Albus kept his eyes trained on Harry as his friends huddled around him. It was now or never. He kept his wand low, careful not to hit the children as he sent a bolt of electricity at Harry, or at least he tried to, but his spell fizzled out before it even left his wand.
Albus lifted his wand frowning. He turned it over in his hand as he looked it over for any damage, but there was nothing obvious he could see. He couldn't understand it. He tried the spell again, but frustratingly, got the same result.
He sighed heavily as Harry's friends surrounded him. He had lost his chance to do this cleanly. His wand had never failed him before. It was the Elder Wand. Things like this were not supposed to happen.
'I'm tired,' Dumbledore thought, grasping at straws. 'That must be it, magical exhaustion.' It had been many years since he'd fought a true battle, and had to use as much magic as he did today.
He overheard the children talking, trying to wake Harry, their voices getting louder as their concerns grew, feeling a twinge of relief. Perhaps it didn't require his intervention after all, and nature would simply take its course.
His mind flashed back to the battle, and how powerful Harry had become. He shook his head, knowing he couldn't leave something this important to chance.
He stepped forward. "Give him room children," he said, affecting his practiced grandfatherly persona. It would take more effort than normal, but he was confident he could stupefy the magically exhausted children, and after a short rest, alter their memories.
They would remember Harry falling heroically in battle, but not the truth. That was better left forgotten by such young and impressionable minds. They were far too young to learn about the cold, and often times harsh realities of life.
He knelt down beside the boy as the children moved aside, checking his pulse. It was weak, but his heart was still beating. His clothes were torn and singed, his body covered in wounds, both fresh, and hours old.
"Professor?" Hermione asked quietly, looked at Harry worriedly, "Is Harry going to be ok?"
"I think so," Albus said, palming his wand as he prepared to do what was necessary. He would take care of Harry first, then stun the children afterwards. It would take more effort than usual given his exhausted state, but he was confident he could manage it before they realized what he'd done.
He took one last glance at the boy, sighing internally. It truly was a waste. The boy could have been something special, but he was just too willful. If only he had fallen in line and accepted his help when it was offered, it wouldn't have come to this.
He raised his wand, only to stand up quickly, hearing the unmistakable sound of apparition around him.
"It's alright Professor," one of them said, raising his hands. "We're Aurors. We're here to help."
Albus took a step back, slowly lowering his wand, releasing the breath he had been holding as he recognized their uniforms. There were ten of them, shortly followed by another ten apparating in after them.
"You," the same Auror said, pointing at a pair of healers. "See to the children, they look like they've had the worst of it."
"Harry first," Ron said, pointing to his friend.
Draco watched as another healer made their way to his godfather and Professor Flitwick. He breathed a sigh of relief, sitting back on the ground beside Harry, finally able to catch his breath. "It's over," he said, the adrenaline finally wearing off, leaving him feeling bone tired. "It's finally over."
Hermione, Draco, and Ron sat off to the side, watching as the healers worked on Harry, and the professors silently, the shock wearing off as they finally had time to stop and take stock of what they had just lived through.
Albus seethed, watching as more and more Aurors apparated in. There was no way he could do what he had to, not now, with all these witnesses. He could only watch in growing dismay as they categorized everything, taking away chunks of the pillars, the ritual circle, everything they could get their grubby hands on.
"What's going on?" Albus demanded. "Those are dangerous artifacts. You shouldn't be touching them."
"It's alright," the first Auror said, walking over to him. "We're trained in this sort of thing. These items are far too dangerous to leave about. We'll be careful," he promised.
"Where are you taking them?" Albus demanded.
"The Department of Mysteries," the Auror answered immediately.
Albus cursed mentally. 'Croaker,' he thought. He was making a play for the artifacts, and worse, there was nothing he could do to stop him. A treasure trove of knowledge like this, locked away forever. It was a travesty.
He watched impotently as another team of Aurors took the ritual tome, bagging it, and apparating away. He couldn't let this go to waste. There had to be something here he could take and study for himself. That was when he saw it, resting in the grass.
