Chapter 221
Neville stared at him in shock.
"I know." Harry said in amused agreement with Neville's disbelief.
"So, we do some damage limitation next year," suggested Remus, "we don't
hex him unless he starts something with us." Sirius didn't look pleased but James grinned.
"Fine," Sirius grumbled, "but I won't hold back if he does start something."
James reached over and patted his foot. "Your sacrifice is much appreciated." He leaned back and smiled. "Anyway, Dad said that if someone likes youthey'll smile at you a lot, find excuses to touch you and talk to you. So you'll
have a general idea about whether they'll want you to ask themout." Remus nodded. "Find excuses…got it."
"So, first date, Dad said to make sure you bathe beforehand, dress nicely –make an effort. Uh, then there was nothing wrong with going with
time-honoured traditions; greet her with a flower and a sincere compliment, goon a walk around Hogsmeade to places you both enjoy, followed by lunchat
The Three Broomsticks, and escort the lady back to her House." James
paused. "And should everything have gone well, then…"
"KISSING!" shrieked Sirius.
"Or just one kiss." James agreed with a smile.
"Tips for kissing?" Remus asked organising his parchment.
"Practice good dental hygiene, don't eat anything too spicy or garlicky
beforehand or have a breath mint handy, don't lunge at her or you might knockheads, be gentle, and remember to breathe." James reeled off quickly.
"What about French kissing?" Remus pointed his quill at James.
"Dad said you tangle your tongues together in a stroking fashion. It's a lot
more intimate and you should probably not try it on a first kiss." James
instructed.
"So how far do you go and when?" Peter asked, brushing some crumbs off hisrobe. James smiled at him. "Good question, Pete! I asked my Dad the same thing."
"And the answer?" prompted Remus, quill poised to write it down.
"Dad said you should talk about it once you've gone on a few dates and haveagreed you're properly a couple." James's cheeks coloured. "He said that it
was better not to rush into, uh, you know; doing it and that there was a lot youcould do before it."
"Talking seems sensible." Remus agreed.
"You don't want to schedule it like homework though!" protested Sirius. "Where's the spontaneity? The joy? The having fun in the moment?"
"Dad said to agree rules." James said. "So before a, um, snogging session,
you'd agree that you could place your hands on her…" he made a descriptivegesture with his hands that Harry assumed meant breasts, "and whether youcould touch her above or beneath her clothing." Harry's face was bright red. He was certain Neville's probably was too. Thiswas a really bad idea, Harry thought. He didn't want to think that his Dadandhis Mum had probably had that kind of conversation at one point.
"Oh, well, that makes sense." Sirius conceded. "I did get slapped by Kathy
Pickleton for accidentally touching her bits." They all looked at Sirius before James cleared his throat and motioned withhis hand, drawing their attention again.
"There are rules," James said, "that Dad said were sacrosanct whatever wasagreed." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Let's see: everyone shouldhavefun…"
"An excellent rule!" Sirius said fervently.
"But nobody should feel humiliated, uncomfortable, misused or taken
advantage of afterwards. No means no and you should always stop whensomeone asks you to stop. You shouldn't pressure someone into doingsomething and they shouldn't pressure you." James continued. There was a sombre moment as all the boys absorbed that rule.
"Anything else?" Remus asked.
"Well, we, uh, then had a very embarrassing conversation about, uh, touching." James admitted.
"Touching?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows rising.
"Touching yourself and, uh, someone else. You know," James shruggedandrefused to meet any of his friends' gazes, "how touching certain parts might
lead to, uh, orgasms and stuff."
"Ah." Sirius grimaced.
"Masturbation is a normal activity for young men and women." Remus
lectured.
"Would you want to discuss wanking with your Dad?" demanded James. Remus winced. "No, not really."
"Well then." James said satisfied his point had been made. "Then he saidat
some point, if I had been going with someone for a while, it might lead to, uh, full on sex." He remained silent long enough for the others to cast looks at each other
before Remus was evidently silently volunteered to say something.
