Granger House - August 27, 2006
Hermione was annoyed when her parents demanded her return to their house. But at least they could take her back to school shopping now. With all the free time she had had lately she had been exploring the other alleys and found all kinds of things she wanted.
But most of all, she wanted books. She had gone to the shop that sold those self-updating books and made a list of all the ones she wanted, which was almost every book. Originally she had been planning on using her account to buy a few, but hadn't had enough to buy even a single book. She was going to have to talk to the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall about getting a raise in the amount she got for putting up with Harr… Hadrian.
"Hermione, please have a seat." Jean said in a sad voice as she directed her daughter to the chair at the table.
"What's wrong?" Hermione was confused. "Didn't you like your so called relatives?"
"Oh, we liked our time in Australia very much, there was only one problem." Howard couldn't help but glare at this monster his daughter had become. "You see, when we arrived your second cousin Andrew, your great great Uncle André's grandson, he was surprised that you weren't with us since he had been informed you would be."
"Well, you agreed it would be fine if I stayed here." Hermione waved it away.
"Did we really?" Jean looked hard at her daughter.
"While we were there, everyone noticed some odd things and took us to their branch of Gringotts to get tested." Howard saw as Hermione began to tense. "Do you want to guess what the test showed?"
"I still have a few last minute assignments to get done. I'm just going…" Hermione started to get up to leave the room.
"You are going to sit right there young lady. We are not done." Howard snapped, getting up to block the door so she couldn't leave.
"Hermione." Jean Looked to her daughter in disappointment. "I can not tell you how ashamed and embarrassed we were when we discovered what you and your Headmaster had done. We remember you not only agreeing with forcing us to let you stay, but also suggesting that he make us more agreeable to your decisions.
I can not believe that you thought forcing us to do what you wanted was even remotely acceptable. Because it isn't. After multiple long conversations your father and I have come to a few decisions.
First, we have already arranged for random checks to be done by our local branch of Gringotts to ensure you, or those you have chosen to sully yourself with, do not tamper with our minds again."
"Understand this young lady, the only reason we are not pressing charges for what you two did is due to the complicated circumstances since the tampering was discovered in another country. We also acknowledge that we share responsibility for this monster you have become." Howard explained. "But, if anything else is discovered we will be pressing charges against all involved, and that includes you.
Another thing we have decided is that we will pay for requirements, and nothing else. Until you come to your mother and I with a full, and truthful, apology and show true remorse for your actions, along with trying to make up for them in some way, we are family in name only.
We will pay your school tuition. We will pay for required school supplies. But other than that you will get neither penny nor knut from us. You will just have to rely on those disgraceful people you have decided to spend your time with to get you what you want. Or, I guess you will just have to grow up and step into the real world and take care of it yourself, though I have my doubts you are capable of doing so right now."
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Hermione screamed at her parents. They couldn't treat her like this, she was their daughter.
"Oh yes we can. What you did was wrong, and we will no longer enable your atrocious behaviour." Jean stared her daughter in the eye. "Welcome to reality Hermione Jean Granger. People that behave as you have end up with no one to rely on because they alienate everyone. You best start changing your ways now young lady, or that is your fate."
Hermione glared before storming off to write a letter to the Headmaster. He needed to fix this. She wanted her parents to buy her those new books.
Peverell Manor - August 31, 2006
Hadrian lay curled between Fred and George in his large bed. While the three of them had been getting more and more intimate as their relationship had developed, Fred and George had absolutely refused to sleep with him until he turned 16. In the month since his birthday the three had been making up for lost time.
The three of them were not really looking forward to returning to Hogwarts in the morning. It made Hadrian sad, but the school no longer held the joy it once had for him. He now just had too many bad memories associated with the place that he had seen as his first home.
Not only that, but it kept him separated from the rest of his family for long periods of time and forced him to be around those he didn't like. He didn't like having to constantly avoid the annoying trio, along with Dumbledore and his little lackeys.
And now, since the twins were apprentices, they were going to have to go back to keeping their relationship quiet. While they could still be together, they couldn't openly display it in front of the school while they were at the school. Holding hands was fine, but no major make-out sessions like Hadrian had become so fond of.
The twins had only been able to spend evenings with him and their families. During the days they had to be at Hogwarts with their masters to help them set up for the coming year and learn their basic responsibilities. They were both pleased that Dumbledore was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with the upcoming war, trying to get control of the new minister, and trying to find some way to control their world as a whole.
Hadrian knew that they had made plans to ensure that they would still get to spend time together, but he hated having to hide it. Hadrian was proud of who he was dating. He wanted the world to know about who he loved.
Closing his eyes, Hadrian went to sleep.
Hogwarts - September 1, 2006
Severus was annoyed as he made his way up to the Headmasters office. He had received a note just as the welcome feast was finishing requesting his presence, but he had chosen to go and give his welcome speech to his house first. He knew that Dumbledore would most likely be even more annoyed than before.
Arriving at the office he sighed at what he saw. Albus was on one side of the desk. And across from him was Minerva and Hermione Granger.
This was not going to be fun.
"You demanded my presence." Severus drawled as he leaned against the wall.
"Severus, my boy. Please, come in. Lemon drop?" Albus twinkled happily.
Severus just glared at the idea of taking one of those potion covered things. Didn't the old fool realize he was a potions master? He knew what they were just from the smell, not even the lemon and sugar sent covered it.
"I asked you here to discuss Hermione joining your NEWT class." Albus was annoyed by the mans disrespect.
"The OWL results that I was sent showed that she didn't get the appropriate grade to get into my NEWT class. And I will not be changing the requirements to get in just because you favour one student over another. If I accept one student that got a grade that was too low then I would be forced to accept them all." Severus said in a flat tone.
"My grade was just fine." Hermione was angry by her professors disregard of her. "Maybe if…"
Albus cleared his throat to shut the girl up. "Ms. Granger completed a certified course over the summer that made up the difference."
Severus wanted to growl as he took the paperwork and saw that the girl had, indeed, completed a course. Flipping through he saw that the course had literally only increased her score enough to get the bare minimum.
"While she did indeed complete the course, I would not recommend she take the class." Severus returned to his spot.
"And just why is that?" Minerva demanded. "Hermione is a brilliant student. I'm sure she will be top of your class."
"No, she won't." Severus snapped back. "It is not an insult. I am not trying to devalue her intelligence, it is just that, up until this point, she has not displayed the skills needed for her to succeed in the NEWT class."
"My potions are perfect. I follow the recipe exactly." Hermione turned her nose up at the idea that she wasn't capable of doing well in the class.
"That is exactly the issue. You follow the recipes exactly. You have never shown any aptitude to adjust to any problems, that is what would have cost you points on the practical portion of your OWL." Severus kept his voice calm. "The NEWT class focuses on editing, augmenting, and adapting preexisting potions, as well as creating new ones. The exact thing you have never managed to do.
For most of the next two years, you will not be given recipes to follow, you will need to make them up as you go."
"But that isn't how it works. In potions you give us a recipe and we brew it." Hermione was confused by this idea. How could they not be given the recipe and still expected to brew?