The Aurors had missed it, scurrying around everywhere, grabbing everything they could see. They forgot to look down. It was a finger belonging to the entity that attempted to come through the portal.
Taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, he bent down, pocketing the finger, and hid it in his robes, not trusting his wand to work for him.
"Professor," we should get you checked out as well, one healer said, walking up to him. "From what my colleagues tell me, you've been in a pitched battle for the last few hours. Yo must be exhausted."
"I'm fine," Albus said, brushing him off. "See to everyone else," he said, refusing to leave, not when there was still a chance to secure a few more of the artifacts for his own study.
"Everyone else is already being taken care of," an Auror replied, pointing to the children being side long apparated away. "We're taking you all to St. Mungos to get checked out."
"I told you, I'm not leaving," Albus said firmly. "I'm the headmaster. It's my duty to stay."
"Professor," the Auror said with a sigh. "This is above my pay grade," he said with a shake of his head. "Orders are coming straight from the Wizengamot. Hogwarts and all surrounding lands are to be vacated and secured. You'll have to take it up with my superiors if you want to stay."
Albus turned to face the Auror, a glare on his face, but before he could say anything he felt a thud on his chest, and he was gone. He blinked, looking around as he realized what the Auror had done. He seethed, furious at the Auror for having the audacity to throw a portkey at him.
"Professor Dumbledore?" A healer said, walking up to him. "Right this way, there's a bed reserved for you."
"I'm fine," Albus said, still seething. "I have to get back to my school."
"No, you're not," the healer said, a frown on her face now. "I can see you're magically exhausted and barely standing as it is. We need to get you checked out."
"I said I'm fine," Albus said, trying to remain polite with the healer, but rapidly losing his patience.
The healer sighed, looking like she had heard it all a thousand times before. "You're running on adrenaline, professor," she explained patiently. "Once that wears off, you're going to drop like a stone, and probably be out cold for the better part of the day, if you're lucky. Lie down," she implored, "before you aggravate your injuries anymore than you already have, and make things worse for yourself."
Albus looked back and forth between the healer and the injured students and professors around them. They had drawn a crowd, and it wouldn't do to yell at a woman who, for all intents and purposes, was just trying to help. He sighed, knowing that his public image could not take another hit today.
"Professor," the healer said, her voice softening. "I've only heard bits and pieces of what happened, but for you to arrive here in the state you did, I know it must have been bad. Whatever you must have done, it saved a lot of lives. It's ok to rest. The battle is over."
Albus sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping, accepting defeat. There was nothing for him to do at Hogwarts. By now, the Aurors must have already packed away and transported everything of importance, anyway. "Alright," he relented, allowing the healer to lead him away.
***
Albus stared smugly at the large oak doors to the Wizengamot chambers. It had been two days since the battle, and his stock seemed to have risen greatly since then.
He had an actual invitation this time instead of a summons, and curiously, there hadn't been a single article printed in the Prophet about the battle. Clearly, the Wizengamot was in a bad way without his steady hand to guide them.
He pushed opened the doors, stepping inside, a smile on his face. It was a private meeting, just him and Ogden. 'Much better,' he thought, eager for an opportunity to put the young upstart in his place.
In his opinion, issues tended to get out of hand very quickly whenever the public was involved. Sensitive matters needed to be handled behind close doors to prevent hysteria and over reactions.
He looked up into the gallery, wondering how many empty seats they would have at the next session. The rumor was a nearly a quarter of the members were missing, on both sides of the isle, possibly more.
It came as no great surprise to him, shedding light on why Ogden was so desperate to speak with him, sounding almost groveling in his letters.
The optics were even worse for him, being the acting head of the Wizengamot during the battle.
"Albus," Ogden acknowledged, as he held out his hand for Albus to shake, seething on the inside as he plastered a smile on his face.
He hated dealing with the old man, but he was too powerful to replace, and enjoyed too much support from the other members of the Wizengamot.
