The wand sailed through the air and Harry, currently flanked both by Charlus and the Amelia Bones, caught it, as Dumbledore, who had been about to attempt an obliviation, slammed into the wall. Harry didn't even register that the wand felt right in his hand, he was too focused on Dumbledore as he strode with purpose across the room and slammed his fist into the old man's face. Harry hit him hard enough that Dumbledore's head bounced off the stone wall behind him.
Harry hadn't reacted anywhere near as bad to anything Dumbledore had done to him. Yet seeing Dumbledore about to try and corrupt Hermione's mind, the most special part of who he considered the world's most special woman, had unleashed a primal rage in Harry. He hit Dumbledore again and again because nobody took any move to stop him.
It was only the luck potion in Harry's system that spared an unarmed Dumbledore from being beaten to death by a justifiably stressed out Harry. Dumbledore raised his hands to protect himself and in doing so he showed off a new ring on his finger, set with a very recognisable black stone. Dumbledore had taken the stone from the gaunt shack and had set it into a new ring to help him not lose it and he had just inadvertently waved it right in front of Charlus Potter, direct descendent of the Peverell line and probably one of the most knowledgeable about the hallows on the whole planet.
Before Harry could punch Dumbledore again Charlus caught Harry's arm. "One moment Harry, I have questions for him." His voice was cold and the intense look on his face was locked on Dumbledore.
Harry in his fury almost didn't recognise Charlus and had his fist ready to punch him before his mind was able to catch up. Harry just gave his grandfather a nod and turned away. That's when he saw Hermione. She was collapsed on the floor like her legs had given out underneath her. Amelia Bones was already on her knees next to her offering her a little support while asking where Susan was.
"Susan, Ron, Ginny, and Hannah are in the atrium. We came to get Harry but I was the only one who could get down here." Hermione said. By the time she was finished Harry was on her other side, his arm around her shoulder.
"The lifts are jam packed with death eaters. How did you get through?" Harry asked, concerned now only for Hermione now that Dumbledore was out of sight and she was visibly shaken in front of him.
Hermione nodded to the invisibility cloak and Harry understood immediately. In all the confusion an invisible girl would be able to slip around easily enough. But it was dangerous, one wrong move and a stray spell, knocking something over, not seeing the person running right at you, all things that could have ended in disaster. He wished Hermione was anywhere but here but at the same time he understood exactly why she was here.
Harry pulled her into a hug and while she was leaning into his chest taking comfort in having found him he summoned the cloak with the wand in his off hand without even thinking and as the cloak shaped to Harry's hand and he was pulling around Hermione's shoulders, not enough to hide her but enough to tell her he wanted her to keep wearing it behind him, Charlus, who had one of Dumbledore's hands held against the wall so he could examine the ring, started to laugh.
"Oh so that's your game Dumbledore. All this time and it was something so simple. You're just another seeker. What, you looked into what Grindelwald was actually after and decided to go for it yourself? Well you succeeded in uniting them but as the Warlock of House Potter, successors to the line of Peverell, I claim them back as family heirlooms."
Dumbledore's eyes went wide, "No, you can't, the international wizarding standard on won wands-"
Only Charlus cut him off. "Doesn't apply here at all. First as per standing treaty between the wizards of Britain and the Goblin nation as of the time of the breach this building is legally under the jurisdiction of the goblin nation. That means that goblin laws supersede wizarding laws here. And under goblin laws the owner of an item is the family of the person who made it. I can claim any family heirlooms that come into our possession while here. Secondly the wand has chosen Harry, he won the wand from you, the man who kidnapped him and dragged him to a warzone. You don't have a fucking leg to stand on let alone a legal one, criminal." And with that Charlus brought his knee up into Dumbledore's stomach. Then as Dumbledore doubled over in pain Charlus ripped the ring off of the old man's finger.
"Here Harry, catch." And Charlus tossed the ring to Harry. Harry with his seeker skills had no trouble at all catching the ring and when he did for the first time since the original creators all three hallows were held by one person. Well, held wasn't quite right, Harry was holding the wand and the ring but his hand was on the cloak and it was enough. For a moment all three glowed as they accepted Harry was their owner in exactly the same way a wand did.
In a flash Harry understood what they were. If he had been anyone else he probably wouldn't have understood as well as he did but Harry had had the same experience and everything clicked. The hallows weren't gifts from death like some stories claimed, they were made by mortal wizards. Wizards who like Harry had experienced death without dying, at least not permanently the first time. They were brilliant and learned more about the nature of death, magic, and souls than anyone before or since. They used that knowledge to improve their craft and create the hallows.
