The Privy Councilors 32/33
Dec. 1st, 2011 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
herumtreiberTitle: The Privy Councilors 32/33
Chapter: The Rose
Author:![[info]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/645e27cdd7f5/936704-173583/l-files.livejournal.net/userhead/16)
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
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length: ~6,230 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
31. In the eye of the storm
When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love,
in the spring becomes the rose.
(The Rose, Amanda McBroom)
Draco counted mentally the votes as things stood now, taking into account the Dumbledorian lead in the 'normal' votes. He realized the councilors would lose, possibly by a large amount. It was high time to use their secret weapon. Winking at Hermione, Draco took out four parchments from the briefcase and put them on the table.
Tapping the letters with his manicured fingers, he said imperiously, "Here we have four Letters Patent, the means by which our Sovereign announces to all and sundry she has raised someone to the peerage. The Queen has graciously consented to award this to four outstanding people."
Draco quirked an eyebrow at Ron, who blushed profusely. "Ron Bilius Weasley, because of your courage and intelligence you will become Lord Weasley, enjoying all the appurtenances thereto and powers accorded to you as lord privy councilor."
He bowed to the brunette witch and then he said. "Hermione Jane Granger, the Sovereign wishes to recognize your intelligence and daring by naming you Lady Granger, you will enjoy the rights and privileges of a lady privy councilor."
Whilst Dumbledore fumed, Draco passed the next parchment to Harry. The Gryffindor cracked a smile and waved to the Marauder, announcing in a loud voice, "Remus Lupin, the Sovereign wishes to acknowledge your daring and sacrifices for a cause, henceforth you will be accorded the rank of Lord Lupin, with the duties and powers granted to you as lord privy councilor."
Harry fidgeted with the next parchment, finally passing it to Draco. The blond smiled widely at his godfather. "Severus Snape, the Sovereign wishes to acknowledge your daring and sacrifices by granting you the title of Lord Snape and a seat on the Privy Council."
Draco nodded to Hermione and the other privy councilors. As one, they said in a loud voice. "The Queen's will be done!"
oOoOo
Draco still remembered how hard it was to convince the prat Ron. Remus and Sev, once they realized they would have an important position among their councilors were reluctant but accepted, knowing what was at stake. Hermione was awed but took on the new responsibilities.
But the redhead said he would not do it. He wouldn't accept pity from strangers. Draco answered irately, "Do you really think it's pity, Weasley? You're barmy. My family started just as poor as yours. They used their brains and magic to contribute to the commonwealth. Little by little they accumulated more."
Ron grunted. "So what? I still won't do it."
Draco rolled his eyes. "The Queen is sure you'll contribute greatly to the whole. She believes you are worth your weight in gold, you know. She worries about her realm and always looks for protectors, like you and me."
"How does the Queen know about me?"
Draco fidgeted whilst he thought up a response. "I may have written to her about you in the letter in which I asked her to create four new privy councilors."
After they accepted, they cast the Immolatio mens spell and kept that information secure from Legilimency probes.
oOoOo
Dumbledore was fuming mad. He had expected things would be easy. They would be overwhelmed by the soldiers and the Wizengamot would recognize him as Monarch of the Kingdom. Then he would be able to do what he wanted with impunity, knowing that Harry's magic was powerless against him due to the immunity of the King. Britain and the world would enter a great Age.
But instead of the plans he had crafted for the greater good, the same band of uppity brats confronted him. Dumbledore had even visited Hogwarts incognito. The wards could not keep the would-be Sovereign out: He read their minds subtly using Legilimency, especially Malfoy, that blond menace. He saw things indicating their weaknesses and he constructed the best plan to attack them. He didn't see any memory of this act! It was intolerable!
Dumbledore barked, "It isn't possible, it isn't valid!"
Draco pointed to the table. "I ask you to examine the Letters Patent yourself, Great Pretender. You will find incontrovertible evidence that the Sovereign as the fount of all honour has accepted four new individuals as privy councilors." The blond touched the parchments.
Dumbledore took out his wand whilst he muttered a curse to destroy the parchments. However, just as the light of the spell touched them, a shield appeared, protecting them.
The curse rebounded and headed for Dumbledore. When it seemed likely he would be hit, a blue shield rose and protected him.
Draco watched grimly, observing that Dumbledore was guarded by the same kind of protection as the letters patent. It meant Hermione was right, and Albus Percival Wulfric etc., would be called king soon if he got his way. King Dumbles I wasn't funny at all!
With no more ado Draco decided to open the session of the Wizengamot and took their oath of service. He inducted the new privy councilors.
When Dumbledore stepped to the podium and started explaining the reasons why the assembly should recognize his claim to the throne, Draco carefully kept pushing him as much as protocol allowed so the windy ex-headmaster would shut up and let them vote.
Draco was under pressure to make things happen within two hours because that was the period in which the wands would produce shields. If it took them more than that, it was likely that an enraged Gryffindor or Slytherin would attack Dumbles and become a Squib or worse. Draco cringed at any of his friends becoming so.
Finally the talkative Dumbledore arrived at the end of his arguments. Draco took a deep breath and took the plunge. With a serious mien he said to the members of the Wizengamot. "We must take a momentous decision, whether voting to recognize Albus Dumbledore as King of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and France - or denying his title to the throne. What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the Wizarding World, indeed of the Earth. You must vote according to the best interests of your constituency, the magical people."
The voting started. Draco had arranged matters so that Blaise and Pansy would vote at the end. Hopefully they would discern who would win and see if their support was needed.
First to vote were the normal members of the assembly. Dumbledore slowly kept increasing his share; he was winning 250 to 101.
Dumbledore strutted in front of the benches, wrapping his apricot scarf around his neck as he visibly preened.
Next came the deciding votes, those of the Privy Councilors. Andromeda was the first one and Tonks watched with apprehension as her mother voted for Dumbles. Albus smirked and gloated until Lord Lupin cast his vote against him. Lord Snape took the same stance.
Next came Luna Lovegood. The snowy-haired witch proudly made her choice. The Heiress of Ravenclaw voted to deny Dumbledore the priced title of King, Neville doing likewise. The votes were now 280 to 231, still in favour of Dumbles.
Dumbledore scowled at the assembly. Things were not turning out the way he wanted. Still he had the support of his magic, and the residual power of the Monarch. Yet if he were left unrecognized, that would make things much harder to accomplish.
Lady Granger cast her vote against Dumbledore, just like Lord Weasley. Draco voted against the white-bearded menace, as did Harry. The votes stood 280 for Dumbledore, 351 against him. It was the moment for Pansy and Blaise. The two behaved like true Slytherins and took the opportunity offered by Draco. They voted for Dumbledore, hoping to save their parents.
Draco read the final tally. "The Wizengamot has voted in the matter of the recognition of Albus Dumbledore's pretended title to the Succession of this kingdom. The Yes vote stands at 340, the No vote is 351. This assembly thus refuses to recognize Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore - and so on - to the titles he pretends."
The blond sat back and crossed his arms. "If no one has any other pressing business, this session of the Wizengamot is finished."
oOoOo
Dumbledore was so angry! All his preparations which included years spent researching the correct moment to cast the spell and Imperio his mother to get her pregnant with the royal heir's sperm! All the careful work collecting allies and threatening them with their worst fears would go to waste. He'd done that with the goal of becoming unstoppable as King of Great Britain and also Magical Monarch of the Realm.
It all seemed to be going great, even after the Malfoy interference when that bitch destroyed 12 Grimmauld Place and his careful experiments and rituals. It proved to be a salvageable situation. Due to the portion of the Ritual of Rendering that he'd accomplished, he was able to go back in time. Dumbledore wasn't able to alter things much, but whatever he changed, he held the certainty he could create a snowball effect.