He supposed it came part in parcel with serving on the Wizengamot for almost 90 years, knowing where all the bodies were buried and with dozens of 'favors' he could call in at a moment's notice, but it made it no easier for him to do what he had to do.
"Ogden," Albus replied coolly, shaking his hand none the less. "I'm here. What did you want to discuss with me?" he asked, pretending not to know what he was here for, delighting at the opportunity to put him back in his place after his crass attempt to usurp him.
"It's good to see you," Ogden replied tightly.
"Oh?" Albus asked with a raised eyebrow. "With the way we left things, I didn't think I would be welcome in these halls again," he added, reminding him of his exit from the inquiry a few days prior, and the threats he along with the rest of the Wizengamot made.
"Come now Albus," Ogden said with a practiced laugh. "You know even better than I how the game is played. I was simply playing to the crowd. No one here was going to hold you accountable for that Evergreen business."
"And my position as Chief Warlock?" Albus pressed. With Ogden still acting as temporary head, he technically still didn't have any standing.
"Of course," Ogden agreed, having little choice in the matter. The public was looking for stability, a practiced hand back in charge, and as much as he hated to admit it, that wasn't him. "We now consider the matter closed, and your position will be officially restored at the next session."
Albus smirked, having a feeling things would return to normal in short order now that he was back in charge.
"Perhaps you can take me through what happened?" Ogden asked carefully, knowing the old man wouldn't let this go anytime soon. "The Wizengamot will need to present a united front to the public. Even the dark families are on board."
Albus raised an eyebrow at that. The light and dark families had been at each other's throats for the better part of the last hundred years, but a situation like this had never occurred before, leaving all of them scrambling.
'Perhaps it's a good thing,' he thought, seeing the silver lining to it all. The politicking of the families had stymied many of his plans. With the Wizengamot all but forced to unite behind him, he could accomplish so much more.
"What have the Aurors told you?" Albus asked shrewdly, unwilling to commit to anything until he understood what they knew.
"Not much," Ogden replied, shaking his head. "The ones that lived are still badly injured, most of them delirious, talking about goblins and portals to other worlds, and other such nonsense."
Albus nodded, seeing the opportunity that was presented to him on a silver platter, a chance to re-write the narrative to his liking. "There's a great deal I have to tell you," he said, feigning weariness.
"Of course," Ogden said, showing no small sign of relief that Dumbledore was willing to play ball.
"As you know, I left partway through the inquiry. Something felt off, and I couldn't in good conscience risk the lives of my students. When I arrived, it was to utter chaos. Students and teachers alike, injured or dead," he paused for dramatic effect. "I haven't seen the like since the war."
"There was rubble, broken walls, and some kind of iron monstrosity lying on the floor, torn limb from limb," Albus described the golem, knowing that he had to attribute its defeat to Harry, especially with all the students to witness it, but before he could continue with the story, he noticed the perplexed look in Ogden's eyes. "What is it?" he asked.
"There was nothing like that at Hogwarts, Albus," Ogden replied, wondering what game Dumbledore was playing this time. "It looked like a war zone, but this iron monstrosity you described, it wasn't there."
"What? No, that's impossible. I saw it myself," Albus said, pausing as he saw the look of genuine confusion on Ogden's face. "There are students and teachers alike that will attest to it being there."
"I went there personally, after everyone had been evacuated," Ogden revealed. "There was a lot of destruction, broken floors and walls, but certainly not this iron monstrosity you're talking about. Are you feeling ok?" he pressed, wondering if there was a way to spin the events to his advantage. "Perhaps you're not remembering things correctly. You were magically exhausted, after all."
"NO!" Albus shook his head, stalking forward to the pensive used to share memories for trials, using his wand to pull the memories from his mind, and display it. "I know what I saw."
Ogden's jaw dropped open as he saw the iron monstrosity Albus was talking about, and all the destruction in the castle finally made sense. "What happened to it? Where did it go?" He demanded, his plans to wrestle back control of the Wizengamot from the old man taking a back seat to what he's just witnessed.
