Chapter 8
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
Alastor sat opposite to him sipping his tea, as silence hung in the air. He was an old friend and colleague, and though he visited him often for old times' sake, this was not one such visit.
"Well, you must already know why I am here," Alastor jumped to the topic, as Albus smiled.
"To check up on an old friend," Albus suggested, and the man scoffed.
"Let us not waste any more time. You and I both know I have little patience for games and politics," and it was also the reason that, despite being one of the more accomplished Aurors in the force, he was still just a captain while people many years his junior had gone far beyond that rank.
"It is one of your great fallacies," and the Auror grunted at the taunt as he put down the cup rather forcefully.
"Or so you and Edgar keep telling me," and Edgar was one such person who had left the school but a few years ago and was already a show in for the Head of the DMLE, while Alastor was still just a captain.
"And are we wrong?" he asked, gently putting down his cup, as Alastor's eyes narrowed.
"I did not become an Auror to sit behind a desk and write reports. I became an Auror to hunt down evil," he spoke with zeal and passion, for he was amongst the very few who had witnessed the travesties and tragedies of the last war.
"To hunt down Dark Wizards who threaten our society," his voice turned to a whisper, as his eye twitched, and the mood of the room turned sour with his following words.
"And I am told that at least three such wizards lie in these very Halls as we speak," and he should have expected nothing less, for there was hardly a chance that rumors about such significant events would not have reached his ears.
"There are no Dark Wizards in these Halls," he answered softly, but there had been one, and he had done nothing but watch.
"Only students," and Alastor's lips thinned at the correction. Albus's denial was obvious, yet his friend refused to back down.
"Even Lestrange and Malfoy," and of course, he knew their names. He should have expected nothing less of Alastor, as he nodded.
"Yes, even them," and Alastor was frustrated with his efforts, and this was not the first time that they had clashed over this, as he had continuously asked him to investigate a few of his students, yet as Headmaster he had denied him again and again for he did not wish for his school to turn into another avenue for the battle.
"Then tell me honestly that if I were to roll up their sleeves, that I would not find the Dark Mark on half of those Slytherins," and he could not deny those words.
"And you and both know exactly what it takes for a wizard to get one of those marks," and his eyes dulled in both shame and remorse, and he could not look Alastor in the eye as they dropped to the teacup.
"They are children," he countered weakly.
"Criminals!" Alastor's voice whipped across the room as he smashed his hand on the table.
"Criminals and Dark Wizards, that is what they are, and you may turn a blind eye to it, but I cannot!" he was sharp and angry, his words twisted in rage as spit poured out of his mouth.
He waited and took a few deep breaths, as Albus saw his face shift as the man looked away from him.
"The horrors, Albus, you have not seen them, but I have," and his eyes whipped towards his once more.
"And I cannot unsee them. You may think of them as innocent students, but they are anything but. They need to be held accountable for their actions; otherwise, it will be too late, and thousands will suffer," and he knew that.
Yet he was tired of it all. The wars, the duties, all of it. He had no desire to walk into battle once more, for Albus Dumbledore had but one ambition left in him, and it was not for power, or wealth, or fame. It was for teaching, for nurturing young minds, and yet circumstances led him away from that very thing.
"They killed them, Albus," and the words struck him hard.
"Muggles, the bastards tortured them, and the women they..." and Alastor spoke no more, as his face contorted with rage and anger, as pain and guilt tore at his heart.
"Are you certain of this?" he asked, and he replied in annoyance.
"Of course I am," and had he really been blind as Alastor spoke. Had he really made the same mistake as he had with Gellert?
"I saw the bodies for myself. The air was thick with traces of Dark Magic. Repulsive and vile Dark Magic, and I know of but a few spells that leave such a trail," and those were the unforgivable.
"Will you still stop me then?" he asked, and he had no answer for him at first.
"The matter is already decided," and this was one reason why the Governors had rushed to deal with the matter so as to make sure that the DMLE would not interfere in it.
"We have suspended one student, snapped his wand, and punished the rest," and Alastor was not happy with that outcome, and neither was he.
"Suspension! That's nothing, the boy should be sent to Azkaban," and Albus shook his head.
"They are young and misguided. And you and I both know that getting a conviction for any of them from the Wizengamont will be nearly impossible," both because of politics and fear.
