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batsutousaiTitle: Royal
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Pairings: N/A
A/N: Ah! So, I should mention now that there won't be Horcruxes in this story. Partly because it was too much work to fit them in, partly because I was still rather disgruntled about those last two books when I first started this fic.
~
The Ministry
~
None of the teens felt particularly pleased to be up at four-thirty the morning of the fifth, but they quickly swallowed their potions and took a few minutes to let them work and get dressed before trudging down to the kitchens, all three under dark cloaks. Under the cloaks, they were all dressed similarly to how they'd been in the Great Hall months ago, with the notable exception of Harry wearing the Kaizer family ring on his right ring finger and Ron wearing the royal family crest on a banner over his heart, showing that he was loyal to Hermione, though he didn't hold a Lordship like Harry did.
By the time they had eaten breakfast and were on their ways through the Floo to Grimmauld Place, it was just after five-fifty, which was fine timing, since they all intended to be there at six, when the Ministry officially opened for business.
There was no one in the kitchen when they got there, so they felt safe to dawdle a bit, sitting down at the table to look back over the map Ron had brought with. It was just chiming six when Molly walked into the kitchen. She froze a moment and looked like she might scream, but then calmed. "Oh, you three must be the guests Albus mentioned. I'm Molly Weasley."
"A pleasure," Harry replied shortly. "If you'll excuse us, we must be on our way."
"Oh, of course! Please feel free to spend a moment with us when you come back."
The three quickly made their way through the Floo to the Ministry Atrium, where all three paused to give the fountain disgusted looks.
Harry quickly took the lead, since he'd been there most recently, and led them over to where a wizard sat at the guard table. "Wands, please," the guard stated in a monotone.
The three friends drew their hoods back, making the wizard at the desk's eyes go wide. "Don't mind us," Harry said with a dangerous smile. "We're just passing through."
"But, your wands–"
"Oh, piss off," Ron said with a touch of heat.
"Uhm, well, your names, then? I– I need to record them!" he cried to their dark looks.
"Queen Perdita," Hermione said after a moment of glares.
"Lord Kaizer," Harry snapped, eyes narrowed.
"Rögnvaldr," Ron stated, giving the Old Norse form of his real name, as they'd all agreed to do when it was decided that he would accompany them in the Great Hall.
The wizard hurriedly wrote them down, then asked, "Uhm, what are you here for?"
"Business," Harry replied shortly. "Now, if you don't mind?"
The wizard nodded as he hurriedly wrote their reason down, so the three swept past his station to the lifts, where they got on the closest one and took it up to level four, where the offices they wanted were.
When the Trio walked out of the elevator, they did so looking like they owned the place, completely ignoring the Ministry personnel who stopped to stare at them for a moment before quickly bowing.
Hermione's first stop was the Werewolf Registry, right across from the Werewolf Capture Unit. She walked right up to the window and, while the witch there was still falling over herself, said, "What, exactly, is the point of registering all the werewolves in Britain and what do you do with that information?"
The witch was speechless for a long moment, simply opening and closing her mouth. When Hermione started tapping her foot impatiently, the woman finally said, "We, ah, we use the information to track werewolves who are potentially dangerous to the public, such as Fenrir Greyback, for ease of tracking them down with the Capture Unit. Majesty."
Hermione nodded, looking thoughtful. "How many times have you been able to successfully track down and contain a potentially dangerous werewolf that was actually intending harm, in the past ten years?"
The woman behind the window did some quick figuring, looking paler and paler by the minute. Finally, she looked Hermione straight in the eyes and said, "Twice, Majesty. Most times it's a false alarm or the werewolf escapes before the Unit can mobilize. We cannot track the werewolves accurately enough."
Hermione nodded to Ron, who walked over to the Werewolf Capture Unit, to have a few words with them about how useless they were. Hermione then turned back to the woman at the window, who was eyeing Ron's retreating form with trepidation. "Is the magical object used to record werewolves and their movements used for anything else? Such as denying werewolves jobs?"
The witch was starting to sweat. "Majesty, it has been known to; the Minister at the time of its creation stated that this office was open to any employers who wanted to check the background of their applicants or employees."
Hermione nodded. "That will no longer be allowed. This device is now to be used solely in conjunction with the Werewolf Capture Unit. There will be Ministry funds diverted to making the device more accurate in the pinpointing of dangerous werewolves. If the efficiency of this Unit does not improve by the end of next week, it will be removed and a different solution will be found. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the woman whispered.
Hermione nodded and crossed the hall to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. There, Harry gleefully walked in and blew apart the sign for the department, bringing the staff out into the hallway between their offices. "This department no longer exists," he informed them, then turned around and met up with Hermione and Ron again to walk down to the Centaur Liaison Office, where Harry once again blew up the sign and told them they didn't exist. Unsurprisingly, the sole member of the office looked quite gratified.
Hermione went over to the Office of House-Elf Relocation next, to inquire after how useful they were, while Ron walked over to the Werewolf Support Services office to inquire the same thing. Meanwhile, Harry met a team of aurors in the hallway, smirking. "Can I help you?" he asked, looking quite pleased with himself. He found he rather enjoyed blowing up things that bothered him.
"We're here on the Minister for Magic's orders to find out what, exactly, you are doing down here," the auror who seemed to be in charge said, looking stern.
Harry shrugged. "Oh, you know, reforming this department to our liking. Her Majesty mentioned during Christmas Eve that she wanted better treatment for non-humans, and yet we've seen no improvements. The Ministry has already shown us once that we will need to step in to make sure things get fixed, so we decided to do so. Is that all?"
"You can't go around blowing things up in the Ministry!" one of the younger aurors cried.
Harry smiled. "Oh, can't I?"
"Lord Kaizer," Hermione said dryly, "please remember that we're not here to get into a fight with the Ministry aurors." Then she calmly walked past the gaping aurors and the smirking Harry into the Goblin Liaison Office, where she had a long talk with them about how the Ministry treated goblins and what they could do about it.
Harry shrugged. "As My Lady commands," he agreed. "Oh, and, please make sure your Minister knows to divert funds from the destroyed offices to those that need it, such as the Werewolf Registry and the affiliated Capture Unit? They've got a week to become useful before we destroy their offices as well." Then he walked right past the aurors to assist Hermione in talking with the goblin office. Through the wall, he could hear Ron, yelling at the admittedly rather useless Werewolf Support Services.