"And what about sex, James?" prompted Remus. James sighed and smoothed down his robes. "Well, some of it was adviceabout waiting until I was ready, not rushing into it, that kind of thing. Andthen," his lips twisted, "most of it was checking that I understood where
everything went…"
"Which we can skip." Sirius agreed hurriedly.
"He also taught me the contraceptive charm," James's face was aflame, "andsaid I should always make sure I was safe."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 222
"No getting someone pregnant or getting some kind of sexually transmitteddisease." Remus stated firmly. "It's what you'd expect your Dad to say really."
"There was other advice as well," James said, "he said that you should makesure you're in a comfortable and safe place; make it special with candles andmaybe some music." He sat up and changed position. "He mentioned that
there's a lot of pressure for both people the first time and to talk about
expectations and stuff before. He said if I ever thought I was getting to thepoint where I thought I was going to have sex then he'd give me some booksto read about technique and…" he gestured weakly, "making sure my partner
and I had a good time."
"Back to the fun thing, huh?" Sirius asked.
"He said it was better if you trusted each other and could laugh when thingsdidn't quite work out the way you wanted. Then he had this anecdote about
his own first time," James added as the others winced in sympathy, "andfrankly that was more than I ever needed to know about my Dad's sex life." Harry was relieved when the memory ended and they tumbled back intothemselves. He and Neville sat back down on the sofa. Sirius moved the pensieve and handed them parchment, quills and ink. "Soweneed to check that, well, we need to check as James said that you knowwhere everything goes. So I want you to write down what you knowabout
sex."
"Can't you just accept our word for it?" asked Harry desperately.
"As your parent, of course, I accept your word and trust that you knowif yousay you do," Sirius said brightly, "but as your sex education tutor, no; I needproof. We can either do this verbally or in written form so…"
"Written is fine." Harry said hurriedly. Neville nodded. For the next few moments, Harry focused on writing about human procreationin as few succinct sentences as he could manage. He slapped his quill downand handed the parchment to Sirius; he was quickly followed by Neville. Sirius quickly scanned them as everyone else fidgeted and waited. "You bothpass the quiz portion of the discussion."
"Thank Merlin!" Neville said, slumping back. Sirius cleared his throat. "To recap; it's OK to like girls or boys or both. Youmay start noticing one person in particular and crushes are normal but try tomake sure you don't become obsessed. If you do like someone, get to knowthem better and don't hex their friends." He looked up. "Are there any
questions you would like to ask so far?" Harry exchanged a swift furtive look at Neville and they both very quickly
shook their heads.
"If you do like someone, ask them on a date. Be respectful and try to ask themin a private location. If they say no, move on. Plenty of fish in the sea." Siriuscontinued. "If they say yes don't worry about doing something fancy –although I can highly recommend a picnic by the Black Lake when the weather
is nice…"
"Or stargazing on the top of the Astronomy tower," interjected Remus.
"If the date has gone well then a goodbye kiss is appropriate but ask beforeyou do it. A simple 'may I kiss you' works wonders." Sirius informed thembriskly. "Equally, if you move onto snogging, always check the boundariesabout what you can and can't touch or you may get slapped."
It was actually very good advice, Harry thought slightly dazed. He certainly hadno wish to get slapped.
"The more touching you do, the more, um, intimate you'll become. If you thinkyou're ready for sex," Sirius stumbled a little over his words and there wasastreak of red across his cheeks, "well, quite honestly, I'm hoping that youdon't
think that for a while, a long while…a very, very long while…" Remus coughed.
"But if you do," Sirius pulled himself back to his original discussion point, "youshould both know Remus and I are always willing to talk with either of youandprovide you with the relevant literature that James mentioned at the endthere, and obviously discuss any concerns that you may have."
"Do you know the contraceptive charm?" asked Remus bluntly.
"Yes." Harry said. "Arthur showed Ron before third year and well, when hesaidso in the dorm, Seamus said he also knew, and they both taught the rest of
us."
"The incantation?" checked Remus.
