England welcomed him back with a cool breeze and gray skies, a familiar dampness in the air that was oddly comforting after the intense, raw magic of Scotland. Harry stepped out of the alley connected to the magical side of London, his form covered by an illusion so flawless that even most magical creatures, with their heightened senses, would pass by without a second glance. This was no simple Charm.
The illusion—a tall, nondescript man with average features, brown hair, and forgettable, slightly rumpled clothes—was shaped via his Oneirothrone Authority, drawing upon a deep-seated dream of anonymity. He could walk through the bustling crowds of Diagon Alley, stroll through the heart of the Ministry of Magic itself, and no one would see Harry Potter—just another wizard, easily overlooked, fading into the background.
He had no intention of being recognized today.
Homestead, the small, quiet village, He'd arrived through near the outskirts of the town, It didn't take long for Harry to gather what he needed from the quaint, shops, some sweets from Honeydukes, a few prank items from a specialty joke shop for the ever-mischievous Weasley twins, and a special selection of exotic books for Hermione, knowing her fondness for rare wizarding curiosities. He even got Ron a limited-edition Chudley Cannons pin enchanted to hum their anthem every time it was tapped.
He was debating whether to send it all to Hogwart via Dobby or bring it back himself when something shifted subtly in his senses. A flicker of cold sensation made his instincts tighten like a drawn wire, instantly alerting him. He had become adept at sensing the lingering darkness of Death Eaters even before becoming a campione, a resonance of Voldemort's magic no doubt.
His green eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, his body tensing, even while maintaining the illusion of a mundane wizard.
He turned, still completely concealed beneath the illusion, and spotted them. Three men seated in the corner of a dimly lit, rather unsavory looking restaurant across the street, huddled conspiratorially around their table, whispering.
He knew those faces. Not friendly faces, but familiar nonetheless, burned into his memory from the horrifying night at the cemetery. Avery. Walden Macnair. And one other he couldn't quite name, but who had definitely stood in the graveyard when Voldemort returned.
Harry's smirk was slow and predatory, a chilling curve of his lips that spoke of opportunity.
Well now… this is unexpected. And rather convenient.
Inside the dingy restaurant, The three death eaters were talking about the dark lord and what was happening.
Apparently, Lucius had fallen out of favor with their lord, and a lot of them couldn't hide their happiness.
Lucius may be the leader of the dark faction but he was an annoying prick and someone nobody really liked, to hear him fall out of favor and even be tortured by the dark lord had a lot of people overjoyed.
It's said that he had lost something the dark lord had given him to keep and protect and the fool and gone and gotten it destroyed when the dark lord found out that not only had Lucius given away whatever he had been given to keep safe but it had also been destroyed well let's just say that even the cruelest of them had fled the room to not see what had been done to him.
They were just discussing how to win their lord's favor when they spotted Potter of all people entering the restaurant with Arthur Weasely and Remus Lupin, They looked around before moving towards the back halls into a room.
Without any further talks, they stood and followed the three blood traitors and found the room they were in.
'Fools they didn't even spell the room' Avey had thought to himself as they tried to listen in. While they would have loved to go in wands blazing and get Potter and the others this was a public place and any signs of a fight would draw attention and even if they got Potter the dark lord would just punish them. He had stated that Potter was his to kill, and his alone.
"Harry I Know you want to But...." Arthur Weasely was speaking before he was caught off by Potter.
"But, But, But that's all Dumbledore keeps saying. I'm telling you guys that this is the best time and we should not wait."
Wait, wait for what, Avery moved closer to the door to better hear.
"Harry you have to understand that we are trying to be careful." lupin interjected.
"That's what the old man has been saying, that soon, but when is soon".
He heard the two trying to calm Potter before weasely said something that drew his full undivided attention.
"Harry you know why he's doing it like this" he started "He doesn't want You-know-who from finding out what we are doing, dumbledore hopes to draw his attention to something else so that we won't have to deal with him when we have a chance to get you into the ministry to take it."
What were they talking about. was there something in the ministry that Dumbledore didn't want their lord to find out about?
"I know, but when will we get it" Potter asked "The bastard is laying low at the moment and this is our chance before he decides to come out so why are we trying to wait"
"Lupin spoke up "Dumbledore wanted you to get it at the end of your fifth year but he's changed his mind so we are getting it by the end of this month.
"I see....then," Potter said then asked "Why were the others not told"
"The only people who know about this are the two of us, the headmaster wanted there to be no one else so that it doesn't reach the dark lord at all, and even we were only told because we are the ones to take you when the time came. Not even Ms. McGonagall and he didn't tell even Snape because if it got back to the dark lord even as a small way to keep Snape's cover as a spy then it could be bad."