"We won't need a trial if you just let me question them—one drop of Veritaserum. One drop, and they will be spilling their secrets like crows," and he shook his head.
"No," he warned, as Alastor shook his head.
"Then will you let them do as they please. Will you let them murder, maim, and rape Muggles as they see fit, just because you are naive enough to think of them as children?" and he rose from his chair, and its legs scraped the floor.
"You may be able to shield them here, but one day they will make a mistake and you won't be there to protect them. I will get them then, and I swear on Merlin's Beard that I will teach them the lessons you could not," and with that he rushed towards the Floo, leaving a despairing and disparged Albus behind as he took a handful of powder, and with a final glance towards him threw it to the floor.
"Ministry of Magic!"
0000
NARCISSA BLACK
Narcissa frowned as her sister tore her away from their House early in the morning, taking her away from all the gossip and whispers about what had become of Lucius and his friends. By now, the entire House knew what exactly had transpired between Lucius's group and Alder Evans, and she could not help but feel somewhat responsible for this great confrontation.
She had known about the extracurricular activities of Lucius's group, but she had never imagined that they had gone so far as to delve into magics such as the unforgivable. Being a Black, she was not unfamiliar with the three Unforgivable curses, but for them to not just dabble in them but use them on an actual student successfully spoke more to their behaviors than one would think.
The unforgivable curses were not so simple that one would cast them by just waving their wand and whispering a few words. No, they demanded anger, rage, and hate, but most of all, they demanded practice.
And given how they had used it against a student, showed that Lucius and his friends had practice in using the curse.
How and where had they practised this Dark Magic?
Narcissa was too afraid to ask that question, even though she knew the answer to it already in her heart.
"Where are we going?" she asked her sister, who led her through the Halls of the school in a hush, yet she gave her no answer as she led her to an abandoned washroom on the second floor.
"Now who do we have..." and it was Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom, and it took but one glare from her sister for the ghost to quiet down.
"OUT!" Andy ordered, and Mytrel rushed out of the place.
"One day, I will teach all you Blacks a lesson," and with that, she vanished through the decrepit doors as Andy finally turned to face her.
"Will you tell me what this is about?" she asked, and Andy still refused to say anything as she reached into her pocket and took out what seemed to be two bottles and two strands of hair.
"Here, take this," she handed one strand of hair and a bottle to her, and as Narcissa uncapped it, she was forced to grunt as she pushed it away.
"That's Polyjuice," and Andy nodded as she put in the strand of hair into it, and put the bottle to her lips.
"You need to drink it right now," and she watched as her sister's face contorted and shifted, as her luscious Black hair vanished and was replaced by shorter brown curly hair, and her face was changed into that of a girl from Hufflepuff.
"Carina," she guessed, and her sister nodded.
"Come on, do it," and as doubtful as she was, she followed her lead and downed the potion after. And soon enough, she saw her hair change and felt her body transform as well. For her, it was painful as she felt herself grow shorter as her hair turned a shade of blonde, and she glanced in the mirror and saw another familiar face looking back.
"Pandora," she guessed, and it was the girl from Ravenclaw, and her sister nodded as she moved her wand to transfigure their clothes to fit their new bodies.
"We need to go," and with that, she was being pulled once again.
"Where are we going?" and it felt strange, walking in that body, talking in a tone and voice not her own.
"I have realised that you are rather lacking in your combat abilities, something that we need to correct," Andy began as they travelled through the Halls, and indeed, of the three sisters, Narcissa would say that she was the weakest when it came to magic.
"And we need to remedy that," and that was good enough, but still.
"How is that connected to the Polyjuice and running around Hogwarts?" she asked, as her sister finally slowed down in front of a rather shabby abandoned classroom, and suddenly it all clicked together.
"This cannot be..." she whispered as her sister nodded as she slowly opened the door, and what hit Narcissa first was the throng of people already in the classroom, young and old, tall and small, all gathered around in a circle as a single wizard walked in the centre of the room and addressed them all.
The very wizard whose name was as good as a taboo in her House, the very person who had come to her aid just a few nights before and had suffered greatly for it.
"The Duelling Club," she whispered, and now everything made sense. The Polyjuice, the secrecy, as Andy slid them inside, as they took their place in a corner.
"To those of you who come from the Muggle world, you will feel as if you are at a disadvantage," he spoke, and they were right in thinking that.
