"I want to go as well," Harry whined. "Dumbledore said he has information about me, I deserve to know it." Sirius and Charlus were getting ready to go to Dumbledore's meeting that night. Actually, considering everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, it felt like they had received the letter a lot longer ago than the night before.
"You're not going, Harry. Dumbledore clearly has way too much of an interest in you. Until we know enough to understand why he is interested and what he plans to do, I'm not comfortable with you being around the man. I promise you I will tell you everything that we learn about you. Besides, someone has to stay and play host to the Grangers. It would be the height of bad manners to leave them here alone."
Harry sighed, he knew Grandfather Charlus had a point. Hermione was still on edge about possibly losing her wand rights. According to Sirius, the decision was now with the head of the D.M.L.E., and there was no chance Hermione was going to lose. However, she was the type to worry until she had the official letter in her hand. Unfortunately, the earliest they could expect that letter was tomorrow.
After firmly expressing his disappointment, as well as a quick stop in the kitchen to make up a tea tray, Harry went back to the library where Hermione was busy trying to distract herself with one of the extraordinarily thick and detailed tomes on Arithmancy. Her parents were in the same room, though they were listening to the Wizarding Wireless, less interested in the soothing chamber music than the news bulletins that came on every half hour as they listened for more information on the attack on their home.
Sirius and Charlus took a hold of the letter that they had received the day before, and at precisely 8 o'clock they felt a small hook behind their belly buttons as they were whisked away to wherever Dumbledore had planned his meeting. As it turned out, it was held in the back room of the Hog's Head pub. It was almost like Dumbledore was trying to embrace the cliche of a small group of vigilantes meeting him back at a dingy pub. Sirius hoped that this was only a temporary meeting place while he sounded out potential members, rather than the actual headquarters. If this was the best Dumbledore could do, his barbecued chicken club wasn't going to be able to do anything worthwhile. Seriously, this was the first place the Death Eaters would look for them.
They each bought a drink from Aberforth, the owner of the bar, though given the general lack of clean glasses, both opted to get a bottled beer and drink it straight from the bottle rather than risk sampling what was on tap. In the back room they found Dumbledore waiting with a bunch of other people and looked around seeing who they could recognise. There was Mad-Eye, who had been a member last time so no surprise there, and same with Diggle and Doge. The large black Auror Shacklebolt was a new face, but one Sirius recognised. Seeing Nymphadora Tonks there was also a surprise, but according to Sirius's cousin Andromeda she was Mad-Eye's protege so it made sense.
More important was the people who weren't there: none of the Hogwarts current professors. Current was important, only because Snape was there sitting in a corner. He was still wearing the traditional brown robes of an apprentice and looked tired already. Given the time, it was likely that Snape had only just finished his shift at St. Mungo's for the day. The brown robes didn't suit him at all, but St. Mungo's was very strict about what the people who worked there wore. They didn't want patients mistaking apprentice brewers for healers after all.
There were quite a few other people there that neither Charlus or Sirius recognised, and more kept walking in. When there were around twenty of them, with Molly and Arthur Weasley being the last, Dumbledore coughed loudly to get everyone's attention and began a little prepared speech. "Unfortunately, as all of you will have already heard, Lord Voldemort has returned and is as we speak trying to restart the Blood War. Just like last time, Voldemort's actions will have a devastating effect on the people of this country. That is why I'm asking for your help. We need to organise and work together if we are going to have any hope of saving as many lives as possible." Dumbledore continued for almost ten minutes, talking but not really saying anything.
When Dumbledore was finished Charlus stood up. "That was a lot of pretty words, Dumbledore, but before anyone here makes any decisions I think we would all like to hear what lessons you learned from last time and what you intend to do differently?"
"Well, considering how the last war turned out as a victory for our side, I intend to follow a similar game plan," Dumbledore said, trying to sound all too reasonable.
