The Privy Councilors 25/33

[herumtreiber]

Title: The Privy Councilors 25/33
Chapter: Not on his watch!
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:  ~4,630 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


24. The fateful class


You still will have my heart
So forget your past my goodbye girl
'cause now you're home at last.
(The Goodbye Girl, David Gates)

The next day there was a hint of doubt in the air. Several wounded students had been treated by Madame Pomfrey; thankfully they had minor bruises, nothing serious. The big casualty was Draco.

He still hadn't returned to Hogwarts. His friends were planning on visiting him after school hours if the wards admitted them. Harry was also worried about possible sanctions against his godfather. The Bloody Baron heard him muttering maliciously that if they wanted to get Sirius, they'd have to get him first.

Harry and his friends were waiting for the CoMC teacher when they saw Remus walking briskly towards them, his arm around the redoubtable Nymphadora Tonks. She sported violet hair, which suddenly changed to a bright pink. Something Remus told her made her glare at him, smacking him upside the head whilst he turned to them. "I am pleased to tell you…"

Remus was interrupted by a darkly menacing Severus Snape. The Headmaster scowled at them with all the verve, poise and poison of the Slytherin house as he said sarcastically, "The Board of Governors met at 8 in the morning to discuss the events of yesterday. After weighing the testimony of the teachers present, including me, it arrived to the conclusion that it was sabotage - premeditated actions intending loss of life. There was no way that anyone could have foreseen or prevented that. Mr. Sirius Black… is thus innocent of any wrongdoing. It is the earnest hope of the staff and me that he will remain at this school."

Sirius grinned happily, punching Remus' back. Snape snorted disdainfully at his teacher, walking to the Marauder whilst his robes billowed impressively. "Furthermore, after noting what happened on the room, the Order of Merlin, second class, will be awarded to Mr. Draco Malfoy of Slytherin for acting courageously to prevent loss of life, putting his own at considerable risk."

oOoOo

In the evening they made their way to the Manor. They were received by a sombre, if hopeful Narcissa. Soon they were bustling around in the dining room. The group didn't dare to enter Draco's inner domain, careful of the wiles of the Dragon.

Hermione scowled as she made her lonely way to the Garden. She walked down a curious shell path and approached a wrought iron bench. She sat down and meditated on the events of the last days. It had made her so mad to know about Draco's deceit! But if she was fair, she and Harry continually made fun of Ron and the blond. She wondered why the Purebloods, at least Malfoy, didn't simply concede that they were wrong and begged for forgiveness.

A blonde girl sat near her, twirling her bean necklace. "A Knut for your thoughts?"

Hermione looked up and scowled. "It's nothing important!"

Luna smirked and answered affably, "I think troubled thoughts plague you, Hermione. You wonder how it is possible that your good friends now look at you with distrust. You want your world as it was before a blond boy came and started the current turmoil. Bet you wonder if you'll ever have your friends back, including Malfoy."

Hermione stuttered, "H…how d… do you know that?"

Luna replied curtly, "I'll tell you another time. Suffice it to say that I can observe the world very well. You're mad at Ron, but don't hold him responsible. You yearn to control Harry, for his own good of course! It's Draco that baffles you: he's as smart as you, let's not forget his striking good looks and how he catches your attention at the most inopportune moments."

Hermione huffed, "Well, he does!"

"You think the other two would agree to your leadership position if Malfoy left."

"They would you know. Malfoy irritates me so!"

"You're wrong, Hermione. You simplify matters between you all. You think it's a set of circumstances of submission and dominance; one gets to be the king or queen and the others jump as directed. In your thoughts that may be true, but it does not hold in real life."

The brunette witch wished she could just disregard Luna's advice, but a part of her recognized Lovegood's logic.

"In real life, not the idealized world of our school, your mates and you will have to face really heartless situations, Hermione. To succeed you'll find that everyone needs to lead and all need to follow. You even swore to that, remember, 'One for all and all for one"?"

"But Malfoy makes it so hard! He thinks he's smarter than me! The nerve!"

"You'll always find someone smarter than you. If you think Malfoy has a good idea? Compliment him and let him run with it. The boys are growing and need to be more independent, opinionated and active than ever. Doesn't mean they don't need or love you. It just that their needs, like yours, change."

Hermione answered scathingly, "How do you know about this stuff so much, Luna?"

"Because something similar happened to me. I was stuck in a rut and reacted negatively. All seemed lost, but I learned the true meaning of forgiveness. I've tried to open my eyes and See what lies hidden beneath."

oOoOo

The councilors visited Draco in groups: Luna, Neville, Pansy; then Blaise, Ron and Hermione. Harry was last.