But more importantly Harry understood exactly what they could do, and what he could do with them. He immediately pulled the cloak over Hermione and then holding the stone to the cloak and placing the tip of the wand so it was touching both, cast a spell that as best Harry could figure the wand was telling him how to cast. Immediately as he was done Hermione came fading back into view for him.
Harry then held out the ring to Charlus. "With the ring on you will be able to see through the cloak. Hermione and I will also be able to see whoever you call. Do you know how to use it?"
Charlus stared at the ring still in Harry's hand like it was going to bite him before he mentally shook himself and took the ring, sliding onto his right pinky finger. Immediately his eyes tracked to where Hermione was kneeling still leaning on Harry's chest.
Charlus's mind was racing as he put on the ring. The truth was he had passed it to Harry to keep himself from doing exactly what the story of the hallows warned against. Calling on those you had lost because you could lose yourself in the impossible. Worse, today was the anniversary of her death. One of the reasons he had thrown himself into the operation today was because it was the anniversary of the death of his wife, son, and daughter in law. Now he was being given the opportunity to call them back.
His first instinct was to call his wife. But he was afraid he was doing it for the wrong reasons. So he thought about calling Lily, she was close enough that he could trust her and she would be motivated to protect Harry and Hermione. However, what Harry had told him after his experience with death came to him. After people died their souls grew in new ways and calling them back would force on them their old limitations. It would hurt them, like painfully shrinking a grown man's limbs so that he could fit back into the crib he slept in as a baby.
If he did that to Lily, he would need to answer to James when his time came. So maybe he should call James? But his Dora had been very protective of her baby boy, probably because due to issues they had only had one child. He would have have to answer to her if he hurt their son like that knowing there was another option.
So Charlus did exactly what he wanted and was afraid of. He closed his eyes and turned the stone of the ring three times while concentrating on his wife. When he opened them a moment later half hoping it hadn't worked, stood before him, like a ghost but somehow both more and less at the same time, was his wife.
"Took you long enough you self pitying fool." Though her words were harsh her tone was tender.
Charlus couldn't help but smile. "You never were one to put up with my bullshit."
"And why should I do that? Now, we have a dark lord to kill and some grandchildren to save." She turned to face Harry and Hermione. "Harry, I'm your grandma, you have grown so much and I'm incredibly proud of you. Hermione, you're a little rough around the edges but you make a fine addition to house Potter and I would be honoured if you called me Grandma as well."
The two teens were fumbling about what to say but Amelia Bones, who couldn't see either Hermione or Dorea Potter but could see Harry and Charlus both looking at the same spot and talking to it in Charlus's case, cut in. "What's going on? What are you looking at? I can see Miss Granger is still pressed against Mr Potter, his robes wouldn't hang like that otherwise. So who are you talking to?"
Charlus took a deep breath and looked over at the ghost of his wife who nodded. "Okay, what I'm about to say is going to sound a little crazy. I'm going to assume you know the story of the three brothers?"
She looked at Charlus like he was going crazy. "Of course I know it, who doesn't know Beadle's stories. But what can a children's story have to do with this?"
Charlus nodded. "Well the story is mostly just that, a story. However there really were three brothers and they were brilliant and they made three powerful magical artifacts. Their family name was Peverell, a line that went dead in name when the last Peverell married a Potter generations ago. From her their eldest inherited a remarkable cloak. One that was passed down from father to son for generations. My grandfather had it, my father, me, my son and now Harry owns it. The other two have been lost for generations and in those generations the legend around the artifacts grew and people wanted them. And it seems Dumbledore decided he wanted to collect them. As to who I'm talking to, it's the ghost of my wife."
"That's impossible. No magic can bring back the dead." Said Tonks who was milling around waiting to see what her boss was going to do.
Strangely it was Hermione who answered. She pulled off her hood and let the invisibility cloak fall open so she was at least visible enough to talk to. "Well that's obviously not true. Only people with magic have ever become ghosts. So magic has to in some way be used to create them. So it's definitely possible for magic to call a ghost. Just because nobody knows how to do something doesn't make it impossible. Bringing somebody back to life may be impossible, but that's not what the ring does, is it."