"So you intend to drag the war out for as long as possible until a miracle happens that was not in any way brought about by your order or the Ministry, only to let everyone go free at the end so we will have to do the exact same thing again in fifteen years? Forgive me if that sounds like a fucking stupid plan to me. Last time we were on the brink of losing, and if it wasn't for some ridiculously unlikely circumstances we would have lost. And I will tell you all this now, if you are banking on my grandson to save you all, you can forget it. He isn't even fifteen yet. His worries include girls, school, and Quidditch, and that's how it's going to stay." Charlus spoke like he was speaking to a particularly slow child.
"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to disagree there. Young Harry was able to hurt Voldemort, he will not allow Harry to live unchallenged. He sees Harry as someone with the power to vanquish him, a risk he can't allow to live. Harry is going to need to worry about that, as Voldemort will not leave him to have a quiet life. Harry will be dragged into this war whether you want to be or not," Dumbledore said relatively quietly.
"Even if you are right, that doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to keep a teenager out of this," Charlus was getting a little heated now.
"You would risk us all to keep one person safe?" Dumbledore tried to make Charlus sound unreasonable.
"You're goddamn right I would. No one is here to save the whole wizarding world - for the most part they're assholes. Everyone is here because they want to protect one or a few people who are dear to them. For me, that's Harry. I remember the mortality rate this club had in the last war. You preached stunning and binding spells, and the Death Eaters stood out in the open firing off Unforgivables because even if they were hit, they got back up a few minutes later. Even in the last twenty four hours, there was an attack where innocent people died, people who may well have lived if you hadn't protected the people who supported their murderer.
"And after all of that, your big plan is to try the same shit again and to use Harry like a chess piece. Well, people like you think nothing about sacrificing a chess piece. That is why you were unsuitable for running a school and why Harry will never be around you again.
"I think Charlus has a point," said Mad-Eye. "We were on the brink of losing. We got damn lucky when that boy survived. And Albus, you need to remember he is still a boy. But what we really need to do is actually fight, and not with school yard spells. Remember that we are in a war, and as noble as it is to dive for your beliefs, it's making the other guy die for his beliefs that wins wars."
"Yet an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. They kill someone you care about, so you kill them, so the people who cared about them take up arms. When does it stop? When do we all finally sit down and talk without trying to kill each other?" Dumbledore argued.
"What you are ignoring, Albus, is that the Death Eaters don't see a lot of our families as people. They see them like a disease, a cancer that needs to be cut out, and those of us who embrace them as family are the infected that need to be culled before it spreads to the rest of the population. There is no negotiating with people like that, especially not when they hold a position of power. A position that is reinforced by us not having power to fight back. Our power is limited only because people like you are irrationally attached to the soft option.
"There have been two major conflicts in the country over the last century, the war with Grindelwald and the war with Voldemort. In one we were decisive and in one we were wishy-washy. One was never a problem again, and we are here to handle the other for the second time. The lesson of history is clear," Charlus finished. People were even nodding along to Charlus's words in agreement, his experience in the political arena clear to everyone.
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple. Voldemort has done some dark magic to keep himself from dying. Simply using lethal spells against him won't be enough," Dumbledore said, causing both Sirius and Charlus to wonder if Dumbledore knew about the Horcruxes.
It was Tonks who stood up next. "Voldemort may be protected like that, but his Death Eaters aren't. A few Death Eater corpses would do wonders to hamper their recruitment. It's kinda hard to be gung-ho about joining a band of murderers when the media is constantly showing pictures of them ending up dead."
While Dumbledore was giving Tonks his 'I'm disappointed in you' look, Shacklebolt stood and said, "While I think we should prioritise capture, the lass has a point. The more we can show the public the consequences of joining the Death Eaters, the lower their join up rate will be. The lower the number of Death Eaters, the harder it will be for them to enact their plans and less people on either side will die."
"Surely you are all missing the point," Doge stood up and addressed them. "We aren't an army. It's the Aurors' job to deal with dark wizards. What we should be focusing on is helping the muggleborn flee the country, and help hide them until we can get portkeys to a safe country."
"Why should the muggleborn leave? That's just giving the Death Eaters what they want and depriving us of allies," said another voice from the back of the room.
The debate then started in earnest, and it wouldn't cool off for the next few hours. The two sides were clear, one wanted to take the fight to the Death Eaters and stop them before they could get any real traction while the other wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible and do things like sneaking away muggleborn and gathering intelligence. Or, as one muggleborn in the group put it, "trying to do cold war after the war has already turned hot."
In the end there was no agreement. Half of them stormed out, unavailable to work with the other side. Dumbledore of course blamed Charlus for putting the idea of actually fighting into people's heads. Charlus couldn't even disagree, it was his words that fostered the dissent. Though from Charlus's point of view, this was a win. Dumbledore couldn't be trusted to run any kind of resistance, he was too focused on Harry and keeping his people as meek sheep. No, it was better to see who had the will to fight and to do something with them. Dumbledore could run his own little group who did nothing but play hide and seek with murderers if he wanted to.
When everyone except Dumbledore, Charlus, and Sirius had left, Sirius with his usual Gryffindor spirit charged forward and asked, "So what do you know about how he is keeping himself alive?"
Dumbledore's eyes took on that annoying twinkle and he said, "Absolutely nothing. I suspect a few things of course, but it's magic best left unspoken."
Charus sighed as Dumbledore made a rookie mistake again. "And what if Voldemort gets lucky and kills you, or memory wipes you, or you slip on a flight of stairs and smack your brain about a bit? How is Voldemort to be stopped if no-one else knows what you suspect, and suddenly you can't communicate or act on that information at all? Are you so self-absorbed that you would risk the entire magical world on you surviving until the end of this?"
To say that Dumbledore wasn't ready for that argument was an understatement. It was like Charlus's words were physical blows to the man with how much he winced. "You may have a point, but if it's what I think it is, it's best that it is kept away from as many people as possible. There are far too many who would consider it an acceptable price to pay for immortality. To reveal what I know to anyone is a risk, one best not taken, and if it must be shared the decision cannot be made lightly. Good night gentlemen." And with that sudden dismissal, Dumbledore turned and strode out of the room.
-ϟϟϟ-
When Charlus and Sirius got home, Harry and the Grangers were waiting for news. Sirius and Charlus explained exactly what had happened at the meeting, and how they couldn't even agree on something as simple as being prepared to kill Death Eaters. Charlus finished with, "We also think Dumbledore may know about the Horcruxes. A few of the things he said to us at the end, they fit with a Horcrux too well. We don't know how much he knows, but at least for now he isn't telling us anything."
"I'd be dying of shock if Dumbledore was telling you anything," Harry said. "I have been asking that man for answers since my first year and I have never gotten one."
Hermione nodded. "Looking back on it, the former headmaster was an expert in giving non-answers and implying things instead of saying them."
Dan sighed. Charlus had told him and his wife all about the Horcruxes once they learned about them from Harry. "The question is, does Dumbledore know what these soul jar things may be or where they may be hidden? It's one thing for us to know they exist and how to destroy them, but for all we know they could be anything. Even something as simple as a random rock left in a stream."
"No." Said Harry. "I can't put my finger on it, but from what I know of him that seems wrong."
"What do you mean, Harry?" asked Sirius.
"I'm not sure. It's just that a rock in a stream seems too mundane for him. I think we can at least assume the items will be more significant than that and will at least have magical protections."
"Well, you have had more contact with him than almost anyone else on our side," said Charlus. "But even so, it's not a lot."
"Why not talk to that Crouch fellow?" asked Emma. "Despite everything he did, he seems to consider Voldemort his enemy. Maybe you can get him to tell you everything he knows and build a psychological profile on the man."
There was some confusion as to what a psychological profile was among the magicals but when it was explained they thought it might be a good idea worth pursuing. After that the talk turned to when the Grangers would be going home. They had closed their practice for one day already, and while the family was well off enough that they could absorb that loss of business, they weren't well off enough to keep doing so for too long without consequences. And that was just the effect on them, there was also the effect on the patients. Every day they were closed was one or two patients who are left in pain because they need emergency treatment. This was something that weighed on the Grangers and their sense of duty to their patients.
In the end, it was decided that Hermione and her parents would stay one more night, and then Dan and Emma would return home in the morning. They would take Sirius with them so that there was a magical in the Floo with them and so he could check the house while they went right to their dental surgery. Hermione would stay at the manor until her parents were due to get home. That way Charlus would be on hand to handle any issues that might arise from Hermione getting a letter from the D.M.L.E. Considering that even Gripsack and Miss Twist thought that the case was open and shut, the only person still worried was Hermione.
-ϟϟϟ-
The next morning, the Grangers and Sirius found out that their house was perfectly fine, Hermione got a letter clearing her of all charges, and Charlus got a letter of apology about Hopkirk's behaviour. An investigation into her past decisions showed that she didn't have a history of treating muggleborn any differently than she did anyone else, so she had been disciplined by Director Bones but not fired. Instead, the D.M.L.E. had reassigned her to a position where she was pushing parchmentwork, which meant that she was no longer in a position to make decisions at all, let alone ones regarding the future of muggleborn students. No one in Potter Manor was particularly happy with this, but they did agree that it was fair. There was a difference between someone being afraid and someone who has been malicious for a long period of time.
There was some debate how the teenagers were going to spend this summer this year. On one hand, they were teenagers and this was their summer, they should get to enjoy themselves. On the other hand, a war had just kicked off and one side wanted to murder Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Some training was probably in order just so they could defend themselves if they got pulled into anything. They thought they may take a similar approach to the previous summer and have lessons in the mornings. Hermione and Ron could then go back and spend time with their parents in the afternoons. This plan was going to be even easier now that Hermione had a Floo fire in her house and didn't need to match her coming and going to her parents work schedule.
The last matter they had to deal with was the basilisk gold. Harry had to write to the bank to set up an appointment with a bank manager, and Charlus thought it was a good lesson for Harry to have to write that letter himself. The bank sent back an appointment time that was three days after the Grangers had returned to their London home. If Harry was honest, the meeting at Gringotts turned out to be incredibly boring for how much he had built it up in his head. For all the differences between humans and goblins, the end result was a meeting with a bank manager was a meeting with a bank manager. There was some faff as they confirmed Harry was who he said he was, and then Harry told them what he wanted to do with his gold.
Harry ended up splitting the money equally, even with Mr. Filch. He gave twenty thousand each to Mr. Filch for his cat, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Penelope Clearwater, and Hermione, and the same to any family of Sir Nick and Myrtle, and of course Ginny and Ron. Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Colin all didn't have their own vaults at the bank, so Harry used a little of the money he was giving them (before he gave it to them, so it was legally still his) to open each of them a vault.
He did this on the advice of the manager who pointed out that, in the case of the two Weasleys, legally if Harry put the gold in their parents' vault then the money would belong to their parents. Harry didn't think that the Weasley parents were the type to do that, but as he was going to have to open vaults for the others anyways he decided it was best to include Ron and Ginny. As for the gold going to Myrtle and Nick's families, that was going to be held by the bank while they looked for an appropriate person or persons to receive it. If they hadn't found anyone in five years, the money would be returned to Harry.
The next morning, Harry had a bunch of visitors, as Ron and Ginny with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, as well as Hermione and her parents, all took the time to come around and thank him. He actually ended up having to argue with Mrs. Weasley. Her pride wouldn't let her take charity, which is how she viewed the money. Harry, though, was adamant that it was compensation either for being a victim in Ginny's case, or for a job well done on Ron's part, because without him Harry never would have been able to get to the basilisk. She only gave up when, after she threatened to just send the money back to Harry, he replied he would just send it all back again only with more money thrown in on top. Ron then got them laughing by pretending he had found the ultimate infinite money glitch.
The day after that was when the owls came from all the others, except Colin. However, as Colin didn't have his own post owl and was still under age (and as far as Harry knew didn't live in the middle of London), it would be a few days before he got an opportunity to send him an owl. Justin, Penelope, and Filch did have access to an owl, though, and took the time to write Harry a letter of thanks each.
-ϟϟϟ-
After the drama at the start, the summer holidays were pretty uneventful. There was Harry's birthday, but that was kept small over security concerns; basically, if they didn't already have permission to visit the manor they weren't invited. There was a little drama when Harry warned Ginny he had every intention of taking his spot on the Quidditch team back once they were back at Hogwarts. Ginny may have understood that Harry was only out for a year, but in that year she had played five games and had made the position her own, and she told him she had every intention of holding her position. There was going to be a serious competition for the spot when they got back to the school.
Two weeks before the start of the new school year, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were in the large open space that was the entrance hall to the manor, where Sirius was going over Apparition with the three of them. He had gotten special dispensation from the Ministry to teach Harry and his friends in case they ever needed to escape a hostile situation. Given that Harry had already been kidnapped once, it wasn't hard or overly expensive to convince the official to grant them an emergency use underage exception. Apart from training like they were doing now, they could only use the skill in an emergency, but Sirius wanted them to have as many options as possible to run away. He had even gone and gotten them emergency portkeys, though he was still trying to convince a healer he knew to implant them under their skin.
Their training was cut off when there was a bell that said someone was Floo calling the house. As Harry was the closest Potter, it was his duty to answer the call, so he excused himself to the Floo room. Once he walked in, Harry saw a familiar head sitting in the green flames. "Headmaster Greengrass. What can I do for you?"
"Ah Mr. Potter, can I come through? I need to speak with your grandfather." the head master asked.
"That depends, sir, do you know this week's password?" Harry asked. It was a protocol his grandfather had set up with the professors at Hogwarts in case they needed to discuss the new school year. Which, to be fair, they had quite a bit.
"Ah of course. Crimson, mint, the hanged man, and fifty-seven," the headmaster answered correctly. According to his grandfather, the random words were more secure because they were harder to guess. Harry reached into the Floo, took the headmaster's hand, and pulled him through.
The two of them made some small talk as Harry led the headmaster through the house to his grandfather's private potions lab. Harry knocked on the door and was invited in. After he told his grandfather the headmaster was here to speak with him, Charlus cast a few Stasis Charms on whatever brew he was working on and the three of them went to the kitchen, where Harry made tea for the adults.
"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Castor?" Charlus asked, curious at the unscheduled meeting.
"I finally found out why I'm having so much trouble finding a new Defence professor," Greengrass answered as he took one of the chairs in the kitchen.
"Oh?" Charlus asked.
"It's Dumbledore. He is calling in favours left and right so that every competent Defence professor is turning down the position. From what I can tell, he either wants the position himself or for Severus Snape to get it."
"Over my dead body. Neither of those two can be trusted around the students. Dumbledore would use the position to worm his way back into a position of influence and to scout out students to join his vigilante group. And Snape would use his position to denigrate and bully any student not wearing green robes." Charlus was angry at even the thought that either of those two would ever be in a school again.
"There is always the offer from the Ministry? I don't like it, but it isn't Dumbledore or Snape," Greengrass asked.
"That toad is just as bad. You know as well as I that she is a bigot, and if she gets any push back then she will go running to the Ministry and try to make it illegal to disagree with her. You know my feelings on the matter."
"The governors would have my head."
"You saw the exam results. It's your best option."
"I know, but look what happened last time."
"Last time would have been avoided if everything was out in the open. I will take responsibility for providing the potion and making sure he takes it."
"Do you think you can convince him to go for it? He was adamant when he left from what I heard."
Harry was just setting the tea on the table between the men when he added, "Please tell me you're thinking about asking Professor Lupin to come back. He was the best Defence professor we ever had."