The Gryffindor was loath to say goodbye to Draco. He looked so pale. Harry had promised himself not to use his Animagus talents for vainglorious reasons, like pranks; but he needed to do something so he could stay with Draco.

He transformed and the bat flew to the rafters, his claws grabbing purchase on the wood as he hung upside down, watching Draco. Unfortunately bats had notoriously poor eyesight so he was robbed of some entertaining Draco-gazing. Meditating similar thoughts, the Bat Who Lived fell asleep without informing anyone what he had done.

oOoOo

In Hogwarts, Sirius talked with the group, they were all right but his godson was missing. The Marauder felt foreboding and went to fetch Remus. The Werewolf appeared confused about Sirius' urgency. Tonks was putting on her coat, nodding to her cousin, she said, "Remus, we need to see if Harry's fine. The last place he was seen in is the Malfoy Manor."

Remus grabbed his threadbare tweed jacket. Tapping her shoes on the stone floor, Tonks smacked the Werewolf upside the head and forced him to dress more rapidly.

Remus muttered to himself about conniving Black brats.

The Werewolf, the Animagus and the Metamorphmagus Apparated to Malfoy Manor.

Narcissa greeted them warmly at the door. When Sirius explained to her why they were there, she nodded, agreeing that they should investigate until Harry was found.

Remus gloated visibly without saying anything, but when he felt the combined scowls of the Blacks, Narcissa, Sirius and Tonks, he told them that he smelt Harry. He appeared to be fine in Draco's room.

Sirius had an inkling of what was going on, this was a good opportunity to prank his godson for scaring him! He bid the others to stop whilst he transformed into a Grim and entered the room, pouncing on the sleeping Draco.

Harry heard someone or something entering the room. His hearing detected what appeared to be a large beast. When it pounced on Draco, Harry felt quite shocked. He would not sit there and allow this. Not on his watch!

Screeching furiously, the small bat launched himself at the dark beast, hoping to sell his death dearly. The startled Grim found himself under a bat attack. The flying mammal really wanted to bite him, it seemed. Suddenly the bat was taken from him by the strong hands of Remus, who was muttering darkly, "Crazy pranksters!"

Eventually the Animagi transformed. Sirius and Harry glared at each other. The Marauder said bitterly, "How could you leave so suddenly without telling us? You made us very worried about you!"

At that moment a sarcastic, drawling voice answered suavely, "Have you heard the term poetic justice, Sirius? There were plenty of times when you disappeared while I was caring for you as a young boy. The situations may be similar, but there's one difference: I did not lay a guilt trip on you when I found you. Please leave Harry alone."

This time it was Harry who pounced on Draco, kissing the blond heatedly, not caring about the adults present. Harry knew he needed Draco, his body, his presence, to take away some of the fears caused by the attack; by the revelation that the blond's life had been in danger.

Remus grabbed an unresisting Tonks and they left the room, asking Narcissa, "Can we stay over, Cissa?"

She replied, "Sure, you can use your room. Tonks can stay there or in the next one. I trust you'll stay too, Sirius?"

Black replied huffily, "Yes, I'll stay. But I don't know what to use for my next class. I'm leery of using any Dark creature, seeing what happened."

Remus tapped Sirius' shoulder. "Why don't you take it easy and teach them about Thestrals?"

"But the kids will think it's boring!"

Tonks grabbed one of her curls. Its magenta color didn't convince her and she shrugged as her hair became bright pink. "Let them think so! Better boring than deadly! I'm sure you know many legends and stories about Thestrals, which you can use to great effect, Sirius. You're a great storyteller."

Narcissa scowled fiercely at the Marauder, grabbing his arm. "Now if I may have the storyteller for myself? I'm interested to know why he attacked my sick son!"

Sirius fidgeted as he looked down at the mosaics. "It was a prank to scare Harry! No harm to Draco!"

oOoOo

In Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione were having a conversation about her summer and the way she had set up her laptop. When Ron asked her questions, she was quick to note that he evaded names. He had mentioned, 'the stuff that receives the telephone signal' instead of saying 'the modem,' and 'the device to see the information' instead of 'the screen.'

She thought it was waste of time on his part, a way to torpedo the exchange of information, but then she realized why he was doing this. Ron was afraid that he would say the word wrong and she would laugh and tell Harry about it.

It hit her viscerally, the knowledge that she had abused her friendship with the purebloods to ridicule them and poke fun at them. There was nothing wrong with doing this once in a while, if all parties knew what it was about. But to do it purposefully, day in and day out, just because she wanted a laugh, it was a small betrayal.

Hermione sighed as she realized she had to repair the fences before it got worse. She mumbled, "I'm sorry for laughing so much at you and Draco. I reckon it felt like a game. I didn't realize that there were people being hurt. It just felt good to know more than you or Draco." She didn't look up from the floor as she continued, "I've always prided myself on my knowledge, my ability to retrieve it when needed. It was a thrill to know that I knew so much more about the world than both of you."

Ron smiled and patted her hand; finally Hermione looked at his blue eyes. "Of course, I conveniently forgot that it was you who taught me many wondrous things about the Magical world, and it was Draco who supplied the knowledge for the councilors, to save Harry from Azkaban."

"It doesn't matter, Mione. Course I got quite angry, but--"

Hermione put her finger on his mouth. "Of all images and memories, I will show you the one I treasure the most." She pulled her wand to her forehead and caught the memory she needed. She accio'd a Pensieve so Ron could watch her remembrance. It occurred when Fifth Year ended. They'd still been in hospital. The memory showed Ron as he slept, for once content and safe.

After a visibly moved Ron had watched it, Hermione continued, "Help me to create new and better memories!"

Ron hugged her, kissing her as if it was the first time. Hermione noticed Ron's trepidation; she tried to dispel it participating completely in the kiss.

oOoOo

The next day, Harry woke up to find a hyperactive blond getting dressed and muttering about lost chalices. After Harry leisurely took a shower and got dressed, the two went to the dining room to have breakfast.

Harry was leery about returning to Hogwarts. Apparently there was a conference of ex-teachers. Snape tried to throw them out, but they stubbornly insisted they had been invited by the previous one Headmaster, Dumbles.

The brunet noticed a distinct Christmas-y excitement on Draco's face. The blond asked his mother if she had the Chalice of Judgment ready. Harry shuddered, wondering what strange instrument of doom that was.

Draco turned to his boyfriend as the Chalice was accio'd by Narcissa. "I'm sure you remember the events of Fourth Year, including the travesty of the Triwizard Cup. You surely recall the Goblet of Fire. Well, the Chalice of Judgment is what the Goblet would be if it had been properly made and cared for."

Harry glared at his boyfriend as he crossed his arms. After all he suffered in that Cup; he didn't like it when the Goblet was put down.

"This magical device will act as a filter for truth," said Draco without noting Harry's scowl. "It will only take appropriate votes. It can't be fooled, like the poor Goblet. If you hadn't entered the tournament, the punishment with the Goblet would have been inexistent, because it was unworthy. Bet Dumbledore never mentioned that."

"He didn't. Maybe he kept the secret on a memory vial," grumbled Harry.

"We will use the Chalice in the worthy cause of naming our group. After all, I told the twins they could vote and a Malfoy always keeps his promises."

The teachers and the students returned to Hogwarts. The Chalice was carefully held aloft by Draco. Harry had to admit that the thing looked stunning: a silver cup with filigreed gray threads, giving off an unearthly shine.

Sirius had not been impressed with the Chalice at all. Instead, he tried to needle Draco about his heirloom until he was smacked upside the head by Remus.

The Marauders left their successors to choose their name, with a parting shot by Sirius, "I hope you lot can get a recount from that Cup of Doom. "

Draco explained to the twins and the others the purpose and function of the Chalice. He said they could only write what they thought would be the best name; they couldn't lie or duplicate ballots. He directed a glare at the Twins, who appeared too much innocent. Surely they were thinking of a way to circumvent the device.

Neville grabbed Luna's hand, saying, "What are the names under discussion?"

Draco hefted the silver cup with some difficulty. " Nev, I proposed Prowlers, Hermione suggested Angels. You can vote for those or add a suggestion yourself."

The Twins seemed to warm up at the Prowlers name, snickering when they heard 'Angels.'

Draco smirked, realizing he could count on their vote. Blaise jokingly offered Intruders and Pansy went on to propose Stalkers.

Harry smiled at Ron. "I was going to propose Cubs, but I reckon we need something to distinguish ourselves from the Marauders, while underlining their influence and provenance. So I'll join the tide and suggest Prowlers."

He turned to sneer at Draco. "Hope your Chalice doesn't bite me!"

Draco smirked. "If it does, it will cease being a Chalice and will become a Plate!"

Hermione was next. She put her vote on the silver goblet. "At first I was set against the Prowlers. I thought it was against this school and Gryffindor. Since then I've come to realize it might be fine to go against the school's rules and Gryffindor. We're engaged in a fight that cannot be solved by school children using hexes like Bat Bogey or Wingardium Leviosa. If we go to battle in that frame of mind, we are likely to die."

Ron clapped, joined a moment later by Draco and the twins.

Hermione smiled at the group. "We need to fight and live with all that we are. So let me suggest a perfect name for our group: Prowlers. Will the Chalice accept me even if I'm a Muggleborn, Draco?"

He replied firmly, "It will, Hermione. It's built to detect magic, and you are a most gifted magic wielder."

Ron laughed as he put his vote on the chalice. "I urge you lot to accept the name Prowlers. When Draco, Harry and Hermione agree on something, that must be true. Otherwise they would be squabbling as usual."

The mentioned trio directed heated glares at Weasley. Ron gulped and decided to follow his inner Slytherin and... just shut up.

The rest of their group scribbled their choice in parchment and fed it to the Chalice.

Two minutes later, Harry asked, "So what happens now?"

Draco said nervously, "I don't know. We haven't used the Chalice in 240 years."

Ron growled, squeezing Draco's arm very hard. "And you had us stuff our hands in that thing?"

Luna coolly interrupted him, saying pleasantly, "The Chalice is about to render its verdict."

The device rose three feet in the air as an ageless voice intoned, "The name chosen is Prowlers."

Ron glared at Draco for a while but he was pleased that name was chosen. Now they were the worthy continuation of the Marauders. Ron shook his head. Great, except that it means the Twins will be obsessed with pranks and will bear watching for a while. If only Charlie were here and had some subtlety, he could watch them.

oOoOo

There was a Prowler par excellence at Hogwarts. He patrolled the corridors at night and the classrooms during the day. He strolled where he willed and nobody stopped him.

Of course, things were not as great for him as they used to be. Those furry small beings seemed to defend themselves increasingly better. The mice all tasted boring anyway and the owls were too far away to catch. His Mistress did not look at him with the same adoration she once had, when he had caught the strange rat-man.

Crookshanks reflected on his trying days, as he decided between going to his Mistress to get her to scratch him behind the ears, and exploring that new corridor.

He opted for the corridor. Besides his Mistress probably was with the redhead boy, doing whatever silly thing the furryless mammals did.

When he got to the end of the corridor, Crookshanks smelled something wrong. It felt like someone was losing blood badly. He heard a pitiful whine as he realized he might know the feline. He gazed at the hole in the floor. He knew that if he went down, he could not get up again. Meandering constantly in Hogwarts, he got used to some of its quirks.

That meant he had to get someone, Crookshanks felt the feline would die soon. Who to call? His Mistress would start fussing over him until, in a fit of pique, she would go out the room and he would be locked inside. The redhead boy was also obtuse whilst the black-haired was more understanding, but still a little dim.

The Blond Lion. The Lion would surely understand quickly. He was so fussy, bristled easily and reacted in such a feline way! He'd understand Crookshank's relentlessness as only a fellow feline could.

The orange cat dashed through the castle until he arrived at the Dungeons, making his way through the Slytherin domain. After dodging a bumbling Slytherin or two, he managed to make it to the Lion's door.

He meowed and screeched something awful until the door was opened and Draco came out.

Draco crouched, hefting the orange cat and watching him. "What's up, Crookshanks? Something you want to tell or show me?"

Crookshanks squirmed; he jumped to the floor and started walking away. He turned his head and realized Draco was right behind him.

They got to the corridor and then the hole. Draco could hear the moans of a cat in considerable pain. After casting a spell to detect wards and finding none, he muttered 'Lumos' and 'Wingardium Leviosa' as he swished his wand elegantly.

When the bloodied tabby cat came into view, Draco recoiled from the sight. It was McGonagall. She had been cruelly hurt, her shoulders and her legs were broken. She had two deep cuts near her abdomen, which could only come from Sectumsempra.

Ever since he acquired the Animagus form of a lion, Draco desired the company of any kind of felines. To find his former teacher in this position was unacceptable for him. He may think the worst of her, but McGonagall would live. The blond shook his head fiercely, Letting her die, not on my watch!

The wounded tabby cat fixed a glassy stare at Draco and started to weep shiny teardrops of what had to be memories. Draco had the suspicion that if he allowed her to shed too much of that liquid, she would die.

He cast a spell to freeze the liquid. He'd memorized Healing spells his mother used to mend broken bones; he used them on the tabby cat, casting also Stupefy so she would stop creating the memories.

Draco rummaged in his Endless bag for a certain box which he took out and enlarged. Putting the small, hurt body of the tabby cat inside the box, he put a Time-Turner inside and used the spell to suspend time. Events inside the box would occur at one-thousandth the speed of the real world. Draco also took out several vials to hold the memories until they could be seen in a Pensieve.

