The Privy Councilors 26/33

[herumtreiber]

Title: The Privy Councilors 26/33
Chapter: Feline issues
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: R
Warnings: Violence, character death (not Harry or Draco)
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length:  ~5,215 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 S. (And my revenge on characters whose accents are hard to read – like Hagrid and Fleur ;-)


Table of contents


25. Not on his watch!

Did you never call? I waited for your call
These rivers of suggestion are driving me away
The ocean sang, the conversation's dimmed
Go build yourself another dream, this choice isn't mine
(So. Central rain, I'm sorry; Bill Berry, Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck)

The people were gobsmacked by the content of the memories. McGonagall, who had always seemed to be so firmly in Dumbledore's camp, had been put under an Obedience Vow. Nevertheless, she had defied Dumbledore when she could, like a Slytherin.

Sirius blushed as he remembered going to the pub recommended by the Head of Gryffindor and how he had found Narcissa there.

Narcissa remembered the offhand comment McGonagall made about the 80s pub as they were casually chatting, whilst the cashier rounded up her new robes. A week later, she visited and liked the ambience, some time later, Sirius Black came in, and they started reminiscing. She had been sitting alone, nursing a drink made of whiskey. Her platinum blond hair and stately beauty kept many men entranced, but it was obvious that she was recalling memories along with the music. Good 80s beat, Sirius's favorites, at least the ones he got to hear in prison. The next few times they met, Sirius kept good care of his wardrobe, but this first time he was wearing blue jeans, with a worn T-Shirt featuring Star Wars, which he had bought when the movie first appeared and which he could still wear.

Luna abruptly stood up, and made for the door, saying "I have to go to the bathroom. From what I See, the memories are real." Luna left the room, followed by Neville.
People looked curiously at Draco, finally he relented and explained, "Luna has many abilities, among which is the knack to observe a given situation pretty intensively. If she says the memories are real, then I believe her."

Then he turned to Sirius and Narcissa, "I will put her under your care, mom and Sirius. Sirius is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. I remember when we used to write in the Book, how you mentioned you were proud of your exploits helping hurt animals. Though I must draw the line at believing you broke up a bullfight in Spain by transforming into a Grim and seemingly attacking the bullfighter. That's a little unbelievable, even coming from you, Sirius."

"Mother, you are Pomfrey's assistant. You know a lot about wounds and how to treat them. I don't trust Pomphrey completely, she might be a creature of Dumbledore."

"Remus, I would like you to take over the security. Devise any ward you want, with the proviso that only those of us here, plus Snape, Tonks, the Twins, Luna and Neville, can enter. I would also like you to perform a little investigation into who could do such a thing? Who was evil enough to attack an Animagus, a cat, hardened in battle and cause such wounds? I suppose the help of cousin Tonks will be invaluable, especially given her shifting abilities."

After Draco had the elves furnish a small room to the side with a bed, drawers and several chairs, he went there and took out the box. He annulled the Time Stop spell and took out McGonagall. Many of them gasped, among them Narcissa.

They had really done a number on McGonagall! Immediately she and Sirius fell to the task of caring for her. Thankfully, some of the major wounds had been healed by Draco, but there still remained healing to be accomplished. They worked as a team pretty well, they communicated their needs silently, with their looks. Narcissa threw Sirius some vials when he asked for them. They were given to McGonagall.

Sirius was somber as he spoke, "The wounds she endured were awful. I believe they would have killed a lesser individual. Fortunately Draco found her just in time, and took care of some wounds. Narcissa and I have taken care of the others. One of the things we must do now is have patience and faith. Still, it looks as if we are losing her. I detected that a Dark Curse was cast at McGonagall, forcing her to become her Animagus form. She is the only one who can break the curse, but she has to be at her peak to do it. That means we have to heal her as a cat."

Sirius fingered his beard, trying to frame his thoughts. "Oftentimes I've observed that an animal will heal better and faster if it is in the company of its kind. If an animal is alone, isolated, it may succumb to wounds that it could have withstood in the company of its peers."

"Really?" said Harry.