"Duosterillus." Harry and Neville chorused. Remus nodded, satisfied. "Do you have any questions?"
"No." Harry answered immediately. He hoped that was the end of it.
"No." Neville echoed faintly. Sirius nodded. "Well, I just want to reiterate that waiting until you're ready isgood; don't be pressured into doing something when you don't really want to. I, uh, didn't wait and I've always regretted it." That regret was written across his face.
"When did you…" Neville stopped and when Harry turned to look at him, Neville
looked thoroughly appalled as though he couldn't believe he'd begun toasksuch a personal question.
"I was fourteen." Sirius answered calmly.
"I was sixteen." Remus added. "But unlike Sirius my experience was a positiveone and with a girl who I'd dated for a few months." Harry wondered…
"Your Dad was seventeen, Harry." Sirius informed him before he could
complete the thought. "I'm not sure about your Mum; girls don't tend to
confide that kind of information in blokes."
"Didn't my Dad and my Mum…" Harry stopped abruptly, not sure he wantedtheanswer or to really ask the question.
"Your Mum wasn't your Dad's first lover." Sirius said quietly, answering thequestion anyway. "Your Dad took your Granddad's advice to heart in our fifthyear. He asked your Mum once in private before the first Hogsmeade
weekend if she would like to go out with him and when she refused he
decided to move on. He dated other girls until your Mum finally consentedtogo out with him toward the end of sixth year. Again, not sure about your Mum;
your Dad and I never discussed it."
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Harry glanced at Remus who nodded in support of Sirius.
"Keep in mind that most girls don't take kindly to having their sex lives thetopic of gossip and discussed in the boys' changing rooms or dorms. If youdoget together with a girl, how far you go and what you do together shouldremain between her and you unless you're asking for advice." Remus said. "James never said a word about Lily which is why we don't know."
"It's about respecting your partner." Sirius said. "Confiding in a good friendisOK if you need advice but only if you trust them to keep quiet."
"Any other questions?" asked Remus brightly as Harry and Neville remainedsilent. They shook their heads.
"Well, if you do have questions, Remus and I are always happy to talk toyou." Sirius said. He motioned at them. "Harry, maybe you could see Neville tothefloo?" Harry nodded quickly. He and Neville escaped the study and both of themsighed with relief as they closed the door behind them. They walked to thefloo in silence and Neville took a pinch of floo powder. He turned back toHarry slightly hesitantly.
"Well, that was…" Neville began awkwardly.
"Yes." Harry nodded. "Let's…"
"Never mention this again?" Neville suggested with a smile. Harry grinned back at him. Neville nodded still smiling, threw the floo powder and called out his homefloo address before stepping into the flames. Harry rubbed his forehead. Maybe he could obliviate himself…maybe? Ontheother hand, he couldn't deny that in between the excruciating embarrassment
of the topic, it had been good to see the memory of his Dad, and there hadbeen some useful information if he was going to be dating when he went backto Hogwarts.
If. o-O-o
The cold of the basement skittered over his skin but Barty ignored it despitethe fact that he was half-naked, shirtless, after spending the day in the gardensun-bathing under a disillusionment charm. It had been so good to simply
soak up the sun and breathe fresh air. It wasn't something that had happened
often in the last twelve years of his life. But life had certainly changed for
Barty during the previous few weeks since Peter Pettigrew and the Dark Lordhad rescued him.