He trailed the box behind him as he motioned to Crookshanks to jump to his shoulders. The orange cat did that; Draco patted his neck, praising him for being a good cat.

Eventually Draco left Crookshanks to continue his Prowling, dashing to his rooms where he called the councilors and Sirius, Remus and Narcissa.

After everyone got there, Draco explained how Crookshanks had been restless and he followed the ginger cat to a strange corridor with a hole in the ground, where he heard the weak cries of a cat. Draco rushed through explaining what he'd done.

He asked for a Medit-sieve to view the memories, after Luna nodded her assent, being the most susceptible to the odious devices.

Even though the nearness of such a Pensieve hurt her, Luna was aware of the importance of these memories. McGonagall had almost died when she gave them. Surely they were important!

Draco grabbed the vials and put them in the m-sieve. He flicked it to exposition mode and they all watched:

A young McGonagall, with flowing hair and an unlined face, saying to Dumbledore, "I told you that he was abused and you did nothing, Albus!"

"I believe it was the right thing to do. If you shared my views you would think the same."

The next memory showed:

McGonagall, with a ponytail as she swished and flicked her wand against a stunned student. The black hair and the eyes could only belong to Tom Riddle. McGonagall looked completely sure of her actions.

Nexr they saw:

McGonagall was walking toward the kitchen, after chasing Peeves down. She suddenly heard something. She cast a spell to muffle any sounds of hers and listened, spellbound, as Dumbledore talked with a ghost. It was that girl lately killed by Riddle, Myrtle Something.

She heard Myrtle shouting, "They believed it, they believe that Tom killed me! No one will believe I killed myself, Albus. I did it because of you, because of you I'm forced to remain at Hogwarts and haunt your school until you perish. And you don't plan to ever die, right?"

"You're so insufferable you should be glad you are dead, Myrtle. I want you to watch over the Basilisk. If it should become weak, we'll have to give him something to feed."

In the next memory they saw:

McGonagall with a strict bun. She was trying to change Albus' opinion concerning the Potters. Albus gloated, "I have their Horcruxes, they are no longer necessary to my plans. I will use their son as a diversion, to allay the fears of the wizards until such a time that my power can be fully realized. I also have your Unbreakable Vow, Minerva, that you will do as I say. Do not inform the Potters!"

In the next memory, McGonagall cornered a scared looking Severus Snape and said, "You must warn the Potters that they are about to be attacked! Do not blow this chance! I will alter your memory so you don't remember who told you."

And:

McGonagall looked defeated. "Albus, I beg you to reconsider!"

Dumbledore answered indignantly, "I will not! It is my job to order, and yours to obey. You will do as I say!" The memory blurred and became an apartment in London. Someone knocked on the door. A strange-looking old lady answered. The caller, McGonagall, said, "I want you to apply for a job, Mrs. Figg, to watch over the Boy Who Lived. It's important that Albus thinks you do not care for the boy at all. It is also important that you provide Harry with strengthening potions so he can endure his so-called relatives. You must appear to be unreliable to all parties, as if you liked cats too much." McGonagall looked at the calico cats sleeping on the rug, shrugging. "That shouldn't be too difficult, dear."

The next recollection showed:

A stressed-looking McGonagall pushed aside the pile of folders that were in front of her. She realized it was late, time enough to put a plan in action. She started to leave 12 Grimmauld Place but went to the kitchen. She could see Sirius gazing disconsolately at the street lamps outside. She neared him and said nonchalantly, "There's this pub you might know about, Sirius. They let you sing any songs you might like. It is a pity that the music is old, from the 80s and 90s I guess. Someone like you would like that place, if you get my drift. It's seven blocks from the next corner, going right."

Sirius' eyes brightened momentarily. McGonagall, having endured so much beside her colleague Snape, knew a thing or two about plots. Now she only had to nudge Narcissa Malfoy in the appropriate fashion.

The next memory:

McGonagall looked worn and sad, if still strong. After the racket, with the ward detectors monitoring Privet Drive going off, Dumbledore was about to go out intending to murder the Dursleys and Harry. McGonagall had once foolishly sworn to follow his orders, but there was no way he could foresee the future or the paths those orders would take.

McGonagall, using all her strength, her concentration and mastery of magic, mumbled an Unforgivable, 'Imperio'. Scowling at the immobile Headmaster, she said, "Dumbledore, do what you want to the Dursleys but you will leave Harry to be handled by the Aurors. The slow majesty of the law, as you like to point out." She stabbed her wand angrily. "Obliviate."

26. Feline issues