Various Kinds of Courage
‘So I’m the true owner of that damned wand now?’ Harry asked. He didn’t trust the Elder Wand.
Genevieve Ollivander nodded. ‘Yes, you are ze owner now. Zere is no doubt about zat.’
Harry exhaled heavily. ‘Great,’ he said. ‘Now someone please tell me how I’m supposed to lie to Snape and tell him that Percy is still the Owner of the Elder Wand.’
‘I can do that, Mr. Potter,’ a reedy voice wheezed from the door. ‘Just a small token of appreciation against a debt that can never be repaid.’
‘And if he were to look into your eyes, he’d never notice anything amiss?’ Harry asked wearily. Snape might be an Occlumens first and foremost, but he was not exactly a beginner concerning Legilimency, either. Ollivander turned huge, silver eyes towards him. For a second they reminded him of mirrors, silvery, cold, hard…He shuddered. But mirrors could be broken.
The ancient wizard’s shoulders slumped. ‘I am not strong, Mr. Potter. I will not lie to you. I am an old man. You know better than I do that I could not withstand the scrutiny of a powerful Legilimens who would do anything to break into my mind.’
‘Ze scanner cannot be manipulated.’ Genevieve sounded slightly defiant—as if that was an argument of long standing. Then she gave Harry a considering, cool look. After a moment’s silence she offered a slight smile. ‘But I do ‘ave an old mock-up zat really doesn’t show anyzing at all, unless you enchant it to.’
Harry lifted his head. Who would do anything…But Severus would not do ‘anything’. He wouldn’t torture Ollivander. Actually, Harry was willing to bet that if Ollivander didn’t rouse Snape’s suspicion, he’d never even try to read the old wizard’s mind.
And the novelty of the scanner should be enough to distract even the distrustful Potions Master. Hopefully.
oooOooo
‘Mr. Weasley, surely now that you’re a man of leisure you can do with a little challenge to relieve the tedium of your days?’ Severus’ voice was silky and scornful at the same time.
Both Percy and Harry flinched.
‘I—uh…’ Harry forced himself to ignore Percy’s desperate glances and silent pleas for help. ‘Ginny asked me to meet her for lunch,’ he hurriedly explained. Then he turned tail and pretty much ran from the house.
A Pop! later he stood staring at the remodelled ice-cream parlour in Diagon Alley. He remembered a long ago summer holiday when he’d spent splendid days there, pigging out on ice-cream and learning a lot about the wizarding world care of Florean Fortescue’s keen-eyed observations.
I really should try out the new shop sometime, he told himself. Fiorentina’s his niece. And she’s Italian. The ice-cream is bound to be good.
He sighed. It was stupid to miss the old times, especially since the old times hadn’t been exactly good, seeing how they’d mainly consisted of Voldemort and Voldemort trying to conquer the wizarding world and kill him in the process.
Still…Had he ever told Florean Fortescue how much he’d appreciated his ice cram, and even more: their conversations?
Or poor Percy—Harry grimaced. It had taken some serious guts to return to the fold of the Weasley family. And now…
‘I’ll make it up to you, mate,’ he murmured to himself. ‘Once the curse is broken and I’m back, I’ll make it up to you. I have no idea how, but I’ll find a way.’
He glanced at his watch. ‘Shite!’ he swore. If he didn’t hurry, Ginny would have his skin.
oooOooo
At the same a wizard in dark Auror’s robes unsealed the office of Dolores Umbridge. Draco was clutching a parchment with orders to search the premises in a sweaty hand and tried to ignore the poisonous look the guard threw him.
He was still very much persona-non-grata in Auror Headquarters, for all that the Daily Prophet now counted him among Potter’s cronies.
Somewhat to his surprise and secret, intense relief that didn’t bother him anymore. He fleetingly remembered the woes of his school years, how they’d been pretty much taken up by cataloguing who thought what about him and why…
Nowadays, with his parents still scrubbing chamber pots in St. Mungo’s, life was so much easier. He got to choose whose opinion about him was important to him. And that concerned gratifyingly few people in his life.