"I don't know," Albus said, shaking his head, getting a sinking feeling. By his estimation, the golem weighed several tons and was resistant to magic. It couldn't have been moved that easily.
"Alright," Ogden continued. "What happened after you defeated it? The destruction seemed to have extended onto the school grounds, and into the forbidden forest."
"I wasn't the one to defeat it," Albus admitted. "It was already down by the time I arrived."
"Then how?" Ogden stuttered, wondering how it was possible.
"From what I could gather from my professors, it was a combined effort," he said, not wanting Harry to get too much of the credit and risk overshadowing him. "But as I understand it, Harry Potter struck the final blow."
"Harry Potter?" Ogden questioned, raising an eyebrow. He knew about the boy's student ranking and his business endeavors, but this was unheard of.
"Yes," Albus confirmed. "Aurors who were present at the end of the battle will confirm it, and after seeking medical attention Harry Potter along with a small group of students, and the remaining Aurors went out onto the school grounds, and were engaged by another group of attackers."
"That was when you arrived?" Ogden asked.
"Yes," Albus confirmed, going into detail on how he arrived, taking charge of the battle, and routing the Alumni, along with his surprise at seeing the goblins on the battlefield.
"Goblins?!" Ogden nearly shouted. "They were truly there? How many? Why didn't we find any of their remains?"
"I presume they collected their dead after the conclusion of the battle," Dumbledore explained. "As to how many, I'm uncertain," he admitted. "There were there when I arrived, as was the Minister."
"They violated the treaty," Ogden said, sitting down heavily. "This could mean war."
He didn't have to say it, both of them knew. If it came down to another war with the Goblins, their chances of victory were as low as they had ever been.
After the war with Voldemort, they had never replenished the Auror forces, leaving them severely outnumbered. A cost cutting measure that had come back to bite them both.
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, forced to acknowledge that their interests, however briefly were aligned, at least in that regard. "I thought much the same when I first saw them, however, they fought on our side."
"They fought against wizards," Ogden replied gravely. "There will be a price to pay for that, but we can deal with that later. What happened next?"
"The portal," Albus replied simply. "What the Aurors told you was true, there was a being trying to cross into our world. It was Harry Potter that stopped it."
"How can this be?" Ogden asked, looking at Albus in confusion. "You are the most powerful wizard of our age. How? How could an eleven-year-old child have done all that?"
"That day I was not the most powerful wizard in the world," Albus replied, although he hated to admit it. "Harry Potter was."
Ogden sighed, rubbing his forehead wearily, truly recognizing the mess their were both in. "A boy that is knocking on death's door as we speak."
"So it's true then?" Albus asked, masterfully hiding his relief at the news, while projecting a sense of worry.
"Yes," Ogden replied, seemingly oblivious to Dumbledore's true feelings on the matter. "The healers are saying he has days, perhaps a few weeks at most, but the boy will die. That is a certainty."
"I spoke to the healers personally," Ogden continued. "They'd never seen injuries that extensive before, not even during the war, and his magical pathways… they were burned out. No one knows how that was even possible."
"And the other children?" Albus asked, breathing easier at the news he wouldn't have to intervene personally.
"Most of the children caught up in the battle have all been sent home with their injuries healed to the extent possible by St. Mungos. Some of them lost limbs, one lost an eye," Ogden replied. "They will need to make their own arrangement for suitable prosthetics."
Albus nodded his head, knowing how expensive such things were. "And the others, the ones that opened the portal? I didn't see them with the other children."
"And for good reason," Ogden replied. "I visited them once, and only once," he said with a shiver, still haunted by how they looked. "They didn't even look human, like they aged a thousand years without the release of death. I'm told the last one died earlier this morning."
"You know the rest," Albus said. "Shortly after Harry shut down the portal, the Aurors arrived and evacuated the injured. They took away the artifacts. I imagine Croaker is up to his eyeballs in items to study. It may be another decade before we see him again," he joked.
Ogden's eyes widened. "There weren't any additional Aurors sent to Hogwarts, other than the ones Bones and Fudge left with."
