FIC: What It Means.... ~ Chapter Six ~ PG-13

[batsutousai]

Title: What It Means...
Author: batsutousai
Beta: magickmaker17
Rating: PG-13/T
Pairings: None
Warnings: Harry-in-Azkaban, betrayal, angst, Dark-but-not-Evil!Harry, Slightly-Too-Powerful-To-Be-Realistic!Harry, character death
Summary: At the end of Fifth Year, things go as planned for some and not for others. When Harry is sent to Azkaban for killing his best friends, who will stand at his side and who will turn their back?


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Chapter Six ~ ...To Have Morals
Written: 19/03/08
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Saturday night, the four Aurors on duty were startled out of their idle conversation when three stunned Death Eaters appeared in the middle of the floor with a note and a tape recorder. They all traded surprised looks, unsure what to do. They, too, had believed Dorcha to be dead.

The senior Auror on duty, Kingsley Shacklebolt, chose that moment to come back from using the bathroom and, after blinking in surprise, picked up the note and read it with a laugh.

Susan Bones, the youngest Auror on that shift, cleared her throat and said, "What's it say, Kingsley?"

Kingsley grinned widely. "Dorcha says, 'As you lazy bums can see, I'm not, in fact, dead. I fully intended to let you chaps flail through the rest of this war yourselves, but a couple of mates of mine reminded me of some of my friends who'd died fighting for England, so I took my wand up again and hunted me some Shit Munchers for dinner. I'm told they taste excellent with mustard, but my stomach's a bit iffy when it comes to skinning my own food. Alas. Well, they're all yours, chaps. Let me know if they really taste good with mustard.' "

The three Death Eaters woke to laughter. Kingsley leaned over and smiled at all of them, while the other Aurors laughed. "Welcome to Auror Headquarters, gentlemen. Would you prefer to be rare or well-done?"

The Death Eaters could do nothing more than stare while the five Aurors laughed.

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'DORCHA RETURNS?
'written by Jenny Richards

'Three Death Eaters showed up in Auror Headquarters last night, with a
mocking letter and a muggle tape recorder, Dorcha's calling card. When
the tape was played, Aurors concluded that the sender was, in fact, the
infamous Dorcha, and the three Death Eaters' description of their captor
matched previous descriptions of Dorcha.
'Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour has said that his reward for the
capture of the unknown African wizard still stands at one thousand galleons.
'Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, however, commented, "Dorcha is probably
the only witch or wizard constantly able to capture and drag evidence out of
Death Eaters. We shouldn't be trying to capture Dorcha, we should be
thanking him and offering him medals. Dorcha has done more for this war than
the entire Auror squad put together."
'Surprisingly, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, in inclined to
agree with Senior Auror Shacklebolt over Minister Scrimgeour. Dumbledore
said, "Dorcha is paving the way for fellow witches and wizards everywhere.
This war is not just between the Ministry and [You-Know-Who]; it is between
every witch and wizard in Britain. That we need a wizard from Africa to show
us this is shameful. Fear is no excuse for letting our future be destroyed."
'While the war over what to do with Dorcha continues, the African wizard
continues to prove that no price on his head will deter him from fighting for
Britain's future.
'May Merlin guide him safely.'

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Sirius set the paper down after he'd finished reading the article with a grin. "Well, Dorcha, looks like you've got fans among the Aurors."

Harry grinned back. "It's nice to know that the Ministry isn't totally corrupt, I suppose," he joked, waving a forkful of eggs around. "I'm a little sad they didn't say if the Death Eaters tasted good with mustard, though."

Remus snorted from across the table. "I'm not sure I want to know, myself."

"Moony prefers them fresh, with no condiments," Sirius teased. Remus kicked him under the table while Harry snickered. "You going out again tonight?"

"Hmm... Don't really know. I have a few more Death Eaters that I have things to threaten with, but I don't know if I want to hit them now, or wait until I got things on some others."

Ginny floated into the room with a smile. "Morning. What madness is in the paper?"

"Here." Remus took the paper from where Sirius had folded it up on the table and laid it out for Ginny to read.

Ginny read it over quickly while the three wizards finished their breakfasts. When she finished, she snorted. "Impressive. Reporters actually seems to like this version of you, Harry."

"Didn't you know? Black is in this year," Remus joked.

"Nah. It's the accent," Sirius disagreed.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry, are you going after Bellatrix anytime soon? Umbridge is already caught and Malfoy's in hiding as far as anyone can tell."

Harry sighed. "None of Voldemort's Inner Circle are easy to get to. They're usually near him. Now, if I could catch them on a raid, I'd go for it in a heartbeat."

"But if you try for one of them on a raid, someone's bound to try and take you out while you're at it," Remus commented. "Especially with this price on your head."

"Don't I know it. I really want to get Bellatrix and Lucius, though. It's those two and Umbridge that helped kill Hermione, Ron and Luna and make Neville insane."

"And got you put in prison," Ginny added firmly.

Harry smiled weakly. "That too."

Luna chose that moment to float into the room. "You're in luck. Lucius Malfoy has to go to Gringotts today. He'll be Polyjuiced as Martin Yaxley."

"And the goblins will let him into his vault like that?" Harry asked, surprised.

"As long as you've got a key, they don't really care all that much. Well, a key and the okay of the vault's owner. Malfoy doesn't trust anyone else with his vault key, though, so he'll be going," Luna explained.

"What time?" Ginny asked for Harry as the Necromancer finished his breakfast quickly.

"Soon. Within the hour, I think," Luna reported.

Harry nodded. "Right." He glanced at the confused Remus and Sirius. "Lucius Malfoy's going to Gringotts today to withdraw money, but he's going in disguise. I'm going to go disappear for a while. Remus, you said there's a nice clearing not too far from here?"

"Yes. It's to the south. Are you going to send him there to question him?"

"Yeah. I'll make a portkey. Be back in a couple hours!" he called over his shoulder, then ran for his room. As soon as he got in his room, he started morphing himself into as boring a face as he could, the sort you could easily miss in a crowd. Once satisfied, he changed into one of his African robes and threw a quick glamour over them to make them look like the current English style. He hurried out of the cottage while putting on the wrap to hide his scar, with an added notice-me-not spell to keep people from paying too much attention to it. When he was sure that his scar was safely hidden, he checked the small belt bag he brought with him everywhere to ensure he had a pre-made portkey to the Ministry in it as well as a few bezoars and some other potions could be useful in a tight spot. Last, but not least, he made sure his tape recorder had a new tape in it and that it would record.

As he stepped into the clearing Remus had mentioned, Ginny and Luna caught up to him. "Will Ginny invisible to the living," Luna hissed. "Six eyes are a million times better than two, and she has to stay near you anyway."

Harry nodded and focused on making it so that only he and Luna could see Ginny. "Done. Ah, here's a good stone. Portus. Okay. I'm apparating to the Leaky. You two watch the doors at the entrance to Gringotts, I'll keep an eye out inside. When you see him, let me know."

"Right," Luna agreed.

Harry nodded and apparated. As soon as Luna and Ginny appeared next to him, he set out for the bank, forcing himself to look like he was simply strolling along, and not that he was rushing to capture a Death Eater or whatever. Diagon was reasonably populated for a Sunday.

Once in the bank, Harry only had to wander for six minutes before Luna floated over. "Ginny's with him."

Harry glanced up and nodded when he saw Ginny floating above Martin Yaxley, who was strolling purposefully towards one of the lines behind a teller counter. Harry started wandering in the same general direction, eyeing the floor glumly. Then he bumped into the man.

"Oof! Watch where you're going, fool," "Yaxley" snapped.

Harry grabbed the other's arm to steady himself. "Please, sir, I'm most sorry," he said. At the word "sorry," the portkey in his hand activated. As soon as they landed, Harry whispered, "Stupefy," and the man dropped to the ground.

Harry sighed and tossed his rock portkey towards the trees, spelled some chains to hold Lucius and summoned his wand, which he then snapped with a smile. "Oh, I've always wanted to do that," he murmured, pleased.

Sliding the broken wand into his pocket, Harry dispelled the glamour on his robes and the notice-me-not on the wrap over his scar. Pulling out the tape recorder, he spelled his voice with an accent and morphed into Dorcha. Then he turned on the tape recorder. "Hello, Aurors of the British Ministry. I know I usually only pester you lot at night, but I decided that today you were due for a special delivery. Ennervate. Hello, Martin Yaxley. Or, should I say, Lucius Malfoy."

Lucius glared up at the smirking African. "Dorcha. So you aren't dead."

"Alas, I'm afraid not. Tired of fools, certainly. Dead, not yet. Now, would you care to answer some questions?" Dorcha inquired cheerfully.

"Rot in hell."

"I'll save a spot for you and your master while I'm at it, hm? Let's start off with a simple question: What were you doing at Gringotts today under the guise of Martin Yaxley?"

"I have no reason to talk to you," Lucius huffed.

"That's nice. Now, how about you talk and I promise to let your son go free?" Dorcha tapped his wand against his cheek.

Lucius tensed. "What?"

"Your son. The spoilt little blond one? Draco, I believe, is his name? He makes a nice decoration in my living room, but I have to keep cleaning up his piss."

Lucius choked. "Not possible."

"Mmm... Planning to stake his life on that?"

"Fuck. You," Lucius hissed.

"You seem more the submissive, to me. Does that make Narcissa the dominant in the marriage? Well, I suppose that explains your need to grovel at the feet of another..." Dorcha mused thoughtfully.

Lucius was starting to look a little like a tomato. "You– You–"

"Oh, right! What were you doing at Gringotts as Yaxley? Come on, Lucius. You and I may have all day, but I haven't fed your son yet–"

"I was getting money from my account!" Lucius shouted, eyes wide. "It costs money to run a war, and we're running low. If that Weasley brat hadn't become a ghost and freed Potter, this wouldn't be an issue."

Dorcha smiled. This was too easy. "Hm. Surely you've heard all about Potter's trial by now. Is it true that you had Ginevra Weasley under the Imperius Curse right up until she was Obliviated?"

"Yes. And everything she said at the second trial is true. Do you really have my son?"

"Maybe. How long have you been a Death Eater?"

"Since I finished Hogwarts. If I answer all your questions, you'll let him go, right? And not into the hands of the Ministry?"

"Of course I will. What sorts of horrible things have you done as a Death Eater?"

Lucius listed quite a number of things. Dorcha was almost impressed, and that was saying something, with how many things he'd seen Voldemort doing and heard the many Death Eaters he'd caught doing.

Once Lucius had run out of things he'd done, Dorcha asked, "So, any attack plans you're aware of in the near future?"

Lucius tensed. "No."

Dorcha narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

"It's not worth the punishment to tell you. Do you know what the Dark Lord did to Abigail Gibbon?"

Dorcha shuddered. Yes, he knew. The woman was an innocent in the whole war. Voldemort had made quite the spectacle of her death once he'd figured out who had spilled the information about the attack. He'd also set fire to Macnair's house. Voldemort didn't take betrayal well. The Death Eaters Dorcha had caught were usually best off dead, once Voldemort found out what they'd told Dorcha.

Lucius nodded, seeing the knowledge in Dorcha's caramel eyes. "Keep Draco chained to your wall if you must. I won't have my son murdered like that on my account."

Dorcha nodded. "Were you ever placed under the Imperius Curse on Voldemort's orders to do something you wouldn't have otherwise?"

"No," Lucius replied, clearly relieved that Dorcha wasn't going to drag information out of him that could hurt his son.

"Now, last question: Are either Draco or Narcissa marked?"

"Narcissa is, yes. She took the mark so Draco didn't have to."

Dorcha flipped the recorder off and rewound the tape. "Where is Draco? I can probably get him somewhere safe."

Lucius' mouth dropped open in surprise. It looked really odd with the Polyjuice fading away.

Dorcha rolled his eyes. "I'm not needlessly cruel, Lucius. I hunt Death Eaters because they killed my family and many good friends. Had I known what Voldemort intended for Abigail Gibbon, I would have tried to get her out of the country. While your son is in no way as innocent as Abigail was, he doesn't have quite the same stain as you do. He also doesn't carry the mark, which will make it harder for Voldemort to track him down." Dorcha refused to let school rivalries get in the way of his morals. He didn't like Draco, but they were adults now. People change.

"He's staying with Blaise Zabini at their Manor. The Floo address is Zabini Cabins. He'll be safe there for a little bit, but not forever. Especially since Blaise's parents are supposed to be leaving for Italy today and leaving Blaise and Draco alone," Lucius said. "Are you really going to protect him?"

"I will try," Dorcha offered.

Lucius relaxed. "Thank you."

Dorcha blinked a few times, surprised by the sincerity in the man's voice. An annoyed Luna coming to float in front of him snapped him out of it. "Ah, of course. Let's see. Snapped wand? Check. Tape recorder with rewound tape? Check. Note complaining about them not telling me how Death Eaters taste with mustard? Che– Wait, where did I put that thing?"

Lucius snorted in amusement as Dorcha patted his pockets down with a frown. "Mustard?"

"Here it is! Yes, mustard. I was curious as to whether they'd actually test it. You never know with Aurors these days." Lucius snorted again while Dorcha knelt to add the snapped wand, tape recorder and note to the chains. Then he pulled out one of his pre-made portkeys and used a sticking charm to make sure it stayed on Lucius' head. "Say hello to the Aurors for me!" he said cheerfully. Lucius disappeared.

Ginny came to float in front of Dorcha. "Are you mad?! Why should you care about Draco Malfoy?!"

Dorcha gave Ginny a sad look. "You didn't see what Voldemort did to Abigail Gibbon. I did. Malfoy or not, I won't let him torture someone like that again!" He turned and hurried back to the cottage. A quick spell at the perimeter assured him that Sirius and Remus where the only living people there, so he walked right in.

"Dorcha?" Sirius asked, looking up from his game of cards with Peeves. The poltergeist grinned at him.

"Hey, Padfoot. Peeves. We're connected to the Floo, right?" Dorcha asked, moving towards the fireplace.

"Well, yeah. Why?"

Dorcha sighed. "Look, Draco Malfoy was never marked. I just sent his father to the Aurors. Voldemort hates betrayal, and he always takes it out on the one thing the betrayer would die to protect. He spent six days torturing Abigail Gibbon to death after I turned her husband in. Other Death Eaters' families have suffered just as badly. I don't like the Malfoys, but I'll protect what I can."

Sirius sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh. "Where do you plan on hiding him?"

"Honestly? I have no clue. For now, here should be fine. I hope. I can make him swear an oath that whatever he sees here he can't speak of to others, or something. If things get bad, we can send him to Hogwarts. Dumbledore should be willing to protect him."

Sirius nodded. "I have no love for the Malfoys, but Draco is of Black blood. Bring him here. I'll make him swear the oath."

"Thank you. You may want to warn Remus, though."

"Yeah. And clean up that other bedroom. Just keep in mind that he's the only Death Eater kid I'm helping."

"Right." Dorcha grinned, then turned to the fireplace and pulled down some Floo powder. "Zabini Cabins!"

When Dorcha stumbled out of the Floo, a house-elf popped in to greet him. "How is Nibbs to be announcing sir?"

Dorcha blinked. "I'm not here to be announced. Lucius Malfoy sent me. I'm here to move Draco to a safe place."

"Nibbs will gets Mister Draco!" the house-elf exclaimed, then popped away.

Dorcha sighed and cast a quick cleaning spell on his robes. He wasn't sure if this would go better if he was Dorcha or Harry, but it hardly mattered now. Never mind that he didn't have his oak wand on him.

Draco Malfoy and a pale boy that Dorcha recalled being in Slytherin in his year showed up in the doorway. The two Slytherins stared at Dorcha in shock for a moment, then both drew their wands and sent curses zooming his way.

Dorcha called up a shield, then disarmed them dully. "I'm not here to duel you, idiots. Draco, I promised your father that I would try and get you to a place where Voldemort can't get you."

"Why should I believe you?" Draco snapped back.

Dorcha rolled his eyes. "Why else would I be here?"

"Uh..."

"To turn Draco in to the Ministry?" the other boy, who Dorcha decided must be Blaise Zabini, asked.

"Draco doesn't have the mark. His mother took it so he wouldn't have to. I don't go after people who aren't marked," Dorcha replied. "Besides, if I'd planned on taking you for questioning, I wouldn't have waited here patiently, I would have come and attacked you while you were unawares."

"Oh."

"Yeah. That would have made more sense."

The two Slytherins stared at each other for a long minute, then Draco turned back to Dorcha. "Where's my father?"

"Auror Headquarters," Dorcha said blandly. "Look, Voldemort has a spy in the Wizengamot Administration, the same floor as the Aurors. He will probably know Lucius has been caught in moments. Then he'll come for you. Are you leaving with me, or not?"

Draco had paled as Dorcha spoke, while Blaise's eyes had gotten bigger. At his question, Draco said, "Let me pack real quick!" then spun and ran from the room.

Blaise sighed. "Well, if the Dark Lord's coming, he'll be coming through this Floo. You can apparate out of the house, but not in, so you two can leave from Draco's room. Come on."

Dorcha nodded and followed Blaise up two flights of stairs and down the hall to where Draco was packing in a frenzy. The other two stood in the doorway and watched the mess with amused looks for a long moment before Dorcha waved his wand and said, "Pack!"

All of Draco's clothes folded themselves and settled neatly into his trunk. His well-loved stuffed dragon settled on top of the clothing with a few other magical items and a hand-made blanket. The lid of the trunk closed and Draco's broom came to rest on top of it.

Blaise and Draco both blinked at Dorcha, who smirked and held out their wands. "Here."

The two Slytherins took their wands and each gave them a once over, then put them away. "Thank you," Draco said.

Dorcha nodded. "Is it safe to shrink your trunk? I'll apparate us to the safe house."

"Yeah, hold on." Draco pulled his wand back out and shrunk his trunk, which he then put in his pocket. He held his broom in his free hand and put his wand away again. "Blaise, what will you do?"

Blaise shrugged. "Pack and follow my parents to Italy, I suppose. They did say I could join them there if you went home early."

"Right. Stay safe."

"You too, Draco." Blaise turned to Dorcha. "You'll protect him?"

"I will do my best. I'm not exactly Britain's favourite wizard right now."

"That's all I ask," Blaise said, then turned and left.

Dorcha held his arm out. When Draco took his hand, Dorcha said, "Keep an open mind. Things are never as they seem." Then he apparated them to the clearing he'd questioned Lucius in.

Draco looked around, confused. "Is it under Fidelius?"

Dorcha shook his head. "No, this is just a nearby clearing. The cottage is this way."

Draco fell into step next to Dorcha as the African led the way through the woods. "I know you dislike Death Eaters, so why would you save me? I'm as good as one."

Dorcha snorted. "Have you ever killed someone, Draco?"

"...no...."

"Do you get off on people's pain?"

"No!"

"Are you comfortable kneeling at the feet of a half-blood with delusions of grandeur?"

"What?"

"Voldemort's a half-blood. Are you comfortable with that?"

"Ugh. No. Malfoys kneel to no one. Especially not half-bloods."

Dorcha snorted. "You're not a Death Eater, Draco. How many people have you seen killed?"

Draco blinked. "Uhm... Two? Maybe three?"

Dorcha sighed. "Then you're still reasonably innocent. I don't approve of harming innocents."

Draco sneered. "Have you killed someone?"

"Yes. Five people."

Draco choked. "Wait. They said you dueled Carrow to the death."

"Yes. I've killed two Death Eaters," Dorcha agreed, recalling the death of Quirrell. "I'm also indirectly responsible for a number of other people, mostly innocents."

Draco took a deep breath. "Did you enjoy killing any of those five?"

"No," Dorcha said firmly.

Draco nodded, relieved. "How many people have you seen killed?"

"Hundreds," Dorcha replied tightly as the cottage came into view. "This is Cottage Freedom, by the way. Welcome."

"Cottage Freedom?" Draco asked.

"Yes. I'm afraid Sirius Black is the one who came up with the name. His humour needs some adjusting," Dorcha replied dryly.

"Sirius Black? He's here?!" Draco froze five steps from the front door.

Dorcha rolled his eyes. "Your mother is his first cousin. He's promised to take you in."

Draco scowled. "Is Potter here?"

"Grow up, Draco," Dorcha said in response, then opened the door. "Sirius! We're back!"

Sirius bounded over to the door and grinned at Dorcha and Draco. "Welcome to Cottage Freedom, cousin!" he called to Draco as Dorcha moved so Sirius could get past him.

Draco sneered. "Of course, cousin."

Dorcha rolled his eyes.

Sirius' smile got bigger. "Us or Voldemort, cousin. Decide now."

Draco's face went blank. "You."

Sirius nodded, his face turning serious. "I need an oath from you that you won't tell the secrets of anyone in this house. Everyone living here is someone Voldemort wants dead. Dorcha and now you are both at the top of that list. We'll keep your secrets if you keep ours."

Draco nodded in understanding and pulled out his wand. "I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, do hereby solemnly swear on my magic that I will never break the confidence of the residents of Cottage Freedom." The tip of his wand glowed white.

Sirius nodded. "Thank you. Now that's over, Harry can show you to the room you'll be staying in."

Dorcha snorted. "Right. Come on, Draco."

Draco's mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged.

Dorcha rolled his eyes and willed his body to morph back to the one more commonly know as Harry Potter. Sirius joined Draco in staring at his godson and Harry smirked at him. "I forgot to add that I'm also a metamorph."

" 'Forgot' my arse!" Sirius laughed. "Well played, Harry. Well played. Anything else you 'forgot' to tell us?"

"A couple minor things," Harry replied, amused. "You'll find out eventually, I'm sure. Coming, Draco?"

Draco shook his head in disbelief. "You out-Slytherined me!"

"It's a talent," Harry assured him. "Come on."

"Wait. Who else lives here?"

"Just Remus," Sirius offered with a wicked grin.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Ginny Weasley's ghost is also in residence. The Bloody Baron and Peeves both spend a lot of time here as well."

"The Bloody Baron and Peeves?!" Draco squeaked.

"Harry's a Necromancer," Ginny offered, appearing next to Harry. "Ghosts tend to flock to him and Peeves listens to him. Luna Lovegood is also floating around here, but since she's not a true ghost, just someone Harry called from the realm of death, only Harry and us ghosts can see her."

"Mmm. What Ginny said," Harry agreed calmly. "Now, come on in, Draco."

Draco nodded and followed after Harry with a lost look on his face. Behind him, Sirius and Ginny burst into laughter.

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A/N: Hmmm... Didn't quite turn out as I envisioned it.

Whatever. Review, please.
~Bats

Chapters:
Pro - To Watch / 1 - To Hope
2 - To Learn ||| 3 - To Have Friends ||| 4 - To Know Death
5 - To Touch Freedom ||| 6 - To Have Morals ||| 7 - To Taste Victory
Epilogue - To Live

.

Comments

[order_of_chaos]

Well, that was fun! Especially the Draco bits. *grins*

[batsutousai]

Which bits of Draco might you be talking about? *cackles madly*
Yeah, I know, I'm dreadful.

[sdrana.livejournal.com]

Right about now, Draco's thinking, "I don't know whether to keep hating the little shit or go after his ass." And Luna is blithely floating along out of sight and listening to this, smirking.

[batsutousai]

XD It's so true. And mocking him, too. 'Cause Luna doesn't approve of Draco being there.