It was a bizarre story really, one Pettigrew had told in the Crouch's front
parlour, stumbling and sliding over his words while the Dark Lord lookedonfrom the eyes of the two year old child he had possessed. In short, Pettigrewhad been hiding but had been discovered the year before by Sirius Black andHarry Potter; he'd escaped and ran for Albania where he knew the last personto find the Dark Lord had gone and had managed to track himdown (througha combination of what Barty believed was sheer luck and chance rather thanany kind of skill). Fortunately for Barty, Pettigrew had also stumbled into Bertha Jorkins andtheDark Lord had realised just what a treasure trove of information the gossipywoman was since she worked at the Ministry. Jorkins' mind had crackedlikean egg as the Dark Lord had raped it of every memory she had ever hadincluding the memory of coming to the Crouch house to deliver a report toBarty's father and accidentally seeing Barty, who was supposed to be dead, inone of his escape attempts. His father had obliviated her but even his strongmagic was no match for the Dark Lord who had recovered the memory andfound it fascinating. Upon arriving back in England, the Dark Lord had ordered Pettigrewto theCrouch house. They'd quickly overcome his father and Winky, and liberatedBarty from the depths of the basement where he was imprisoned. Winky hadbeen fine once Barty had ordered her to obey the Dark Lord and to tell no-oneof his father's capture. He detested the house elf who had been as muchhisjailer as his father but she was useful. Nobody considered house elves asimportant and they were always overlooked. She was also loyal and terrifiedof being given clothes. His father, on the other hand…
He descended into the tiny space down the wooden steps swishing his wandlike a sword in front of him. There just enough space for a single bed, a small
rickety table and an old Formica dining chair that looked like it should havebeen left in the Seventies. A single light illuminated the dank space; a candleon the tiny child's bedside table by the bed. Barty grinned manically at the sight of his dear old Dad lying stiff on the bed. The draught the Dark Lord had fed Barty Crouch Senior would keep the oldman comatose but alive. Barty had wanted to kill him but the Dark Lord hadsaid no; Dad was much more useful alive than dead especially with the
Tri-Wizard Tournament they had learned about from Jorkins. The Dark Lordhad wanted to send his father back to the Ministry under an Imperius cursebut Barty had argued that his father might be capable of breaking free –hadn't he broken free of his father's on occasion? So, the potion had beenused and Dad would sleep…at least until someone pure of heart kissed him. Barty giggled at the thought. No-one knew his father was missing; no-onewasgoing to come looking for him; certainly no-one pure of heart. They'd sent anowl to the Ministry saying Barty had Wizard's flu and had been confinedtothehouse. His father's new assistant, Percy Weasley, had offered by return owl tokeep things running smoothly and, even better, to send regular progress
reports. They had to put up with Weasley's brown-nosing simpering witheachmissive (and each one turned Barty's stomach with its nauseating flattery of
his father) but it was worth it. The ruse was working perfectly. They werefullyinformed about the Quidditch World Cup, fully informed about the Tri-WizardTournament, and the Dark Lord was pleased and making plans of plans of
plans…
Barty grinned again. Barty would have a role to play, an important role. Someone was going tohave
to impersonate his father eventually and who better for the job than himself, his father's son? The Polyjuice potion would be ready soon enough with theDark Lord's tutelage on improving the standard recipe to enable it to brewfaster and in greater quantity, to last longer and duplicate his father's voiceand not just his appearance.
"Ah, Father," Barty taunted as he dragged the chair over to the bed and sat
down, "it's been so long since we've talked." His father had ignored him for the most part except on the anniversary of hismother's death and Yule. The former would involve a lecture on howmuchof
a disappointment Barty had been to his mother (which was so not true –hismother had died in Azkaban because she believed in him), and the latter
would involve a lecture on how much of a naughty boy Barty had been andasingle present of getting to spend the day in the main part of the house
leashed to Winky like he was three years old.