Harry stood up with Hermione. "Forget the story, they are just old and powerful artifacts. Artifacts that can help us in this situation. Director Bones, Tonks, touch the cloak and you will be able to see my grandma as well." Hermione moved to stand between the two women who each reached out and pinched the silvery fabric between their fingers and their eyes went wide as Dorea Potter shimmered into view for them.
Dorea Potter smiled at the two of them. "Good evening Nymphadora. I apologise that your mother seemed to think the abomination of a name she saddled you with was a good way to honour me, but what's done is done. Now what's the plan?"
That last question she directed at Charlus and Amelia but it was Harry who answered. "Grandma, can you see Hermione when she is under the cloak?"
"Yes I can. Why?"
"Okay here is what's going on. According to Dumbledore, prophecy says I am the only one who has any hope of defeating Voldemort and the vial of liquid luck I downed less than an hour ago seems to agree as it's pushing me to fight and not to run. Well if I have to fight I won't be doing it alone. Grandfather you are with me, together we hit hard and we hit fast. Hermione you are the cheat card, stay invisible and do anything sneaky you can think of. Grandma, you're our eyes and ears, you can look through doors before we go in, be an extra pair of eyes and pass messages between us."
"Director Bones, the Ministry has held this place longer than the concept of lifts. How did people used to move around the floors before them?" Harry asked.
"There is an old staircase that looped the whole ministry, but it was bricked off years ago as nobody used them." She answered.
"Do you know where they are?" Harry asked hopefully.
She looked thoughtful. "Not sure. This was never the floor I worked on and it was bricked up long before I came to work here. But there is a corridor that leads to nowhere. I always assumed it was so more tunnels could be carved out but it would make sense if it was the way to the stairs."
"Okay, here is what we will do. Voldemort isn't on this level and the lifts are too jammed up with death eaters to get around, so we will use the stairs. Director Bones, you and auror Tonks should go to the atrium and destroy the lifts then go to the level below us and show the Aurors and goblin warriors the stairs so that you can clear the Ministry floor by floor. That should let your forces have the numbers advantage. Hermione, grandfather, grandma, and I will head for the minister's office. I think that's where Voldemort will be."
Harry assumed that everyone was about to object but Director Bones immediately agreed, her agreement silenced Tonks so the only one who disagreed was Charlus. In hindsight it was obvious why Director Bones agreed, it was because Amelia Bones, the aunt of Susan Bones wanted to get to the atrium so she could get to her niece. The plan to blow up the lifts and cut off the death eaters movements was just the rationalisation her professional side needed.
Charlus however only disagreed with splitting up. "No, we all go to the atrium. There is no point going after Voldemort until his horcrux is destroyed. So we wait and tackle the issue with numbers." He had a point and Harry agreed.
"The only question left is what do we do with him?" Harry asked, pointing at Dumbledore who was still doubled over in pain from the beating Harry and Charlus had given him.
"I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you. FAWKES!" immediately there was a burst of flames and Dumbledore disappeared.
There was a round of cursing from everyone with Harry being particularly creative and graphic over what he wished would happen to the old bastard. Something about a pineapple, a pair of pliers and a particularly creative use of the old man's beard.
It was Tonks who got them focused again. "As frustrating as it is that he has escaped, Dumbledore is a problem for another day. We have a dark lord to deal with. Once we are done with that, if we survive, we can put out an international warrant for his arrest for kidnapping a minor. His days as a respected man are over."
That was enough to get them moving. Most of the fighting was still on the floor below them so as they started moving off towards where Director Bones suspected the stairs were they didn't have to fight their way through a lot of resistance. But not a lot and zero are definitely not the same. Twice they came across groups of death eaters who were either looking for intruders or were purposely exploring a floor they didn't think the Aurors and goblins had found yet. Their motivations didn't really matter.
The ghost of Dorea Potter went ahead and told Harry, Charlus, and Hermione exactly what was waiting for them around each corner. A few whispered words to Bones and Tonks and they quickly had the upper hand in each fight before the death eaters even had the time to realise they were in a fight.
Hermione and Harry were surprised when they were the only ones casting stunners and non lethal spells the first time but by the second the two teens had shifted and they too were opening with cutting curses. There was a part of them that knew that they would have some issues later but that part of them was shoved into a mental cupboard labelled 'to deal with later.'
They quickly made it to the dead end corridor that Director Bones had referenced and Dorea quickly confirmed that not only was Director Bones correct, the Ministry hadn't done anything more than brick off the doorway, the passageway behind it was still completely intact. A few quick spells took care of the wall revealing a rather long and gently curved staircase wound around the outside of the Ministry. The whole group took off uphill at a jog hoping to get to the atrium as fast as possible.
As they joked they learned there was more to the ministry or Tas'Ak'Un than they ever knew. There were entire sections that had been sealed off long ago and had apparently been taken over by the house elves. They passed openings to what looked like entire floors that had been converted into storage with vast amounts of office furniture, supplies or redundant record keeping.
It took them a while to get to a bricked off wall with a faded sign that declared it 'The Atrium.' The wall was quickly removed and almost immediately the people of the stairs found themselves in absolute chaos. Bright lights popped everywhere blinding them while whistles and explosions drowned out everything but thoughts. Immediately everyone understood how the students had been able to overpower anyone, coming up the lifts to suddenly find themselves in that would be disorientating for anyone.
They came out behind the teens who were all still watching the lifts. They saw as one of the lifts opened and was immediately filled with a barrage of spells, the then unconscious death eaters were moved, tied up and their wands summoned and snapped. All while the teens were hidden behind stone barriers that they had transfigured from the marble floor.
It was Director Bones who took out the lifts completely destroying their ability to ferry people up and down with two well placed bombarda curses. At the same time Hermione used the counter charm to all the fireworks.
Everyone who had come with Hermione immediately turned, wands in their hands. Ginny was so quick off the mark she actually snapped off a stunner directly at Director Bones before it registered exactly who she was shooting at. Thankfully that reaction wasn't a surprise to the head of the D.M.L.E and she easily side stepped the spell letting it impact harmlessly on one of the walls.
Ginny went pale as she realised who she had just shot a spell at. But Director Bones waved off her apology. "I snuck up behind you in a combat situation, it was a normal reaction. There are a lot of things you are all in trouble for but that isn't on the list."
It was then that Ron spotted Harry. "Harry! We came to get you mate. Now let's get you out of here." Every one of them perked up at Ron's words and were agreeing that Harry should go with them and leave.
Harry wanted to do exactly that. Between fighting Voldemort and going home with his friends he would much rather go home with his friends every time. Unfortunately what you want and what you need are often two very different things. "I can't. Apparently there is a prophecy. Dumbledore knows of it, it's why he kidnapped me. He told it to me, I'm the only one who can kill Voldemort. And I can do it today when I have the Aurors and the goblins backing me up, or alone in the future. Today is my best opportunity. So I'm asking you all to please go back to Hogwarts."
"You helped. You split the death eaters' forces and that made it easier for me to escape and you probably saved a couple of lives from the main force but there is nothing you can do now."
Of course they all protested and Director Bones and Charlus put their feet down. Well, Dorea Potter did as well but none of them could see her and Tonks just stood behind her boss looking intimidating. In the end all of them except Hermione agreed to leave. Hermione argued that she was of age and had the right to risk her life for her country and more importantly her family and future. That was enough for Director Bones to not object to Hermione staying. As for the rest who were under age she ordered Auror Tonks to take them, and all the unconscious death eaters in the atrium, back to the new Ministry building.
Charlus wasn't exactly happy with Hermione staying and told her he wanted her to leave but Hermione just refused and drew the invisibility cloak back over herself and quietly shifted to a different location so that nobody else could force the issue. At least not easily. Harry could have. The elder wand in his hand could have summoned the cloak. Unfortunately as much as he wanted Hermione to leave and be safe he somehow knew that if he did that it would be the end of them. Hermione would leave him, not because she wouldn't love him anymore, but because she wouldn't trust him. His best option was to let her come and just hope they got lucky.
Once Tonks gathered all the students into a group and took them out through the payphone lift, Director Bones made one more appeal to Harry, Hermione, and Charlus. She was almost begging them to leave and let the professionals deal with it. Unfortunately, Harry believed Dumbledore about the prophecy, it fit too well not to, and Charlus and Hermione both had enough faith in Harry and understood enough that it was now or never. So they stayed. Then Bones did something none of them were expecting, she blew up the payphone lift shaft. Now there was no way Tonks and the others could get back in.
"There, now as long as the wards hold, the only way in and out of here is through the goblin tunnels. This will prevent any death eaters from escaping and prevent them getting any reinforcements." and she started walking to the stairs that would lead them back into the fight.