Reality proved hard to modify though, it protected itself. It only accepted enough from his great plans to be reborn as the potential Monarch. History and memories, it all remained as before. The only thing that changed was his presence seven months after his supposed death.
Albus had made sure that the brats had no inkling about what he was doing! McGonagall could only tell them so much! His forays into Hogwarts had proved that their so-called plans would be easily bypassed by him.
Pansy Parkinson was so daft as to wear the bracelet her cousin had given her at New Year's, never suspecting that the heirloom could have a tracking charm or that her cousin used to work for the Dark Lord and thus was able to be influenced by Dumbledore.
It was a matter of fine reflexes to create the kidnap scenarios. Delightful old scenes roamed in his mind. It had worked too! Parkinson and Zabini voted for him, but by that time it was too late. The brats won again. He couldn't accept that.
oOoOo
Ron wasn't interested in politics; he left all that rigmarole to Draco and Hermione. They handled it well. Blimey, they even had fun doing it!
Whilst the voting was going on, Ron observed the participants. He may not have Luna's keen powers of observation but he was sly and cunning. He studied Dumbledore intensely.
The man radiated power and impatience. It was a bad combination, in Ron's experience. When the vote was finished and the count declared, the redhead realized Dumbledore had had enough. Now he would try to destroy them, individually or in group. He urgently grabbed Hermione's hand and motioned for her to do the same.
Thankfully the brunette witch didn't start a discussion, she held Draco's hand firmly and motioned for Sirius to grab Harry's hand. When Harry touched Draco's hand, the circle of the Musketeers was complete.
Ron said forcefully, "All for one."
Draco replied spiritedly, "And one for all."
At that moment Dumbledore raised his wand and directed it toward the boy he thought was the source of his problems, Harry Potter. He muttered, "Avada kedavra!"
The green light moved toward the surprised group of Wizengamot members, the privy councilors which comprised the Musketeers.
Just before the spell would hit Harry, a blue shield went up around the group of Musketeers.
Muggles often posed a dilemma in physics: what happens when an irresistible force meets an unmovable object? Supposedly a paradox was created. This relied on the fact that if you postulated an unmovable object, the framework of your universe took some characteristics. If you chose a world with irresistible forces, other features would be integrated into that worldview. So the background for an unmovable object denied the existence of any irresistible force and vice versa.
What would happen when the unbeatable magic of Dumbledore crashed onto the protective sphere of the Bond? Truly a case of two different paradigms meeting.
What pointed to a possible solution to solve the conflict was the nature of the attack. Dumbledore was completely aggressive, whilst their Bond was entirely passive and defensive.
The aggressor would have to spend magical energy at a fast rate to stay in the attack. In contrast, the bond could remain as it was for far longer. Being defensive, it didn't touch Dumbledore so it didn't evoke the monarch's power, nor did it require much energy.
Dumbledore's magic was at its peak. Part of the ritual had involved extracting someone's powers and adding them to his own. Furthermore he had the body of a 50ish man, whilst he retained all his memories. Being a scion of House Dumbledore, he had additional magic to command.
Still, the Wizengamot had not approved his claims to the throne and therefore he was not the Magical ruler. If it had, Dumbledore would have been unstoppable.
The Bond was created amongst five individuals with the goal of protecting themselves and each other; it was strikingly similar to the one involving the Hogwarts Founders Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
The bond partook of feelings such as Draco's love for Harry, Hermione's dedication to help them all, Sirius' protective nature towards his godson and Draco.
Ron's desire to protect Hermione and Harry's will and desire to do anything he could to avoid pain for the others also informed it.
Yet if the bond had comprised only these feelings, it wouldn't have been able to withstand the force of Dumbledore's magic; it would have collapsed in 5 seconds. The bond also had imperfections, negative feelings such as Ron's biting jealousy of Harry, Hermione's overbearing nature, Sirius' desire to prank anyone, Draco's jealousy of the closeness of the Golden Trio, Harry's penchant for perilous adventures which disregarded the stress they put on other people.
The bond had adapted to deal with the imperfect feelings. They served as springs, providing needed thrust - action and reaction. The Musketeers were learning to work together. To try and provide direction, they sometimes clashed but they sought a peaceful resolution. Integrating the happier facets of the bond with the darker ones gave it the strength to withstand everything from without.
When Dumbledore attacked Harry so unexpectedly, he did not know he would face such a bond. When he realized what it was he was fighting against, he decided to go with it and kill Harry. Then the other troublesome four would also die. He spent enormous amounts of magic trying to do his will.
The stalemate continued for two minutes, until Dumbledore was too weak to stand upright. He plopped down and tried to summon a glass of water. To his immense chagrin, he found that the spell didn't work. Unobtrusively trying different spells, Dumbledore noted with alarm that many did not work for him.
oOoOo
Draco knew that the time was right to get something from Dumbles. He took the small box and approached the seated Dumbledore. Draco knelt down and presented the velvet box. "I have one favour to ask of you, Dumbledore. To ensure that you grant it, you will accept this White Rose of York."
He took out a beautiful white rose from the box and gave it to Dumbledore. Because of the royal blood flowing through his veins, Dumbledore was compelled to accept it.
Draco could hear the murmurs of the Wizengamot members. "White rose of York… the King has to accept the petition."
Draco mused how gullible people were in thinking that a simple rose had the power to make the Sovereign grant something.
At the end of the War of the Roses, Ozymandias Black created a rose that was full of a suggestion potion. It was also crossbred with Muggle plants which influenced the psyche. He worked long years in perfecting the suggestive powers of the plant.
Ozymandias knew he had to anchor the plant to some real blood for it to work; so on St. Michaelmas day in 1499 he went to the court in Greenwich, seeking an audience with Elizabeth of York.
The heiress of the House of York - and wife of the founder of the Tudor dynasty - was highly indebted to him for his help in attaining her latest pregnancy and willingly gave some drops of blood.
The properties of the plant were fixed then in the descendants of Elizabeth of York, from whom the rest of the English Queens and Kings descend.
Ozymandias Black was the direct ancestor of Sirius, Narcissa and Draco. He worked mostly in the Garden of the Manor, being a good friend of the Malfoys. He even married one.
Ozymandias was the one who added the Black family motto: Toujours pur. It was ironic that it was originally used to denote potions of high purity until a later generation of Blacks, more combative, decided to use it as a coded word to control some dangerous hexes.
There was something in the subterranean water of Malfoy Manor that caused a wealth of growth for the plants in the garden; it had to do with subterranean springs flowing from nearby Stonehenge.
oOoOo
Draco might hold these thoughts but he was also aware that magic really helped a Sovereign resist magical attack; else he would not have taken such care to defuse the explosive situation with his mates.
Perhaps at the end it was a combination of factors: the diverse changes to the plant, the gesture behind giving the rose, the magic involved.
The blond leaned towards the reclining figure of Dumbledore and asked sotto voce, "How can I get the horcruxes of the Potters?"
Dumbledore had to comply with the request due to the power of the Rose. He said grudgingly, "In the Chamber of Secrets, say 'Open heir of Slytherin' in parseltongue in front of the third column. A hole appears. You stick your hand and grab a box that has their two horcruxes."
Draco muttered, "See you in hell, Dumbles." He turned and walked slowly back to his seat. He didn't notice Dumbledore surreptitiously taking out his wand and directing it against him.
Dumbles was sure that he would be able to cast a spell to snuff out this uppity brat.
This was a rare curse that required little magic, but a fiery intent. It would turn a person into a statue; it was irreversible. The trick was that it needed to be held in position for 10 seconds.
Dumbles surreptitiously pointed his wand at Draco and cast the spell. Because there were no lights or any signs of spell activity, the others were unaware of anything dangerous happening.
Dumbledore thought, 'That was all right, just a few seconds more and Malfoy will be no more.'
oOoOo
The attention of the onlookers was directed relentlessly to the principals, Dumbledore and the Musketeers. People didn't look at the Visitor's Gallery, or the striking pair of red-heads sitting there. Molly looked proudly at Ron, though she was a bit concerned about all that power residing within the fox Animagus. He had grown up fast, it seemed.
Bill was away on Gringott's' business.
Charlie was looking intently at all the political posturing. He was one of the first that noticed the menacing-looking Muggle soldiers surrounding the building. He watched interestedly as a regal Dumbledore made his entrance and demanded to be recognized as king.
Charlie saw the battle for the votes, and what transpired later. He frowned when Draco foolishly approaching the downed Dumbledore, recalling Arthur's sage advice: 'Never approach a hurting dragon, they will bite your head off, they're dragons.'
Charlie hastily stood up and made his way to a point directly opposite Dumbles and Draco, where he could have a clear window of opportunity. He knew about many traditions the others ignored, like the one surrounding the Sovereign and their protection from Magical attacks. So he took out the gun he always carried in a holster and he prepared to use it, carefully aiming for Dumbles.
Charlie knew the Sovereign was likely immune to Magical attacks, but he could be hurt using Muggle means. When he realized that Dumbles was cursing Draco, Charlie pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through the hall and reached its target, it struck Dumbles' hand and his attack ceased, leaving Draco a little disoriented but otherwise unharmed.
Ron and Hermione rushed to the gallery to hug Charlie. Even the Twins.
"Didn't know you had it in you."
"We'll take that into account if we prank the family again."
"… Wouldn't want to be shot!"
Draco motioned for Harry to approach and pointed to the wounded Dumbledore. "We have to take Dumbles into Hogwarts; we'll speak more in the Chamber."
Harry scowled at the downed Albus. "Won't that hurt us? He is the Sovereign and all?"
The blond motioned for Charlie to approach them, and then he turned to Harry. "No, it won't. Right now he is just a Pretender, with a claim to the Succession to the Throne. If the Wizengamot had accepted it and recognized his title, he would be the Sovereign and the Magical ruler. That is an extraordinary occurrence. In fact, the last time it happened was during Merlin's time."
Draco shuddered, thinking about what could have happened if he and Hermione hadn't devised their plan. "Dumbledore would have become the once and future King, able to make the rules he wanted and break them. It would have been awful; now he is just a Pretender."
When Charlie sauntered towards them, Draco took out the portkey and bade Harry to grab Dumbles' clothes. He smirked at the redhead. "O ye Weasel of Muggle might! Charlie, I am in your debt. Do you want to come with us and see what happens?" He sneered at Dumbledore. "I promise a Dragon Tamer may find it interesting."
Charlie was indeed interested in the offer. He grabbed Draco's hand just before the portkey was activated.
They appeared in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry, after being smacked in the arm by the blond, proceeded to tell the ex-headmaster and the Dragon Tamer the words that would allow them access to the place protected by the Fidelius charm. "The Chamber of Secrets is beneath Hogwarts."
A menacing mist appeared in the floor and it slowly coalesced into the figure of a girl. Myrtle proceeded to tell her story, seeing they had apprehended Dumbledore.
It was the tale of a girl that falls in love with one of her esteemed professors. The time came when she discovered she was pregnant. She told the father, but Dumbledore delighted in hurting her psychologically. He threatened her that he would take away the child so she would never see it.
The man taunted her, telling her she was from the wrong gender to keep up his interest. Dumbledore told her he was just using her.
The girl was in despair. She knew about the Basilisk. She decided to look into the Basilisk's eyes and seek redemption through death. So the death that occurred all those years ago wasn't murder, but suicide. Because of it, Myrtle was forced to haunt Hogwarts as long as headmaster Dumbledore remained alive.
Charlie, Draco and Harry were enraged. Dumbledore's evil started so long ago! There was no telling how many lives he snuffed and destroyed.
This time, it was Harry who proposed the 'Basilisk solution.' They explained to an enraptured Charlie what the solution entailed. It was the only way to lock the horcruxes and avoid their activation.
Charlie cast a healing spell he knew from his work with dragons on Dumbles' hand. They didn't want him to suffer so much blood loss that he died, resurrecting again through another horcrux.
Taking a page out of Charlie's book, Draco asked him for a knife. The redhead complied and presented a striking hunting knife, with red and green handle.
Draco motioned for Harry to take it. "It's time to enact a little personal revenge. You have to gouge out his eyes. If you can't, then I or Charlie will do it, no problem there. Just think of your parents' lives, squandered while you spent your life as a slave to the Muggles, think of the way in which Myrtle was pushed to kill herself."
The blond glared at the figure of the ever-returning Dumbledore. "There can be no mercy when it was never shown. In the end it's him or us!"
Harry took the knife and approached the prostrate Dumbles. He proceeded to take out his eyes. He was fascinated and appalled. Fascinated by the sense of fulfilled revenge that coursed through him, appalled at the lengths they were forced to take to escape from Dumbles' clutches.
Albus Dumbledore was duly blinded, Draco took the eyeballs and put them in a box which he stored in the Endless Bag.
Next he conferred with Charlie and finally approached Harry. He said, "You know that we cannot damage magically the Sovereign, and transformation into a basilisk could be construed as damage. So we'll take a different way. We'll order the Chamber to do it for us! The Chamber was built to work with Slytherin's heirs, it is attuned to parseltongue. We think that when you speak that, the Chamber acknowledges you as owner."
Harry shuddered, rubbing his robes. "What do I have to do?"
"Charlie and I will start a Celtic chant while you say clearly to the Chamber what you want it to do and the reasons why."
After a brief consultation, Draco and Charlie started the chant. In parseltongue, Harry stated what he wanted to happen, to assure that Dumbledore did not return via horcrux to wreak more havoc.
A light came from the ceiling and struck Albus, duly transforming him into a Basilisk, 18 feet long. Draco asked Harry his opinion about which shrinking charm to use. As Harry quaintly put it, "I don't want the Dumblelisk ganging up on the Voldielisk, it would be unfair."
Finally they decided and after Draco cast it, the basilisk promptly shrunk to nine feet. Apparently to shrink the monarchs was not considered as harming them.
Harry used Mobilicorpus and pulled the Dumblelisk to the place where he had found the basilisk and left it there, whilst he smirked at it. "Don't worry, Dumbles! You won't be alone. You'll have your own personal friend to spend eternity with, a fellow by the name of Tom, Tom Riddle."
Draco directed Harry and Charlie to the third column, whispering to Harry. "You have to say 'Open heir of Slytherin' in parseltongue. A hole will appear. Supposedly one sticks a hand and grabs a box, but there might be a trap."
Harry thought about the long way he had travelled, from being beaten by his relatives, blamed for their deaths and seemingly condemned to Azkaban because of the whims of a crazy old man. His friends kept him alive, only their love could rescue him. This request seemed important to Draco, so Harry would do it.
Harry hissed 'Open heir of Slytherin' in parseltongue. A hole appeared in the column. Charlie studied intently the hole and surrounding column. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he reached inside and took out a box.
Harry saw Charlie take it out. Due to his Animagus' extremely good hearing range, Harry was able to hear clothes slightly rustling within the column. He saw a black blur darting out of it, headed towards Charlie. There was no time to plan a spell, a next move or counter plan. It was time to act. Harry didn't have time to get his wand and swish it.
He took the knife he'd used with Dumbles and threw it at the place he calculated the malignant thing would be.
The knife hit the target, cutting off the head of a magical snake whose poison was deadly. It hibernated in those places it protected, waking up when there were intruders. Dumbledore guarded his treasures well and didn't want to share them with anyone.
With trembling hands, Draco took out the box from Charlie and opened it. He grinned and motioned to Harry, showing him two wands. To the Gryffindor, they seemed common enough, yet he felt a need to caress them, to be near them.
Draco said tenderly, "I'm sorry about the childhood you had to endure with those monsters, Harry. I think you deserve everything. After your incident with the Deathly Hallows, I was enraged with your parents for coldly condemning you to be willingly killed by Voldemort. I could not see how sane parents would do that."
Harry nodded, recalling that helpless instant. "But then your mother used the Hallows."
Draco nodded. "We learned that your parents' souls were prisoners of Dumbledore. He used them to burrow into your mind and mould you more perfectly. They had donated horcruxes to Dumbles, and he employed those to hold their spirits captive."
Whilst Harry tenderly caressed the wands, Draco said, "This Babylonian captivity will end soon. These are the horcruxes of your parents. I daresay we have a good supply of materials to bring them back."
Harry grabbed the wands and held them close whilst he crooned. "Daddy, mommy! You'll be back soon, I've missed you so!"
Draco and Charlie wiped their tears at Harry's outburst, knowing what he had been robbed of.
Later, Charlie smirked. "Oi, our work here is done! Let's get back to the surface."
They left the Chamber of Secrets and eventually reached Myrtle's bathroom. The ghost was waiting for them, she looked at them gravely, "I don't know what you did down there, but whatever it was, it worked. I have been relieved of the duty of staying at Hogwarts. I am free to go on. Dumbledore's presence is not strong enough to cause me to stay. I just wanted to say good-bye. Harry, Draco, you were like sunshine after the night, like the port after the storm."
The two Seekers nodded mutely; relieved she was freed from the plight but realizing they would miss Myrtle.
"You befriended me and we talked a lot. You two, despite being so different, were the only ones to really care for me. Everyone else was too caught up in the real world to listen to the woes of a spectral girl. You were my friends. As I leave this existence I see you, my friends, and that brings a certain measure of happiness. Good-bye!"
Myrtle's form slowly dissolved into a radiating mist which shot up to the ceiling and disappeared.
Harry held Draco and both boys cried in memory of Myrtle, whom they hoped would find true happiness. All the excitement caught up with them and they wept for minutes whilst Charlie watched them, wiping a tear or two.
Draco finally said, "That leaves us the problems of our memories. As we know, any potential enemy will use Legilimency to gain access to them. I think Dumbledore tried that too but he was fooled by Hermione's spell."
Charlie asked, "What spell?"
"Immolatio mens, we use it to cloak memories and project false ones. It doesn't erase but saves it. It is neutralized using a password agreed beforehand. It was the means Hermione and Ron used to pass Dumbledore's inspection and spy for us when Harry was captive."
Charlie protested. "But I can protect my mind using Occlumency, I'm good at that, I'll let you know!"
Draco calmly answered, "I'm sure, Charlie. But can you use mental shields 24 hours a day, seven days a week, always? There would be moments you would be vigilant, and moments when you relaxed or were distracted purposefully. Then they would glean all the information and would start looking for ways to get in and rescue their supposed heroes, Dumblelisk or Voldielisk."
After Charlie grudgingly concurred, Draco cast the spell directing his wand carefully to Harry, Charlie, and his own head. He fixed the password as 'The Three Stooges attack.'
Charlie groaned, muttering about crazy blonds whilst Harry rolled his eyes. The brunet was sorry he had mentioned those movies to Draco. He wasn't sure what remark would send the blond in a totally different direction. He intended to find out, having years to do that.
oOoOo
They returned to find the Wizengamot almost in peace. Remus, Sirius and Severus had quickly dispatched the Muggle soldiers. They retained the captains and colonel for some pranks, so their superiors would get to them presently.
The chastised Muggles left quickly, wondering what kind of place this was that they couldn't enter. Their thought processes were jumbled by the Obliviate cast to erase their memories of magic.
Draco went to stand by Pansy and Blaise, asking them about their families. They said they were fine. Their families had been injured during their abduction, suffering the Cruciatus curse but they had survived. They were in St. Mungo's. Pansy revealed that when one of the captives was given Veritaserum, he blurted out he was her cousin, Robert White. He had put a tracking charm on a bracelet he gave to the gullible Slytherin.
When Pansy visited her parents in the protected zone, the bracelet functioned as intended and betrayed her location to the heartless relative who followed the orders of the Grey Lord, Dumbledore.
Everyone wanted to know what had happened with Dumbles; Draco motioned for Harry to speak. The blond could concoct any story but he intuitively knew that people would believe the tale more if it was Harry who told it. He just hoped Harry was up to the challenge.
Harry stood up with an air of majesty and command, caused by having the horcruxes of his parents on his robes, promising their return. "We Apparated to Hogwarts and healed Dumbledore's hand. I reasoned with him to go back to the good, loving ways. He refused and when I was distracted? He sent a serpent to bite me. He forgot I am a parseltongue. I spoke to the snake and told it to go to him and bite him. The snake did that, biting Dumbledore. He stopped breathing and died."
oOoOo
The privy councilors retired for Hogwarts and went to Draco's rooms. They all settled in their places whilst house-elves brought them dinner. They were joined by Sirius and Narcissa, Remus and Tonks, and Snape and McGonagall.
After stuffing his mouth with some fowl dish, Ron mumbled, "I don't get it!"
Hermione scowled at him. "Don't eat and speak at the same time! What is it that you don't understand?"
Ron shrugged, taking a bite from the roasted duck. "Why the problems with that song changing and the book you mentioned which was altered?"
Draco said. "I can only share my thoughts. I surmise that reality has some momentum, that it can't be changed that simply. Those were reactions to Dumbledore's meddling through time; perhaps they were the design of intelligence?"
The redhead mumbled with his mouth full, disregarding Hermione's censorious glare. "But why pretend to change the past? Why not make us powerful or give us something useful, tangible, like the sword of Gryffindor or Merlin's staff?"
Hermione tapped her fingers against the table. "The past was changed so we would know it can be done. However jarring, it prepared us for what had to be done. Even if we became superpowerful with the staff of Merlin and all, we would have been vulnerable. Indeed, if Dumbledore had shown up and we'd had those weapons? He would have won hands down. We would have attacked him and ended up as Squibs due to the protection the monarchs enjoy."
She forcibly pushed away Ron's plate. The redhead stared disconsolately at her whilst she said, "As for being tangible, any Swords or Staffs would fail if we lacked certain information. Those lines of the song? They made me wonder what this was all about and then I had the insight that we would face Dumbles again. The information about the book was important because it directed our attention towards a book where four individuals who initially fight amongst themselves learn to work for the common good. Do you remember when I told you about the book changing, Ron?"
The redhead nodded morosely. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued. "It made you wonder about the book, Ron. It provided a good enough template that you wanted to create a bond like that shown in Dumas' book."
She motioned to the Marauder who was trying to sneak a sweet into Draco's plate. "Young Sirius provided needed information about the ritual and would form part of the group. Thus the Bond was created."
Draco frowned at Sirius, who was looking at Narcissa whilst he innocently whistled a disco tune. Shaking his head, the blond said, "It wasn't any of our powers that truly defeated Dumbledore. It wasn't Animagi or normal magic, neither Deathly Hallows nor prophecy."
Draco held Harry's hand, caressing the palm with his thumb whilst Harry vanished the prank his godfather had put in Draco's plate.
The blond finished. "It was the Bond. The fact that we worked well together. Sure, there have been fights but we tried to find out why and remedied that. We've grown along with the Bond. Dumbledore could not fight it."
Hermione sighed whilst she wiped a grease stain off Ron's cheek. "It was a tenuous thread as all ideas are, and yet it conquered the greatest magic."
33. Epilogue: Marauder Moon
Chapter: The Rose
Author:
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
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length: ~6,230 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
31. In the eye of the storm
When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love,
in the spring becomes the rose.
(The Rose, Amanda McBroom)
Draco counted mentally the votes as things stood now, taking into account the Dumbledorian lead in the 'normal' votes. He realized the councilors would lose, possibly by a large amount. It was high time to use their secret weapon. Winking at Hermione, Draco took out four parchments from the briefcase and put them on the table.
Tapping the letters with his manicured fingers, he said imperiously, "Here we have four Letters Patent, the means by which our Sovereign announces to all and sundry she has raised someone to the peerage. The Queen has graciously consented to award this to four outstanding people."
Draco quirked an eyebrow at Ron, who blushed profusely. "Ron Bilius Weasley, because of your courage and intelligence you will become Lord Weasley, enjoying all the appurtenances thereto and powers accorded to you as lord privy councilor."
He bowed to the brunette witch and then he said. "Hermione Jane Granger, the Sovereign wishes to recognize your intelligence and daring by naming you Lady Granger, you will enjoy the rights and privileges of a lady privy councilor."
Whilst Dumbledore fumed, Draco passed the next parchment to Harry. The Gryffindor cracked a smile and waved to the Marauder, announcing in a loud voice, "Remus Lupin, the Sovereign wishes to acknowledge your daring and sacrifices for a cause, henceforth you will be accorded the rank of Lord Lupin, with the duties and powers granted to you as lord privy councilor."
Harry fidgeted with the next parchment, finally passing it to Draco. The blond smiled widely at his godfather. "Severus Snape, the Sovereign wishes to acknowledge your daring and sacrifices by granting you the title of Lord Snape and a seat on the Privy Council."
Draco nodded to Hermione and the other privy councilors. As one, they said in a loud voice. "The Queen's will be done!"
Draco still remembered how hard it was to convince the prat Ron. Remus and Sev, once they realized they would have an important position among their councilors were reluctant but accepted, knowing what was at stake. Hermione was awed but took on the new responsibilities.
But the redhead said he would not do it. He wouldn't accept pity from strangers. Draco answered irately, "Do you really think it's pity, Weasley? You're barmy. My family started just as poor as yours. They used their brains and magic to contribute to the commonwealth. Little by little they accumulated more."
Ron grunted. "So what? I still won't do it."
Draco rolled his eyes. "The Queen is sure you'll contribute greatly to the whole. She believes you are worth your weight in gold, you know. She worries about her realm and always looks for protectors, like you and me."
"How does the Queen know about me?"
Draco fidgeted whilst he thought up a response. "I may have written to her about you in the letter in which I asked her to create four new privy councilors."
After they accepted, they cast the Immolatio mens spell and kept that information secure from Legilimency probes.
Dumbledore was fuming mad. He had expected things would be easy. They would be overwhelmed by the soldiers and the Wizengamot would recognize him as Monarch of the Kingdom. Then he would be able to do what he wanted with impunity, knowing that Harry's magic was powerless against him due to the immunity of the King. Britain and the world would enter a great Age.
But instead of the plans he had crafted for the greater good, the same band of uppity brats confronted him. Dumbledore had even visited Hogwarts incognito. The wards could not keep the would-be Sovereign out: He read their minds subtly using Legilimency, especially Malfoy, that blond menace. He saw things indicating their weaknesses and he constructed the best plan to attack them. He didn't see any memory of this act! It was intolerable!
Dumbledore barked, "It isn't possible, it isn't valid!"
Draco pointed to the table. "I ask you to examine the Letters Patent yourself, Great Pretender. You will find incontrovertible evidence that the Sovereign as the fount of all honour has accepted four new individuals as privy councilors." The blond touched the parchments.
Dumbledore took out his wand whilst he muttered a curse to destroy the parchments. However, just as the light of the spell touched them, a shield appeared, protecting them.
The curse rebounded and headed for Dumbledore. When it seemed likely he would be hit, a blue shield rose and protected him.
Draco watched grimly, observing that Dumbledore was guarded by the same kind of protection as the letters patent. It meant Hermione was right, and Albus Percival Wulfric etc., would be called king soon if he got his way. King Dumbles I wasn't funny at all!
With no more ado Draco decided to open the session of the Wizengamot and took their oath of service. He inducted the new privy councilors.
When Dumbledore stepped to the podium and started explaining the reasons why the assembly should recognize his claim to the throne, Draco carefully kept pushing him as much as protocol allowed so the windy ex-headmaster would shut up and let them vote.
Draco was under pressure to make things happen within two hours because that was the period in which the wands would produce shields. If it took them more than that, it was likely that an enraged Gryffindor or Slytherin would attack Dumbles and become a Squib or worse. Draco cringed at any of his friends becoming so.
Finally the talkative Dumbledore arrived at the end of his arguments. Draco took a deep breath and took the plunge. With a serious mien he said to the members of the Wizengamot. "We must take a momentous decision, whether voting to recognize Albus Dumbledore as King of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and France - or denying his title to the throne. What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the Wizarding World, indeed of the Earth. You must vote according to the best interests of your constituency, the magical people."
The voting started. Draco had arranged matters so that Blaise and Pansy would vote at the end. Hopefully they would discern who would win and see if their support was needed.
First to vote were the normal members of the assembly. Dumbledore slowly kept increasing his share; he was winning 250 to 101.
Dumbledore strutted in front of the benches, wrapping his apricot scarf around his neck as he visibly preened.
Next came the deciding votes, those of the Privy Councilors. Andromeda was the first one and Tonks watched with apprehension as her mother voted for Dumbles. Albus smirked and gloated until Lord Lupin cast his vote against him. Lord Snape took the same stance.
Next came Luna Lovegood. The snowy-haired witch proudly made her choice. The Heiress of Ravenclaw voted to deny Dumbledore the priced title of King, Neville doing likewise. The votes were now 280 to 231, still in favour of Dumbles.
Dumbledore scowled at the assembly. Things were not turning out the way he wanted. Still he had the support of his magic, and the residual power of the Monarch. Yet if he were left unrecognized, that would make things much harder to accomplish.
Lady Granger cast her vote against Dumbledore, just like Lord Weasley. Draco voted against the white-bearded menace, as did Harry. The votes stood 280 for Dumbledore, 351 against him. It was the moment for Pansy and Blaise. The two behaved like true Slytherins and took the opportunity offered by Draco. They voted for Dumbledore, hoping to save their parents.
Draco read the final tally. "The Wizengamot has voted in the matter of the recognition of Albus Dumbledore's pretended title to the Succession of this kingdom. The Yes vote stands at 340, the No vote is 351. This assembly thus refuses to recognize Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore - and so on - to the titles he pretends."
The blond sat back and crossed his arms. "If no one has any other pressing business, this session of the Wizengamot is finished."
Dumbledore was so angry! All his preparations which included years spent researching the correct moment to cast the spell and Imperio his mother to get her pregnant with the royal heir's sperm! All the careful work collecting allies and threatening them with their worst fears would go to waste. He'd done that with the goal of becoming unstoppable as King of Great Britain and also Magical Monarch of the Realm.
It all seemed to be going great, even after the Malfoy interference when that bitch destroyed 12 Grimmauld Place and his careful experiments and rituals. It proved to be a salvageable situation. Due to the portion of the Ritual of Rendering that he'd accomplished, he was able to go back in time. Dumbledore wasn't able to alter things much, but whatever he changed, he held the certainty he could create a snowball effect.
Reality proved hard to modify though, it protected itself. It only accepted enough from his great plans to be reborn as the potential Monarch. History and memories, it all remained as before. The only thing that changed was his presence seven months after his supposed death.
Albus had made sure that the brats had no inkling about what he was doing! McGonagall could only tell them so much! His forays into Hogwarts had proved that their so-called plans would be easily bypassed by him.
Pansy Parkinson was so daft as to wear the bracelet her cousin had given her at New Year's, never suspecting that the heirloom could have a tracking charm or that her cousin used to work for the Dark Lord and thus was able to be influenced by Dumbledore.
It was a matter of fine reflexes to create the kidnap scenarios. Delightful old scenes roamed in his mind. It had worked too! Parkinson and Zabini voted for him, but by that time it was too late. The brats won again. He couldn't accept that.
Ron wasn't interested in politics; he left all that rigmarole to Draco and Hermione. They handled it well. Blimey, they even had fun doing it!
Whilst the voting was going on, Ron observed the participants. He may not have Luna's keen powers of observation but he was sly and cunning. He studied Dumbledore intensely.
The man radiated power and impatience. It was a bad combination, in Ron's experience. When the vote was finished and the count declared, the redhead realized Dumbledore had had enough. Now he would try to destroy them, individually or in group. He urgently grabbed Hermione's hand and motioned for her to do the same.
Thankfully the brunette witch didn't start a discussion, she held Draco's hand firmly and motioned for Sirius to grab Harry's hand. When Harry touched Draco's hand, the circle of the Musketeers was complete.
Ron said forcefully, "All for one."
Draco replied spiritedly, "And one for all."
At that moment Dumbledore raised his wand and directed it toward the boy he thought was the source of his problems, Harry Potter. He muttered, "Avada kedavra!"
The green light moved toward the surprised group of Wizengamot members, the privy councilors which comprised the Musketeers.
Just before the spell would hit Harry, a blue shield went up around the group of Musketeers.
Muggles often posed a dilemma in physics: what happens when an irresistible force meets an unmovable object? Supposedly a paradox was created. This relied on the fact that if you postulated an unmovable object, the framework of your universe took some characteristics. If you chose a world with irresistible forces, other features would be integrated into that worldview. So the background for an unmovable object denied the existence of any irresistible force and vice versa.
What would happen when the unbeatable magic of Dumbledore crashed onto the protective sphere of the Bond? Truly a case of two different paradigms meeting.
What pointed to a possible solution to solve the conflict was the nature of the attack. Dumbledore was completely aggressive, whilst their Bond was entirely passive and defensive.
The aggressor would have to spend magical energy at a fast rate to stay in the attack. In contrast, the bond could remain as it was for far longer. Being defensive, it didn't touch Dumbledore so it didn't evoke the monarch's power, nor did it require much energy.
Dumbledore's magic was at its peak. Part of the ritual had involved extracting someone's powers and adding them to his own. Furthermore he had the body of a 50ish man, whilst he retained all his memories. Being a scion of House Dumbledore, he had additional magic to command.
Still, the Wizengamot had not approved his claims to the throne and therefore he was not the Magical ruler. If it had, Dumbledore would have been unstoppable.
The Bond was created amongst five individuals with the goal of protecting themselves and each other; it was strikingly similar to the one involving the Hogwarts Founders Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
The bond partook of feelings such as Draco's love for Harry, Hermione's dedication to help them all, Sirius' protective nature towards his godson and Draco.
Ron's desire to protect Hermione and Harry's will and desire to do anything he could to avoid pain for the others also informed it.
Yet if the bond had comprised only these feelings, it wouldn't have been able to withstand the force of Dumbledore's magic; it would have collapsed in 5 seconds. The bond also had imperfections, negative feelings such as Ron's biting jealousy of Harry, Hermione's overbearing nature, Sirius' desire to prank anyone, Draco's jealousy of the closeness of the Golden Trio, Harry's penchant for perilous adventures which disregarded the stress they put on other people.
The bond had adapted to deal with the imperfect feelings. They served as springs, providing needed thrust - action and reaction. The Musketeers were learning to work together. To try and provide direction, they sometimes clashed but they sought a peaceful resolution. Integrating the happier facets of the bond with the darker ones gave it the strength to withstand everything from without.
When Dumbledore attacked Harry so unexpectedly, he did not know he would face such a bond. When he realized what it was he was fighting against, he decided to go with it and kill Harry. Then the other troublesome four would also die. He spent enormous amounts of magic trying to do his will.
The stalemate continued for two minutes, until Dumbledore was too weak to stand upright. He plopped down and tried to summon a glass of water. To his immense chagrin, he found that the spell didn't work. Unobtrusively trying different spells, Dumbledore noted with alarm that many did not work for him.
Draco knew that the time was right to get something from Dumbles. He took the small box and approached the seated Dumbledore. Draco knelt down and presented the velvet box. "I have one favour to ask of you, Dumbledore. To ensure that you grant it, you will accept this White Rose of York."
He took out a beautiful white rose from the box and gave it to Dumbledore. Because of the royal blood flowing through his veins, Dumbledore was compelled to accept it.
Draco could hear the murmurs of the Wizengamot members. "White rose of York… the King has to accept the petition."
Draco mused how gullible people were in thinking that a simple rose had the power to make the Sovereign grant something.
At the end of the War of the Roses, Ozymandias Black created a rose that was full of a suggestion potion. It was also crossbred with Muggle plants which influenced the psyche. He worked long years in perfecting the suggestive powers of the plant.
Ozymandias knew he had to anchor the plant to some real blood for it to work; so on St. Michaelmas day in 1499 he went to the court in Greenwich, seeking an audience with Elizabeth of York.
The heiress of the House of York - and wife of the founder of the Tudor dynasty - was highly indebted to him for his help in attaining her latest pregnancy and willingly gave some drops of blood.
The properties of the plant were fixed then in the descendants of Elizabeth of York, from whom the rest of the English Queens and Kings descend.
Ozymandias Black was the direct ancestor of Sirius, Narcissa and Draco. He worked mostly in the Garden of the Manor, being a good friend of the Malfoys. He even married one.
Ozymandias was the one who added the Black family motto: Toujours pur. It was ironic that it was originally used to denote potions of high purity until a later generation of Blacks, more combative, decided to use it as a coded word to control some dangerous hexes.
There was something in the subterranean water of Malfoy Manor that caused a wealth of growth for the plants in the garden; it had to do with subterranean springs flowing from nearby Stonehenge.
Draco might hold these thoughts but he was also aware that magic really helped a Sovereign resist magical attack; else he would not have taken such care to defuse the explosive situation with his mates.
Perhaps at the end it was a combination of factors: the diverse changes to the plant, the gesture behind giving the rose, the magic involved.
The blond leaned towards the reclining figure of Dumbledore and asked sotto voce, "How can I get the horcruxes of the Potters?"
Dumbledore had to comply with the request due to the power of the Rose. He said grudgingly, "In the Chamber of Secrets, say 'Open heir of Slytherin' in parseltongue in front of the third column. A hole appears. You stick your hand and grab a box that has their two horcruxes."
Draco muttered, "See you in hell, Dumbles." He turned and walked slowly back to his seat. He didn't notice Dumbledore surreptitiously taking out his wand and directing it against him.
Dumbles was sure that he would be able to cast a spell to snuff out this uppity brat.
This was a rare curse that required little magic, but a fiery intent. It would turn a person into a statue; it was irreversible. The trick was that it needed to be held in position for 10 seconds.
Dumbles surreptitiously pointed his wand at Draco and cast the spell. Because there were no lights or any signs of spell activity, the others were unaware of anything dangerous happening.
Dumbledore thought, 'That was all right, just a few seconds more and Malfoy will be no more.'
The attention of the onlookers was directed relentlessly to the principals, Dumbledore and the Musketeers. People didn't look at the Visitor's Gallery, or the striking pair of red-heads sitting there. Molly looked proudly at Ron, though she was a bit concerned about all that power residing within the fox Animagus. He had grown up fast, it seemed.
Bill was away on Gringott's' business.
Charlie was looking intently at all the political posturing. He was one of the first that noticed the menacing-looking Muggle soldiers surrounding the building. He watched interestedly as a regal Dumbledore made his entrance and demanded to be recognized as king.
Charlie saw the battle for the votes, and what transpired later. He frowned when Draco foolishly approaching the downed Dumbledore, recalling Arthur's sage advice: 'Never approach a hurting dragon, they will bite your head off, they're dragons.'
Charlie hastily stood up and made his way to a point directly opposite Dumbles and Draco, where he could have a clear window of opportunity. He knew about many traditions the others ignored, like the one surrounding the Sovereign and their protection from Magical attacks. So he took out the gun he always carried in a holster and he prepared to use it, carefully aiming for Dumbles.
Charlie knew the Sovereign was likely immune to Magical attacks, but he could be hurt using Muggle means. When he realized that Dumbles was cursing Draco, Charlie pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through the hall and reached its target, it struck Dumbles' hand and his attack ceased, leaving Draco a little disoriented but otherwise unharmed.
Ron and Hermione rushed to the gallery to hug Charlie. Even the Twins.
"Didn't know you had it in you."
"We'll take that into account if we prank the family again."
"… Wouldn't want to be shot!"
Draco motioned for Harry to approach and pointed to the wounded Dumbledore. "We have to take Dumbles into Hogwarts; we'll speak more in the Chamber."
Harry scowled at the downed Albus. "Won't that hurt us? He is the Sovereign and all?"
The blond motioned for Charlie to approach them, and then he turned to Harry. "No, it won't. Right now he is just a Pretender, with a claim to the Succession to the Throne. If the Wizengamot had accepted it and recognized his title, he would be the Sovereign and the Magical ruler. That is an extraordinary occurrence. In fact, the last time it happened was during Merlin's time."
Draco shuddered, thinking about what could have happened if he and Hermione hadn't devised their plan. "Dumbledore would have become the once and future King, able to make the rules he wanted and break them. It would have been awful; now he is just a Pretender."
When Charlie sauntered towards them, Draco took out the portkey and bade Harry to grab Dumbles' clothes. He smirked at the redhead. "O ye Weasel of Muggle might! Charlie, I am in your debt. Do you want to come with us and see what happens?" He sneered at Dumbledore. "I promise a Dragon Tamer may find it interesting."
Charlie was indeed interested in the offer. He grabbed Draco's hand just before the portkey was activated.
They appeared in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry, after being smacked in the arm by the blond, proceeded to tell the ex-headmaster and the Dragon Tamer the words that would allow them access to the place protected by the Fidelius charm. "The Chamber of Secrets is beneath Hogwarts."
A menacing mist appeared in the floor and it slowly coalesced into the figure of a girl. Myrtle proceeded to tell her story, seeing they had apprehended Dumbledore.
It was the tale of a girl that falls in love with one of her esteemed professors. The time came when she discovered she was pregnant. She told the father, but Dumbledore delighted in hurting her psychologically. He threatened her that he would take away the child so she would never see it.
The man taunted her, telling her she was from the wrong gender to keep up his interest. Dumbledore told her he was just using her.
The girl was in despair. She knew about the Basilisk. She decided to look into the Basilisk's eyes and seek redemption through death. So the death that occurred all those years ago wasn't murder, but suicide. Because of it, Myrtle was forced to haunt Hogwarts as long as headmaster Dumbledore remained alive.
Charlie, Draco and Harry were enraged. Dumbledore's evil started so long ago! There was no telling how many lives he snuffed and destroyed.
This time, it was Harry who proposed the 'Basilisk solution.' They explained to an enraptured Charlie what the solution entailed. It was the only way to lock the horcruxes and avoid their activation.
Charlie cast a healing spell he knew from his work with dragons on Dumbles' hand. They didn't want him to suffer so much blood loss that he died, resurrecting again through another horcrux.
Taking a page out of Charlie's book, Draco asked him for a knife. The redhead complied and presented a striking hunting knife, with red and green handle.
Draco motioned for Harry to take it. "It's time to enact a little personal revenge. You have to gouge out his eyes. If you can't, then I or Charlie will do it, no problem there. Just think of your parents' lives, squandered while you spent your life as a slave to the Muggles, think of the way in which Myrtle was pushed to kill herself."
The blond glared at the figure of the ever-returning Dumbledore. "There can be no mercy when it was never shown. In the end it's him or us!"
Harry took the knife and approached the prostrate Dumbles. He proceeded to take out his eyes. He was fascinated and appalled. Fascinated by the sense of fulfilled revenge that coursed through him, appalled at the lengths they were forced to take to escape from Dumbles' clutches.
Albus Dumbledore was duly blinded, Draco took the eyeballs and put them in a box which he stored in the Endless Bag.
Next he conferred with Charlie and finally approached Harry. He said, "You know that we cannot damage magically the Sovereign, and transformation into a basilisk could be construed as damage. So we'll take a different way. We'll order the Chamber to do it for us! The Chamber was built to work with Slytherin's heirs, it is attuned to parseltongue. We think that when you speak that, the Chamber acknowledges you as owner."
Harry shuddered, rubbing his robes. "What do I have to do?"
"Charlie and I will start a Celtic chant while you say clearly to the Chamber what you want it to do and the reasons why."
After a brief consultation, Draco and Charlie started the chant. In parseltongue, Harry stated what he wanted to happen, to assure that Dumbledore did not return via horcrux to wreak more havoc.
A light came from the ceiling and struck Albus, duly transforming him into a Basilisk, 18 feet long. Draco asked Harry his opinion about which shrinking charm to use. As Harry quaintly put it, "I don't want the Dumblelisk ganging up on the Voldielisk, it would be unfair."
Finally they decided and after Draco cast it, the basilisk promptly shrunk to nine feet. Apparently to shrink the monarchs was not considered as harming them.
Harry used Mobilicorpus and pulled the Dumblelisk to the place where he had found the basilisk and left it there, whilst he smirked at it. "Don't worry, Dumbles! You won't be alone. You'll have your own personal friend to spend eternity with, a fellow by the name of Tom, Tom Riddle."
Draco directed Harry and Charlie to the third column, whispering to Harry. "You have to say 'Open heir of Slytherin' in parseltongue. A hole will appear. Supposedly one sticks a hand and grabs a box, but there might be a trap."
Harry thought about the long way he had travelled, from being beaten by his relatives, blamed for their deaths and seemingly condemned to Azkaban because of the whims of a crazy old man. His friends kept him alive, only their love could rescue him. This request seemed important to Draco, so Harry would do it.
Harry hissed 'Open heir of Slytherin' in parseltongue. A hole appeared in the column. Charlie studied intently the hole and surrounding column. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he reached inside and took out a box.
Harry saw Charlie take it out. Due to his Animagus' extremely good hearing range, Harry was able to hear clothes slightly rustling within the column. He saw a black blur darting out of it, headed towards Charlie. There was no time to plan a spell, a next move or counter plan. It was time to act. Harry didn't have time to get his wand and swish it.
He took the knife he'd used with Dumbles and threw it at the place he calculated the malignant thing would be.
The knife hit the target, cutting off the head of a magical snake whose poison was deadly. It hibernated in those places it protected, waking up when there were intruders. Dumbledore guarded his treasures well and didn't want to share them with anyone.
With trembling hands, Draco took out the box from Charlie and opened it. He grinned and motioned to Harry, showing him two wands. To the Gryffindor, they seemed common enough, yet he felt a need to caress them, to be near them.
Draco said tenderly, "I'm sorry about the childhood you had to endure with those monsters, Harry. I think you deserve everything. After your incident with the Deathly Hallows, I was enraged with your parents for coldly condemning you to be willingly killed by Voldemort. I could not see how sane parents would do that."
Harry nodded, recalling that helpless instant. "But then your mother used the Hallows."
Draco nodded. "We learned that your parents' souls were prisoners of Dumbledore. He used them to burrow into your mind and mould you more perfectly. They had donated horcruxes to Dumbles, and he employed those to hold their spirits captive."
Whilst Harry tenderly caressed the wands, Draco said, "This Babylonian captivity will end soon. These are the horcruxes of your parents. I daresay we have a good supply of materials to bring them back."
Harry grabbed the wands and held them close whilst he crooned. "Daddy, mommy! You'll be back soon, I've missed you so!"
Draco and Charlie wiped their tears at Harry's outburst, knowing what he had been robbed of.
Later, Charlie smirked. "Oi, our work here is done! Let's get back to the surface."
They left the Chamber of Secrets and eventually reached Myrtle's bathroom. The ghost was waiting for them, she looked at them gravely, "I don't know what you did down there, but whatever it was, it worked. I have been relieved of the duty of staying at Hogwarts. I am free to go on. Dumbledore's presence is not strong enough to cause me to stay. I just wanted to say good-bye. Harry, Draco, you were like sunshine after the night, like the port after the storm."
The two Seekers nodded mutely; relieved she was freed from the plight but realizing they would miss Myrtle.
"You befriended me and we talked a lot. You two, despite being so different, were the only ones to really care for me. Everyone else was too caught up in the real world to listen to the woes of a spectral girl. You were my friends. As I leave this existence I see you, my friends, and that brings a certain measure of happiness. Good-bye!"
Myrtle's form slowly dissolved into a radiating mist which shot up to the ceiling and disappeared.
Harry held Draco and both boys cried in memory of Myrtle, whom they hoped would find true happiness. All the excitement caught up with them and they wept for minutes whilst Charlie watched them, wiping a tear or two.
Draco finally said, "That leaves us the problems of our memories. As we know, any potential enemy will use Legilimency to gain access to them. I think Dumbledore tried that too but he was fooled by Hermione's spell."
Charlie asked, "What spell?"
"Immolatio mens, we use it to cloak memories and project false ones. It doesn't erase but saves it. It is neutralized using a password agreed beforehand. It was the means Hermione and Ron used to pass Dumbledore's inspection and spy for us when Harry was captive."
Charlie protested. "But I can protect my mind using Occlumency, I'm good at that, I'll let you know!"
Draco calmly answered, "I'm sure, Charlie. But can you use mental shields 24 hours a day, seven days a week, always? There would be moments you would be vigilant, and moments when you relaxed or were distracted purposefully. Then they would glean all the information and would start looking for ways to get in and rescue their supposed heroes, Dumblelisk or Voldielisk."
After Charlie grudgingly concurred, Draco cast the spell directing his wand carefully to Harry, Charlie, and his own head. He fixed the password as 'The Three Stooges attack.'
Charlie groaned, muttering about crazy blonds whilst Harry rolled his eyes. The brunet was sorry he had mentioned those movies to Draco. He wasn't sure what remark would send the blond in a totally different direction. He intended to find out, having years to do that.
They returned to find the Wizengamot almost in peace. Remus, Sirius and Severus had quickly dispatched the Muggle soldiers. They retained the captains and colonel for some pranks, so their superiors would get to them presently.
The chastised Muggles left quickly, wondering what kind of place this was that they couldn't enter. Their thought processes were jumbled by the Obliviate cast to erase their memories of magic.
Draco went to stand by Pansy and Blaise, asking them about their families. They said they were fine. Their families had been injured during their abduction, suffering the Cruciatus curse but they had survived. They were in St. Mungo's. Pansy revealed that when one of the captives was given Veritaserum, he blurted out he was her cousin, Robert White. He had put a tracking charm on a bracelet he gave to the gullible Slytherin.
When Pansy visited her parents in the protected zone, the bracelet functioned as intended and betrayed her location to the heartless relative who followed the orders of the Grey Lord, Dumbledore.
Everyone wanted to know what had happened with Dumbles; Draco motioned for Harry to speak. The blond could concoct any story but he intuitively knew that people would believe the tale more if it was Harry who told it. He just hoped Harry was up to the challenge.
Harry stood up with an air of majesty and command, caused by having the horcruxes of his parents on his robes, promising their return. "We Apparated to Hogwarts and healed Dumbledore's hand. I reasoned with him to go back to the good, loving ways. He refused and when I was distracted? He sent a serpent to bite me. He forgot I am a parseltongue. I spoke to the snake and told it to go to him and bite him. The snake did that, biting Dumbledore. He stopped breathing and died."
The privy councilors retired for Hogwarts and went to Draco's rooms. They all settled in their places whilst house-elves brought them dinner. They were joined by Sirius and Narcissa, Remus and Tonks, and Snape and McGonagall.
After stuffing his mouth with some fowl dish, Ron mumbled, "I don't get it!"
Hermione scowled at him. "Don't eat and speak at the same time! What is it that you don't understand?"
Ron shrugged, taking a bite from the roasted duck. "Why the problems with that song changing and the book you mentioned which was altered?"
Draco said. "I can only share my thoughts. I surmise that reality has some momentum, that it can't be changed that simply. Those were reactions to Dumbledore's meddling through time; perhaps they were the design of intelligence?"
The redhead mumbled with his mouth full, disregarding Hermione's censorious glare. "But why pretend to change the past? Why not make us powerful or give us something useful, tangible, like the sword of Gryffindor or Merlin's staff?"
Hermione tapped her fingers against the table. "The past was changed so we would know it can be done. However jarring, it prepared us for what had to be done. Even if we became superpowerful with the staff of Merlin and all, we would have been vulnerable. Indeed, if Dumbledore had shown up and we'd had those weapons? He would have won hands down. We would have attacked him and ended up as Squibs due to the protection the monarchs enjoy."
She forcibly pushed away Ron's plate. The redhead stared disconsolately at her whilst she said, "As for being tangible, any Swords or Staffs would fail if we lacked certain information. Those lines of the song? They made me wonder what this was all about and then I had the insight that we would face Dumbles again. The information about the book was important because it directed our attention towards a book where four individuals who initially fight amongst themselves learn to work for the common good. Do you remember when I told you about the book changing, Ron?"
The redhead nodded morosely. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued. "It made you wonder about the book, Ron. It provided a good enough template that you wanted to create a bond like that shown in Dumas' book."
She motioned to the Marauder who was trying to sneak a sweet into Draco's plate. "Young Sirius provided needed information about the ritual and would form part of the group. Thus the Bond was created."
Draco frowned at Sirius, who was looking at Narcissa whilst he innocently whistled a disco tune. Shaking his head, the blond said, "It wasn't any of our powers that truly defeated Dumbledore. It wasn't Animagi or normal magic, neither Deathly Hallows nor prophecy."
Draco held Harry's hand, caressing the palm with his thumb whilst Harry vanished the prank his godfather had put in Draco's plate.
The blond finished. "It was the Bond. The fact that we worked well together. Sure, there have been fights but we tried to find out why and remedied that. We've grown along with the Bond. Dumbledore could not fight it."
Hermione sighed whilst she wiped a grease stain off Ron's cheek. "It was a tenuous thread as all ideas are, and yet it conquered the greatest magic."
33. Epilogue: Marauder Moon