"The Dark Lord is away with Pettigrew doing something important for his plan, gaining his vengeance on his dead father," Barty murmured, "and as it is onlyyou and I for the first time since they arrived, I thought we should talk. Well, I
will talk and you will listen." His mind was finally fully clear of the fog that his father's Imperius curseshadleft behind. He had devoured the newspapers, the old ones that Winky hadstacked away for recycling; the new ones that were delivered every day. He had read of Black's innocence and how he had gained custody of Potter. He had read of Black's first Wizengamot session and the death of the
LeStranges…
Rabastan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 224
Barty felt his grief stir again. He had been so in love with Rabastan, the darkhaired handsome man who had loved him and cherished him. The LeStrangehome had been a haven for him; a sanctuary of acceptance away fromhisfather's exacting and never-met standards. Bella had mothered himandRodolphus had provided big brotherly advice when Barty had floundered. AndRabastan…
"I loved him beyond measure," Barty said out loud, "I loved himmore thananything, I would have done anything for him including bowing to the DarkLord and taking his Mark, and I did." He laughed harshly. "It wasn't so bad, youknow. I mean, I didn't believe half of it, didn't care in truth because what didit
matter to me if the Dark Lord wanted to kill all the muggles and muggleborns?Who cares truly? Not you. You just wanted power and control. Like you
controlled Mummy. Like you tried to control me." His father had made his mother's life a torment. His mother had been a kind, gentle soul. His father had dictated every aspect of her life fromher dresstoher manners, from her friends to where she went and for how long. Everythinghad to be in its place just as dear old Dad wanted it, or there would be harshwords that tore at her self-confidence and had her weeping while her husbandignored her. Barty had grown up hating his father for how he'd treated his mother.
And yet just like his mother there had been a part of Barty that had
desperately wanted his approval. He'd worked so hard at Hogwarts to sort
into the right house, to do well in his studies, to excel in every magical way sothat his father had no complaints – and yet, there had been no praise or
approval at the end of each year just questions why he'd gotten less thanOutstanding for Care of Magical Creatures or why hadn't he made Seeker for
the Quidditch team instead of the Chaser position he had excelled in, or whyhadn't he been considered for Head Boy and was just a lowly prefect. Nothinghad ever been good enough.
"I wonder what was worse for you, Father dearest," Barty wondered, "was it
finding out that I was a Death Eater or that Rabastan and I were lovers? I
rather think it was the latter." He knew his father would never approve. In his fifth year he had kissed
Regulus Black on a dare and they had briefly conducted a secret affair, thrilling and terrifying in equal measure. It had been Regulus who had
introduced him to Rabastan. And Rabastan had loved him utterly and devotedly, just as he had loved
Rabastan. They'd planned to be properly bonded, and Bella had even offeredto carry a child for them who would become the LeStrange heir as Rodolphuswas infertile thanks to a dark curse. They'd had so many plans and they hadall come undone in one terrifying night.
"Bella and Roldophus were so distraught when the Dark Lord disappeared," Barty said to his unhearing father, "they desperately wanted to find out what
had happened. They didn't believe you see that he was gone. Well, the Potterswere dead but I knew that Alice and Lily had always been close. We just
wanted to find out what had happened; where the Potter boy was." Only the Longbottoms hadn't known anything and Bella and Rodolphus hadtaken their anger and frustration out on the pair while Rab had left off
torturing them to join Barty in playing with the baby. They'd joked that it waspractice for their own child but then…
Aurors had arrived and there was a battle and at the end of it, Barty hadfoundhimself in a cell at the Ministry awaiting his trial.
"I didn't torture them. You never believed me, Father, but I didn't. I kept theboysafe but was I thanked or rewarded? No." Barty sighed. "The only thing I didwas lead them there and help them get through the wards." Frank hadn't suspected him; not the son of his boss.
"For that you punished me with a lifetime in Azkaban." Barty stood up andpaced back and forth. "I still don't know how Mummy convinced you to let her
take my place. I suspect there was a potion involved, she was always very
good at potions. She had to be, didn't she? She wasn't allowed to be anythingless than perfect. But good for Mummy!" His mother would have done anything for him, Barty knew that. She hadlovedhim. She had also been the first one to buy him a broom and teach himhowtofly; the first to buy him a present to celebrate his being a prefect, or gettingperfect grades. She had been a wonderful woman; much too good for his
father.
"I won't ever forget that she sacrificed her last days of freedomfor me," Bartysaid firmly, whirling around and pointing his finger at his comatose parent, "but you wasted it! I'm sure she never wanted me to exchange one prisonfor
another! To be locked away under your control, never to leave the house, never
to know sunshine or a lover's touch again! You dosed me with potions tomake my mind pliable and get around the Occlumency Bella taught me! Youused Imperius curses on me to keep me obedient. Well, no more!" His voice vibrated with rage.
"My Lord has freed me! He will be my father now!" Barty sat back down
suddenly. "Yes, you heard me! He told me of his own father – a pitiful manwho didn't see the greatness in his own son – just like you! He loves me! Hewill rise again stronger than before and I will take my place as his Heir, yes, I
will be Slytherin's Heir, Father, haven't I done well, now?!" He paused and wiped a hand across his mouth to wipe away the spittle that
had lingered after his passionate spiel.
"We will get revenge on all those who have wronged us." Barty promised, hiseyes glittering. "You will eventually die by my hand – the Dark Lord has
promised me that just as his father died at his!" He got to his feet and paced again. He stretched out his body. Winky hadactually kept him in good condition. She hadn't stinted on his food, ensuringthat he had potions to make up for the deficiencies in nutrients caused by hisincarceration in the basement, and she had been the one to help himexercise
every day. Another week or so and he would be in peak condition, able to assume hisfather's place – no, not his father, he wouldn't call the man that any longer; hewas undeserving of the title. No, he would take his sire's place at the Ministryand then the real fun would start. Barty laughed. Those Death Eaters who had denounced his Master would regret the day theyhad denied him, had lost faith in him. The Dark Lord had already plannedhisrevival. The ritual was long and complicated and would take almost a year tocomplete but it would return the Dark Lord to his former glory. And Barty
would be trusted with the most important part: delivering Harry Potter totheDark Lord. Harry Potter. Barty had seen the newspapers and seen the Boy Who Lived's photo. He wasa young boy; nothing special. The Dark Lord had already told himit had beenthe mother – Lily – who had performed some ancient Wiccan magic that hadprotected the boy and deprived the Dark Lord of his body. But the Dark Lordwanted Potter for his resurrection; needed the boy's blood and so Barty woulddeliver Potter. The Dark Lord would kill Potter then. And so Barty would deprive Sirius Black of someone he loved just as Blackhad deprived Barty of his love.
Anger raged through Barty, hot and fierce, and he sent a cutting hex towardsthe still form on the bed. He would destroy Black for killing Rabastan, Barty thought furiously. He wouldreduce Black to nothing. He would take everything Black loved and tear it toshreds. He would deliver Black's precious child to the Dark Lord and whentheDark Lord was finished with him, Barty would deliver Potter's head to Blackpersonally. He sent another curse at the bedridden man who had once been his father. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 225
It would take time for the Dark Lord's plan to come to fruition – the ritual hewanted to use was powerful and required months of preparation. But therewas no reason why Barty couldn't start on his part early or on ruining the rest
of what Black held dear. He had already begun with sending Potter a HappyBirthday message since Weasley had been so eager to tell his boss howtheBoy Who Lived would spend the day at the Burrow. But there would be morehe could do and he would do it. He grinned again. The World Cup presented an opportunity. They'd received word via Weasleyagain that security was being tightened thanks to a tip of some kind of attack. The Dark Lord had laughed and had theorised that it was his old supporters
desperately trying to win back favour because they knew he was back andgrowing in strength again because the Mark darkened. He had given Barty
permission to show them how it was really done. He'd target Potter, of course. If he could kidnap him before he went to
Hogwarts so much the better. The boy could face the torment and trials theritual demanded while chained to a wall next to Barty's dear old Dad. But there needed to be a grand gesture and something else…
Barty chuckled. Weasley. Didn't he deserve something for his mindless
brown-nosing? Perhaps the loss of his father would be enough and it wasagood choice; the older Weasley had just been appointed to the Wizengamot
and some Muggle Affairs thing the Dark Lord had ranted about. Yes. Yes.
It would be brilliant. The Dark Lord – his new father – would be pleased.
"The next time I see you, old man, it will be to kill you." Barty promised
gleefully. He bounded back up the stairs and into the kitchen. "Winky!" Winky cowered in front of him.