"What?!" Albus demanded, replaying the end of the battle in his mind. He marched to the pensive, depositing the memory, and displayed it for Ogden to see. That was when he heard it, the Auror mentioned the items were being sent to the Unspeakables.
Albus cursed mentally. 'Stupid!' he thought berating himself. The truth was staring him in the face, and he had just ignored it. The 'Aurors' had apparated to the exact site of the battle, something they could have only done if they had been there before.
"Ogden!" Albus said, storming to the door in a rage. "We're going down to the Department of Mysteries. You and I need to have a discussion with Croaker."
"What? What is it?" Ogden asked, looking on in bewilderment.
"The artifacts have been stolen!" Albus nearly shouted. "They said they were bringing them to the department of mysteries! This has Croaker written all over it, and I need to get to the bottom of it."
Ogden followed Dumbledore out as they made their way to the elevator, pressing the button for the Department of Mysteries, but what they found when the elevator door opened shocked them both. It was empty, not even a scrap of paper was left behind.
"…Albus?" Ogden said, feeling faint as he looked around. "What's — What's happened?"
Albus growled, "Croaker! That's what's happened! He's stolen the artifacts!"
"I…. What, I mean…" Ogden trailed off, feeling completely lost. What were they supposed to do now?
"Call the Wizengamot," Albus ordered. "We need to contain this."
It was so much worse than he thought. Croaker and the Unspeakables had used the chaos to ransack the department of mysteries, steal the artifacts, and who knew what else.
***
Ron sat at the kitchen table, checking the family clock for what felt like the hundredth time.
He, along with Fred, and Percy had returned home after the first day, thankfully with nothing more than a few broken bones, bruises, and cases of severe magical exhaustion, but George wasn't so lucky, he had lost an eye in the battle, and they had to keep him longer.
Ron looked at his mother. She hadn't let them out of her sight since their return to the burrow. She was puttering around the kitchen, putting lunch together, even though none of them had any appetite to speak of.
"Alright Ron?" Bill asked, patting his youngest brother on the shoulder as he sat down beside him.
"What? Oh yeah," Ron said absently, looking away from his mother, then at the family clock again. "I'm glad you're here, Bill," he admitted.
"Me too," Bill said, cracking a smile as he tried to lighten the mood. "George is going to be ok, you know? He'll bounce back. He and Fred always do."
Ron nodded his head, but couldn't help the feeling that it would be different this time. "You didn't see him," he said quietly. "Not during… the battle, and at St. Mungos. I've never seen him like that before."
He cast a worried glance at Fred, sitting by the window. He hadn't said much since the battle, and even after returning to the burrow, he had been unusually quiet.
Bill sighed, looking at Fred too, thankful for whatever reason Gringott's ordered him back to Britain. They told him it was for a job, and to wait for a letter, but so far it hadn't arrived.
"Percy seems to be taking it alright… better at least," Bill corrected himself.
"No, he blames himself," Ron murmured, tracing his finger along the grain of the table, deep in thought.
"He said that?" Molly asked, overhearing their conversation as she cast a worried glance up the stairs to Percy's bedroom. Unlike her other children, Percy didn't seem to have the nightmares to contend with, but he had been unusually withdrawn, even for him.
"No," Ron shook his head. "Not out loud, anyway. He was one of the first that went down in the Great Hall. He was lucky. It was just a stupefy. There were so many…" he trailed off. "I thought he…"
Molly rushed over, hugging her son tight, a fresh wave of tears streaming down her face. Each one of her children had changed after their first year at Hogwarts, but Ron was by far the most pronounced. At times, he felt like a stranger, the way he acted, the way he spoke, sounding far older than he should be.
He had been so hotheaded, and quick to anger before, but now he was quiet, and reserved, and most surprising of all, a calming influence on her other children, even though they were older.
It made her proud, but also profoundly sad at the cause of those changes. What he'd been through, what he was still going through, and worst of all there was nothing she could do to take away the pain he, or the rest of her children were going through.
