started, "I'm sure most of you expect me to welcome you with open arms, to reintegrate myself into the tapestry of magical life and continue being the good Savior, doing all the tasks and chores required of a Savior."

"If you think I will follow this road, you are sadly mistaken. The Wizarding World has done nothing for me, ever! When I was one year old and my parents were killed I was taken from said world and given to a Muggle family so they could raise me. Of course that family abhorred magic, all desirable within the webs weaved by the former headmaster. The Wizarding World didn't blink an eye. It accepted the phony excuses about my parents' deaths, my so providential Saviorhood, and my disappearance into the night with no regrets, because Dumbledore told them so, and they could not stand the man when he twinkled his eyes at them so."

"Later, when I returned to that world, all you were interested in were the latest gossip. You believed everything Skeeter wrote in the defunct Daily Prophet. So you believed I was turning Dark on the strength of my parseltongue abilities. You believed I was the Heir of Slytherin."

"Of course you believed the esteemed Cornelius Fudge – may he rot in hell – when he insisted that Voldemort had not risen and I was only a public-loving fool."

"You have never cared for me as a person, but as your symbol, your umbrella, the Boy Who Lived. Even so, you treated your shield most foully."

"It really makes no sense to load the weight of your combined expectations and put it on the shoulders of a one year-old toddler, or fifteen year-old boy. If Voldemort scares you so, by all means device ways to protect yourself effectively from him. But that would mean that you do something yourself, and you are hardly able to do that, to think outside the box. You just eat whatever the authorities and Dumbledore serve, and rest content knowing that it is another person, a mere boy, that has to do the sacrifice and be the tool."

"So we come to the Azkaban trial. The newspaper published I was guilty and you immediately assumed I was. You did nothing to insure that the trial was fair and I was ably represented, which does not surprise me, seeing as that supposedly august body known as the Wizengamot allowed Sirius Black to be shoved into Azkaban without trial."

"The die having been cast, it seemed to Dumbledore that all his schemes were coming to fruition, and I would have been sent to that island, and probably died there, without a further thought from your part."

"It was the pluck, daring and ingenuity of the people I'm honored to consider friends that saved me from that fate. They fooled Dumbledore, turned the law against him and we're finished with him. I remain free."

"And that brings us to the naïve assumptions you are making about me returning to the fold and being your perfect Savior or Sacrificial Lamb in one. I will nip this on the bud right now."

"You betrayed me, not only once but many times, through the long years I spent in the Muggle wilderness and the torments devised here, in this supposedly hallowed place of learning, you betrayed me. I wash my hands off of you, hypocrites!"

Harry stood up and intoned, "I solemnly swear on my word…"

Some 'thunk' sounds were heard as several individuals in the audience, who presumably had an inkling what was coming, tried to stop Harry from completing what he had to say. They were petrified by the wands of Ron, Hermione and Draco. Harry had told them what he intended to do, and they had been on the lookout precisely for louts such as these.

Narcissa extended a Silencio spell using her Elder wand. The spell covered the people who weren't sitting with Harry.

Harry continued visibly nonchalantly, "I solemnly swear on my word as Lord Potter, that I will not take arms or participate in any offensive action against Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, as long as he doesn't attack me or my true friends. This I swear on my word, this I swear on my magic."

There was an intense green light that briefly touched Harry. In a disquieting development, there were flashes of green light all over the place. They hovered for a second or two in front of the individuals, touched their heart, and then disappeared.

The reporters and other persons present realized what that meant, and were visibly crying. They no longer had a Boy Who Lived, they no longer had a Savior.

Dumbledore was gone, and Harry Potter would not help them. They were alone against Voldemort.

Later, in the Manor, Harry and Draco were on Harry's bed, ostensibly communicating with Sirius. Harry was sitting on the edge, Draco directly behind him. He held on to Harry's hips carelessly as he wrote, and his chin was sunk in Harry's shoulder, sometimes he licked a part of his neck.

Harry wished they could stay like this forever, or as long as it took to get to the next part.

oOoOo

And then what happened?

A strong green light touched Harry, and then there were multiple green lights all over the place. They touched every individual there, including me, and then vanished.

(Sigh) I'm worried. I knew what you were going to do, and I expected there would be only two lights, one for you and one for Voldie. But all these lights, is not something I've heard of.