"I've called this phenomenon Sympathetic Magic, and before you ask, Hermione, I have no idea if it's widely known or not. It's something I learned in the field, and I think we need to use it. I'm not sure, it should work with felines, but will be stronger with cats. You know what you have to do, Draco!"

oOoOo

So that was why the Prowler was shanghaied into being the companion of the strangely familiar tabby cat. Crookshanks was about to sink his claws into a nice-looking mouse when he was grabbed from behind and the Blond Lion said, "We need you Crookshanks!"

An irate Crookshanks considered whether to scratch the bothersome lion when they made it to a small door. The smell of blood distracted him. He saw the wounded tabby on the bed and went to her side and licked her snout carefully. He walked several times around her and then settled down to sleep and to quiet a strangely empty stomach.

Eventually, after what felt like a day for the orange cat – and was only three hours by the clock - the lion took him back.

It went like that for many days. Crookshanks would be about to grab his meal when he was seized by an overzealous witch or wizard and taken to visit the tabby, which he didn't mind at all. He liked it when the lion took him back, because he always left him near where very luscious mice lingered. He cringed when his Mistress took him back, because she would sound angry with him, and may even threaten to put another bell around his neck. No way!

He was considering changing masters. Fortunately for all involved, this feline was very forgiving, he also took a long time to ponder things.

oOoOo

When Crookshanks was taken out, he didn't see the black panther advancing menacingly to the edge of the bed, only to jump into it and lick the snout of the tabby cat. The panther also walked around the tabby until he was satisfied with the arrangement and then settled down. In the middle of the night, he was woken up by a not too gentle shove against his side.

He jumped out of the bed, growled and snarled at a seemingly insufferable Siberian Tiger. Neville swore to himself that if tigers could smirk, this one surely would!
Fortunately Draco prevailed on the elves to enlarge the room, because now it had to accommodate bulky tigers and lions.
Neville left, looking forward to returning soon and helping his old Head of House.

From his trusty rafters, Harry looked down and smirked, his bat-face would seem to be especially designed for smirks. It gave him a rakish air. It would have been fun if Neville and George went at each other. What would Luna and Fred do?
Harry had learned from his mistakes and told Sirius and Draco he was staying in the room. He didn't want them to come in bellowing like dragons.

In the morning, after Narcissa and Sirius examined McGonagall, Sirius announced, "The Sympathetic Magic seems to be working. She is starting to heal the wounds and is stronger than yesterday. She will need the constant presence of other felines. I also think it would be good for the Transformations teacher who excelled in teaching the Animagus transform, to be surrounded by her students and former students, even if their Animagus is not a feline."

Hermione brightened considerably at hearing that. She had been a little jealous of the feline Animagi, the Twins, Neville, Remus and Draco, and the new rapport they would get with McGonagall, who secretly was her model figure. Now, though, she had an equal footing with them and would also help in creating good conditions for her healing.
Hermione transformed and flew over the bed. She grabbed the pillow near McGonagall's form and hooted softly. Harry, as a bat, flew over them before going to the rafters.

Not to be outdone, Ron transformed into a fox and jumped into the bed, to lie next to the teacher. Pansy changed into an eagle and took position at the other side of McGonagall. Remus adopted his leopard form and took position at the foot of the bed.

The Twins transformed while all the others growled or hooted indignantly. They were at the sides of the bed, in the floor. Sirius changed into a Grim and jumped quite near the bed, licking everybody and barking joyously.

Draco pondered this crazy group of people. He wouldn't change them for the world, but they were remarkably naïve. They heard about the curse used on McGonagall, but never wondered if it could be used on them. At this moment someone badly inclined could catch them unawares, cast the curse on them and render them useless. He was satisfied with Remus' wards, but he hadn't foreseen this exactly.

Then he transformed into a lion and jostled the Twins for space near the bed.
Minerva felt lost, bereft of any human connection, having been wounded so treacherously that it went past her defenses. The pain was excruciating. It didn't seem it would ever end.

It ended and she was left alone for a while. Alone can be a very frightening concept when your mind insists you are a cat, with a cat's concerns. She felt hopeless.

Then there was unexpected warmth, of a fellow creature she almost seemed to know. The warmth continued with different creatures. Now she felt surrounded by her kind, in several meanings of the word: the same magic, the same abilities, the same hopes.

oOoOo

The month of November was spent watching McGonagall slowly get better. A roster was quickly submitted – by Hermione. As was to be expected, it made sense and was followed to the letter.