"That is what you needed for your OWL, not your NEWT. OWL classes focus on getting everyone the basic skills needed to brew basic household potions. The NEWTs are meant for those that want to follow a career path that would include brewing, like a potions master or healer.
An example of what will be covered in this years class is the final project. Since mistakes happen, even to the best, I will be giving each of you a potion. The potion will have flaws in the brewing process that have resulted in it becoming toxic.
The project is to break down the toxic potion, figure out what mistakes were made, and create a potion that would counter it. It is complex and difficult even for those that have the skill required. It will be almost impossible for someone who doesn't.
We also start working with far more volatile ingredients and potions. A mistake in previous years might result in minor injuries, but a mistake in the next two years can be lethal, not only for you, but everyone in the class." Severus really didn't want the girl in his classes.
"I'm sure it will be fine." Albus assured, Hermione preened. "She has the grade, so she will be taking the class."
Severus heard the order in the second half of the response and knew he couldn't say no. "Fine, but I will not be slowing down my teaching just because of one student. She will keep up, or she will be out."
"Hermione is always well ahead of her classmates." Minerva glared.
"Maybe in your class Minerva." Severus turned to her. "But she has always proven to be average in my class. She was perfectly capable of passing her OWL, but I worry about her chances with her NEWTs.
But, since she got the grade she needed, then she will be able to come to my class, since I have no other option but to accept her. I will simply reiterate my previous statement, I do not believe that Ms. Granger has the aptitude to excel in my class. I know her issues with her temper and it makes me worry, so I will say this. If she has one of her fits of temper in my classroom and harms another student as a result she will not set foot in one of my classes again, and I will take it to the board or even the DMLE if I have too. You have let her get away with harming other students far too much, and it will not be happening in my class."
Albus wanted to curse the dark clad man as he turned and was out the door before anyone could respond. "Hermione, my dear. You are going to need to show him just how wrong he is. Minerva, can you make arrangements to ensure that she is tutored by one of your older students in Severus's class to ensure that she does well."
"Of course Headmaster." Minerva smiled as she started to make plans that would show Severus just how wrong he was about Hermione.
"Ms. Granger, you will need to keep a hold of your temper." Albus raised an eyebrow at the girl. "I don't care what happens, whether someone insults you or your grades aren't what you want, you can't react. If you feel that Severus is downgrading you then you are to bring it to Professor McGonagall and she will bring it to my attention and then I will deal with it, it is not your responsibility."
"Yes Headmaster." Hermione muttered petulantly. She hated people acting like she hurt people.
"Well then, off to bed with you. You have classes bright and early tomorrow." Albus twinkled happily as the girl got up and left. Once she was gone, he turned to Minerva. "You will need to keep on top of her grades this year. She needs to do better."
"She couldn't have done too badly, she passed everything, didn't she?" Minerva was confused. She knew Hermione was smart, how could she not have done well.
"Yes, she passed, but her grades were still lower than we would've liked." Albus sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "I managed to get a look at her exams to see what the issue was. While she is finally answering the questions asked, she is still writing too much. She didn't manage to finish a single written exam completely because she ran out of time. The closest she got was her law exam where she only had three questions left.
Thankfully she managed to get most of the answers correct on the previous questions, or it could have gone very badly for her."
"Don't worry Albus, I will watch her." Minerva planned on checking the girls grades every week just to be sure. "Albus, is there anything new on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"
Albus got up and walked to the window to stare out over the grounds. "Not yet. I am really beginning to worry.
He is being too quiet. Something is coming, I can feel it in my bones. And Kensington is refusing to listen to me. I have tried, but nothing. I can barely get a meeting with him anymore. I went to arrange a meeting, and was told he wouldn't be available to speak with me for another few weeks."
"Doesn't he understand that you are only trying to help our side win this war." Minerva huffed.
"I'm sure he does, it's just he hasn't yet realized the full extent of things. In time I'm sure he will see things my way, just like Fudge and Bagnold learned too." Albus was sure he could eventually get the man in line, it would just take a big enough attack.
Hogwarts - September 2, 2006
Albus was a little startled as he sat down to breakfast the day after the students arrived. The night before he had been so focused on the new students that he hadn't even looked at the lower table where the assistants, and now apprentices, sat.
There, sitting near the middle was two identical red heads.
He couldn't understand why the Weasley twins were still at the school. They had graduated last year. He was sure, given their general attitude, that they couldn't have possibly done well enough to get an apprenticeship. He was going to have to look into this.
At least, since they were now on staff, they couldn't have any relationship with Harr… Hadrian. It was in the rules that no staff member could be involved with a student. That would make room for Ginny, they were just going to have to keep them apart.
Having them around was something he didn't want. It would allow Harr… Hadrian to continue to see them as potential spouse material. It would have been better if they had left the school. It would make it harder, but he was sure, given enough time, Ginny would be able to get the foolish boy in line.
Maybe he should arrange for the twins to be caught with others. It would shatter the foolish boys heart and Ginny could be there to clean up the mess. He just needed to figure out who to use. None of his followers were connected to anyone that could play the roll.
That might be the way to go.
Turning to Flitwick, who sat to his left he got his attention. "Filius, I just noticed that the Weasley twins are here. Do you know why that is? Neither of them was ever really academically oriented."
"That's simple. They are both apprentices. Fred is working with Iona Fabbri in spell crafting and George is with Lucien Zarno for alchemy." Filius smiled happily.
"I still don't understand why?" Albus questioned again.
Filius chuckled. "I know, the two of them have always seemed to be more about having fun than school, but they have both always done exceptionally well in their classes. They were always in the top 20 of their year. They earned those positions with hard work on their NEWTs. I'm sure they will do just fine in the position, don't worry yourself Albus, it won't effect you I'm sure."
Filius turned back to his meal, leaving Albus to contemplate what to do.
Ron, Ginny, and Hermione finally managed to find the twins during what was supposed to be their lunch period. Things were harder for them this year as they had different schedules that they needed to work around.
They had all spotted the twins the night before and had been trying to figure out why they where there. Neither Ron or Hermione had gotten the grades they had needed to continue in spell crafting or alchemy, and Ginny didn't have either of those classes until next week, so they hadn't seen the two working in those classes.
Instead of waiting to speak to them after one of the meals, or until after classes ended, the three had been trying to track them down during their spare time. And they had finally done it.
They had found Fred and George gathering things together in the alchemy class and getting ready to head to lunch. They all walked in the room and slammed the door shut, getting there attention.
"What are you two doing here?" Ginny demanded when she saw them.
Fred and George glanced between each other. They had known something like this was coming. How they handled this would set the tone with how they would be dealing with their younger siblings and friends for the next two years.
The professors had understood that it would be a little complicated for them since many of the students had known them as friends and not teachers, so they had left it up to them to deal with things. They had just made sure the twins understood, these were students first, and anything else second. Like the professors, they were barred from marking any assignments from family, and Hadrian, to ensure there wasn't any bias.
"Watch the tone Ms. Weasley." George said, deciding to treat them like the students they were.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ron was confused. "Your our brothers. Stop acting like you're better than us. She just wanted to know why you were here. What, did you fail last year?"
Fred took a deep breath, choosing to ignore the rudeness. "We are not your brothers right now, we are members of the staff, and you will need to treat us as such."
"You aren't a teacher, you're too young. You just graduated." Hermione huffed.
"That is where you are wrong Ms. Granger. My brother and I were accepted to the apprenticeship program. We will be assisting Professors Fabbri and Zarno in teaching their classes." Fred explained.
Ron laughed meanly. "What, couldn't get a job in the real world and had to come running back to school?"
"Two points from Gryffindor Mr. Weasley, for disrespect of a member of staff." George said, keeping all emotion from his voice. "For your information taking an apprenticeship helps to achieve a mastery in a subject, which is why we are here. We are both furthering our education and working towards masteries in our chosen fields.
Now, it is time for lunch. I would recommend you three go and eat before your next classes begin."
"You can't do that." Ron was horrified that his brothers might be able to take points away from him. He knew what they were like.
"Yes, we can." Fred kept his face blank, he knew that if either of them smirked, like they desperately wanted to, they would end up visiting the old coot. "We are members of staff, with all the same rights and responsibilities as the others. And that includes taking or giving points, along with assigning detentions. Now, it's time for lunch."
With that, both twins quickly walked to the door and left.
"I wonder how this effects their relationship with Harr… Hadrian?" Hermione said in a thoughtful voice.
"They can't have him, he's mine." Ginny whined.
"I will look into it." Hermione rolled her eyes at the girl. "Maybe, we can get them kicked out if they do anything."
Ron smirked at the idea.
"What do you two know about apprenticeships and masteries?" Hermione questioned. "I don't really understand how they work."
Ron and Ginny just shrugged, neither having had thought about higher education. Instead of answering, they chose to go to lunch. They knew if it was important Hermione would figure it out and tell them.
Hospital Wing - September 9, 2006
Arthur sighed as he entered the hospital wing and saw Molly coddling Ron and Ginny. He had been worried when he had gotten the request to see the children in the hospital wing. He had worried they had some how managed to hurt themselves in less than two weeks.
Once he sat down on the other side of Ron and Ginny, keeping them between him and Molly, Healer Savoy addressed them. "Thank you both for attending. We asked you here to discuss a few concerns we had after running the usual health scans."
Molly glared over at Arthur. "What did you do to my babies?"
Arthur was a little startled, looking to the healer. "What's wrong?"
"It was him." Molly shouted as she stood up and pointed at Arthur. "It's why I demanded primary custody of my babies, he was just so mean to them. He never let them have anything they wanted, always denying them."
"So they live with you most of the time?" Healer Savoy knew enough to know the woman was lying. She had served as mind healer to both children and knew that the problem was their mother.
"Of course." Molly said imperiously, glaring at Arthur.
"Then I guess you are the one we need to speak to the most." Healer Savoy said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Molly was confused.
"The reason we asked you here was due to the diet the children seem to have." Healer Savoy looked between the two adults. "Both children are showing evidence of problems."
"What kind of problems?" Arthur knew that Molly never bothered to ensure the children ate properly during the summer.
"To start, Ronald shows evidence of high cholesterol. And his sugar levels are far too high. It's like he hasn't eaten anything but desserts since the beginning of summer." Healer Savoy had been startled by the test results on the boy.
"He stayed with me every other weekend, I always make sure that he eats properly. He isn't allowed to even see the dessert until he has finished eating a proper meal." Arthur said.
They both looked to Molly.
"Mrs. Diggle, we are going to need to address what you allow your son to eat during the summer." Healer Savoy said.
"I just make sure my babies get the food they need. Ronnie is always telling me about how there is never enough when he's here. It's disgusting to have this school starving my baby." Molly glared.
"Mrs. Diggle, there is always plenty of food on the table. It is only junk food that is limited. We also ensure that there is an appropriate amount for each child." Healer Savoy tried to explain. "We tailor the food to a healthy diet.
Yes, we limit the amount of things like dessert, but that is because students don't need that much."
"So you admit to starving my poor babies." Molly was once again on her feet.
"No, what I said was that we don't feed them a limitless supply of junk food. If your son ate healthy food he would find there is plenty. He needs to learn to eat a healthy diet." Healer Savoy snapped back.
"Why don't you explain things to us?" Arthur looked to the healer.
"Ronald has clearly been eating foods that are far to high in sugars. He isn't getting enough fruits and vegetables. Most of the calories he is getting are empty calories." Healer Savoy turned to the boys father. "He is showing deficiencies in many different vitamins as a result along with the cholesterol and sugar level issues.
If he keeps eating the way he has been it will do long term damage to his body. I arranged this meeting in hopes of getting him on the right track now, rather than waiting until it's too late. While he is unhealthy, it isn't threatening his life, yet."
"What?" Molly shrieked as she moved to her son.
"There are already blockages building up in his arteries. Unless he starts eating a healthy diet, his current life expectancy is only around 50 years. If he keeps going the way he is, he will more than likely suffer a heart attack by then.
For the cholesterol and sugar level issues, given where he is at now… Starting in about 10 years, at the most, he will need to be on daily potions just to keep his system functioning properly."
"So what can we do?" Arthur was horrified Ron's health was so bad due to his poor eating habits.
"You need to work out a meal plan with a dietician. That is not my field, but I am going to give you a recommendation to one that works out of St. Mongo's. If you can get him to stick to that plan, then his health will improve greatly, and so will his life expectancy.
He is also going to need to start to exercise a bit. Quidditch isn't enough. He needs physical exercise, not just sitting on a broom. I know that he isn't in phys-ed, but I would recommend that he join one of the sports clubs for fun. There is less pressure, and it will get him out and moving." Healer Savoy said.
"I think that would work." Arthur agreed before looking to Molly.
"You can't be serious, my baby is fine." Molly looked at the woman, fear showing slightly in her eyes.
"I am very serious. He needs to learn healthy eating habits now, or things will just get worse for him. His current poor eating habits are why he seems so tired all the time. He lacks the energy needed to properly live his life because he has been eating large quantities of food that lack the nutrients he needs as a growing boy.
I understand that you manage a restaurant, but you need to make sure that he gets the right food. It might be easy to just give him whatever he wants, but it isn't good for him. You need to step up and be his mother." The healer looked to the woman, hoping this would make her react more in the defence of her child rather than just defensively.
"And what about Ginny?" Arthur questioned.
"Ginny seems to have similar, yet different issues." The healer once again turned her attention to Arthur. "Just from talking with Ginny about what she eats it is clear that, like her brother, she doesn't have a healthy diet.
Ginny shows signs of vitamin deficiency. She isn't eating balance meals, and hasn't been for at least a year. From what she told me, when she feels she is gaining too much weight she limits what she eats, but not in a healthy manor. She said she just eats salad or nothing at all. Then, once she has lost the amount she wants to, she seems to gorge herself on junk food.
In the muggle world it's called an eating disorder and is extremely unhealthy. Going from starving herself to eating everything in front of her just causes her to gain more weight quicker. It also puts strain on her body. The way she is going is just making her gain more weight, which makes her starve herself for longer periods of time, which is causing her to not have enough nutrients and resulting in strain on her internal organs.
Again, I think a visit to a proper dietician, who can properly explain things to her, would be best. Simply denying yourself certain foods doesn't help because the moment you reintroduce them to your diet your body is going to panic and hoard calories. Something most dieticians I know all say the same thing, everything in moderation. So long as you don't gorge yourself, you can eat small amounts of almost any food with out harming yourself.
And again, I would recommend exercise. If she really is doing all this to lose weight, then exercise is the best medicine. Combining a healthy diet and exercise will do much more than the crash diets in helping her maintain a healthy body weight."
"Ginny, honey. Have you been starving yourself?" Molly fearfully looked to her daughter.
"It's just dieting. You always give us food from the restaurant, and it makes me gain a lot of weight. So, I make sure to eat less until the weight goes away, but it just keeps coming back." Ginny huffed. "I just want to be in shape for Harr… Hadrian. There is nothing wrong with that."
"Ginny, we have talked about this before." Arthur sighed. "You can't force someone to be with you. But more to the point, you need to keep yourself healthy, that is the most important thing. Don't spend all your time worrying about how others want you to look, what matters is how you want you to look."
"That is exactly what you need to do Ms. Weasley, focus on staying healthy rather than anothers opinion of your body. It will make you feel much better in the long run." Healer Savoy agreed.
"So you'll be giving us a recommendation so we can take these two to the dietician?" Arthur questioned, pleased that Molly was for once quiet.
"Yes, I will request their first available appointment. I think it would b best to deal with this as soon as possible." Healer Savoy started writing.
"It can't be that bad." Molly muttered, not wanting to think that letting her babies have what they wanted may have ended up hurting them. She had been so sure it was Arthurs fault.
The other two adults just ignored her and carried on making arrangements. Once they had the diet plan they were going to use the house elves to ensure they followed them. Like how Winky could keep Ron from eating too many desserts, the schools house elves could spell the food so that a student wouldn't be able to see or touch something that was bad for them or that they weren't allowed. It was what they did with students with allergies to keep them safe.
Both of the children weren't really paying attention anymore. Ginny was instead mad at her dad for once again saying she couldn't make Harr… Hadrian hers. Ron, just wanted to take a nap, he had had a big lunch and wanted his bed.
Ministers Office, Ministry of Magic - October 3, 2006
Albus was annoyed as he made his way through the ministry. It had taken a month, but he had finally managed to get a scheduled meeting time with Kensington.
Over the past month he had been to the ministry almost every day attempting to speak with him, but had always been blocked. Albus hated being told no. He had made sure to make the ministers office staff feel incredibly guilty, but it hadn't been enough. According to the stuttering secretary, who had been close to tears, the minister had a full schedule and this was the earliest appointment she could get him.
Walking into the outer office, making sure to smile winningly at the staff that was working, he went towards the slightly open office door. But he was cut off by the secretary that arranged his meeting. She went first, knocking on the door, something he had no plan of doing, and announced his arrival.
"Please come in Albus." Kensington looked up from a report he was going over. "What is it that you needed to speak with me about so badly?"
The meeting hadn't even properly started yet and Albus was getting angry. "Thank you for seeing me my boy. Lemon drop?"
Kensington just shook his head after giving him a concerned look. With the refusal, Albus put the bag back in his left pocket while pulling a candy out of his right and popping it in his mouth.
"I wanted to speak with you about Voldemort and the Death Eaters." Albus still didn't like how fewer and fewer people reacted to Tom's dark lord name.
Kensington tightened up and got ready to start rejecting the old mans ideas. "And just what is it you feel we need to discuss?"
Albus ground his teeth, crushing his sweet much to his dismay. "It has come to my attention recently that you have issued a formal invitation to the military to get involved."
Kensington said nothing, keeping his face blank.
"It really isn't a good idea to have them involved. They just don't know how to maintain secrecy. They are far too public with their actions. They won't even dress to blend in with the public, instead wearing their uniforms everywhere. It will just make the public feel afraid.
It really would be for the greater good to rescind the invitation. I understand that you did it out of hope of stopping this war early, but it really won't work. Former Minister Bagnold made the same mistake. It really would be for the best. They will just make things worse."
"Albus, no." Kensington was confused by the mans reasoning. "The military has been invited in, and that is how it is going to stay."
"Really my boy. I know you are just trying to do what you think is best, but there is plenty you don't fully understand about the situation. We really need to get onto the same page my boy."
"I don't care what page you're on Albus, I am the minister, so the decision is mine. And I have decided to involve the military with this issue."
Albus withheld a growl. "Now my boy, we need to pull together right now. There is a war coming, and we need to stand united."
"Albus. You are the headmaster of a school. Your job is to look after your students and ensure they are learning everything they need to be functioning members of society. What the ministry does in regards to this coming conflict is not something you can control. You can voice your opinion, just like every other citizen, but you are not in charge here, I am.
I have decided that the military is the way to go. I have looked over what happened last time and was appalled by what I saw. Up until the militaries invitation was revoked, we were winning the war. After they were forced out we started to lose and more people died. Who knows how many lives could have been spared if the military had been allowed to finish what they had started. I will not make that mistake. I will not put the glory of a few over the safety of our nation."
"It really would be for the greater good my boy." Albus was ready to kill, if it weren't for the magic readers he had seen on the wall, which would alert those in the outer office if any harmful spells were cast, he would have imperiod the man and forced him to do the right thing. "You will also need to set up a liaison between the aurors and a few of my old associates. They have fought this war before, so they are far more equipped to properly manage the Death Eaters."
"Have you completely lost your marbles?" Kensington was actually shocked the fool was bringing up his Order with him. "I will most definitely not be giving permission for sensitive information being given to civilians who have no right to it."
"Now my boy, you don't need to worry. My people know how to keep a secret. It really is for the greater good. Those I work with know what they are doing. They brought in many Death Eaters last time." Albus twinkled.
"Allow me to make this perfectly clear Albus, this is going to be handled by the professionals. I read the reports from the last war, and we will not be repeating that mess again.
Your friends, as you refer to your Order members as, did far more harm than good. They were not properly trained, so there was barely a single piece of evidence that they didn't contaminate. It was why so many Death Eaters your group brought in went free, it was because their arrests weren't legal.
The only ones that managed to handle the situations properly were those that had been trained like James Potter and Sirius Black who were both aurors at the time.
I will remind you that, as a result of the last war, a law was passed making all vigilante groups illegal. You should be grateful you and your… friends, weren't charged for your interference with the trap in the DOM. Next time it happens, you will be charged.
If your people conduct any attacks, or as you would call them… raids, on houses to collect people you believe to be Death Eaters, you will be charged, regardless if you are correct or not.
If your people forcefully bring anyone into the DMLE to be arrested they will be charged with assault and kidnapping. It doesn't matter what you believe the person is guilty of, taking them anywhere against their will is kidnapping.
If anything happens. If any of your people witness anything. Then they are to call the aurors and let the professionals deal with it. They are civilians, if they want to be more than that, then they can apply to the aurors, or the military. That is the only way they will be involved in this conflict."
"You can't be serious." Albus was stunned, he couldn't have his people arrested if they did anything. He needed himself, and his people, to be seen as the peoples protectors.
