章節 162: CHAPTER {182-184}
****FORGING-ALLIANCES? (II)****
~~Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire~~
"Harry, are you okay?" Sirius asked, looking concerned. He slowly sat down on a nearby chair, wondering how Harry was going to react. When Harry didn't answer him immediately, he glanced toward Andi, who was sitting on one of the couches, gave him a subtle shrug.
"I am alright, Sirius. Thank you for asking" Harry finally answered without looking away from the book he was reading.
"What are you planning to do?" Sirius asked and this time Harry turned to look at him and gave him a questioning look. "To Snivellus, I mean?" Sirius asked, looking somewhat unsure.
"It's better if you don't know" Harry answered smoothly and if Sirius was being honest, he didn't know what to do. He hated Snivellus with passion, so he didn't care much about his fate, but he was concerned about Harry. He simply didn't want his Godson to regret his actions at a later date as he had done the same when he was young.
He had tried to get Snivellus killed by goading him into confronting Remus when he was changed, but later, he regretted his actions as he could have gotten Remus killed if something happened to Severus. He didn't want his Godson to experience that feeling even though it was highly unlikely.
"You know, Dumbledore wouldn't let this go" Sirius was broken out of his musings when Andi spoke up. Harry turned toward her and she decided to elaborate. "You said that Dumbledore cares a lot about his spy and he had gone to huge lengths to integrate Snape within the Death Eaters…" Andi didn't even need to finish her words before she was interrupted by Harry.
"I know and I want him to do something" Harry revealed before he leaned back in his chair with a calm look on his face. "Everything was fun and games until I learned that he was protecting that motherfucker like a mother hen" Harry explained coldly as he clenched one of his fists.
Andi and Sirius gave each other a wary look before turning back toward Harry when he stood up and turned the open window. They weren't sure if Harry noticed their looks or not as Harry was no longer looking at them but there was always a chance that he might have noticed their looks and chose to ignore that.
A smile bloomed on his face when he saw Hedwig approaching the manor… "Looks like he received my gift" Harry said in an amused tone and Hedwig finally flew inside before landing on Harry's shoulder. She hooted softly before she started to rub herself on his cheek. Harry raised his hand and started to stroke her feathers lovingly.
"Right now, he is either planning to break in on his own, or he might have contacted the Aurors, no matter how silly it sounds" Harry revealed with a chuckle.
"What did you do, Harry?" Sirius asked, looking alarmed.
"I might have sent something to provoke him" Harry admitted, but his words didn't seem to placate Sirius, in fact, they made him even more concerned. He had no idea what his Godson was planning, but it wasn't anything good. "Look like our guests are already here" Harry mumbled with a grin before turning toward Hedwig.
"Hedwig, I have something to do, why don't you go and take a nap?" Harry suggested and Hedwig gently nipped at his ears before flying off. Harry smiled at her before turning around on his heel and leaving the room.
"Who are you talking about? Albus or the Aurors?" Sirius asked as he stood up, with the intention of following Harry.
"Aurors. Look like Albus did the smart thing… I wonder how Amelia is going to react after learning that Albus and Severus are responsible for the death of her brother and her sister-in-law" Harry mused aloud with a smirk dancing on his lips. Though in reality, he wasn't planning to reveal that fact to Amelia any time soon. The woman was too sure of her Authority, he needed to fix that notion of hers.
"Where the hell do you think you are going?" Harry asked as he stopped and turned to look at Sirius.
"Well, I thought I should be accompanying you… You know as your loyal follower and all that" Sirius answered sheepishly while scratching his cheek.
Harry gave him a caring smile. "I appreciate your thoughts, Godfather, but it won't be necessary. I can handle myself" Harry said softly and even though Sirius wanted to, he didn't argue. He realized that Harry probably had a plan and decided to trust his Godson.
"Okay, good luck" Sirius wished him luck, only to receive a nod from Harry.