On November 20th Ron received a letter from his sister, she had been accepted to Beauxbatons and had gotten a new wand in Paris. Things seemed to look up for her. Some awful girls tried to intimidate her, but after receiving several hexes taught by her brothers, they were quickly dissuaded from that road. She was still struggling with the French language, though. The name of the owl was Jean-Philippe. Ron had a suspicion that maybe her crush had that name. At any rate, he hoped Ginny would have a good time with the boy. Of course, if the miscreant hurt her in any way, he would have 8 enraged individuals to deal with, the Weasleys, Harry and Draco.

In the Library, Draco relaxed and remembered books read in the Manor, fortunately he had the infallible help of a smart friend. Hermione knew all the shortcuts to interesting books, even Dark ones. She used this knowledge sparingly, but shared it willingly with Draco. He grabbed the information and devised a defense. He added a new layer to the ward. That Dark curse could not be done in these quarters.

McGonagall now could open her eyes briefly and follow movement, but there was hardly any recognition at all. She reacted especially strongly to Severus Snape. The Headmaster was a common visitor, bringing with him vials of potion to give her back her strength.

One morning, after spending the night at the rafters, Harry was treated to the unique show of a lion-tiger fight. Suddenly they started growling and they pounced, the tiger – whom Harry suspected was Fred – was slightly bigger than the lion. Amid many snarls and growls, they started to wrestle, and the lion was about to bite the tiger's paw, and the tiger was about to scratch the lion's chest, when the door opened very suddenly and explosively.
Narcissa Malfoy was there, and she was looking furiously at the struggling felines. Harry had no doubt: it doesn't matter that the felines are big and have claws and fangs, he'd rather face them than an irate Narcissa.

Narcissa walked to the mute felines and grabbed their ears painfully. She dragged them out of the room while the poor felines commiserated silently.
After berating them for half an hour, Narcissa let them go, with the understanding that they would willingly go to her next shopping spree.

oOoOo

Days later Draco made his way to the room and saw Remus and Tonks. The Werewolf noticed he looked a little subdued, but decided not to press matters. Instead he announced professionally, "We have concluded our investigation, Draco. Tonks will present our findings."

Tonks started to speak in a very concise, factual way, "If you remember that period of time you will recall that there was a reunion of old teachers at Hogwarts. The Headmaster opposed it, but Dumbledore had fixed it so that it was impossible to go against this mandate. The reunion was celebrated. To simplify matters, it was decided to automatically lower the wards for any person that had ever been a teacher. Snape learned of this little fact a week after the meeting occurred."

Tonks fingered a curl of her bright hair. "It has all the hallmarks of a Dumbles plan, it plays on the gullibility of all concerned, their endless trust in the figure at the top."

Remus said softly., "We had a group of people very large to consider, Draco, something like 98!"

Grabbing the werewolf's hand, Tonks said, "Fortunately, Sirius had managed to get us interested in the wonderful devices called puters. He found a program used by the criminological departments all over the world to weed out suspects!"

Draco wondered if he should be alarmed at Sirius getting that. Sirius being himself, though, he probably paid for it fair and square, providing a small prank for free.

Tonks continued, "We fed all the information to this program, including the physical build of the individual, the subject, year, age, magical prowess, degree of trust engendered, nearness to a point of interest like Dumbles or Voldie. We obtained two clear results, Draco: Horace Slughorn or Rubeus Hagrid. At first we were tempted to go with Slughorn, he is a Slytherin after all. But then we remembered how Hagrid was in the midst of many things, the Chamber of Secrets being opened the first time, he was the one that took Harry to the Dursleys, and never visited him."

"I would have done that, wouldn't have let Harry alone," said Remus.

"Hagrid was the one sent by Dumbles when he wanted to introduce Harry to magic and begin his indoctrination." Tonks frowned at Draco. "Even the way he speaks, it's very hard to understand. It helps to create the common impression that he is a dimwit. What if it was only a cloak to hide his intelligence?"