Hannah Abbott, since he was sleeping with her. Teddy. Though thankfully the little tyke still had a few more years to go before he could get really demanding that way. Aunt Andromeda. He didn’t like her. And he thought she was being utterly pig-headed about Severus’ suspicions. But still, she’d taken him in when she could have sent him to Azkaban.
Potter. The Weaselette. Shite, he’d better buy some serious stock in the Harpies in time before Ginny joined the team. Severus. Granger.—No, that wasn’t right anymore. She was Hermione Snape now.
Right. The wards were lifted. Time to go in.
And why the hell was he so sure that he’d be able to find something where Aurors and Unspeakables had failed?
Because I had a fucking bad feeling where that fish tank is concerned even the first time around, he thought. Draco remembered Severus’ description of the Gates of Death. Black stone, like obsidian. A shimmering dark stone that swallows up any light that touches it. Well, the little gate in Umbridge’s fish tank was not quite as scary, but it looked like a perfect-imperfect replica of just that idea.
Draco glared at the lobalug lurking in the shadows of the miniature gate.
You’re a lobalug, he thought, classified XXX, which means a ‘competent wizard should cope’. I’m certified (and probably certifiable). I’m not afraid of you.
Yet somehow the fish had a sinister cast to its rubbery grey features.
I should just dump it on the ground or get in a specialist on CoMC. Then Draco shook himself. Am I a wizard or what?
oooOooo
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Precioussss (LOL you spelt it right…I just couldn’t resist)
Very interesting stuff about Hogwarts the castle…it does seem almost sentient even in the books – what with all those moving staircases etc.
I like the idea that it knew who defended it – and mourned those who died as far as it could.
You’re making me all sentimental…
Magical Forensics
Question – so I’m a bit confused about when Kingsley died. Weeks ago, right? and then they raised his body to act as him for those intervening weeks until someone figured it out? I assume they had some purpose for him in that time.
*iz confused*
Umbridge Unravelled
You don’t know it yet – but I cottoned on to the fact that Umbridge was not the main perpetrator a while back. *glares in the direction of the Inquisition*
EBIL.
*i iz shaking in my bootses*
No one expects the Monks of the Inquisition!!
Precious
“He even permitted her to smooth back his hair, to gently stroke his cheek.” *sigh*
I never thought about it, but Hogwarts is indeed an accumulation of magical energy. I say so many times that the Castle has a soul…but it’s not really a soul. So much magical energy just gave it a magic of it’s own. Right?
Yes, exactly. The same thing that created Death Personified…energy, beliefs, souls…
Magical Forensics
“If I were a Muggle, Hermione thought” i love this. She is finally so distant from her Muggle origins!
So , she probably killed Shacklebolt when he went to her office (silly Auror,in fact so many are being so silly), but how did she do it?
There is a scene in which Umbridge and Shacklebolt are alone. The scene ends with Umbridge touching her wand. That was right before she cast the Avada Kedavra or something like that…
Umbridge Unravelled?
I’ve been thinking for sometime about Necromancers. Severus told Hermione on a previous chapter that there were no Necromancers among the Death Eaters, but how could he know? Madame Dubois recognized him as one, but he didn’t recognized her.
And wasn’t Severus the rightful Owner of the Elder Wand? This always left me confused.
Is it possible that the Guys in Black have Necromancers or something similar?Isn’t that what Severus is thinking? Hmmm
Absurd Suspicions
*sigh*
I can’t stop thinking that if anyone else made that suggestion , Andromeda would at least consider it!
And why can’t they just understand that ,if the wizarding world STILL believes in and practices old rites , why shouldn’t the Muggles do the same.
The guys in black use Necromancers has exorcists, so they must be wizards who probably don’t even know they are or something like that.( 😀 )
But the Inquisition left records of their activity in the past.Someone with power and knowledge engaged Umbridge to do this, the stupid, ambitious frog!
Defeat
Of course.
And the owner is probably whoever defeated Umbridge. And this also means, that it was not necessarily, the one who killed her!
Trolls, Death and Friendship
This was just lovely! Harry is growing up a bit! I guess “marching hand in hand into Death and back” does indeed change you!
And what a smart idea a game of Quidditch. Almost too Slytherin !