"But you are wrong!" his voice tore through the crowd, and all became attentive at his words.
"Those born into this world have had their thinking limited by the rules and laws thought to be inevitable, yet I do not believe in such laws for Magic itself is a miracle," and she could see how his words enthralled everyone, how they stood in silence, not in fear but in admiration and hope.
"And Miracles have no limits, and neither do any of you," and she was enthralled as well, as she saw him whip out his wand.
"They say that this is a spell that no student can perform. That even grown wizards and witches have trouble with it, yet today I shall perform it for you, and so will several others, and perhaps tomorrow it will be you doing things like this," and she saw his twin come forward, along with McKinnon and the Headboy, and a few other faces as he closed his eyes and moved his wand in an intricate manner.
"Expecto..." and her eyes widened at those words, as she saw the tip of his wand glow as he completed his chant.
"...Patronum!" and out came a raven of ethereal white, as a sense of serenity and calmness washed over her, as the raven flew over them all, as the students whispered and murmured, but suddenly others joined in and chanted, and out they came.
A doe. A bear. A Horse, and so forth.
The animals were made of ethereal white substance, and they jumped across the room, and she could not believe her eyes.
"Corporeal Patronuses," she gasped, and only a few could understand the significance of this, for this was not a regular spell. It indeed troubled even fully grown witches and wizards, yet here they were using it to boast and inspire young children.
"That's just the tip of the Iceberg," her sister whispered as her head whipped towards her.
"You have come here before," she asked, as the classroom broke out in applause, and Andy nodded in that strange face of hers.
"I have been coming here for a few years now," and that explained some of her odd behaviors over the years.
"I couldn't come here as Andromeda, so I thought up this solution. Carina is a Hufflepuff girl who rather keeps to herself, so I use her as a cover to attend these classes, and from today onwards, you shall be doing the same." If it would allow her to cast a Patronus, then, yes, she would.
"What if anyone here finds out, her friends, housemates?" she asked, and her sister made a face.
"It won't matter," she suggested with years of ease as the students began to file up, as she looked around in surprise.
"What are they doing?"
"Pairing up," Andy said, and she saw the students pair up as they all took a corner of the room.
The older members had the newcomers come around them in a group, while many formed groups of twos, and some of threes, as she saw a boy call for her.
"Andy..." and she was surprised by that name, as she turned back and saw the Headboy walk towards them, with Alder Evans at his heel.
"Oh," he suddenly gasped.
"Carina," he called out correctly, and maybe she had heard wrong as he came and smiled at her.
"How are you feeling?" he asked with a shaky smile.
"Fine," her sister answered curtly.
"Wanna pair up?" and Tedd Tonks was a Muggle-born, but one that could not be underestimated, given how big and powerful he was. The Hufflepuff boy was at the top of his class and was said to hold a keen interest in the legal profession, where he had supposedly gotten an internship at Ogden's of all places.
"Sure, why not?" her sister answered, much to her surprise.
"And..." she nearly called out her real name, but stopped herself.
"Don't worry," and it was the Headboy who spoke up, as he gave her a rather warm and reassuring smile.
"He will help you himself," he said as he slapped Alder Evans on the back, and the blonde boy smiled, those green eyes of his looking at her as if they could see through her disguise as her sister vanished with the Muggle-born boy, leaving her alone with him.
"Hi," he said, not taking her name, and though she knew Pandora's name, she did not know how the girl acted or behaved, and so she answered casually.
"Hi," she returned weakly as he smiled.
"First time?" he asked, and he was far too different than Lucius and his rather imposing self. Alder seemed kind, and welcoming, and not an inch the monster others in her House would have her believe.
"Yes," she answered as he nodded.
"So, tell me what you want to learn?" and he was yet to take her name, and she remembered Lucius's behavior from that night, and the hopelessness that she had felt.
"I wish to learn to protect myself," she answered as she looked him in the eye.
"We can do that," he said, and she saw him take out his wand. For a boy who had just faced off against six students and had been tortured by the Cruciatus curse, he seemed remarkably composed and joyful as he assumed a simple duelling stance.
"But first we will need to find out just where do you lie..." and so it was a challenge, and Narcissa took out her own wand and took her stance.
"I will be in your care then, Evans..."
0000
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