"Go heal him." Barty ordered. "And bring me Weasley's correspondence. I havesome planning to do." Winky's ears flapped unhappily, her big round eyes filled with tears, but shenodded and popped away. Barty grabbed an apple, biting into it enthusiastically as he went out to enjoythe sunset. o-O-o
Another Friday meeting. An extended one with all that had happened duringthe previous week. Sirius stretched and eased the kinks out of his neck as he waited for the
others to arrive. Remus had agreed to attend although he was currently
encased in a chair and napping. The full moon and the lycanthropy had takenits usual pound of flesh. Bill was also there at Bertie's request; he sat in achair reading an old book he'd gotten out of the library. The contrast of hisrebellious muggle clothing and the intent studious expression amused Sirius. He wondered if he had looked the same once upon a time.
His connection to the wards tugged on him and he knew the rest of the War
Council had arrived. He revived Remus and Bill set his book down with a sighthat spoke of being irritated at the interruption to his reading. Sirius's lips
twitched as he assured the young curse-breaker he could take the book homewith him. Within moments the study was filled with the most senior members of theBritish Magical government, the bustle of getting settled, refreshments
arriving and the exchange of small talk although Sirius noted Amelia seemedquiet. Sirius cleared his throat. "We should begin." He nodded at Cornelius but
Amelia held up her hand before Cornelius could speak.
"I believe I should go first: the monitoring wards in Little Hangleton were
tripped yesterday night at approximately nine-thirty." Everyone suddenly sat up straighter.
"Why weren't we informed immediately?" demanded Cornelius and Sirius hadto agree with him – they should have been informed. Amelia sighed. "Let me explain. As soon as the wards pinged, Wood andCambridge responded to investigate and reported back that Pettigrew, asnake and what looked to be a small child – a toddler – were inside the Manor.
I was about to contact you when they made a second report that Pettigrewhad left on foot so I held off on the assumption that there would be moretoreport. That was around ten o'clock. He made a visit to the cemetery in LittleHangleton and according to Wood collected some bones fromTomRiddleSenior's grave." Both Bertie and Dumbledore exchanged a knowing look at that piece of
information and Sirius's jaw tightened.
"Pettigrew returned to the Manor around midnight at which point things
basically went pear-shaped." Amelia said. "Cambridge watched as the mugglecaretaker, Frank Bryce, was killed by the toddler in the presence of a largesnake."
"It is not a toddler then," Dumbledore said gravely, "but a homunculus bearingwhat remains of Voldemort's soul."
"From the memory I watched I suspect he's possessed a two year old
innocent magical child," Amelia said, "unfortunately Bryce's murder happenedtoo quickly for Cambridge to intervene and he took a step back in his horror at
what had happened, stumbled over something and alerted the snake tothefact that something or someone else was present – it reacted anyway. Hequickly conjured a mouse to account for the noise and portkeyed away toprevent discovery." She paused and took a gulp of her drink. "Wood remainedbehind as he was hidden in a different location outside and watched as
Pettigrew apparated away with the toddler and snake. He was unable toplacea tracking charm and unable to follow given the danger of following an
apparition trail straight into a trap."
"Bugger," said Sirius. They'd been so close.
"Wood anonymously alerted the muggle authorities to the death and returnedto base." Amelia sighed. "I felt it wasn't worthwhile disturbing your sleeptoinform you of what had happened given the result and our meeting now." Sirius sighed heavily. He saw her point and he could see her guilt at what shemust perceive as a failure of the Rat Squad. "Missions and plans go
pear-shaped, Amelia. Nobody knows that better than myself." She nodded. "And plans rarely survive engagement with the enemy," she
smiled sadly at Sirius, "I had the same training, Sirius. It's just…disappointing. If they had remained at the Manor, we would have had themin our sights oncewe dealt with the treasure hunt."
"Well, we still learned many valuable things from this encounter." Bertie
soothed. "Namely, that our intelligence is correct; Pettigrew is working torestore Voldemort and he is with Voldemort back in this country."