It had been so simple when they were younger, dealing with nothing more than hurt feeling, and scraped knees, but now, she felt like she was at her breaking point.
The nights were the worst, their screams, their nightmares, and no matter how tightly she held them, she couldn't fix them.
"It's ok mom," Ron said, patting his mother's arm comfortingly. "We're alive. We're all going to be ok," which only made his mother sob harder.
"Mom," Bill said quietly, taking his mother by the shoulders and easing her into a chair beside Ron. "Ron's right. Everything will be ok, you'll see."
"Ron," he addressed his brother. "What were you saying about Percy?"
"…He blames himself," Ron repeated. "It wasn't his fault. None of this was. A lot of us went down when they attacked. He wasn't the only one. There was so much chaos, so much fighting. We couldn't find him."
"Then he woke up in St. Mungos. He didn't know where we were, what happened to us. He had to sit there for hours, not knowing anything."
Molly stood up, marching to the stairs, only to stop at Ron's next words. "No mom, let him sleep. He's the only one of us that can. Whatever you have to tell him, it can wait until he's up."
Molly nodded heavily, sitting back down. She thought about her youngest, Ginny. They hadn't told her what happened yet, but she could tell her daughter had worked out that something bad had happened. She had been putting off the conversation, but knew realistically that it wasn't something she could put off for much longer.
The long silence was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Molly shot to her feet, rushing over, yanking the door open the rest of the way as she took in the sight of husband Arthur, and their son George.
She faltered, seeing the eye-patch covering her son's eye, and the angry red lines spreading out from his wound. It only lasted a moment before she pulled her son into a tight hug. "Oh George, my baby!"
George stiffened as his mother hugged him, but never the less hugged her back. "It's alright mom," he said quietly.
"Lunch is ready," she said, taking his hand and pulling him into the house. "Ginny! Come downstairs, but try not to wake your brother," she called, oblivious to the fact she had shouted loud enough to do just that.
Molly cast a glance at Arthur. He had the same tired look in his eyes as her, neither one of them sure how to help their children. "You forgot to eat breakfast before you left," she said softly, taking his hand and pulling him inside as well.
"Sorry Molly," Arthur replied with a defeated sigh. "I didn't have much of an appetite."
"You need to eat Arthur," Molly murmured. "I can't have you starving to de—" she stopped abruptly, unable to finish the thought.
"I know," Arthur replied quickly. "I know," he said, looking at his children. "Let's all sit down," he said, with a nod of his head. "It's not everyday Bill is home. We should make the most of it."
Ginny crossed her arms, looking back and forth between her brothers and parents. She hated being left in the dark, but her anger fizzled out as she caught sight of George's eye-patch.
A part of her wanted to believe it was some elaborate prank by the twins, but the more realistic side of her knew it wasn't. The twin's pranks were never like this. They never made her worry about them.
"What's going on?" she asked quietly. "Why won't anyone tell me what happened?"
"It's nothing for you to worry about dear," Molly said, "besides that, George just got home. We'll have plenty of time to discuss it later."
"No, mom," Ron shook his head. "It's better she hears this from us, before she finds out in the Prophet."
"The Prophet?" George asked, sitting up. "What did they say?"
"Nothing yet," Fred replied. "But it won't be much longer before they do."
"Ron," Arthur said, looking at his youngest son. He wouldn't normally have put this burden on him, but he had seen everything, and out of all his children, he was now the most levelheaded of all of them.
Ron let out a tired sigh as he looked at his sister. He hadn't been looking forward to this moment, but knew he was in the best position to explain it to her.
"There was an incident at Hogwarts," Ron started, tracing his thumb along the grain of the table as he got his thoughts together. "It was bad, really bad. Students and teachers got hurt, some of them died."
Ginny gasped, looking at George and the way her brothers acted. She knew it was going to be bad, but she hadn't thought anyone had died.
"There was a group of witches and wizards, they thought…" Ron trailed off with a sigh, rubbing his face. "The did something, a ritual. The students and teachers, Aurors, even some goblins. We stopped them, but it wasn't easy. A lot of people got hurt in the process."
