By this point in time, Godric was old and all the hardship that he had endured had weakened him. Salazar Junior launched a massive offensive at Hogwarts, hoping to take the castle by force, but was thwarted by the wards and the combined forces of Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff. Helga was the one who finally fought Salazar Junior and killed him but she later succumbed to her injuries while Godric dealt with Salazar's forces. The battle had severely weakened the aged warrior and he soon left to spend his remaining days at Potter Castle with his family.
Harry was sitting still, his face blank as he explained the story to Daphne. They were in the Room of Requirement.
"It is so ironic," said Harry softly, "that the man everyone believes to have been a Muggle-lover slaughtered an entire village of Muggles when the said Muggles murdered his wife, and everyone vilifies a man who actually died while trying to stop his son from killing innocent witches and wizards. Who wrote our history books again?"
Daphne nodded. "It was Salazar Junior who wanted to wipe out Muggle-borns, not Salazar. History is confused and clouded and everyone thinks the founder was the one who was evil. How sad. What is actually ironic is the way they all died, did you observe that?" she asked.
Harry nodded. "Godric was a warrior who died of depression and old age; Rowena was highly gifted and intelligent but died of heartbreak; Helga was a healer and her House is said to be non-confrontational and are widely called duffers but she died a warrior's death after duelling and defeating Salazar Junior; Salazar was widely known for his cunning nature, but he let his heart overrule him and rashly decided to confront his son and died in a duel with him. It's completely contradictory to their given traits but it shows that while they were great men and women, they had their share of flaws too."
"I'll set history straight," muttered Harry as he picked up the journal. "They deserve to be remembered in their truest form, not the way they are now."
...
"Report," said Amelia.
"Ma'am, as you know the Muggle Prime Minister has also informed the heads of all the other European countries about the missing Death Eaters," said Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. "A Muggle couple in southern Italy apparently called the police when they saw someone they thought looked like Bellatrix Lestrange. The Ministry of Magic of Italy began sending their Aurors all over the country to track them down but there have been no leads yet."
"Italy," Sirius frowned heavily. "What are they doing in Italy?"
"I'm not sure, Minister," said Kingsley. "In fact, I'm still trying to figure out how they got out of Britain in the first place!"
Amelia pursed her lips. "Thank you, Shack. Dismissed," she said.
With a nod, the tall Auror left the room. Sirius sat down at his desk, thinking hard as Amelia sat down on the chair in front of him.
"Why would they go abroad at all, Sirius?" asked Amelia, frowning. "It serves no logical purpose!"
"Maybe they are trying to find Voldemort?"
"Voldemort has not been sighted since that night he attacked James, Lily and Harry," said Amelia, shaking her head. "Even if they try to find him, how do they know where he is? They have been in Azkaban for twelve years! Voldemort may not be dead but who knows what form he is in? No, we're missing something."
The wards informed Sirius that someone was at the door. Pressing a rune on his table, he opened the door while retaining the other wards around the office.
"Ah, Director Croaker," said Sirius. "Please come in."
"Minister Black," said Algernon Croaker, Head of the Department of Mysteries. He nodded at the witch, "Amelia."
"Any leads?" asked Sirius.
"My people have been keeping a constant watch on them all," said Croaker. "Not one of them seems to be doing anything suspicious although Lucius Malfoy has attempted to find the escaped Death Eaters. So far, no luck. It seems the prison escapees don't trust those who evaded Azkaban."
"Damn, so there goes tracking them to lead us to the Death Eaters," muttered Sirius.
"I also have some good news, though," said Croaker. Seeing Sirius nod, he said, "The intelligence wing of my department was able to figure out how Bellatrix was able to sneak past the sensor net. It seems the Muggles have built an underwater tunnel that connects England to France."
"Oh, Merlin," muttered Amelia. "How deep?"
"About two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet below the seabed," replied Croaker. "We were not informed about it, so the sensor net has not been applied to the area."
Sirius narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Fine," he said quietly. "There is nothing we can do about it now. But what we can do is ensure that we are prepared. Get the sensor net down to that level. If Bellatrix does return through the tunnel, we'll be able to catch her. Amelia, inform the French Ministry of Magic about this discovery. They've probably not done it either."
"If Bellatrix is abroad, what about the rest?" asked Amelia.
"My guess is that they are still in Britain," said Croaker. "Though I'm surprised they have not attacked anyone yet. It is getting difficult to judge their actions. They're quiet; too quiet."
Sirius nodded. Once Croaker left, he began pacing. "Amy, why did Alastor Moody retire?" he asked curiously.
Amelia scowled. "Fudge," she spat, "decided that he wasn't needed anymore. Alastor's paranoia was getting the better of him and I heard rumours that Malfoy might have pushed for the retirement. Rufus Scrimgeour tried to keep him in the Auror Academy as an instructor but it was shot down."
"Well, I think it is time we brought him back," said Sirius. "Give him all the help he requires. Merlin knows he is more than qualified in capturing those Death Eaters considering he put them there in the first place."
"Understood," said Amelia as she got up to leave. "I need a vacation, Siri; between the issue with the Death Eaters, taking care of Rigel and the upcoming Quidditch World Cup, I'm running myself ragged."
"You think the World Cup is bad?" exclaimed Sirius shaking his head. "You don't even want to know the stink the Triwizard Tournament is causing. No one in Europe wants to come to Britain right now with ten high-security prisoners on the loose. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning for a meeting with the I.C.W. Triwizard Committee in Paris. I'll have to convince them that we'll take care of any security issues."
Amelia nodded. "I'll let you know of any updates."
....
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