A few seconds later, Harry arrived at the stairs, only to find Narcissa and Lucius talking with a couple of Aurors while some more were standing behind the Senior Aurors. Apparently, Amelia had sent Rufus Scrimgeour and Alastor Moody to handle the situation even though he knew for sure that Alastor was no longer on the active roster.
The Aurors noticed his arrival, which also led the Malfoys to know of his arrival. "What is happening?" Harry asked, no longer acting like a child or innocent as he started to climb down the stairs. His attitude made both Narcissa and Lucius wonder what he was really up to.
Rufus didn't seem to consider him a threat, but Alastor was obviously on guard, especially with what happened to him during the second last time they met. It made Harry smirk internally… At least one of the Senior Aurors seemed to have a good head on top of their shoulders.
"Severus Snape has gone missing. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Alastor asked gruffly as his grip on his staff, which contacted his Wand seemed to tighten. Rufus shot his fellow senior Auror a bewildered look while the junior Aurors looked at Alastor unsurely, which led Harry to realize that only Alastor was a part of Amelia's Faction.
Harry finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs and inclined his head with an amused look on his face. "I might have something to do with that" Harry admitted with a nod of his head, surprising Alastor while the rest of the Aurors reached out for their Wands, but they didn't pull them out, disappointing Harry.
Meanwhile, Alastor was surprised that Harry admitted to something like that, which immediately raised several red flags in his mind. The Malfoys smartly stepped away, creating a gap, as neither of them wanted to get hit by a stray Spell. The Aurors were no longer paying them any mind as all of their attention was focused on Harry, who was looking completely relaxed.
"You are saying that you might know something about his disappearance?" Rufus asked as he wasn't sure if the boy was admitting to have kidnapped Severus Snape without understanding their question.
Harry immediately shook his head in denial. "No, I was admitting that I might have kidnapped him and then mutilated him" Harry revealed honestly and this time, the Aurors did pull out their Wands and leveled them at Harry.
"Is someone forcing you to say that?" Rufus asked while he glanced toward Lucius Malfoy from the corner of his eyes, as he still couldn't fathom the situation.
"Come on, Rufus?!" Alastor snapped at Rufus. "Are you really that stupid? The boy is a lot more powerful than he looks and the Malfoys aren't strong enough to force him to do anything" Alastor snarled gruffly as his Magical eye continued to spin erratically. Rufus wanted to argue, but before he could, he was interrupted by Harry while the Junior Aurors weren't sure what was going on.
"Bravo!!" Harry exclaimed while clapping his hands. "Finally someone with a working brain, but I did give you a lot of clues during our last meeting, so no cookie for you" Harry explained childishly and once again, the Aurors besides Alastor didn't know what to believe or what to do.
Alastor snarled at Harry before glaring at Harry. "Where is he?" Alastor demanded angrily.
"Right now, he is in the dungeon… Still alive, but not completely whole as you have already seen" Harry revealed nonchalantly, surprising Alastor once again. He was certain that the boy had something planned in his mind, but he couldn't fathom what… The boy was powerful, but not that powerful, so he couldn't understand why the boy was digging his own grave.
Rufus didn't know what was happening or if he should believe the boy in the first place or not, so he simply decided to follow the protocol. Thanks to the boy's admission, they could search the house even though the boy was a minor. They could always catch the culprit after they saved Severus and with the boy confessing to his crimes, they at least knew where to start from.
"Then lead us to the dungeons" Rufus ordered Harry, who seemed to shrug his shoulders dismissively at his demand.
"No can do, Auror… I might have revealed where I am keeping him and what I have done to him, but I never said I will hand him over to you" Harry said with a condescending look on his face. "Now the question is… Are you strong enough to save him from me?" Harry asked challengingly and moments later, he had to bat away a Stunning Charm with his bare hand, which surprised all the Aurors.
Harry turned toward Alastor, who was staring at Harry with wide eyes… "I will score that 3 out of 10. Now show me what you truly got" Harry challenged and all hell broke loose…
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****FORGING-ALLIANCES? (III)****
Harry had to admit, the Aurors were pretty decent. The Junior Aurors were definitely well-trained, but they lacked experience, which was quite obvious as they were making mistakes here and there while the Senior Aurors were easily covering for those mistakes. Altogether, it was a well-functioning unit.
"I will rate your group 6 out of 10" Harry declared before batting away a Bone-Breaker. "Come on, this is getting boring. Don't tell me this is the best your group could do… I haven't even moved a step yet!" Harry finished with a disappointed look on his face and all the Aurors seemed to take offense to that.
Rufus subtly made a gesture with his hand and one of the Junior Aurors disappeared to the back and placed the tip of his Wand over his Auror Batch. "We need reinforcements at Malfoy Manor! I repeat we need reinforcements at Malfoy Manor!" The Junior Auror exclaimed, but he received no answer from the Headquarters. He wasn't even sure if the message went through in the first place.
Meanwhile, Harry started to chuckle in amusement as he didn't miss the fact that the Aurors were unable to contact their HQ. "Did you really think I would allow you guys to call reinforcements?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Forgive me, but there will be no reinforcements for you guys" Harry revealed with a manic grin on his face before stepping forward.
The Aurors, including Rufus and Alastor, immediately found themselves on the backfoot. The situation was completely surreal for all of them, after all, a fourteen year old was pushing them back and they were a group of highly trained Aurors. Anybody in their shoes would have found the situation surreal.
Harry took another step forward and knocked out the Junior Auror at the back, the one who tried to call for reinforcements, shocking the rest of the Aurors. They didn't even see Harry move his hand, but they were sure that he was the one who cast the Spell… The Spell was simply too fast for them to do anything. Then there was the fact that the Junior Auror was at the back, which meant that Harry could have knocked out any of them, but for whatever reason he decided to knock out that particular member of their group.
"Well… That's one down" Harry declared in an amused tone before leaning his head to the side to dodge a Stunning Charm, which harmlessly passed by his head while he batted away Knock-Back Jinx with his Wand. Then Harry turned around on the back of his heel in a smooth motion and cast another Stunning Charm, knocking out another Junior Auror. Harry didn't even give the remaining Aurors the time to regain their bearings before he knocked out the rest of the Junior Aurors, leaving only Rufus and Alastor.
"Looks like it is only the two of you…" Harry sniped at them in a mocking tone, making Alastor growl. The scarred man was moving flawlessly, which should have been impossible with his body in the first place and Harry had to admit, there were only a few within Lost Garden who could probably beat the man. So, Harry decided to knock him out first as he wanted to have a chat with Rufus.
Harry flicked his Wand toward the floor, ripping it apart, making the two Aurors stumble on their feet as they weren't expecting such an action from Harry. Not being one to miss such an opportunity, Harry easily knocked out Alastor, leaving only Rufus to face him. The man tried to fight him, but it wasn't long before he was disarmed by Harry. Rufus slumped down on his knees with a look of complete disbelief on his face.
He looked around at the destruction and the knocked out colleagues, and everything still felt like a dream to him… After a few seconds of complete silence, Rufus finally turned back toward Harry, who seemed to be expectantly waiting for him to say something…
"How?" The man asked and Harry simply quirked his eyebrows in confusion.
"How what?" Harry asked, giving him a confused look, but he could easily guess what Rufus was asking and Rufus also knew that.
"How are you so strong?!" Rufus screamed in frustration. He never expected to be bested by a fourteen year old and he expected the others to feel the same too. Rufus would admit that he was never a hardened fighter like Moody, but he wasn't a novice… He was a Senior Auror, and he had years of experience under his belt, but now, all of that felt completely useless.
Harry gave him a knowing look before he finally started to speak. "Some people are simply that strong. Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort, me… We are simply in a league of our own" Harry explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
To be honest, Rufus didn't know what to say to that… He knew what Harry said was true. After all, in the eyes of Magic, everyone wasn't equal. Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort were truly in a league of their own… Normal Wizards and Witches could gang up on them, but their chances of victory would always remain close to non-existent.
Yes, some people still believed that they could win by ganging up, but Rufus considered them nothing but foolish… They simply overestimated their own abilities while underestimating the others to deal with their own fragile inferiority complex… After all, in theory, ganging up might sound like an extremely sound plan, but in reality, it was much more complicated than that as the death of only a couple of members was enough to drop the morale of the others.
"What do you plan to achieve by doing this?" Rufus asked with a growl.
"It was a simple show of power to stop the Ministry from doing anything foolish, but if I am being honest, then I don't expect much from the Ministry in the first place with people like Cornelius Fudge being the Minister and don't make me start about his pet froggy" Harry huffed in annoyance and Rufus almost ended up cracking a smile when Harry referred to Dolores Umbridge as 'Froggy', but he somehow managed to keep his scowl.
"So, what exactly do you want? Take over the Ministry?" Rufus asked incredulously. He wasn't sure what was going to happen to him, but they probably weren't going to get killed or Harry could have killed them already. He only intended to send a message… At least, that is what Rufus was hoping for, so instead of freaking out, he decided to use this chance to collect as much information as he could…
Yes, Harry could Obliviate all of them at the end, but hey, at least, he tried…
"Nothing of that sort. It's too much work for my liking… I simply want to do whatever I want and finish the upcoming War as soon as I can" Harry revealed, only for Rufus to blink in confusion.
"War? What are you talking about?" Rufus asked while giving him a weird look. Harry already knew that Rufus wasn't a part of Amelia's group, so he simply needed to guide the conversation in a specific direction and voila! Now, he could sow some discord within the DMLE to stop him from trusting Amelia and her group members completely. Rufus would always wonder if Amelia was keeping anything else from him even if she came clean.
"Ohh! So they didn't tell you?" Harry asked while pointing at Alastor before he started to cackle and Rufus growled menacingly at the implication. "Oh boy!" Harry heaved and finally started to calm down. "Since they never bothered to tell you, I am not going to tell you their names… They must have their own reasons why they never bothered to tell you anything" Harry decided to rub more salt in his wounds.
Rufus gritted his teeth while glaring at Harry. "I get it! Now can you tell me what you are talking about?!" Rufus snapped at Harry but he didn't seem to take any offense at that. He simply raised his hands in the air in a placating manner.
"Whoa! Whoa! No need to get your undies in a twist" Harry chastised the man mockingly. "Well, Voldemort never died back in 1981. He was simply… …incorporeal and now he is already back. If you think I am spewing bullshit then you can always confront him" Harry finished with a roll of his shoulders when Rufus started to give him disbelieving looks.
"...If he is really back, then why did you kidnap Snape?" Rufus asked with a frown as he narrowed his eyes at Harry.
"I have my reasons" Harry answered cryptically as he wasn't ready to reveal the cards he held. The War needed to start and alliances needed to form. That way he would be able to get the best impact with all the skeletons he knew Snape had buried in his closet.
"...So, what now?" Rufus asked as he glanced toward the downed Aurors.
"Now, you take them and leave" Harry answered before he tossed the Wand back to Rufus, who dumbly caught the Wand on pure instinct.
"Just like that?" Rufus asked in bewilderment.
"Yes, just like that… What else did you expect? I am not your enemy" Harry revealed with a dismissed wave of his Wand.
Rufus didn't want to look into the mouth of the gist horse, so he quickly started to gather the downed Aurors so that he could take them with his Portkey. All Aurors carried emergency Portkeys. Yes, there were Anti-Portkey Wards, but it was still better to have an extra means to escape than not having it when you need it, and Portkeys were your only option if someone was injured.
"Can you lower the Portkey Wards?" Rufus requested.
"Before that, I want one of your badges" Harry extended his hand, and Rufus stiffened.
"I can't do that" Rufus denied in a hard tone, but chills ran down his spine when Harry's eyes started to glow.
"I wasn't asking" Harry bit out coldly. "Now, you can hand one over while I am being nice or I will take one by myself" Harry added while glaring at Rufus. This was the problem with Authorities… Give them an inch and they will ask for a mile. He was really interested in those badges. He knew that it was impossible to create a duplicate or forge a fake even with Magic involved, so he was obviously interested.
Then there was the fact that the Junior Auror tried to use the badge to contact their HQ, even though unsuccessfully, but it was probably their primary means of communication with the DMLE HQ. He wanted to see if the badge worked like the two-way mirror and if he could tap into their network to monitor their activities. Rufus continued to glare at Harry and he simply raised an eyebrow at the man, and the fight somewhat left the man.
Rufus reluctantly pulled out his own badge and tossed it over to Harry. "You know, this isn't the end. We will be back for you with even bigger forces" Rufus growled while glaring at Harry.
"I know" Harry answered without even looking at Rufus. He was already inspecting the badge in his hand. Without saying anything else Rufus activated the Portkey. "Good luck" Harry added mockingly just before Rufus disappeared with the rest of the Aurors…
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****FORGING-ALLIANCES? (IV)****
~~Infirmary, DMLE~~
"Tell me everything, again" Amelia groaned while rubbing her temple. She was completely certain now, this was going to be one of those days where her unlucky stars shined the brightest upon her. Alastor had already given her a report verbally, but she still couldn't wrap her head around the whole clusterfuck.
"We got our arse kicked, Amelia! What else do you want to hear from me?" Alastor demanded with a snark. Obviously, he wasn't happy about the fact that he got his arse handed to him by a fourteen year old boy and this time, the boy didn't even use a trick or anything. He straight-up wiped the floor with them like they were a bunch of first years. It was downright humiliating!
"I heard you the first time. The thing I want to know is how" Amelia pointed out while gritting her teeth.
"Fucked if I know!" Alastor huffed unhappily. "If you are asking me if he used some sort of trick or not, then he didn't. Maybe, Rufus knows something. The boy never knocked him out" Alastor finished tiredly.
"Indeed" Amelia drawled blandly before she took out a vial from her robes and handed it over to Alastor. She had already met Rufus and oh boy, he was quite dissatisfied with her. "I will need the memory of the duel" She demanded and Alastor simply placed his Wand tip at the side of his head and pulled out a silvery string from his head before depositing it inside the vial.
"So, what now?" Alastor asked as he returned the vial to her.
"I haven't told Albus anything, yet, but it wouldn't be long before he learns everything and starts hounding me. I would have loved to keep this incident under wraps until we had more information, but Albus wouldn't rest until his pet spy is rescued and until the boy is in some cell or under his thumb" Amelia explained tiredly. "If he brings it up in front of the Wizengamot, then I will be forced to send a strike team within the day" Amelia sighed.
"You will have to send a strike team either way, lassie" Alastor pointed out. Harry Potter admitted that he had kidnapped Severus Snape and mutilated him. They tried to arrest him, but they couldn't because the boy turned out to be more powerful than them, but it didn't mean that they could let it go. They needed to bring the boy to heel and rescue Severus.
"Oh, believe me, I intend to, but not so soon… You are the best combatant I have and the boy managed to kick your arse to the next century without even trying. Do you really think a strike team will be able to do much against him? With a decent plan, he would be able to rip apart the strike team within minutes. That is why I want to take some time and gather as much information as we can before sending in the team" Amelia explained and Alastor nodded his head in agreement.
For the next couple of minutes, neither of them said anything and Amelia clutched her hands tightly in anger. "That little shit! His foolish actions kicked off the War prematurely" Amelia growled angrily. There was no avoiding the War right now. Albus wouldn't rest until Severus is rescued and the DMLE was already involved, leaving only Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but there is no way Voldemort would remain idle as he would also want a piece of the pie.
Now, at least a three-way War or at most a four-way War was inevitable… Civil Wars were already bad in the first place and three-way Civil Wars were even worse, but now there were chances of a potential four-way Civil War… While the others were only expecting a three-way Civil War, she wasn't naive enough to believe that. There was no way, Harry didn't have any support…
"We will get him next time, lassie. Don't worry" Alastor assured her with a confident look on his face, but she wasn't so sure. The boy never stepped out of the line until now… He never broke his act or revealed his cards… So, why now? Something didn't feel right to her. There was a chance that she might be reading too much into the situation… After all, the boy was only fourteen. Teenagers were supposed to be foolish…
Alas, no matter how much she tried. She couldn't let go of the feeling… Something was really amiss with the whole situation…
"Well, I hope so" Amelia bit out before she stood up and shoved the vial inside one of her robe pockets. "Get well soon, you will be needed" Amelia added before she turned around on her heel and started to leave.
After three more minutes, Amelia found herself in her office with the rest of the group including Augusta Longbottom gathered inside her office. All of them were waiting for the report and by extension, the fight… Amelia internally snorted in derision. From what both Rufus and Alastor told her, it wasn't a fight. It was a massacre… Thankfully, none of the Aurors were severely injured. A few fractures here and there, but that wasn't much…
Though that wasn't going to help Harry as he was still going to be treated as a criminal… A very dangerous criminal. Harry already wasn't liked much by a lot of people on the Wizengamot as Britain lost a lot of face in the International Wizarding Community when the boy refused to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. To be honest, Amelia couldn't bring herself to blame him for that, but she wasn't happy with him for his recent actions.
There was a good chance that the Ministry might try to throw a book at him for making them look bad, weak, and incompetent, and to be honest, Amelia would have thrown the book at him too if he wasn't so damn important for them to win the War…
Amelia slumped down in her chair and leaned back with a tired look on her face, instead of addressing the room… "So?" Connie asked unsurely and after taking a deep breath, Amelia pulled out the memory vial and placed it on the table. After that, she pulled out her Pensieve from the cupboard and dropped it on the table.
"We will talk after we watch the memory" Amelia said and Connie Saul helped her set up the Pensieve. Amelia, Connie, and Saul were the ones who decided to watch the memory first and when they finally came out of the Pensive, all three of them looked aghast. Augusta was intrigued by that, so she went next along with Robards and Tonks. When the three of them also came out, the three of them looked aghast too.
None of them said anything for the next few minutes as they weren't sure what to say in the first place… "Saul… Rufus compared him to Albus, Grindelwald, and Voldemort, what do you think?" Amelia finally broke the silence, earning deep frowns and disbelieving looks from the group at her question.
"...If you told me that before I saw the memory then I would have laughed at you, but now… Now, I am not so sure. The boy is undoubtedly powerful, but my biggest concern is he knows how to use that power… I would have expected him to be inexperienced, but I didn't see that in him. The way he moved, the way he carried himself… It looked like he had been through real battles" Saul explained in a weird tone.
Nobody could see his facial expressions as his face was still obscured, but the way his hands were trembling, everyone could guess the look on his face. The group seemed to ponder those words for the next few minutes, before once again, Amelia broke the silence…
"Tonks, did you meet him recently?" Amelia asked as she turned toward the youngest member of their group. There was something obviously up with the girl as she was looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Um… Yes" Tonks admitted meekly as she shuffled in her seat before pulling out a letter from her jacket. She handed over the letter to Amelia, who accepted the letter with a frown on her face. "I received this an hour ago with a note…" Tonks added before handing over the note too. Amelia looked over the letter and noticed that it was the same handwriting as the handwriting on the note that came along with Severus Snape's fingers.
'At least, he is consistent' Amelia mused internally before reading the note. 'Tonks, be a dear and hand this over to Amelia after you guys are done with the memory' Amelia placed the note on her table for the others to read.
"So, he knew that we were going to watch the memory?" Connie asked incredulously as she looked around.
"It was the most obvious thing we would do" Saul pointed out.
"Creepy" Connie muttered and shivered.
"What's on the letter?" Augusta asked in an indifferent tone as she didn't want to waste her time with mind games. She could clearly see what the boy was trying to do… He was trying to keep them off the game so that he could take advantage of them. She had no idea what his endgame was, but she had to admit, the boy was a very dangerous enemy… Most who played these types of games didn't have the power to back themselves up, but the boy was overwhelmingly powerful.
That was why he was a very dangerous enemy in her eyes…
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