Lupin said before he added softly what sounded like " Not that I trust that snape really is on our side"
Avery leaned in closer to his companions, his breath hot and excited, his eyes gleaming with a fanatic zeal. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," Macnair growled, his brutish face contorted with eagerness, eyes wide with a mixture of anticipation and greed. "They're going to get something—something important. Something that he doesn't know about."
The third man, a thinner, more nervous individual with pale, twitchy fingers constantly drumming on the table, whispered, his voice barely audible, "You heard what they said—Dumbledore doesn't want the Dark Lord to find out. And Snape doesn't know either." The idea that Severus Snape, the supposedly trusted spy, the hated double-agent, had been left in the dark, excluded from a critical secret, stirred a giddy, venomous spite in them. Oh, how delightful it would be to expose Snape's true limited influence!
"If we can get this information to the Dark Lord…" Avery's grin widened, a cruel, ambitious gleam in his eyes, "Lucius will never reclaim his place. We will be in favor. We will be rewarded beyond measure!"
Their eyes lit up at the thought, a shared vision of power, prestige, and the cruel satisfaction of seeing a rival humiliated.
"Let's get out of here. Fast. We need to report this immediately."
They stood, their chairs scraping loudly on the floor, and turned, making for the back exit.
After they left the hallway door opened and Harry stepped out, seemingly engaged in quiet conversation with Remus Lupin and Arthur Weasley walking beside him, their faces serious, their posture conspiratorial.
"Was that convincing enough?" he asked into the empty air, his voice low and satisfied.
The air shimmered around him.
The illusions of Remus and Arthur, conjured perfectly by his Oneirothrone Authority, shimmered like heat haze, then evaporated into glittering mist, fading into nothingness. He had made them appear so real, so solid, that even highly trained Death Eaters believed they were present.
He let out a sigh. "The bait has been taken."
The plan had been simple. Lure the eavesdroppers feed them half-truths, enough to ignite Voldemort's desire for what he would figure out was the prophecy, Let the Dark Lord stew on the idea that Snape might be compromised, that he was being excluded, and that there were going to try to get the prophecy in secret.
Harry was tired of playing defense, tired of waiting for Voldemort to make the next move. He wasn't waiting a year for the Ministry to finally acknowledge the truth, for the Order to concoct some convoluted plan. He was making moves now, on his own terms, forcing Voldemort's hand.
As he stepped outside the restaurant, his mind already turning to how Voldemort might react his likely immediate command for his Death Eaters to keep an eye on the ministry to try to catch them when 'they made a move'.
He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice when he bumped into someone.
"Oi—watch where you're—" the woman started, her voice a little rough, but vibrant and familiar, then paused abruptly, a sudden stillness in her tone. "…Harry?."
He stiffened. Crap. He forgot his illusion.
That voice. That vibrant tone, a little rough, but utterly unmistakable.
Harry turned slowly, bracing himself.
Nymphadora Tonks stood directly in front of him, blinking at him. Her bubblegum-pink hair as it changed color, vibrant as ever, seemed to twitch in confusion.
"Harry—what the—?! You—?! Where in Merlin's name have you been?! Do you have any idea what's been going on?! People have been looking for you everywhere" she exclaimed.
He gave her a crooked, unapologetic smile. "sorry just hiding from pink toads and nosy old men, mostly. It's been quite relaxing, actually."
She crossed her arms, her red hair flicking aggressively. "You do realize everyone is freaking out, right? Dumbledore's been chewing glass over your disappearance, and I heard Hermione's been crying herself sick! You had the whole castle looking for you!"
"Good. Maybe he'll finally break a tooth," Harry said dismissively, referring to Dumbledore. His voice held no malice, just a weary indifference to the Headmaster's machinations.
Tonks blinked, taken aback by his bluntness, and his complete lack of concern.
She stepped closer, her tone dropping, her face softening with genuine concern. "Are you okay, really? You just… vanished. We were worried sick. Dumbledore had everyone searching for you outside of Hogwart convinced that you were not inside and seeing you here makes him right."
"I'm good just needed a little bit of space and Hogwarts felt suffocating with that toad running around like she owns the place."
He shrugged before pointing at a store in the distance "How about he get something to eat while we talk"
She looked at him before her hair turned a light shade of pink as she made an obvious teasing face "Ohh are you asking me out on a date potter,"
"Maybe I am" he answered bluntly as he was already moving toward the show.
His reply seemed to catch her off guard before she straightened out and followed him
"Hey wait for me".
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