Once the three friends had finished yelling at the various departments, they made their way back to to Atrium, where the press waited to question them. Questions were shouted as soon as the three walked out of the elevator, and they were almost pushed back into the elevator when the various reporters closed in.
Harry shot a warning spell at the ceiling while Ron pulled out his sword, getting in front of Hermione protectively. When the reporters fell silent, Harry said, "Her Majesty is not a celebrity and doesn't appreciate you idiots barging in on her life. Now move out of our way, or there will be casualties."
Obediently, the crowd parted to let the party through. Just before they reached the fireplaces, Rita Skeeter stepped into their path with a bright smile. "Lords, Majesty, might we have a couple words?"
Hermione set a hand on Harry's arm as he aimed his wand at his least favourite reporter. "Why, yes," she said. "I would like to mention that your illegal Animagus form of a beetle is quite lovely, Ms Skeeter. Now, if you would move?"
The three friends stepped calmly around Rita and went through the fireplace, each declaring their destination to be 'Number Twelve'. By the time Rita found her voice again – and the other reporters had finished writing down this latest scoop on Rita – the party was gone.
-0-0-0-
"Perdita, that was bloody amazing," Harry declared as soon as he stepped through the Floo. Standing next to his two friends were Sirius, Remus and Molly, all looking a bit star-struck, and Harry was glad they'd all agreed to use the names of the forms they were in at all times.
Hermione smiled at him. "Why thank you. I rather thought so myself. And she did deserve it."
"Yeah, it was almost better than Heimrich cursing her out of the way. Now she gets to be publicly discredited, like she was going to do to us," Ron agreed, referring to Harry by the Old Germanic name that 'Harry' came from, which was what they'd agreed to use as his first name, in case they ever needed it.
Sirius chose that moment to clear his throat, and the three friends turned their attention back to the other three occupants. "Uhm, welcome to my house?"
Harry's eyes danced. "Why thank you, Lord Black."
Ron glanced at the time, then said, "Any chance for lunch?"
"Rögnvaldr, it's not even nine, yet," Harry said with a touch of laughter.
Ron shrugged. "Alright, second breakfast, then." At Harry and Hermione's disbelieving looks, he added, "What? Yelling at idiots makes me hungry!"
"Everything makes you hungry," Hermione replied fondly. "And I suppose, if it's not too much trouble..?"
Molly shook her head with a smile. "Oh, it's no problem. Why don't you three sit down while I whip something up."
"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Harry said, taking a seat. Hermione and Ron sat next to him, while Sirius and Remus took seats across from the three teens.
"Oh, it's no problem at all, dear," Molly said, cheerfully pulling food out.
"So, what were you three doing at the Ministry? If you don't mind my asking?" Sirius asked, trying for a polite tone and mostly managing it.
The Trio traded amused looks, then Hermione said, "Oh, just making sure the Ministry knows I meant it when I said I wanted better treatment for non-humans. You know, jobs for werewolves and kinder masters for the house-elves who want them, or freedom for those who don't. That sort of thing."
Ron and Harry covered smiles with their hands. They had only just managed to talk Hermione out of storming the house-elf office and demanding freedom for all house-elves the night before.
"Thank you," Remus said with a smile, which turned into an odd frown as he smelled the air. "You three are...familiar..."
Harry smiled calmly, thinking quickly. "I believe we were students while you taught at Hogwarts, Professor, though I regret to say that none of us got high enough OWLs to share your class."
"I would have liked to," Hermione agreed with a sad smile. "Our housemates spoke so highly of you."
Remus was still frowning, though. "What Houses were you in? If you don't mind my asking?"
"Gryffindor," Ron and Hermione said, while Harry said, "Slytherin."
The entire room seemed to freeze for a moment, everyone giving Harry incredulous looks. The young man simply smiled, eerily calm.
Molly let out a cough and floated five plates over to the table, following with one for herself. "Well, eat up!"
Sirius shot Harry a nasty look at the knowledge of his supposed House, which Harry mostly ignored, despite a stab of pain directly to his heart. Knowing how his godfather felt about Slytherins, Harry wasn't surprised. He was slightly surprised, however, by Ron's calm acceptance of the statement. Occlumency was good for his best mate.
"So, where are you three staying?" Molly asked in an attempt to break the heavy atmosphere.
"Oh, here and there," Ron said cheerfully. "We don't really have anything specific right now, since Perdita's homes are mostly in ruin or taken over by the muggles. And Heimrich's only stable house is under so many charms, we're not sure we can get to it right now without some serious studying up on wards."
Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement, as everything Ron had said was basically true. There was the house that Harry's father had grown up in, which they could have gotten to and was still in one piece, but Harry wasn't sure he really wanted to go back there yet.
"Well, what about your own homes, Rögnvaldr?" Sirius asked, firmly refusing to look at Harry.
"Don't have any," Ron replied with a shrug. "My family was poor, and I don't have a Lordship. I'm just with them because we're friends."
"That's not true, and you know it," Hermione hissed, smacking Ron's arm. "You're not here just because you're our friend!"
Harry rolled his eyes and flicked a sliver of egg in his best friend's face. "Grow up, Rögnvaldr."
Ron looked completely gobsmacked at the food that had hit him, while everyone else stared at Harry, who had calmly returned to eating.
Suddenly, Hermione started giggling, hiding her face in her hands. "You two!" she said through her laughter, "You're completely ridiculous!"
Harry glanced over at Ron, who grinned and shook his head at him. Harry smiled back. "Done wallowing?" he asked.
"You're a complete and utter prat, you know that, right?" Ron replied.
"You have mentioned that," Harry agreed.
"No throwing food," Molly ordered, looking rather amused by the three friends, who were quite human at that moment.
Sirius shook his head. "Slytherins and Gryffindors, friends. Who would have guessed it?"
"Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor were friends, once, you know," Hermione pointed out with an eye roll. "Honestly, hasn't anyone read Hogwarts: A History besides me?"
Harry and Ron traded looks before cracking out into laughter, which made Hermione swat both of them. "Prats!"
The fireplace flared to life behind the Trio, and Harry and Ron immediately shot to their feet, wands out. They took their duty of protecting Hermione very seriously, especially Ron, since he wasn't sure what else he was there for, no matter what Harry and Hermione said.
Dumbledore smiled at them and the two relaxed, putting their wands away. "Headmaster," Hermione said with a friendly smile. On the other side of the table, the three Order members looked shocked by the actions of the two young men, who had been laughing mere moments before.
"Hello, Your Majesty, gentlemen, ladies," Dumbledore replied, nodding in kind to the various members of the kitchen. "I just got a most interesting fire call from Minister Fudge, who seems to think I'm capable of reaching you three," he continued, looking to the three youngest members of the kitchen. "He wanted me to pass on that if you attack the Ministry again, he will use force."
"Just let him try," Harry and Ron growled together.
"There will be no skirmishes with the aurors," Hermione said tiredly. "We need them to help fight Voldemort."
"How about a little duelling practise?" Harry asked, false red-brown eyes glinting maliciously.
"No, Heimrich."
Harry huffed.
"That reminds me," Ron said, gaze distant. "Sir, do you perhaps have an idea why Voldemort hasn't made any actions, even though Heimrich told all the Lords that he was back?"
"I believe you can answer that yourself, my dear boy," Dumbledore said, sitting next to Harry at the table. "How many English Lords are Light?"
Ron thought about it for a long moment, but it was Harry who said, "Currently, Weasley, Black, Potter and Longbottom. Longbottom and Potter's Lords aren't old enough to claim their Lordships yet, and Potter is being discredited by the Ministry as it is. Lord Black," Harry nodded to Sirius, "is believed to be a criminal on the run, while Weasley was represented by a proxy and is already known to be in your pocket, Headmaster."
Ron looked a little ill as he realized the complications. "But, what about Heimrich? He's Dark, but on our side!"
"I am the only one," Harry stated coolly. "There are some Neutral Lords who attended the meeting, but they will stay silent to keep Voldemort's wrath from their families."
"Cowards," Ron spat.
"It is not cowardly to wish to protect your own family," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Aren't you three doing just that, by hiding your identities?"
Ron jerked, looking like he'd been struck.
"Most of the Old families have the same beliefs as Voldemort," Hermione whispered. "Oh, how our world has changed since the days of our ancestors."
"Not a pleasing thought, is it?" Dumbledore said. "The Order has only a few Old families in it."
Harry, Hermione and Ron all traded sharp looks, then Harry turned to the Headmaster. "Would it be permissible, Headmaster, for one of us to join your Order?"
Dumbledore looked startled by the suggestion, while the three adults across the table stared at the Trio. "I am... not sure, my boy."
"Perhaps we should discuss this in your office, Headmaster," Hermione gently suggested.
"I believe that would be best," Dumbledore agreed after a moment, standing. "Molly, Sirius, Remus, it was good seeing you again," he said to the three surprised adults, then led the way to the fireplace and his office.
Once they were all comfortable in the Headmaster's office with cups of tea, Harry said, "Sir, before you say anything, know that the statement giving me my emancipation stated that it was to actually happen at fourteen, so I am, technically, overage."
Dumbledore smiled faintly, then shook his head. "Harry, it's not your age that worries me. In fact, out of all the members of the Order, you have certainly deserved a spot."
"Schoolwork?" Hermione concluded.
The Headmaster inclined his head. "Partially. There is also the chance that you will be recognized. And I know you want to keep this out of the public light for now."
"Mum'd throw a fit if she knew who you were," Ron agreed grimly. "Not that it wouldn't be good to have someone in the Order so we have a better idea about what to do with ourselves..."
Harry had caught something in the Headmaster's eyes, while they were all talking, though, and asked, "What else? You're not saying something, sir."
"Slytherin, hm?" Hermione teased with little humour.
The Headmaster sighed. "Harry, you remember the prophecy Professor Trelawney gave at the end of your third year?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah. About Wormtail."
"Do you recall my saying that was the second one she gave?" When Harry nodded again, the Headmaster said, "The first.... the first is about you."
Hermione and Ron gasped while Harry frowned. When Dumbledore didn't continue on his own, Harry said, "Will you tell me?"
Dumbledore looked troubled and glanced at Ron and Hermione.
Harry understood the unspoken message and shrugged. "I'll tell Ron and Hermione anyway, sir, so you might as well tell me it with them here." Next to him, Ron and Hermione nodded.
Dumbledore, still looking troubled, nodded. "Very well. But I think, my boy, it would be best if I showed you, rather than telling you..." He got up and pulled out his Pensieve, which Harry had seen before.
When he sat back down, he withdrew a memory and set it in the bowl, then used his wand to swirl the memories around. After a moment, Trelawney rose from the bowl and spoke in a hard voice, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
Harry and his friends were silent for a moment, thinking over what they'd heard. Instead of exploding, like they may have once done, they all considered the prophecy, paling as they began to realise what it meant.
It was Ron who finally asked, "So Harry's the only one who can defeat Voldemort?"
"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore agreed, taking the memory back.
"Kill or be killed," Harry murmured, then stood to pace in front of his seat, feeling sick.
Hermione reached out to grab his hand, intent on comforting him, but he shook his head at her and she drew back, understanding, but wounded.
"Well, mate," Ron tried with false humour, "at least we know what your power is?"
"Is being a member of a Dark family really a type of power?" Hermione inquired drily.
"I have always thought that the 'power' was your ability to love, my dear boy," Dumbledore offered, watching Harry's troubled form with concern.
"My ability to love?" Harry asked, stopping to look at the Headmaster in disbelief.
Dumbledore nodded. "You grew to love Sirius after only hours of knowing him. If that isn't a power, I don't know what is."
Harry traded incredulous looks with his two best friends. It was more likely that Harry being a member of a long-lost Dark family was this 'power'. Dumbledore was clearly barking.
Hermione cleared her throat. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to leave that for another time. On the previous matter..."
Dumbledore nodded. "Of course. If you truly want to join the Order, Harry, we'll be having a meeting Thursday evening, after dinner. My office password is Pepper Imps."
Harry nodded in understanding. "Thank you, sir."
"Of course. Now, I believe you three should head out so I can see you at breakfast two hours ago." Dumbledore winked at the students, and they all grinned back before heading out of the office, pulling up their hoods. While classes were in session, it was best that they tried to remain as unnoticeable as possible.
In the empty Room of Requirement, Hermione said, "Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to be okay?"
Harry paused in the process of finishing getting dressed – the Room had created two curtained-off corners so the three students could change – and thought it over. Next to him, Ron watched him with a concerned frown.
Finally, Harry said, "I'm not sure. But I've got you two by me, right?"
"Always," Ron replied, clapping Harry on the back before walking out, fully dressed.
Harry finished tugging on his school robe and walked out after Ron. Hermione hugged him once he was in the clear. "Of course we are."
Harry smiled thankfully at his friends, wondering how he would have survived without them. "Let's have a third breakfast, then," he suggested, grinning widely when Ron's eyes lit up and Hermione let out a helpless sigh.
-0-0-0-
The rest of the week leading up to the holidays was filled with discussions of the queen and her two retainers' visit to the Ministry. The Prophet ran constant stories about Skeeter's disgrace, as well as the Ministry's scramble to improve their Magical Creature's office.
By Thursday morning, the three friends were mostly pleased enough with the Ministry's efforts that they'd agreed to just let them continue for now. But if they heard anything that might suggest that the idiots weren't continuing to be useful, they'd go in and tear them apart.
For their first day of break, Hermione had agreed that they deserved a day off, so the three friends left their books and homework in their dorms and went out on the grounds to visit Hagrid and sit at the edge of the lake. Even Malfoy coming by to taunt them didn't ruin the nice day.
After dinner, Harry took his aging potion, grew out his hair, and covered his scar. He dressed in dark red robes with the Kaizer family crest and pulled out his Kaizer Lord ring to wear. Once he was properly dressed, he pulled on his invisibility cloak and hurried to the Headmaster's office, ducking the few students that were in the halls with practised ease.
Once he'd entered the stairs that went up to the office, he pulled off his cloak and put it in the bottomless bag that Ron had once used for their official documents. At the top of the stairs, he knocked and walked in when Dumbledore called, "Enter!"
"Headmaster," Harry greeted when he stepped into the room. He paused minutely when he saw Snape sitting in the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, before continuing with, "Professor."
Snape eyed him darkly for a long minute before saying, "Potter."
Harry cocked an eyebrow at Dumbledore, who sighed and said, "Professor Snape figured it out on his own, my boy. He has already given an Oath that he won't give away your identity."
Harry glanced back at Snape, who was glaring at him, and asked, "If you figured it out, what about your House?"
"That has been dealt with," the snappish man replied.
Harry looked to Dumbledore, who nodded, then sighed. "Very well. And the meeting?"
"Headmaster, I must disagree with allowing Potter to–"
"Severus, we've already discussed this," Dumbledore said tiredly. "Harry has been given my permission already. If he still wants to come, I won't deny him. He's earned his place as much as you have."
Snape's mouth clicked shut and he turned to glare at Harry, who simply raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. Harry had grown up too much over the past year to be phased by the same glare he'd been subjected to for five years. "At least the Order won't think too poorly of me, despite my stated House," Harry commented drily. "After all, what sort of Slytherin is hated by his own Head of House?"
Snape sneered. "You? A Slytherin?"
"He would have done well in your House, Severus," the Sorting Hat called from its shelf. "I said it to him five years ago, and I'll say it to you now. He's as much an Evans as he is a Potter; possibly more."
Snape looked slightly constipated at the suggestion that Harry would have made a good Slytherin because he was such a mix of his parents. "I sincerely doubt that."
"Whether you doubt it or not, that is the truth," Harry commented coolly. "And if you're quite done questioning my supposed House, perhaps we should go?"
Dumbledore smiled at the clear show of why Harry would have done well in Salazar's House, and why he played a Dark wizard so well, and stood. "Of course. Harry, my dear boy, I will be sending you with Fawkes, and he will be bringing you back, if that's to your liking?"
Harry nodded agreeably. If he continued to come through the Floo and obviously be travelling with Dumbledore, the Order might question his supposedly being out of Hogwarts. Fawkes bringing him would dissuade that belief rather nicely.
Dumbledore nodded to Fawkes and the bird flew over to Harry's outstretched arm, landing on it gently. "I will see you shortly, Harry."
"Heimrich," Harry reminded the Headmaster calmly, just before being enveloped in flames.
Harry and Fawkes arrived upstairs just outside the curtain that covered Mrs Black's portrait, which was screaming profanities at the top of her lungs.
"You did that on purpose," Harry said to the preening phoenix, then turned to the picture and said, "Do be quiet, madam."
Mrs Black fell silent when she saw the crest on Harry's right breast, eyes widening. She smiled at him after a moment and said, "Lord Kaizer, I presume?"
"You presume correctly, madam," Harry agreed. "Now, if you would keep your silence, I would much appreciate it." His easy smile chilled and he added, "Lest I find a way to burn you down."
Mrs Black shrank back into her portrait and didn't say another word. Harry drew the curtain over her picture with a smile and turned to find Sirius next to him, watching him curiously. "Lord Kaizer," the man said.
Harry inclined his head. "Lord Black."
Mrs Black's portrait slammed open and she snapped, "He's no Lord Black!"
Harry's eyes flashed angrily and he turned his wand on the woman, snapping, "Fabrica Eradico."
The woman gasped in horror, then was gone, leaving behind an empty picture. Harry had looked up a spell that might destroy her in the Black library over the Christmas holidays, but it had been Dark, and he hadn't been brave enough to cast it as Harry Potter. As Heimrich Kaizer, however, that was perfectly acceptable.
Sirius swallowed nervously. "Thank you, I guess?"
Harry shrugged, putting his wand away. "I understand that you dislike Dark magic, Lord Black, but even you have to acknowledge that it is sometimes the only way."
Sirius shook his head. "Doesn't mean I'd ever use it. I've seen what it can do to people."
Harry cocked an eyebrow. "That's not Dark magic, Lord Black, that's inbreeding," he commented, making Sirius' lip twitch with a smile. "Now, I was invited to a meeting, but the phoenix seems to have overshot." He glanced at Fawkes, who was sitting easily on Harry's shoulder.
Sirius chuckled and motioned for Harry to follow him, then led him to the kitchen, where most of the Order was already assembled, including the Weasleys, Dumbledore and Snape. Almost the entire room turned to look at the newcomer with varying degrees of suspicion, and Dumbledore said, "Lord Kaizer, welcome."
"Headmaster," Harry replied neutrally, as if he hadn't seen the man moments before.
Sirius easily took his usual seat, saying, "Lord Kaizer finally got rid of my mother."
Everyone seemed to adopt looks of respect and Harry snorted before taking the open seat next to Dumbledore that the man was subtly directing him to.
Once Harry sat, Dumbledore said, "Lord Kaizer has asked to join the Order, and I gave him my agreement. I would like you all to treat him with the same respect as you do your fellow members."
"In spite of my Dark nature," Harry agreed drily.
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, shooting Harry a mild disapproving look. "Now, does anyone have anything new to report?"
A couple of the aurors in the Order reported on the Ministry's movements, all nodding to Harry when they mentioned the actions being taken in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Snape also gave a report on Voldemort's actions, which weren't many, as the man was still collecting his forces.
Harry frowned at the news of Voldemort's inaction, mentally noting that they needed to do something about that. Harry was, by no means, prepared to meet up with Voldemort, but perhaps he could find a way to draw the man out into the open?
"There's also the matter of Potter," Snape said, voice interrupting Harry's thoughts. "The Dark Lord is talking about trying to draw the boy to the Department of Mysteries, since only he and Potter can touch the orb."
"So he wants Harry to get the prophecy and have someone else bring it to him," Dumbledore mused. Snape looked immediately to Harry at the mention of the prophecy, but the boy didn't show any surprise, only a well-hidden spark of sorrow.
"Prophecy?" Harry inquired, playing his part as the unaware Lord Kaizer.
"In the Department of Mysteries," Dumbledore explained, "there is a prophecy which Voldemort wants his hands on, one which tells of Harry Potter, the person who can bring him down."
Harry nodded in understanding, thinking hard. Voldemort wanted to draw him out so Harry could get the prophecy for him? Well, wasn't that ironic, since Harry rather wanted to get the man out into the open himself. But Voldemort would probably send his own people, rather than coming himself, and that wouldn't really work, though it was certainly a way to capture a bunch of Death Eaters.
"Some tea, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked Harry softly from behind him, a teapot in one hand.
Harry smiled at her and held up the cup which had been at each space around the table. "Please," he agreed. Mrs Weasley poured him some with a smile and Harry whispered, "Thank you," when she finished.
"If only I could get Severus to be so polite," the woman said with a wink before moving on.
Harry smiled to himself and sipped at his tea while the Order discussed the prophecy issue, and how they would keep Harry from going after said prophecy. Next to him, Dumbledore shook his head hopelessly at their various suggestions, while Snape just sneered at the lot of them, considering that the boy in question was sitting at the table with them.
Finally, Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, "Heimrich, you've been rather quiet."
Harry swallowed the tea he'd just sipped and said, "Why not ask the Potter boy himself? Or at least tell him Voldemort's plans. Perhaps, if he's aware of the possible threat, he'll be less likely to fall for the Dark Lord's tricks."
"But Harry's just a boy," Mrs Weasley said.
Harry sighed and shook his head in disgust. "If you expect a child to save you, you cannot treat them like a child. From what I've seen and heard about the Potter boy, he's been through more than enough in his life already, and he should be granted a little more responsibility. Tell me, how many times must he face Voldemort before you'll believe him capable of making his own choices?"
The Order was silent in response to the question, and Snape had to hand it to the boy, he had a point, and he'd delivered it in a way that would make any Slytherin proud, rather than throwing a tantrum like a Gryffindor. Perhaps the Hat had been right about Potter managing in the House of Snakes.
After that, the meeting was filled with discussions about the guarding of the prophecy and intelligence gathering. Everyone carefully stepped around any mention of Harry, leaving the decision of what to do about the boy up to the Headmaster.
When the meeting was finally over, Harry had Fawkes take him back to the Room of Requirement, where his friends were waiting for him.
"So?" Hermione asked, "How'd it go?"
Harry groaned and dropped into the empty chair, downing the potion that would reverse the changes to his age. "They're mad, the lot of them. And they spent five minutes arguing whether or not they would tell me about Voldemort wanting me to go to the Department of Mysteries and get the prophecy sphere so his men could take it and he could find out what it said. Great Merlin."
Ron snorted while Hermione shook her head. "What did you say, then?" she asked, correctly guessing that he'd eventually had his say.
"I told them to tell me about the threat, since I may be a child in body, but hardly in soul, and I can make my own decisions without their input, thanks. Asked them how many times I had to face Voldemort before I was going to be old enough to make my own choices."
"Oh, I'm sure they took that well," Ron commented.
"It shut them up," Harry replied darkly. "Ah, speaking of shutting up – I got rid of Sirius' mum's portrait, since she was irritating me."
"Brilliant! How'd you do it?" Ron asked, sitting forward. Hermione looked rather curious herself.
"The Art Destroying Curse," Harry replied. "Found it in one of the books in the Black library over the hols, but I could hardly use it as Harry Potter, yeah?"
"Practising Dark magic, now?" Hermione replied.
Harry shrugged. "I'm half Dark, Hermione. Might as well know how that half feels."
"Any good?" Ron asked uncertainly.
Harry sighed and shook his head. "Feels just like casting Light magic, guys. Maybe if I cast a certain amount of it, it'll start to affect me negatively, but for right now it just feels like I'm casting an accio or something."
Hermione shrugged while Ron's nose twitched in suppressed disgust. "Well, as long as it's not causing trouble for you," Hermione decided.
Harry nodded, then sat forward, face serious. "From what Snape was saying at the meeting, Voldemort's still biding his time and collecting followers. I was thinking, perhaps we should call him out, so the world can see for sure he's back. This prophecy thing might be the perfect excuse, but I doubt he'd come himself."
Ron rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "Want me to think on it?"
"Yeah."
"Harry, this sounds like a bad idea," Hermione cautioned.
"Do you have a better idea?" Harry demanded. "Because it's looking to be the only way we'll be able to draw him out at this point."
Hermione sighed. "No, I don't. Will you at least tell the Headmaster before you put this into effect, so he and the Order can be ready to back us up?"
"Definitely," Harry agreed. "I don't have a death wish, you know."
"Could have fooled me," Hermione replied drily, then smiled to show she didn't mean anything by it.
Harry grinned back, then got up to change behind the curtain the Room had provided. Behind him, Ron and Hermione started bouncing ideas for getting Voldemort out in the open back and forth.
-0-0-0-0-0-
A/N: That's all. 'Til later, then. ^.~
~Bats ^.^x
Chapters:
1 - Descendants ||| 2 - The Truth About Muggleborns ||| 3 - Defence |||4 - The Ministry
5 - DoM ||| 6 - America ||| 7 - Playing at Life
Author:
batsutousaiPairings: N/A
A/N: Ah! So, I should mention now that there won't be Horcruxes in this story. Partly because it was too much work to fit them in, partly because I was still rather disgruntled about those last two books when I first started this fic.
The Ministry
~
None of the teens felt particularly pleased to be up at four-thirty the morning of the fifth, but they quickly swallowed their potions and took a few minutes to let them work and get dressed before trudging down to the kitchens, all three under dark cloaks. Under the cloaks, they were all dressed similarly to how they'd been in the Great Hall months ago, with the notable exception of Harry wearing the Kaizer family ring on his right ring finger and Ron wearing the royal family crest on a banner over his heart, showing that he was loyal to Hermione, though he didn't hold a Lordship like Harry did.
By the time they had eaten breakfast and were on their ways through the Floo to Grimmauld Place, it was just after five-fifty, which was fine timing, since they all intended to be there at six, when the Ministry officially opened for business.
There was no one in the kitchen when they got there, so they felt safe to dawdle a bit, sitting down at the table to look back over the map Ron had brought with. It was just chiming six when Molly walked into the kitchen. She froze a moment and looked like she might scream, but then calmed. "Oh, you three must be the guests Albus mentioned. I'm Molly Weasley."
"A pleasure," Harry replied shortly. "If you'll excuse us, we must be on our way."
"Oh, of course! Please feel free to spend a moment with us when you come back."
The three quickly made their way through the Floo to the Ministry Atrium, where all three paused to give the fountain disgusted looks.
Harry quickly took the lead, since he'd been there most recently, and led them over to where a wizard sat at the guard table. "Wands, please," the guard stated in a monotone.
The three friends drew their hoods back, making the wizard at the desk's eyes go wide. "Don't mind us," Harry said with a dangerous smile. "We're just passing through."
"But, your wands–"
"Oh, piss off," Ron said with a touch of heat.
"Uhm, well, your names, then? I– I need to record them!" he cried to their dark looks.
"Queen Perdita," Hermione said after a moment of glares.
"Lord Kaizer," Harry snapped, eyes narrowed.
"Rögnvaldr," Ron stated, giving the Old Norse form of his real name, as they'd all agreed to do when it was decided that he would accompany them in the Great Hall.
The wizard hurriedly wrote them down, then asked, "Uhm, what are you here for?"
"Business," Harry replied shortly. "Now, if you don't mind?"
The wizard nodded as he hurriedly wrote their reason down, so the three swept past his station to the lifts, where they got on the closest one and took it up to level four, where the offices they wanted were.
When the Trio walked out of the elevator, they did so looking like they owned the place, completely ignoring the Ministry personnel who stopped to stare at them for a moment before quickly bowing.
Hermione's first stop was the Werewolf Registry, right across from the Werewolf Capture Unit. She walked right up to the window and, while the witch there was still falling over herself, said, "What, exactly, is the point of registering all the werewolves in Britain and what do you do with that information?"
The witch was speechless for a long moment, simply opening and closing her mouth. When Hermione started tapping her foot impatiently, the woman finally said, "We, ah, we use the information to track werewolves who are potentially dangerous to the public, such as Fenrir Greyback, for ease of tracking them down with the Capture Unit. Majesty."
Hermione nodded, looking thoughtful. "How many times have you been able to successfully track down and contain a potentially dangerous werewolf that was actually intending harm, in the past ten years?"
The woman behind the window did some quick figuring, looking paler and paler by the minute. Finally, she looked Hermione straight in the eyes and said, "Twice, Majesty. Most times it's a false alarm or the werewolf escapes before the Unit can mobilize. We cannot track the werewolves accurately enough."
Hermione nodded to Ron, who walked over to the Werewolf Capture Unit, to have a few words with them about how useless they were. Hermione then turned back to the woman at the window, who was eyeing Ron's retreating form with trepidation. "Is the magical object used to record werewolves and their movements used for anything else? Such as denying werewolves jobs?"
The witch was starting to sweat. "Majesty, it has been known to; the Minister at the time of its creation stated that this office was open to any employers who wanted to check the background of their applicants or employees."
Hermione nodded. "That will no longer be allowed. This device is now to be used solely in conjunction with the Werewolf Capture Unit. There will be Ministry funds diverted to making the device more accurate in the pinpointing of dangerous werewolves. If the efficiency of this Unit does not improve by the end of next week, it will be removed and a different solution will be found. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the woman whispered.
Hermione nodded and crossed the hall to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. There, Harry gleefully walked in and blew apart the sign for the department, bringing the staff out into the hallway between their offices. "This department no longer exists," he informed them, then turned around and met up with Hermione and Ron again to walk down to the Centaur Liaison Office, where Harry once again blew up the sign and told them they didn't exist. Unsurprisingly, the sole member of the office looked quite gratified.
Hermione went over to the Office of House-Elf Relocation next, to inquire after how useful they were, while Ron walked over to the Werewolf Support Services office to inquire the same thing. Meanwhile, Harry met a team of aurors in the hallway, smirking. "Can I help you?" he asked, looking quite pleased with himself. He found he rather enjoyed blowing up things that bothered him.
"We're here on the Minister for Magic's orders to find out what, exactly, you are doing down here," the auror who seemed to be in charge said, looking stern.
Harry shrugged. "Oh, you know, reforming this department to our liking. Her Majesty mentioned during Christmas Eve that she wanted better treatment for non-humans, and yet we've seen no improvements. The Ministry has already shown us once that we will need to step in to make sure things get fixed, so we decided to do so. Is that all?"
"You can't go around blowing things up in the Ministry!" one of the younger aurors cried.
Harry smiled. "Oh, can't I?"
"Lord Kaizer," Hermione said dryly, "please remember that we're not here to get into a fight with the Ministry aurors." Then she calmly walked past the gaping aurors and the smirking Harry into the Goblin Liaison Office, where she had a long talk with them about how the Ministry treated goblins and what they could do about it.
Harry shrugged. "As My Lady commands," he agreed. "Oh, and, please make sure your Minister knows to divert funds from the destroyed offices to those that need it, such as the Werewolf Registry and the affiliated Capture Unit? They've got a week to become useful before we destroy their offices as well." Then he walked right past the aurors to assist Hermione in talking with the goblin office. Through the wall, he could hear Ron, yelling at the admittedly rather useless Werewolf Support Services.
Once the three friends had finished yelling at the various departments, they made their way back to to Atrium, where the press waited to question them. Questions were shouted as soon as the three walked out of the elevator, and they were almost pushed back into the elevator when the various reporters closed in.
Harry shot a warning spell at the ceiling while Ron pulled out his sword, getting in front of Hermione protectively. When the reporters fell silent, Harry said, "Her Majesty is not a celebrity and doesn't appreciate you idiots barging in on her life. Now move out of our way, or there will be casualties."
Obediently, the crowd parted to let the party through. Just before they reached the fireplaces, Rita Skeeter stepped into their path with a bright smile. "Lords, Majesty, might we have a couple words?"
Hermione set a hand on Harry's arm as he aimed his wand at his least favourite reporter. "Why, yes," she said. "I would like to mention that your illegal Animagus form of a beetle is quite lovely, Ms Skeeter. Now, if you would move?"
The three friends stepped calmly around Rita and went through the fireplace, each declaring their destination to be 'Number Twelve'. By the time Rita found her voice again – and the other reporters had finished writing down this latest scoop on Rita – the party was gone.
"Perdita, that was bloody amazing," Harry declared as soon as he stepped through the Floo. Standing next to his two friends were Sirius, Remus and Molly, all looking a bit star-struck, and Harry was glad they'd all agreed to use the names of the forms they were in at all times.
Hermione smiled at him. "Why thank you. I rather thought so myself. And she did deserve it."
"Yeah, it was almost better than Heimrich cursing her out of the way. Now she gets to be publicly discredited, like she was going to do to us," Ron agreed, referring to Harry by the Old Germanic name that 'Harry' came from, which was what they'd agreed to use as his first name, in case they ever needed it.
Sirius chose that moment to clear his throat, and the three friends turned their attention back to the other three occupants. "Uhm, welcome to my house?"
Harry's eyes danced. "Why thank you, Lord Black."
Ron glanced at the time, then said, "Any chance for lunch?"
"Rögnvaldr, it's not even nine, yet," Harry said with a touch of laughter.
Ron shrugged. "Alright, second breakfast, then." At Harry and Hermione's disbelieving looks, he added, "What? Yelling at idiots makes me hungry!"
"Everything makes you hungry," Hermione replied fondly. "And I suppose, if it's not too much trouble..?"
Molly shook her head with a smile. "Oh, it's no problem. Why don't you three sit down while I whip something up."
"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Harry said, taking a seat. Hermione and Ron sat next to him, while Sirius and Remus took seats across from the three teens.
"Oh, it's no problem at all, dear," Molly said, cheerfully pulling food out.
"So, what were you three doing at the Ministry? If you don't mind my asking?" Sirius asked, trying for a polite tone and mostly managing it.
The Trio traded amused looks, then Hermione said, "Oh, just making sure the Ministry knows I meant it when I said I wanted better treatment for non-humans. You know, jobs for werewolves and kinder masters for the house-elves who want them, or freedom for those who don't. That sort of thing."
Ron and Harry covered smiles with their hands. They had only just managed to talk Hermione out of storming the house-elf office and demanding freedom for all house-elves the night before.
"Thank you," Remus said with a smile, which turned into an odd frown as he smelled the air. "You three are...familiar..."
Harry smiled calmly, thinking quickly. "I believe we were students while you taught at Hogwarts, Professor, though I regret to say that none of us got high enough OWLs to share your class."
"I would have liked to," Hermione agreed with a sad smile. "Our housemates spoke so highly of you."
Remus was still frowning, though. "What Houses were you in? If you don't mind my asking?"
"Gryffindor," Ron and Hermione said, while Harry said, "Slytherin."
The entire room seemed to freeze for a moment, everyone giving Harry incredulous looks. The young man simply smiled, eerily calm.
Molly let out a cough and floated five plates over to the table, following with one for herself. "Well, eat up!"
Sirius shot Harry a nasty look at the knowledge of his supposed House, which Harry mostly ignored, despite a stab of pain directly to his heart. Knowing how his godfather felt about Slytherins, Harry wasn't surprised. He was slightly surprised, however, by Ron's calm acceptance of the statement. Occlumency was good for his best mate.
"So, where are you three staying?" Molly asked in an attempt to break the heavy atmosphere.
"Oh, here and there," Ron said cheerfully. "We don't really have anything specific right now, since Perdita's homes are mostly in ruin or taken over by the muggles. And Heimrich's only stable house is under so many charms, we're not sure we can get to it right now without some serious studying up on wards."
Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement, as everything Ron had said was basically true. There was the house that Harry's father had grown up in, which they could have gotten to and was still in one piece, but Harry wasn't sure he really wanted to go back there yet.
"Well, what about your own homes, Rögnvaldr?" Sirius asked, firmly refusing to look at Harry.
"Don't have any," Ron replied with a shrug. "My family was poor, and I don't have a Lordship. I'm just with them because we're friends."
"That's not true, and you know it," Hermione hissed, smacking Ron's arm. "You're not here just because you're our friend!"