"What were they doing?" Ginny asked quietly. "Why did you have to get involved? Couldn't the Aurors take care of it?"
"They wanted to open a portal, so that something could come through to our world, something bad. I don't know all the details," Ron admitted. "Harry was the one that stopped it," he said, his breath hitching as he thought about his friend still in St. Mungos.
"…I saw it," he continued with a shiver. "It was a monster… the Aurors. They couldn't have stopped it, neither could Dumbledore. If Harry wasn't there… we… it wouldn't have been good."
Ginny looked around, seeing the heavy looks in her family's eyes. She had read about Harry Potter in the Prophet. She hadn't even known the girl-who-lived had a brother before that, but thinking about it, it made sense. Just like his sister, Harry had to be someone important, too.
"I'm going to go lie down," George said, abruptly standing up from the table. "I'm tired."
"I'll go with you," Fred said, standing up as well, eager to catch up with his twin. It was the longest they have ever been separated from each other.
"No," George said, giving his brother a sharp look. "I need to be alone for a while," he said, leaving the room before anyone could respond.
Fred stared after his twin in shock, not sure how to react. Something was going on with George, more than what happened at Hogwarts, but for the first time in his life, he didn't know what.
"It's alright Fred," Bill said, patting him on the shoulder consolingly. "He just needs some time to adjust."
Fred nodded stiffly, going back to the window, a faraway look in his eye as he stared out the window.
Arthur stared back and forth between his children, letting out a depressed sigh. He simply didn't know how to help them, didn't know how to make them feel better, and it tore at his heart, feeling so helpless.
"St. Mungos is almost cleared out," Arthur said, filling the silence. "Most everyone is being sent home."
"But not Harry," Ron said, looking up from the table. He remembered how Harry looked after the battle. He didn't think he could ever forget it.
"I didn't see him," Arthur replied, "but there was a section of the hospital that had more Aurors guarding it. They didn't allow anyone in."
"Then Harry is still alive," Ron said, feeling a wave of relief at the revelation, remembering the heavy Auror presence when he arrived at St. Mungos, and how they had taken Harry away from the others.
***
Albus sat in his regular seat, finally back where he belonged, soon to be officially reinstated as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot at the next official session. He looked around the empty seats. A little over a third of the Wizengamot was gone.
The investigation at Hogwarts, sifting through the bodies of the Alumni, had revealed everything. The missing members of the Wizengamot were found at Hogwarts, dressed in the purple robes of the cultists.
The scandal was immense, the worst in the history of the Wizengamot by far, and they were struggling to figure out how to contain it all.
Albus tuned out the dull roar of the Lords and Ladies arguing back and forth as they fought and blamed each other for this mess, but unsurprisingly, none of them had a solution either.
He had no illusions about his fellow lords, and ladies. This was a den of jackals, all of them jockeying for position, all of them more than happy to stab each other in the back if it increased their own standing.
Without him to take control of the situation he shuddered to think what would happen. All of their fragile alliances shattering as the public finally lost patience with them, ousting them from their positions as the government collapsed around them.
He and Ogden had already informed them of their findings, how Croaker and the Unspeakables had made off with the artifacts, striping the department of mysteries bare in the process, the battle that ensued, both in Hogwarts, and the forbidden forest, along with the portal, and how in the end it had been Harry Potter that saved them.
With a sigh, Albus raised his hand for silence, waiting patiently for everyone to quiet down. "We have several problems that need to be addressed," he summarized. "A third of the Wizengamot is dead. We will need to find suitable replacements. Hogwarts has been heavily damaged in the battle, and funds will need to be allocated for its repair. That, along with the costs incurred by St. Mungos to treat the injured students and teachers, along with what we tell the public are the most pressing concerns."
"Why must we tell them anything?" A pompous member of the Wizengamot asked, standing up. "All the public needs to know about the incident is that it was contained, and they need not worry any longer."