"I am deadly serious." Kensington really was enjoying the shocked look on the mans face. "There will be an article laying out what I just told you in tomorrows paper, just to ensure that there aren't any slight misunderstandings." "You can't do that." Albus stood up in a fury.
"I can, and have. Now, if you would not mind, I have plenty of paperwork that needs to be done. I'm sure you understand, you probably have plenty of your own waiting for you back at the school. I wouldn't want to keep you from doing your job and properly caring for the children of our world."
Albus was ready to start throwing curses at the blatant dismissal. Turning on his heal, Albus stormed from the office, not even bothering with his kind old man act as he left the ministry.
Peverell Cottage - October 4, 2006
Everyone was talking loudly a few minutes after the emergency meeting was scheduled to start. Dumbledore was late, once again.
As Kensington had said, the papers both reported that anyone involved in a vigilante group would be charged if they broke any laws that morning. The reports had covered not just what would be done, but why. The Seer more than The Prophet explained that any civilian involving themselves in the conflict were endangering their lives, as well as the lives of those around them. They said that if anyone saw something they felt was suspicious they were to report it to the authorities and it would be dealt with by them.
That had caused mass chaos amongst the members of the Order. There were those that were angry at the ministry. Those that were afraid. Those that actually agreed. And those that were a combination of the other responses. The only thing that was consistent, was that everyone was worked up.
"Sorry I'm late, I got held up with work." Albus smiled as he finally arrived.
Settling down at the head of the table he thanked Molly as she gave him a cup of tea. He secretly cast a detection charm just to make sure the obsessive woman didn't add anything.
Once everyone was settled into their seats, Molly was the first to voice her rather loud opinion. "What are we supposed to do? How could that fool do something like this? We are just trying to help and he is suggesting we be treated like we were some kind of dark wizard criminals. Headmaster, can't you make that fool see the light?"
"I have tried Molly." Albus was pleased how many seemed to agree with Molly's point of view. "Kensington just won't listen to me. I am slightly worried about his actions. He seems to be acting erratically in regards to dealing with the Death Eaters."
Molly gasped in horror, falling for the lie hook line and sinker. "You don't think they have already gotten to him and put him under the imperious or something do you?"
"I am not sure, just concerned." Albus made his face look contemplative while inside he was dancing. He knew Molly would announce it to every one that entered the restaurant. It would help to make the public more fearful, and would also cause people to question his judgment and actions.
"There is no need for that." Frank spoke up. "Kensington and Amelia had a new policy implemented. Every higher ranked ministry employee is randomly checked by the Unspeakables for anything every week. I was checked just yesterday, and I know Kensington was scanned two days ago because I was in the office going over some reports when they arrived."
"Well that's good to know." James smiled at his old friend, understanding what both he and Albus were doing.
"So he's siding with the dark on his own, that actually makes it worse in my opinion." Nymphadora huffed, her parents and a few others agreeing with her.
"How in Merlin's ghost do you come up with that idea?" Sirius looked at the girl like she was an idiot. "He hasn't sided with the Death Eaters. He has merely stated that he will be enforcing the law."
"We are doing the right thing. We need to stand against them." Nymphadora argued.
"Yes, standing against them is the right thing. And you are more than allowed to do so in your official role as an auror. But that doesn't mean you can break the law when you are off duty." Remus tried to explain. "Intention doesn't really matter, breaking the law is breaking the law. Now, you could argue at your trial for a reduction in sentence due to why you broke the law, but it doesn't change the fact that you will have broken the law.
But, more to the point, it is good that he is applying the law to all. If we were to be given a pass, then the Death Eaters could argue that since we can act without repercussions then they should be able to as well."
"He is correct. From a legal standpoint. The law applies to everyone, and if some are given exemptions then others can argue for the same treatment." Ted didn't like it, but as a barrister he also couldn't deny it.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Sturgis Podmore asked.
"We gather what information we can legally, and pass it on to the aurors. I think that's about the extent of what we can legally do." Edgar Bones said.
"I'm sure we can do more." Minerva didn't like the disregard the new minister was showing Albus. She just wished Nymphadora had been successful in her attempt to recruit Kingsley Shacklebolt, she would have loved to give that man a piece of her mind so he could tell his uncle just how disgraceful his actions were.
"We will just have to be secretive about it." Albus smiled slightly, sure none of his people would get arrested. "It is what secret groups do after all."
"Yeah, so secret three teenagers were told, one of them even being allowed to live here for a month." Sirius muttered, but everyone heard him.
Molly glared, but Sirius just raised an eyebrow as if daring her to contradict him.
"I am not going to go to Azkaban for your ego Albus." James stated. "And neither will my husband. I will do what I can, but I will not be breaking any laws."
"It will all work out. I'm sure Kensington will see the light soon enough." Albus was going to ensure that. "Now, we need to address Harr… Hadrian's training."
"Don't even start on that old rant." Severus spoke up for the first time. "Hadrian has two years left of school. He will not be taking part in this war until he has graduated at the minimum. He is not your attack dog."
"IT IS HIS DUTY!" Molly shrieked, finally getting a chance to tell him off for what he said about her babies during the summer. "You have raised him to be a selfish brat. It is time that boy is taken in hand and taught his place. He will face He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for the greater good."
"I will make you a deal Molly." Severus gave the woman a cold glare. "We will allow our son to be sent out to face Voldemort, but you will send your children first."
Turning, Severus muttered a quick apology to Arthur, but the man waved it away. Arthur knew that Molly was never going to agree anyway.
"WHAT?" Molly screamed, jumping to her feet.
"It's simple, if you're willing to sacrifice children, we will start with yours." Severus glared. "Or, we could agree that we will not be so despicable as to try and use children as weapons during a war. That is something a Death Eater would do."
Molly growled in her throat when the man accused her of being like a Death Eater and threatening her babies.
"Please calm down everyone. We won't be sacrificing any children." Albus ushered Molly to sit back down, annoyed with the path the argument had taken. "I just wished to address whether or not he is prepared for an attack on him. We all know he will be a target."
James rolled his eyes. They had all gotten the must protect Hadrian speech multiple times after Albus had learned they were letting him work during the summer. Hadrian had even told them that he had caught multiple Order members watching him at work.
"He is currently at school. So as long as you can maintain the security of the school, then there will be no issue. As for Hogsmeade weekends, we have already made sure that he is well protected, just as we did this summer." James said.
"How can you put him in such danger?" Andromeda demanded, she didn't understand how a parent could risk their child like that. "You know there is a threat to his life, but you're still allowing him to just wander around."
"As we have also said before, we are not going to teach our son to live his life in fear. We will also not treat him like a prisoner." Severus said. "As for the threats. Hadrian has been receiving multiple death threats every year. If we made him hide away every time he gets a threat he would never leave the house.
Instead, we just made sure he could protect himself and had ways to escape. And it has worked. He is a happy, healthy, well adjusted young man rather than a stuttering, fearful, boy."
The meeting devolved quickly after that. Everyone voicing their own opinions. There were those that agreed with Severus and James about how they were raising their son, there was also a vocal group, led by Molly, that disagreed. There were also many that were still trying to figure out how they could operate given how the ministry would deal with them if they were caught.
McGonagall's Office - October 7, 2006
Sirius was actually excited as he entered his old head of house's office. There had once been a time that he had actually liked the woman back when he was a child, but that was long past.
When they had been assigning prefects this year, Sirius had actually managed to get his way since no one was willing to agree to let Ginny have the badge after her attack the year before. But, Minerva had managed to force him to accept Ron as the quidditch captain. Although, he was pretty sure the other heads of house had agreed since they knew it would give them a better chance of getting the cup.
"What is it that you wanted to speak about with me Sirius?" Minerva demanded in an imperious voice.
"I was approached by Angelina Johnson earlier today." Sirius took a seat. "She wanted to speak to me about the quidditch team and how Ron is doing as captain."
"We have already covered this." Minerva huffed. "Ron is the captain, and there is nothing any of you can do about it. I understand that Ms. Johnson may be jealous that the position went to someone younger than her, but she can't just expect to be given it by whining to you."
"Oh, that wasn't what she wanted to talk about." Sirius was getting excited to upset the witch. "I have decided, since you were the one to demand that Ron receive the badge, that you are now responsible for dealing with him. Anything that involves quidditch this year is your problem."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Minerva was confused by that.
"Simple, we don't have a team."
"What?" Now Minerva was really confused.
"The first match is in a month, and Ron has yet to hold tryouts for the open spots. And since they haven't even had tryouts, what do you think the chances are they have had a single practice?" Sirius asked sarcastically. "I looked at the schedule for who has booked the pitch, Gryffindor hasn't booked a single hour on the field at all this year. So, as I said, we have no team. And it's your job to deal with it. Good luck, cause you're going to need it."
Sirius smirked as he got up and slipped out of the office.
Minerva just stared at the empty chair across from her for a moment. She had been so focused on trying to get Hermione to do better in her classes, that she had completely missed Ron not managing the quidditch team properly. She had figured with how much the boy loved quidditch he would be able to handle the position.
Sighing, she pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote and note requesting the boy to her office. She had to deal with this, if he failed, it would make her look bad.
Hogsmeade - October 14, 2006
Hadrian was walking with Fred and George towards the Shrieking Shack. He knew at this time of year most would avoid going away from town since it was too chilly. They just wanted to be alone together.
They had only been at school for six weeks, and they were all already ready to go home. Having to stay apart was less than pleasant. They had gotten so used to being able to just hold each other. But, as much as they hated not being able to be public with their relationship, they figured the twins not being in the school would be worse.
Because of the marriage contract Hadrian was able to go into the twins quarters, a fact that he took advantage of almost every day. Many days, while the twins were working on marking or something else for their apprenticeship, Hadrian would join them just to be around them, doing his homework while they worked. Just spending time together settled their bond.
"We are being followed." Fred whispered when he saw a flash of colour as they turned a corner.
"I know." Hadrian sighed. "It's Tonks. I thought I saw her in town. She must be here on Dumbledore's orders as my so called guard. You know what this means, don't you?"
George subtly glanced back and saw pink through the trees. "Yes. We're going to get called up to his office. He's going to want to try to break us up."
Fred held the other two up for a moment, bending down like he was tying his shoes. When he stood back up he left a little present for their spy. It was a trap capsule. When she walked past it it would trigger and cover her in stink sap that was mixed with a neon orange colouring potion. It would take a minimum of a week to get rid of the smell and colour.
Only a few moments after they went around the next bend they heard the pellet release and the scream as the woman was caught, followed by the pop of her apparition.
"Well that deals with her for the moment." Fred smirked before leaning down to give Hadrian a quick kiss.
Once at the shack they quickly hopped the fence and went inside. The place had been fixed up a bit over the years and now had some extremely comfortable furniture. Sirius liked to slip away and visit the place when Dumbledore was annoying him.
"I am not looking forward to going back." Hadrian was, as usual, snuggled between the two older men. "You know he's going to be impossible about this."
"We know." Fred grinned. "It might be fun to rub his crooked nose in the fact he will never be able to force you to get together with our dear sister."
Hadrian smirked at Fred before turning to George. "What do you think, George?"
"I think it could be worse." Seeing the look the two were giving him he continued. "It could have been Ginny who caught us. You know she would have a complete meltdown. Then, she would run to Molly and Dumbles. Just imagine a meeting with the three of them. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it."
Hadrian and Fred shivered in horror at the idea of the two females joining the meeting.
"I don't think Dumbles will tell them." Fred said thoughtfully.
"Why?" Hadrian had figured that would be the first move the man made. It would be another way he might try to force him together with the red headed harlot.
"You saw how Gin reacted last time." Fred hugged Hadrian closer just thinking about it. "She would be even worse if she knew we had a marriage contract. And molly would be just as bad, if not worse. You know she would start sending us howlers every day. And that would just make him look bad because everyone knows he is allied with her."
Hadrian had to agree with that. Molly and Ginny would be a complete nightmare if they knew. Deciding that was enough of thinking about those two traitors, Hadrian turned back to his boyfriends, or, he guessed the were is fiancé's now.
Headmaster's Office
Fred and George shared a commiserating look as they slowly made their way up to the headmasters office. They had known it was coming, but they had only been back in the school for less than 5 minutes when an elf arrived with the note.
Arriving at the bottom of the stairs they both let out a breath of relief seeing Hadrian coming their way, with Severus next to him. They had been worried that they were expected to be alone with the man, and they didn't trust him enough for that, or, at all.
"Worried it was just going to be the two of you and him?" Hadrian smiled at the looks on their faces.
"Yeah." "Kinda." They replied at the same time.
"Let's get this latest torture session over with. Shall we? Kinder Egg." Severus said, reluctantly stepping on the spiralling stairs.
"Come in, come in." Albus said in a grave voice when Severus knocked. "Please, take a seat. Lemon drop?"
Hadrian looked at the set up of the office as he ignored the sweet that he was offered. Two seats were off to the side, clearly for the twins, and another one was on the other side of the desk. It was clear Dumbles wanted to keep the three of them separated. It was also annoying that there wasn't a place for his papa to sit. Even though he knew the man preferred to rest against the wall, making sure no one could sneak up on him from the door, it still would have been polite to have enough chairs.
"What did you want Albus?" Severus already knew, his son had told him about Tonks on the way to the office, but he still wanted to make the old coot say it. "I feel I should also mention that Iona and Lucien should have also been invited to this meeting as it seems to involve their apprentice's."
"Yes yes, a slight oversight, I just didn't want to take them away from doing their jobs." Albus tried to smile, but he was just too angry. "I will speak to them after this."
"You still haven't told us what you wished to speak with us about." George said, never taking his eyes off the old man, not trusting him for a moment.
"Unfortunately I will have to ask the two of you to leave my school. Your apprenticeship contracts are going to be revoked." Albus gave the two a very disappointed look. "Mr. Potter, you will be serving detention with me every weekend for the rest of term."
"On what grounds?" The four others in the office all demanded at the same time.
"It is against the rules for a member of staff to be in a relationship with a student. You three really should have known better. "Albus looked over the top of his glasses at the three young men. "You will be off school grounds by the end of the day, I will also be speaking with the DMLE to ensure that you are kept away from my students.
Mr. Potter, you are getting detention for the rest of term because you knew what you were doing was wrong. Really my boy, you need to spend more time with your fellow students. There are plenty that would love to be in a relationship with you. Being in a relationship with an adult is wrong."
When the three went to start yelling at the old coot, they were stopped by Severus who spoke for them. "Relax you three, nothing is going to happen.
Albus, you really need to read the school charter. While yes, it is forbidden for a professor to have a relationship with a student, the same is not true for an apprentice. So long as the younger partner is over 16, which Hadrian is, and the apprentice(s) are no more than 5 years older, then they can be in a relationship. They have met the qualifications, so it is perfectly acceptable for them to be in a relationship.
Also, just to ensure there was no impropriety Iona and Lucien insisted there be a marriage contract in place to ensure it wasn't just a fling. The boys are no longer dating, they are now engaged."
Severus and the boys all smirked at the look of horror on the old mans face.
"Marriage contract?" Albus whispered.
"Yes. James and I signed off on it, and so did Remus and Sirius since they are also legally his parents. It has been in place for months." Severus actually smiled.
"But… But that can't be." Albus could practically see as his plans fell down around him once again.
"It is. The boys will be getting married when they get older, but that isn't relevant to what is happening today. Despite what you seem to think, you have no ability to cancel the twins apprenticeship. Since they haven't done anything wrong, they will not be going anywhere. If you have a problem with their behaviour, then you need to speak with their masters, not them.
And, Hadrian will not be serving any detentions with you. He also hasn't done anything wrong. It is perfectly acceptable for him to be in a romantic relationship with his fiancee's."
Albus tried to think of a new approach to this. "They will still have to be punished for their attack on Nymphadora. Attacking an auror is highly illegal."
"Did you three attack Nymphadora?" Severus turned to the three in surprise.
"Maybe.", "It's possible." The twins responded at the same time.
Severus looked to his son.
"In a way." Hadrian smiled at his father's bland look. "We were walking around and noticed someone was following us. We weren't exactly sure who it was, and since everyone is always saying I'm in danger, I had the twins deal with the threat. If she's the one who was stalking us, then yes. But it wasn't an attack, it was merely self protection.
I didn't know that the aurors had someone tailing me. I would have thought Madame Bones would have informed you."
Severus saw the innocent look on his son's face. "As far as I know, there has been no order for any auror to follow you, but you can bet I will be looking into it. And, I completely agree with what the three of you did. If you have someone stalking you, especially given what's going on right now, give them all you've got.
Now, the three of you should head back to your quarters. Clearly, this meeting was just a waste of time. I will let you know if there is anything worth knowing."
Hadrian hugged his father before leaving the office, closely followed by the twins. Once they were gone, Severus turned on Albus.
"Would you care to explain to me just what that was all about?"
"Severus, surely you must see how inappropriate it is to allow your son to be involved with those two?"
"I see no such thing. I see my son happy and well protected by people that love him for him, and not his name, his titles, or his vault size. Fred and George are intelligent, kind, and extremely loving.
As I know I have stated before, you need to read the rules of this school, then you might want to go over the apprenticeship contracts the twins are under. Then you might understand they have done nothing wrong.
As for this so called attack on Nymphadora, have you lost your mind. You're the one always going on about how much danger Hadrian is in, going so far as to try and bar him from Hogsmeade weekends, and when something does happen, and the twins protect him, you want them charged. I know James and I already warned you about having members of the Order following our son. They were well within their rights to attack, they could have done a lot worse and I would see no problem with it.
You will not be going to the DMLE about anything in this situation. You do understand this could get Nymphadora fired. If she was doing this on duty then it can be seen as corruption or dereliction of duty since I have no doubt that stalking my son was not her orders. If she was off duty, then it was still stalking and she can be charged for it. We went over this during the summer when you had people following Hadrian to work everyday.
Just leave my son alone."
"Severus." Albus said in a placating voice. "Nymphadora was just trying to ensure H… Hadrian stayed safe while he was walking around undefended.
But I really must question this relationship you seem so accepting of. You must see that it isn't healthy for him. He can do so much better. He has the potential for a great future, and I don't feel that is possible if he is involved with those two. They just don't have what it takes to go far. I know that was always Molly's complaint about them, their lack of work ethic."
"Albus, I don't know how many times I have to say it until you finally understand, you have no say in my sons life. As for the twins, are you kidding. Those two are wonderful for Hadrian. They make him happy, and that is all that matters to us.
And Molly's opinion of the twins means less than nothing. I have seen what she considers perfect children in the form of her two youngest. I would hate for the twins to sink so low. They are both also extremely well accomplished. They are highly intelligent, were accepted for apprenticeships right out of school based on merit rather than anything else, and, they already have their own business, which is very successful."
"Own business?" Albus was startled by that.
"Yes. They opened their own shop while they were still attending school here. So, I really don't know how you can say they lack work ethic given everything they have already done. But, as I said, the most important thing for me, is that they make my son happy.
There is a marriage contract in place, so that is that. They will be marrying after Hadrian finishes school. So that is all that matters. Stay out of my sons love life.
Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me?"
Albus just stared at the man for a moment. How had he missed so much? The twins had a business, when had that happened? He also really needed to read the charter, and now those stupid apprenticeship contracts. They also had a marriage contract and he couldn't get them out of his school.
He actually winced as he thought about the reaction Molly and Ginny were going to have. No, he couldn't tell them, ever. He needed to think of a way around this, but how? He needed a copy of the marriage contract so he could figure out how to break it.
"Albus?"
Albus looked up when he heard his name called, seeing that Severus was still there, watching him. "Sorry my boy, got lost in thought for a moment. That is all, I will look into what you have mentioned, see you at dinner tonight."
Severus knew he was dismissed and left the office. The old fool really was losing it. He had been so focused on trying to rebuild his plans that Severus had been able to read everything he was thinking. He was going to discuss it with James and the others. Dumbledore was really going to regret trying to mess with their family again.
Hogwarts - November 4, 2006
On the first Saturday in November Hadrian could be found, once again, hiding in the ROR with Fred and George. Ever since Dumbledore had learned that they were still seeing each other he had been doing everything he could to try and separate them. They had even found wards around the twins rooms that would alert the old meddler if Hadrian entered the room.
Which was why they were back to using the ROR.
All three of them were frustrated with what was happening and once again wishing that they could just be done with the school. Thankfully for the twins their masters had absolutely no problem standing up to Dumbledore.
Iona Fabbri was from Italy, and therefor had no connection with Dumbledore. She was 68 years old, and had a very abrupt demeanour. She was a strong woman that wasn't about to let herself get pushed around by anyone.
Lucien Zarno, although younger by about 30 years, was much the same. But he was even less likely to side with Dumbledore about anything. The reason for that was a very little known fact, Lucien was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel. The two had told him about what had happened with the fake stone they had given the man, and Lucien, like every other member of their family, took it personally.
Then there was how Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were back to following him around, but at least they were finally calling him by his name. Hadrian just did what he could to avoid them. Ginny was really just her usual self, trying her best to flirt before going and snogging some other boy to deal with the rejection.
Lately, Dumbles was going out of his way to separate the three whenever he saw them together. The three of them were more than a little confused by that, since it wouldn't stop their relationship. He knew they had a contract, they didn't really understand what they thought he could do to counter it.
They knew that he was hoping that he would be able to break their contract, and then making a new one with Ginny, but it wasn't going to happen. They had made sure their contract was near impossible to break. The only real way to break the contract was for them to say they wanted to break it.
One thing they were grateful for was that he had, so far, not let Ginny or Molly know about the engagement and contract. But, they also knew it was only a matter of time before the two learned the truth somehow. With how Ginny was following Hadrian she would see something eventually.
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were also going out of their way to be annoying. They had even tried to get Fred and George in trouble for doing their jobs. The three of them wanted Fred and George to be out of the school since they thought once they were gone Ginny would stand a chance at being in a relationship with Hadrian.
Choosing to ignore all the annoyances in their life, the three just held on to each other tighter.
Undisclosed Location - November 15, 2006
Augustus Rookwood knelt in front of the creature that called himself his lord as he worked on the band around its wrist. He had known, based on the calculations he had worked up, that the band was set to release within the next few days. He had gotten permission from all those involved too finally 'find the release' before it did it on its own. It would help him to secure his place.
With a few final adjustments, he released the band and removed it. "You are free my Lord."
Voldemort was ready to cackle as he picked up his wand and cast a brief crucio on his follower for how long it took. Although he kept it on for only a second before he released it since the minion had done his job.
"Give me your arm." Once the minion did as instructed Voldemort pressed his wand to his mark and called his followers. "It is time we plan our next move. You will find me an appropriate target. And then, we shall all have some fun."
Voldemort sneered as his followers bowed to him as they were pleased. Many started offering different ideas.
Tower of London - November 17, 2006
A few days after Voldemort was released from his binding he and the Death Eaters attacked the Tower of London. They had waited until a Friday evening since many people would be out.
Unfortunately it didn't really work out the way they had planned. Since it was November there were far fewer tourists in the area. Also, there weren't many people that randomly hung around the Tower during the evenings. If they had attacked at the hight of tourist season, there would have been hundreds of people around, but as it was, there were only a couple dozen or so people walking past.
But they went ahead with the attack, focusing more on doing damage to the infrastructure since there was a lack of people.
What made it worse for them was that Augustus had tipped off his contacts and there were over 50 soldiers inside the tower just waiting. As soon as the attack started they moved out from behind the battlements and returned fire.
The attack was over in less than 20 minutes when Voldemort called the retreat.
Undisclosed Location
Voldemort was furious when they arrived back at his lair. Somehow they had known.
Oh, he remembered how the military operated during the last war, and he was not looking forward to having to deal with them while his forces were still so small. He needed to gain more followers, but he wasn't sure where to look. All the changes the ministry had been making since his downfall had created far fewer disenfranchised citizens that he could recruit. He was just going to have to look harder, there were always people that were angry about something, it was just about tapping into that anger.
His small amount of followers was the only thing that stopped him from killing those who had planned this attack. Although he did torture them severely.
Augustus watched from the back and watched everyone around him. He was pleased that the attack had failed, and, although a few had been injured, no one had died.
In truth, he was surprised just how easy things were going this time. He figured it had something to do with the horcruxes. A horcrux didn't just divide the soul, it divided the mind. With so many having been destroyed, the thing wasn't even really human anymore. His mind was no longer tethered to reality.
Although he had always been a brilliant tactician, his lack of sanity made him do stupid things. It was actually very useful since he couldn't focus on things for too long. It had allowed Augustus to get away with a great deal, including walking into places he really had no reason for being. He would just do something to distract the man, and he could pretty much do as he pleased.
Augustus had also gotten reports that when he had been possessing a member of Hogwarts staff he had drank the blood of a unicorn. While it hadn't been his body, it had still been his soul and magic that had fed from the life force of a pure creature and, as such, his very soul and magic carried the curse even if his body didn't.
The combination of the curse and the destroyed horcruxes might just help to make this a very short war.
6th Year NEWT Potions Class - November 21, 2006
Severus was making his way around his class, checking on the potions the students had been making in their practical lesson. There had been about 20 students that had managed to get a high enough grade to continue in his class, however only 14 wanted to carry on.
As Severus had tried to explain to Dumbledore, the NEWT classes were for those that wanted to become potions masters or those who wanted to work in jobs that required the brewing of higher level potions, like healing. That meant that only the students that were planning to follow those career paths needed a potions NEWT.
Just by talking to those in his class he knew that of the 14 there, 9 wanted to go into some form of healing or were just studying healing, like Hadrian and Neville, 2, including Draco, wanted to become potions masters, a set of twins from Hufflepuff and Slytherin came from a family that owned apothecaries, and then there was Granger. He really didn't understand why the girl wanted to be in his class, he actually just thought it was because she was obstinate.
As he checked the potions he found that many were close, with only Hadrian, Draco, and one of the Ravenclaws being perfect. Grangers was another story.
Todays task had been to make a lung clearing potion, but tailoring it for someone of a certain age and weight. The recipe in the book they were using was intended for someone that was 25 and 11 stone. They would need to adjust it to account for the different measurement they were given. If done correctly, the potion would come out a light blue with vanes of green swirling through it.
Grangers potion was a split pea green and was as thick as tar. He knew that meant that, while she managed to adjust the different amount of each ingredient mostly correctly, she hadn't adjusted the temperature or stir time to account for the different potion volume.
"If you have completed your potion pleas place it in a vial, attach the age and size card you were given, and place it on my desk." Severus said as he walked to the front of the class. "Once that is done, you are free to go."
Severus wanted to sigh as he saw the others hand in their work and leave. Once everyone else was gone, including his two lab assistants, Granger stomped up to his desk.
"You made me fail." The girl glared.
"And just how did I do that Ms. Granger?" Severus raised his eyebrow at the girl.
"I know you did. You set me up to fail because you don't want me in your class." Hermione just couldn't accept that she couldn't do something. "I adjusted for the size difference right, I know I did."
The girl shoved multiple sheets of calculations at him. "Yes, you did. But, as I reminded everyone at the beginning of the lessons when you all started to work on your calculations, you also need to calculate the different stirring methods as well as the temperature of the fire."
"It's the same potion, we already know the temperature and stirring from the recipe." Hermione took back her calculations, not wanting to leave any of her work.
"One of the key steps is that the potion needs to be brought to a boil slowly but consistently. If you had less potion you would need to lower the heat from the recipe, and if you were making a larger potion you would need to raise the heat.
We covered that very topic during the lecture yesterday, were you not paying attention?" Severus knew if he snapped at the girl she would go crying to Dumbledore and Minerva.
"You did it." Hermione had tears forming in her eyes. "You made me fail because you hate me because I'm a muggleborn you are nothing but a disgusting Death Eater!"
Severus stood up when the girl screeched at him. "5 points from Gryffindor for disrespect of a professor, another 5 points for screaming at a professor, and a week of detention with Filch for accusing me of being a Death Eater. Now, leave my classroom before you get your self in even more trouble."
The girl turned and stormed out, Severus knew she was going to go running to Minerva. He knew that meant he was going to end up having a meeting with her and the Headmaster this evening, but he wasn't about to let the girl get away with what she had done.