A deep voice answered, "Then I say you are right, Tonks!" Several Stupefies were cast against Tonks, Remus and Draco. They could see several dark cloaks, one of them was very big, presumably that of Hagrid. Draco wanted information, so he asked seemingly nonchalantly, "How did you get through the wards?"

Hagrid answered curtly, "The Headmaster gave me a device that can open any ward. Being a half-giant, my natural magic permits me to pass almost undetected by the ward magic. My helpers need the device, though."
Hagrid commented, "I hope all the others are here in their Animagi forms, then I can use the spell, fix them in that stage and get rid of them!"

Remus directed frightened eyes at Draco. The councilors were inside the other room, together with the Marauder, McGonagall and Narcissa. All who could be Animagi were probably in their form, they would be massacred!

Remus had tried to fight the Stupefy, but even with his unusual strength, the fact that several reached him made success very unlikely.

Remus looked at Draco's stoic face and eyes. It seemed like he was trying to communicate the impression that all was not lost. The Slytherin probably had other plans, hopefully.

Hagrid shouted the incantation and all seemed lost to Remus as he saw Draco turn into a lion, himself into a leopard, and Tonks turn into a beautiful wolf. He had read up about that Curse, and he knew that it locked individuals in their Animagus form and robbed them of their thinking. So how come he was still thinking?
He found out that he could move and saw the lion preparing for a sneak attack on the half-giant and his helpers, who turned out to be house-elves.

He appreciated some of the subtlety that went into Draco's counter to the Curse. He didn't make it obvious. It still seemed like the Curse worked exactly as planned. The miscreant was happy, and lowered his shields momentarily. Typically Slytherin.

Hagrid expected the lion and leopard to attack each other like the merciless beasts of death they were. The wolf was a plus. Maybe he could use her fur for a gift to his wife. He released them from the Stupefies, and waited patiently for the show to start.

If there was one thing Hagrid loved, it was seeing the pain of others. That was the reason he filled his classes with the most deranged and dangerous animals in the world. Every year, some useless student eventually made an error and was the prey of those creatures. It made Hagrid's day when that occurred. Like what happened with the hippogriff.

Who needed to know how to handle a hippogriff? Apparently by courtesy and etiquette, but offering a piece of fruit would have had the same calming effect on the beast. But then, Malfoy would not have been attacked by the hippogriff, and Hagrid would not have enjoyed his day so.
As Hagrid remembered fondly his Hogwarts days, the lion and leopard pounced … on him. As if by unspoken consent, they divided up the tasks and the wolf managed to catch and kill the house-elves.

A half-giant is very impervious to magic, he has a big stature and body that can endure a lot. But nothing can withstand the force of a well-applied paw, the razor edge of the claws as they find the muscle and cut it, the sharpness of the razor-like fangs as they press down with the force of a mandible that can crush anything.

Two minutes later, Hagrid was on the floor, losing a lot of blood and slowly dying. The leopard and the lion considered giving him the coup de grace when they heard the voice of Sirius, "Could any of you tell me what happened? I was forcibly transformed into a Grim minutes ago, I was unable to change back for a minute, then I did and I tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. Finally I convinced Narcissa to use her wand and the door opened. I came in and I found that my fellow Marauder and my honorary godson are mauling Hagrid, while an unknown wolf that projects the air of Tonks lolls her tongue and seemingly smirks."

After prevailing on the house-elves to make the room a lot larger, Draco used Mobilicorpus to move Hagrid's immense bulk. He was wondering what the Metamorphmagus- Animagus and the Werewolf were discussing.
Remus was trying to convince wolf Tonks to change into her normal self. She appeared to be restless. Remus finally changed into a wolf and adopted the stance of Alpha and dominance.

To his chagrin, he found that Tonks didn't care at all for biology, or wolfdom, it seemed. She was still fidgety. Remus approached her and playfully nipped her ears. Finally he managed to get her attention! He conveyed the message that she had to change back now. When she asked, why? He replied by pointing to Draco's taking away Hagrid's body.

Tonks sadly concurred. She had felt so free as a wolf! She concentrated on her human form and morphed back. Remus followed suit.
Draco had called for Snape. When the Headmaster arrived, Draco started to explain, "After McGonagall's attack and Sirius' words alerting us to the nature of the Curse, the fact that it affects Animagus so, I became increasingly worried that it could be used in us as a group as we spent a lot of time together with McGonagall. I vaguely knew that there was supposed to be a way out."