Ogden sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Carmichael, it's not the simple. The students and professors witnessed the multiple battles that occurred. They have no doubt told their families what happened. Sweeping this all under the rug will not work this time."
"Then we tell the truth," Amelia Bones said, standing up. "Families that lost their children deserve that much, don't they?"
Albus shook his head. "No, that will only cause a panic. The truth needs to be managed carefully."
"Then what do you suggest?" Amelia snapped, losing her patience. "The children have already told their parents what happened. There's no way to contain this."
Albus sat in his chair, stroking his beard thoughtfully. He couldn't deny what Amelia had said, but portals to other worlds, dangerous rituals, what the Unspeakables had done. It was all too dangerous for the general public to know about. "We will tell them what they need to know, nothing more," he finally answered.
"They already know about the Golem, and the destruction at the castle. That part we will confirm through the Prophet, as well as the battle on the school grounds, but what happened in the forbidden forest must remain secret," he added, hiding his smile as he saw the Wizengamot nodding along.
He had thought long and hard about how to approach this, and after losing Evergreen, he needed to take further steps to solidify his power base and protect his interests.
"You weren't alone in the forest," Amelia pointed out. "Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley were there as well. There is nothing stopping them from telling everyone the truth."
"I am informed Harry Potter is not well," Dumbledore said, projecting an air of sadness. "The healers say he doesn't have much time left. I will personally speak with the children and impress upon them the need to keep this all quiet if necessary."
Lucius Malfoy stood up, looking around at all the empty seats, not sure what to think. After what happened, many of the factions were left in disarray, including his own.
This group that infiltrated the Wizengamot had burrowed their way into every faction. He had even considered some of them friends if not colleagues. The worst part was, he hadn't seen any of it coming. It left him with no choice but to fall in line with Dumbledore to hold the government together, much like everyone else.
The public was hungry for answers, and their anger was palatable. One wrong move and he could see them riot, even overthrow the Wizengamot itself.
"There will be no need to speak to my son," Lucius said. "I will impress upon him the need for secrecy."
"Thank you Lord Malfoy," Albus said, nodding his head, pleased that he had even got Malfoy of all people to see sense.
"There's still more work to be done," Albus continued. "The public is looking for people to blame for this tragedy, and I believe there is one man we must hold responsible above all others."
Amelia bit her tongue, knowing this was coming. Cornelius himself had told her as much. As much as she hated the idea of remaining silent and allowing him to take the blame, she had to allow it to happen.
"The Minister, Cornelius Fudge," Albus said. "His actions have been erratic, to say the least, especially over the last few months. To keep something of this magnitude from the Wizengamot until it was far too late to mobilize the Aurors, it boggles the mind."
"To make matters worse, he chose to reveal everything during a public inquiry, making it all seem like a cheap political stunt, of all things."
"There's more," Amelia said, hating herself for what she was about to say. "The Goblin squad that joined the battle, they were there at the invitation of the Minister."
Albus hid his smile. Fudge had been a thorn in the side of him and the Wizengamot as a whole for years, making it difficult for them to enact their agendas, and had crossed just about every Wizengamot member at one time or another.
Until now, removing him had been difficult, near impossible. He was far too popular with the masses, and roundly defeated every candidate they brought forward to act in their interests during the elections.
"In light of this revelation," Albus said, taking the golden opportunity that was presented to him. "I see no other choice but to dismiss Cornelius Fudge from his post. What say you?" Albus asked, calling for a vote of no confidence, smirking at the unanimous vote to remove Fudge.
***
Hi! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. There's a lot going on, Dumbledore's machinations, the Unspeakables making their own moves, and the trauma the survivors and their families are dealing with. The fallout from Morgan's failed escape attempt is going to have far reaching consequences for the wizarding world.
Please take the time to review, let me know what's working, what's not. It helps a lot with figuring out what I need to adjust or change to improve the story.
If you would like to support me and my writing, please consider visiting https://taplink.cc/jumpin for all the stories I'm currently working on and early access to chapters 71, 72, 73, and 74 of Legacy of Merlin, along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters.