herumtreiber

Title: The Privy Councilors 4/33
Chapter: four
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: Sexual content
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length: 2873 words
Beta: None.
Summary: Draco/Harry, Luna/Neville, Ron/Hermione, Narcissa/??? Harry is about to be sent to Azkaban. The story explores Wizengamot politics and the fight against evil Dumbledore - where he gets vanquished early and does not prattle on and on - but is he gone? Plus de-aging. Someone returns whose name begins with a S. (And my revenge on characters whose accents are hard to read – like Hagrid and Fleur ;-)

Table of contents

Rescue rangers

It's just time to pay the price
For not listening to advice
And deciding in your youth
On the policy of truth
(The policy of truth, Martin L. Gore)

Whilst Draco was sauntering out of the trial chamber, Hermione felt a slight weight descend on her shoulders. She looked up and watched an Origami owl flapping its wings. Shaking her head, she touched lightly the beige owl, which tried to peck her fingers.

Growing impatient with the owl, Hermione grabbed it before it could give her a paper cut and unfolded the letter. It read:

Go get 'im, Tigress!
Harry knows your role

Looking completely composed, Hermione smirked inwardly remembering a similar scene from the past…

oOoOo

It happened three days after the battle in the Ministry where Sirius died. Hermione and Ron were a bit stir crazy, forced to remain in bed due to Pomfrey’s draconian rule. Eventually Hermione managed to slip from the Infirmary which felt like Azkaban.

Hermione walked to the Library and opened the door. Seeing that Madam Pince was occupied with some First Years, Hermione grabbed her beloved Hogwarts: A History and went to her preferred seat. She found it extremely relaxing to immerse herself in the ancient history of her beloved school. She often wished there could be a time-turner powerful enough to transport her to the fabled time of the Founders.

She opened the dog-eared book and prepared to read about the 1500s when she felt a slight tug on her silk pyjamas. Looking down she saw an Origami lion trying to bite her leg.

Hermione picked up the letter with a scowl – this could come only from the ferret, probably it was a taunting letter reminding her of her supposedly tainted origin.

She frowned whilst she read, and slowly a puzzled expression came to her face.

I’ve had an interesting experience with Potter that you should be aware of, Granger. Meet me in the back of the Library in 10 minutes.

Hermione doubted that anything good could come from the snob who taunted them endlessly. Still, the reference to Harry made it imperative that she should find out more.

Presently Hermione joined Malfoy in a semi-private alcove where she saw tomes dealing with the Animagus transformation.

Draco looked up from his book and smirked. "It's interesting how much our perceptions depend on stereotypes.”

Hermione snorted angrily and made to leave the Slytherin, but Draco’s next words stopped her. “If I met you for the first time, would we become friends or would we remain the same old tired enemies as before?”

Hermione looked at Draco’s face sharply. The Slytherin had an honest expression bereft of his usual sneer. Draco bade her sit down on the chair opposite his.

Hermione wished she’d thought of bringing her robes to read, but frankly, it was just before curfew and with Pomfrey’s vigilant attitude, she had no chance to sneak to Gryffindor and grab more decent clothes. She sat down and scowled at the blond. “What do you want, Malfoy? What about Harry?”

“Before we proceed further” – replied Draco putting the book aside and looking inquiringly at Hermione – “I need to know if I'm speaking with the real Granger. Tell me something only you and I know."

Hermione nearly growled, “What’s your game, Malfoy?”

Draco replied calmly, "It might seem like an imposition, but I have my reasons, which I will share with you shortly."

Hermione paused. It was an imposition, but she realised that Malfoy may have good reasons to be sure he was speaking with the real her, and her curiosity was piqued. Grabbing one of Draco’s books, she replied, “When I slapped you after the mudblood comment, I held my ring finger in such a way that the cutting edge of my ring would not scar you.”

Seeing Draco’s smug smirk, Hermione hastened to add, “I did it out of courtesy – not because you’re extraordinarily handsome or something!”

Draco’s smirk grew and Hermione lifted the book threateningly. “Stop that or I’ll –"

She tried to find words to derail Malfoy’s ego; though Hermione had to admit that the Slytherin was indeed very handsome – Merlin knew the boy hardly needed more encouragement.

“—anyway, what do you want?” said Hermione as she put the book on the table.

Draco sighed and his face became serious. "After father was arrested and I went to the Manor to regulate the inheritance, I was so angry I literally climbed up the walls.”

Draco gazed at the shelf in front of him and nervously played with the parchment on the table. “I was incensed at Potter, at my father, at Voldemort. Eventually I calmed down, something happened to enable me to see things with more perspective.”

Draco leaned forward and put his hands on the table. Hermione couldn’t help but notice how brightly his grey eyes shined, how his blond hair looked so silky it made her want to grab it and feel its texture. With a start, she realised she’d missed some of his words.

“—wrongly and stupidly. I was confused because Lucius was aware of his inconsistencies and even pointed them out to me!”

Draco pushed away a book and grabbed his quill, bending it backwards until it almost broke in two. “But he didn’t do anything to escape the bloody Dark Lord!”

Hermione listened entranced to the passionate explanation of the Slytherin. She didn’t want to interrupt with questions because she was afraid Malfoy would close up and refuse to talk any further.

Draco went on, "I decided I wouldn’t serve the Dark Lord, a man who blithely ignored the plight of his most trusted advisor, his most foolish follower – my father. Therefore I changed the wards in the Manor to keep the Dark Lord and his minions out."

Hermione blurted out, “Let me get this – you don’t work for Voldemort? You’re not a Death Eater?”

Draco nodded solemnly. "I wouldn’t work for Voldemort, but I’m loath to work for Dumbledore.”

Draco leaned back on the chair and put his hands behind his head, and Hermione couldn’t help but notice how adorable he looked. Malfoy continued, “You three are in the thick of it. You don’t see Dumbledore as I do - I can see how he exploits and manipulates Severus, my godfather, and it makes me want to throw up!"

The Slytherin tilted his chair backwards and put his feet on the table - but when Hermione frowned ferociously at him he sighed and put them on a pile of books. "I decided to look for a third option; the only one available is Potter. I know he can be overbearing and patronising, but I believe he has the strength and balance to lead us out of the current impasse.”

Hermione grabbed Draco’s wand which was on the table and with a scowl, she levitated the books from under Draco’s feet. The Slytherin almost fell off the chair. He glared at her, but continued talking. “I sent Potter a letter through a school owl suggesting a meeting. He answered and proposed a time and place."

Draco leaned forward and whispered so that Hermione had to lean towards him to catch his words."I went there and immediately felt something wrong. You’ll grant me I know Potter very well?”

After Hermione nodded reluctantly, Draco continued, “There are some moments when Potter's eyes shine and he becomes very animated – yet this Potter remained imperturbable. He tried to get me to spill my plans. He even used Legilimency on me!”

Hermione gasped; given Harry’s track record with Snape’s Occlumency classes, there was no way in the nether hells that he’d be able to master Legilimency yet.

“Thank Merlin aunt Bella taught me the rudiments of Occlumency!" exclaimed Draco.

Draco leaned his face towards Hermione, and she couldn’t help but smell his wonderful woodsy scent. He whispered quietly, "Growing up with my family, I know different potions used to cloak bodies and minds. That person - he or she was polyjuicing as Harry. I made a hasty retreat and left."

Hermione’s mind whirled, if Malfoy was right, then Harry was in dire danger indeed. Perhaps a Death Eater had entered the school again – but then she realised a key part of Draco’s story – the school owl!

Draco said earnestly, "I come here to tell you that Potter is once again the victim of a plot. They want to know about his allies or enemies; they can redirect school owls at will.”

Hermione fiddled with the buttons of her pyjamas as she continued Draco’s train of thought. “They supplant Harry. They don’t care about school rules – not that Harry does anyway.”

Draco snorted whilst Hermione went on, “More importantly, they are able to use Legilimency."

Hermione pondered Draco’s words carefully. They were consistent, but Draco’s behaviour was at odds with his usual obnoxious self.

“How do I know you’re the real ferret?” asked Hermione sharply as Draco scowled.

"When Weasley first hugged you in Fifth year” – replied Draco with a sneer – “it was because I pushed him into you! I hoped you would sock him good.”

Draco shrugged and smiled infuriatingly. “Or maybe I was tired of seeing you two tiptoe around each other and wanted to get you together.”

Hermione sighed, and noticing a history book on the pile she had rescued from under the irreverent Slytherin’s feet, she asked him about a reference she’d found in Hogwarts: A History about the Privy Councilors.

Hermione frankly expected the Slytherin to snub her as was his wont, but Draco answered urbanely enough and they exchanged a wealth of information. Joining Draco’s knowledge of tradition and Hermione’s encyclopaedic knowledge of written history proved to be very fruitful indeed.

Draco yawned after a long while. He stood up and ended their conversation, to the chagrin of a curious Hermione, not without promising to find more books in the library at the manor and share them with her.

Those were the unpromising beginnings of a partnership that would rescue their world…

oOoOo

Hermione returned to the present after her brief mental foray. She confidently made her way to the Privy Councilors surrounding the subdued Dumbledore. If she ever faltered, she had the knowledge that the strong arms of Ron awaited her, and Harry's warm and loving regard sustained her.

As for the rest of the wizards and witches that openly scowled at her, Hermione inwardly laughed. She had been sneered at by the best of them, and had survived.

On June 24th they met in the hallowed hall of the Wizengamot. Two opposites: Hermione, the young muggleborn girl armed with nothing but her wits - and the aged Wizarding patriarch with the powerful aura of the head of the Wizengamot behind him, the pureblood Dumbledore.

Hermione mentally prepared her list of questions. She yearned to find out the truth, and this was an excellent chance to make that happen. She suspected Dumbledore’s foul play ever since she had that conversation with Draco.

She went straight to Dumbledore’s jugular. She wouldn’t get another chance to question the Headmaster under Veritaserum.

"Did you vanquish the Dark Lord Grindelwald?" asked Hermione.

Dumbledore was forced to answer."No, I did not”

With a sinking heart, the Headmaster felt compelled to answer at length, and Dumbledore realised he had been given a variation of the usual Veritaserum, probably brewed by Severus.

“Grellert Grindelwald was not really a Dark Lord,” continued Dumbledore in a voice that lacked any inflection. “He had different views about the Wizarding World. I agreed with most of them, but I thought Grellert was too brash and loud - I prefer to work in the dark. My house-elf stole Grellert's wand while we were making out in a meadow.”

The members of the Wizengamot gasped whilst Harry gagged, visualising the scene between the two old coots.

The Gryffindor missed the Headmaster’s next words. “… I signalled our forces to swoop in and capture him. Later he begged me to visit him in the prison they kept him in, but I couldn't go. He’d look so pathetic in comparison to the glorious Grellert I remembered!"

Harry made the mental note to ask Draco to obliviate this memory with that nifty spell of Hermione’s. Frankly he didn’t want to find out anything more about Dumbledore’s sex life!

"Is the Trelawney prophecy the truth?" asked Hermione whilst she smiled ruefully at Harry. Judging by his expression, her best friend was struggling with the news of Dumbledore’s proclivities.

"I insisted that Trelawney record that prediction,” answered Dumbledore. “It was made mixing two of her older prophecies. In reality it has no bearing on any Dark Lords today.”

The members of the Wizengamot murmured rebelliously, if the famed prophecy was a fake, then the underpinnings of the struggle against Voldemort had to be revised. Not that they cared that much – it was Harry’s job to vanquish Voldemort after all.

“It is a retelling of a prophecy of the Middle Ages,” continued Dumbledore with a monotone voice. “However, it was important that people believe in it in order to embroil Voldemort and also so I could regain my ascendancy in Wizarding affairs."

"What happened on the night when Harry's parents were killed?" said Hermione whilst she shot Draco a meaningful look. The Slytherin caught her meaning and put a comforting arm around Harry’s shoulders.

Harry couldn’t help but lean into the warmth provided by Draco as he listened to Dumbledore’s tale. After the bitter betrayal of the Headmaster, Harry thought Dumbles capable of anything.

"It pleased me that at the end, James behaved like a true Gryffindor,” said Dumbledore. “People were of the opinion that he was a spoiled brat, using people and hurting them. Unfortunately they were right. He did manage to kill Voldemort though, although he was mortally wounded.”

Harry shivered when he heard this. He couldn’t fathom that his father had been the one to kill Voldemort. Everyone said – Harry mentally corrected himself – Dumbledore said that the Killing Curse rebounded on Harry and left him with the scar. But if his father did kill Voldemort, then the Prophecy – it no longer applied to him.

Harry returned to Dumbledore’s testimony.

“…would be back eventually, to provide more fodder to my web of power,” said Dumbledore in that eerie inflectionless voice. “I needed to get control over Harry, so I got rid of Lily. It was easy to spin a lie for the gullible reporters of the Wizarding world."

Harry fingered his invisible wand and extended his hand, ready to curse Dumbledore, but Draco’s restraining hand stopped him. The Slytherin looked at Harry with shining eyes; obviously the testimony had moved the usually unflappable Malfoy. Draco leaned towards Harry and whispered, “We’ll get him good for this, Harry!”

"…. offers to adopt Harry, even from Narcissa Malfoy,” continued Dumbledore. Draco looked sharply at the Headmaster when he heard this. Could his mother really have adopted Harry? Then Draco wouldn’t have needed to grow up all alone. He would’ve had a companion, a brother to grow along with him – someone who could sympathise with him when Lucius lost control.

“I could not chance any meeting of Harry and the Malfoys before I was ready, so I obliviated Narcissa.” Hearing this, Draco mentally thanked the fact that his mother was not present. Narcissa was known to be a very harsh woman when she wanted, something Draco had found out to his chagrin early on.

“… I obliviated Lucius every time he approached me to broach the subject of change of allegiances. It seemed the Malfoy patriarch wanted to change to the Light." This time it was Harry who had to restrain Draco from hurling a curse Dumbledore’s way. The Gryffindor had a strong grip on Draco’s arm; testifying to the hours spent playing Quidditch under the gruelling stewardship of Oliver Wood.

"He was more useful to me where he was, so I …” Dumbledore stopped, and Hermione looked inquiringly at Draco. It was obvious that the Veritaserum had worn off.

Draco exchanged a look with Neville, who was standing next to Luna Lovegood. Luna appeared to be examining minutely the space around Dumbledore’s head, perhaps seeing strange animals that influenced the Headmaster’s actions.

Neville approached the sitting Headmaster and prepared to give him three more drops, when a strident voice shrieked, "Don't you dare give him more Veritaserum! If he stays down too long he'll suffer brain damage!"

Harry scowled at Minerva McGonagall. He couldn’t believe that the Transfigurations teacher stood up for that awful man, after all they’ve heard the old man confess.

The irate Gryffindor exploded, and using his invisible wand he suspended McGonagall in midair. With a swish of his wand Harry made her head point at the floor.

Harry smirked like a proud Marauder scion. "Do you like to be treated like this, McGonagall? It was a favourite prank of my father’s. It's the way you've always treated many of your students, like they are rubbish.”

Harry remembered the first letter he read from Hogwarts, signed by McGonagall and addressed to his cupboard under the stairs!

Fuming, the Gryffindor continued, “You knew about my abuse, and you did nothing, you believed in the headmaster. Well, you will sink with your dear Albus!"

The policy of truth - part 2