"I'm glad you're finally thinking for yourself," said Headmaster Snape.

I did the bright thing and got the solid help of the best researcher and thinker at this school. I asked Hermione for help. As always, her resources are great and she was able to find the solution. She also had some suggestions that were definitely Slytherin. Eventually I cast a layer for the ward. It would act against this Dark Curse. It would seem to be working, it would force anyone into their Animagus form for a minute, and then it would disappear. Positively devious and great, courtesy of Mrs. Granger."

Tonks snorted. "With the help of some minions, the perpetrator returned and wanted to cast the Curse on all of us. That layer worked, and the unexpected perp was instead the target of a combined feline attack!"

Draco took out his wand, put the tip next to his forehead, and removed the memory of Hagrid's attack. He accio'd a regular Pensieve because Luna was there. When it arrived, he poured the memory and then flicked it into exposition mode.

Everyone looked worriedly as Hagrid uttered his dark words, and finally cast the Curse. They watched with trepidation as the leopard and lion were let go and surreptitiously approached the clueless half-giant.
The memory ended.

Draco continued, "Headmaster, I surmise you have a big problem. It has become glaringly obvious that great weaknesses in Hogwarts defenses are the house-elves. They are unreliable, they might follow Dumbles or Voldie."

"I suggest you give clothes to them and exile them from Hogwarts. Obviously we were spied upon by the elves, who alerted Hagrid as to what was going on. He knew when to attack, that all Animagus would be there, the hour of the meeting, everything! So as to keep providing service, I pledge 10 house-elves from the Malfoys!"
Narcissa added, "I also pledge 10 house-elves from the Blacks!"

Almost immediately, Harry concurred, "I offer 10 house-elves from my Potter properties."

Draco turned to Severus and asked, "Will that be enough, Headmaster Sev?"

A somewhat fuming Headmaster replied, "It is surely enough, Draco!"

Harry interrupted the glaring Slytherins and asked diffidently, "From these elves, I would like to bond two of them to my service."

Hermione was about to blow over when Ron whispered in her ear, "Do you want to lose your friend over something like this? You have to respect the fact that nobody cares about house-elves. Most of them live well, in the way they are used to. If some of them are abused, so are some people in the real world. You don't have all the answers, and you won't get them getting furious with friends that defy your unique path to glory."

Severus asked, "Which elves, Mr. Potter?"

"Dobby and Winky."

"Call them here and bond them to your service, then send them out for a few days. If we are to do this properly, we'll need to create wards to deflect any elves away except ours."
Harry called the two elves, who were static at becoming house-elves to the great Harry Potter. They were duly bonded, and Harry pretended not to see Hermione's scowl.

Harry sent them  to the Burrow, after asking Ron's permission. Ron had quickly taken out his cell phone, which he only called phone, and called his Mum. Mrs. Weasley agreed to the presence of the elves. Perhaps she was secretly hatching plans to use them against the rapid gnome encroachment of her garden.

Once the elves left, Narcissa gave a potion to Hagrid to stop the bleeding. A quarter hour later, Snape returned and gave Harry directly the Veritaserum vial.

Draco asked concernedly, "Are you sure you want to do this, Harry? I know how much he means to you."

"That's precisely why I must do this."

Harry opened Hagrid's mouth and poured the potion. Presently Hagrid relaxed.

Harry asked, "What is your name?"

"Rubeus Hagrid."
"Why did you want to kill us?"
"You are working against my friend Albus. You would have been better under him, but you refused."
"Do you think I would have been better with the Dursleys?"
"Yes, so they abused you a little, you were made to believe you were protected, you should have accepted that."
"What do you mean, 'made to believe'?"
"You are protected by your mother's love. It protects against magical or normal attacks and aggressions. That love is with you everywhere, you don't need feeble things like wards to contain it, because it is with you. You are safe concerning direct attacks, Dumbledore knew this, so you were safe from direct attacks from him."

"But the shield cannot withstand the treacherous hate that costumes itself as obsession. Dumbledore knew that to destroy you, he had to work with what he had, the Wizarding press and the attitudes of Hogwarts students. He made sure you were subjected to tests, he also made sure that every damaging interpretation or aspersion on your character was made. With time, he hoped to have you as an outcast and then to die of rejection. It would never be enough for him, and therefore for the wizards, whether you killed Voldemort or not, whether you were noble or not, it wasn't about that. It was about ways to break you."

"Why?"

"Because you are your parents' son. Around 1979, things looked promising for Albus. He would get to off Voldemort and be more of a hero than he already was. However, his fumbling plans were subjected to scrutiny as people realized that they didn't move forward if they followed his advice. All that sermonizing wasn't doing anyone any good. Four young people entered stage, they were energetic, charismatic, with recognizable names. They offered workable solutions to strengthen the wizards' hands. They were James and Lily Potter and Frank and Alice Longbottom."

"Using spies, Albus knew they were pregnant. He used that information to create a prophecy that seemed directed to one of the children. Later he managed to convince the Potters of the prophecy and had them put under a Fidelius Charm. He knew Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, after all he cast the charm, and the rat worked for him."

"When the confrontation with Voldemort occurred, Albus killed an exhausted James Potter who could not defend himself. Then he hurried and killed Lily. He tried to kill Harry but the curse backfired. Albus was lucky to escape only with a singed beard."

"Due to what he had done, Albus made the prophecy real, only it relates to the real Dark Lord, who is Albus Dumbledore. The words that Harry hears when the Dementors are near, they were really spoken by his mother when defending Harry from Dumbledore's clutches. It wasn't Bellatrix Lestrange who drove the Longbottoms crazy, it was Albus. He was simply cleaning house."

"How did you enter these wards?"

"Using the device given to me by Dumbledore, it's my wand which is in the cane."

"Why did you try to kill McGonagall?"

"She is a traitor! I found some of our elves and they told me they had seen her at night, talking with Snivellus. She should have been gaining allies for her master! She deserved to die a most painful death."

"Are Winky or Dobby part of your elves?"

Hermione started to say, "Harry…" when she found she had been hit with Silencio, looking up she found the slightly apologetic eyes of Luna.

Hagrid said, "No."

"Why did you give me Hedwig as a present?"

"I was following my friend's orders. You were so starved for affection that it was clear a seed planted here would prove fruitful. I also maligned the Slytherins, because if you had gone there, Albus' plans would have been disturbed. The owl was something like you, vaguely pretty, meek and completely inoffensive."

Harry was sick and tired of people considering him less, of looking down on him, he was tired of the betrayals of those he once believed in. A step had to be taken now, to show he meant business.

He directed his Invisible wand to Hagrid's big, poisonous heart and he said strongly, "Avada Kedavra."

The green light poured out of the wand, reached the heart of the man and did its job. Hagrid died.

Everyone looked astonished, except for two people, Harry was amused to note. Draco actually looked rather proud and ready to deal with the aftermath, and Sirius looked like he had just pulled off a very difficult prank. He kept rubbing his Black ring.

However the peace and quiet was interrupted by the voice of Hermione, who was saying "Harry! How could you? This was Hagrid, your first friend! It's immoral to take a human life, and you used the Avada Kedavra without giving him the chance to…"

Harry exploded, "Shut the hell up! There you go again, with your Law and Order routine. Hagrid was my first friend, and my first betrayer, unless you count Dumbles too, or Pettigrew. And I should be fair to little Hagrid and arrange for a duel, where he will be completely forthright and not crush me with one of his hands? Why should I waste a perfect opportunity to get rid of a merciless enemy? The same enemy that would have gleefully jumped into the room and transformed you all into animals, and then killed you!"

"You have no idea about my life! You have no right to pass judgment on me, you are simply a meddlesome witch!"

Hermione cried as she left the room, running, because she felt hurt and humiliated, but also because she realized that she didn't know much about his life. She knew what he told her, but why should he tell her things that hurt him when she would just go into a rant or try to make him feel guilty so he would do whatever she wanted?

The issue was not whether Harry had killed Hagrid, but whether she had the fortitude to remain being their friend.

27. The wrath of Pansy