The next day they were having breakfast at the Manor. Pansy, Luna, Neville and Blaise had stayed over.
Luna was commenting, "I still think it was a bit childish for Harry to react that way. Now the Wizarding World is helpless."

Neville replied bitingly, "I think he reacted very well. You have no idea what it means when they put all the people's worries about safety on you. It sticks in your throat. You're supposed to push yourself higher so that others lead the tranquil, happy life you are forever denied."

Pansy said, "I liked what Potter did, it showed a certain Slytherin backbone. Wouldn't you say, Draco? Oh, wait, I forgot you are a Gryffindor now!"

Draco growled and threw a bread roll at Pansy. It was duly intercepted by Blaise, who put it on the table and continued eating, while saying, "Potter did the kindest thing. They will have to wake up and learn to defend themselves, maybe even think for themselves."

Draco added, "We all know Harry's heart. He will not be the Wizarding World's toy, but he could be its ally. There's a carefully worded escape clause in the vow he made that can be activated."

They were presently joined by Harry, Hermione and Ron. Soon the owls with the Quibbler arrived. Hermione and Draco read the paper first, and they paled.
Hermione said, "Harry, there's something you have to read in page 1. I don't know what it means."

Harry read:

Department of Mysteries caved in!

Yesterday at approximately 3:55 pm, the Department of Mysteries' ceiling and walls collapsed, trapping the people who were inside.
Magical monitors indicate that it all began in the Prophecies section. Apparently all the prophecies that were stored there imploded simultaneously, and the power of that bout of magic and physical force was more than the building could withstand.
This reporter has gleaned reports of private prophecies which also disappeared throughout the United Kingdom .
There were 17 fatal casualties in the cave-in. Marcus Flint, a cousin of one of the victims commented, "We thought he'd be safer than the rest of us. We thought he would stand there at the end of it all."

Staff writer – N Tonks

Hermione started to speculate, "That's the exact moment when you made the vow, Harry, and the green light touched everyone. It must mean something that influenced the prophecies."

Draco added, "When you performed your vow, Harry, you stopped being the Boy Who Lived, the Savior. We know about the supposedly original prophecy concerning you and the Dark Lord destroying each other. We know it was a fake planted by Dumbledore."

"Still, what if many other prophecies had been made on a similar theme, for example, "'A downtrodden Gryffindor, betrayed within and without, will rise from the ashes and destroy the Dark Lord.' Mind you, this snippet is my imagination, but you can see there could be many prophecies insisting on you as the Savior, Harry. After all, it's how you are, it's how you have acted."

"When you went against the norm and uttered the vow, the prophecies lost their reason for existing. A prophecy could be construed as a piece of the future that speaks about some property of it. When you negated that future, as interpreted by the prophecies, they imploded."

Harry frowned, shaking his head. "Hard to believe."

Draco sighed and tried to convince the stubborn Gryffindor. "Anyway, they returned to the uncharted maze of probabilistic functions that truly govern the world. A prophecy concerning information about the future is a way to overrule causality, it will direct change done to the present in order to change a future event or make it happen. In such an environment, any change in the baseline of that world could cause a major reaction. I believe that many prophecies were predicated upon you as the Savior."

Harry said morosely, "How do you know this?"

"After a talk with Granger, I read lots of books." Draco pointed at the Gryffindor. "You should know they didn't care whether you lived or died, it was only important to them that there exist one Savior, one Boy Who Lived. When you refused point-black to be their Sacrificial Lamb, the prophecies were rendered completely flawed, null and void. Maybe part of the magic being released transformed itself into force and momentum and contributed to the destruction of the Department."

"Also, remember that there are other interesting artifacts in the Department, like the Veil. Indeed the whole Department gives off unwholesome vibes."

oOoOo

Harry was disconsolate about the number of people killed. Luna, Neville, Hermione and Ron were trying to lighten him up, unsuccessfully, when Draco decided to handle the thorny issue.

He went up to Harry and put the Quibbler in front of him, on page 7. He said, "Whose fault is it that 34 people died, Potter?"

Harry sputtered and read the news, which stated that a Muggle bus carrying 34 tourists had gone off the mountains of Italy . Harry said, "I don't see why this is anyone's fault, at first glance."

Draco replied cuttingly, "Let's suppose that the bus is operated by a company, partially owned by some wealthy individual. He could have ordered an investigation and told them to cancel this trip. I wouldn't care if the owner said that he had no way of knowing that. The fact is that he is responsible, according to your interpretation of responsibility."

Draco continued, "So what's going to be? Feeling responsible for everyone? That would be foolish. They had no business putting together all those damned prophecies. Maybe they even had malign intent. Perhaps they wanted to study them, or the magic creating them, in order to harness it for their own. At any rate you can't be responsible for things you can't control."

Harry looked dubitatively at Draco as he said, "If you put it that way, it sounds right."

Draco huffed, "I swear Potter, sometimes it feels better talking to a dog than you!"

Harry smiled tremulously.

oOoOo

Two days later, the daily owl post came in, in the form of Hedwig and Hermes. What was unusual was the fact that Hedwig flew straight to Draco, while glaring at Harry, and Hermes flew indifferently to Harry.

Everyone was commenting on the strange owl behavior, when Crookshanks skulked in, instead of his usual prancing and commanding way, it seemed he wanted to melt in the shadows, possibly because of the bell tied with a leather ribbon around his neck. Still, the cat knew a place with a sharp edge where he rubbed the ribbon, and soon he would be free of the silly restriction. If a cat could smirk, he would.

Crookshanks went to Ron and meowed piercingly for him to pick him up and carry him, which a dumbfounded Ron proceeded to do. What made this so mystifying was the fact that Crookshanks and Ron cordially detested each other, so for the half-Kneazle to be on so peaceful terms with the redhead was curious in the extreme.

The Golden Quartet finally was forced to acknowledge that a prank had been played on them, and who were master tricksters? They scanned the room and located the Twins, who were making their way out of the room. Hermione quickly sent a charm to lock the doors and prevent the Twins' escape. Fortunately for Gred and Forge, this day they were under the protection of Narcissa, who sent the counter-hex. The door opened and the Twins blasted out of there like lightning.

Suddenly a small flying cannon rocketed past them and reached Ron. It was traveling so rapidly that it was either magically propelled or Ron's owl, Pig. Pig kept jumping from chair to chair bouncing on different people on his way. They expected Crookshanks to try and eat Pig, what they didn't know is that the cat was aware of the owl's speed, and would rather not spend a large amount of time chasing his food, not to mention what his Mistress – or Master – would do to him.

Eventually, Ron was able to read the letters from Charlie and Bill. They were slowly coming to the conclusion that they had been manipulated most of their lives by Dumbles. Surprisingly, it was the cool reporting style of the Quibbler and its reporters that managed to satisfy their thirst for hard facts. The paper dealt seemingly hard with hypocrisy. It offered a viewpoint where sometimes the Purebloods offered some intriguing solutions, and sometimes were very stupid. The same happened with the Muggleborn-sympathizers. They were examined minutely, and without prejudice.

Draco disappeared for 10 minutes while he made a Floo call. When he returned, he informed them that he had just talked to Marcus Flint.

Harry asked cheekily, "Why didn't you call him on your cell phone?"

"Because there is no coverage in the area where he lives. At any rate, he informed me that his cousin was killed, and the bodies of the three Dementors who held Dumbles' soul were recovered. He also told me that Julius Flint hadn't reported any progress in identifying any memory of Dumbles'."

Later, Hermione was in the library researching oaths and vows. What she had found were just the common ocurrences of the oath, sometimes a light would be seen signaling the vow was accepted. She didn't find about any case where there were lights seen for all the inhabitants of the country.

She was tired of researching, so she took out of her pocket one of her guilty pleasures, a mint edition of "The three musketeers" by Alexander Dumas. She had read it 12 times, and she had been captured by the exotic places and perils of the journey of Athos and company since she was 10 years old, unknowing that she was a witch.

Later, in Hogwarts, the adventures with Harry and Ron seemed like out of one of Dumas' novels, until things turned ugly and people started dying. Still, the romantic atmosphere of the book sustained her.

11. Transformations

Comments

[thrnbrooke.livejournal.com]

What do the lights mean?

[herumtreiber.livejournal.com]

The lights are similar to the threads of light that connected Severus and Narcissa when they performed the Unbreakable Vow.

Harry's Prophecy is tied to all the people - he is expected to behave as if he had performed a Vow because the Prophecy supposedly binds him.

When he decides he won't, that he'll defy the Prophecy, those connecting threads unravel - hence the lights.

Thanks for reading! ♥