Harry rolled his eyes and flicked a sliver of egg in his best friend's face. "Grow up, Rögnvaldr."
Ron looked completely gobsmacked at the food that had hit him, while everyone else stared at Harry, who had calmly returned to eating.
Suddenly, Hermione started giggling, hiding her face in her hands. "You two!" she said through her laughter, "You're completely ridiculous!"
Harry glanced over at Ron, who grinned and shook his head at him. Harry smiled back. "Done wallowing?" he asked.
"You're a complete and utter prat, you know that, right?" Ron replied.
"You have mentioned that," Harry agreed.
"No throwing food," Molly ordered, looking rather amused by the three friends, who were quite human at that moment.
Sirius shook his head. "Slytherins and Gryffindors, friends. Who would have guessed it?"
"Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor were friends, once, you know," Hermione pointed out with an eye roll. "Honestly, hasn't anyone read Hogwarts: A History besides me?"
Harry and Ron traded looks before cracking out into laughter, which made Hermione swat both of them. "Prats!"
The fireplace flared to life behind the Trio, and Harry and Ron immediately shot to their feet, wands out. They took their duty of protecting Hermione very seriously, especially Ron, since he wasn't sure what else he was there for, no matter what Harry and Hermione said.
Dumbledore smiled at them and the two relaxed, putting their wands away. "Headmaster," Hermione said with a friendly smile. On the other side of the table, the three Order members looked shocked by the actions of the two young men, who had been laughing mere moments before.
"Hello, Your Majesty, gentlemen, ladies," Dumbledore replied, nodding in kind to the various members of the kitchen. "I just got a most interesting fire call from Minister Fudge, who seems to think I'm capable of reaching you three," he continued, looking to the three youngest members of the kitchen. "He wanted me to pass on that if you attack the Ministry again, he will use force."
"Just let him try," Harry and Ron growled together.
"There will be no skirmishes with the aurors," Hermione said tiredly. "We need them to help fight Voldemort."
"How about a little duelling practise?" Harry asked, false red-brown eyes glinting maliciously.
"No, Heimrich."
Harry huffed.
"That reminds me," Ron said, gaze distant. "Sir, do you perhaps have an idea why Voldemort hasn't made any actions, even though Heimrich told all the Lords that he was back?"
"I believe you can answer that yourself, my dear boy," Dumbledore said, sitting next to Harry at the table. "How many English Lords are Light?"
Ron thought about it for a long moment, but it was Harry who said, "Currently, Weasley, Black, Potter and Longbottom. Longbottom and Potter's Lords aren't old enough to claim their Lordships yet, and Potter is being discredited by the Ministry as it is. Lord Black," Harry nodded to Sirius, "is believed to be a criminal on the run, while Weasley was represented by a proxy and is already known to be in your pocket, Headmaster."
Ron looked a little ill as he realized the complications. "But, what about Heimrich? He's Dark, but on our side!"
"I am the only one," Harry stated coolly. "There are some Neutral Lords who attended the meeting, but they will stay silent to keep Voldemort's wrath from their families."
"Cowards," Ron spat.
"It is not cowardly to wish to protect your own family," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Aren't you three doing just that, by hiding your identities?"
Ron jerked, looking like he'd been struck.
"Most of the Old families have the same beliefs as Voldemort," Hermione whispered. "Oh, how our world has changed since the days of our ancestors."
"Not a pleasing thought, is it?" Dumbledore said. "The Order has only a few Old families in it."
Harry, Hermione and Ron all traded sharp looks, then Harry turned to the Headmaster. "Would it be permissible, Headmaster, for one of us to join your Order?"
Dumbledore looked startled by the suggestion, while the three adults across the table stared at the Trio. "I am... not sure, my boy."
"Perhaps we should discuss this in your office, Headmaster," Hermione gently suggested.
"I believe that would be best," Dumbledore agreed after a moment, standing. "Molly, Sirius, Remus, it was good seeing you again," he said to the three surprised adults, then led the way to the fireplace and his office.
Once they were all comfortable in the Headmaster's office with cups of tea, Harry said, "Sir, before you say anything, know that the statement giving me my emancipation stated that it was to actually happen at fourteen, so I am, technically, overage."
Dumbledore smiled faintly, then shook his head. "Harry, it's not your age that worries me. In fact, out of all the members of the Order, you have certainly deserved a spot."
"Schoolwork?" Hermione concluded.
The Headmaster inclined his head. "Partially. There is also the chance that you will be recognized. And I know you want to keep this out of the public light for now."
"Mum'd throw a fit if she knew who you were," Ron agreed grimly. "Not that it wouldn't be good to have someone in the Order so we have a better idea about what to do with ourselves..."
Harry had caught something in the Headmaster's eyes, while they were all talking, though, and asked, "What else? You're not saying something, sir."
"Slytherin, hm?" Hermione teased with little humour.
The Headmaster sighed. "Harry, you remember the prophecy Professor Trelawney gave at the end of your third year?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah. About Wormtail."
"Do you recall my saying that was the second one she gave?" When Harry nodded again, the Headmaster said, "The first.... the first is about you."
Hermione and Ron gasped while Harry frowned. When Dumbledore didn't continue on his own, Harry said, "Will you tell me?"
Dumbledore looked troubled and glanced at Ron and Hermione.
Harry understood the unspoken message and shrugged. "I'll tell Ron and Hermione anyway, sir, so you might as well tell me it with them here." Next to him, Ron and Hermione nodded.
Dumbledore, still looking troubled, nodded. "Very well. But I think, my boy, it would be best if I showed you, rather than telling you..." He got up and pulled out his Pensieve, which Harry had seen before.
When he sat back down, he withdrew a memory and set it in the bowl, then used his wand to swirl the memories around. After a moment, Trelawney rose from the bowl and spoke in a hard voice, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
Harry and his friends were silent for a moment, thinking over what they'd heard. Instead of exploding, like they may have once done, they all considered the prophecy, paling as they began to realise what it meant.
It was Ron who finally asked, "So Harry's the only one who can defeat Voldemort?"
"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore agreed, taking the memory back.
"Kill or be killed," Harry murmured, then stood to pace in front of his seat, feeling sick.
Hermione reached out to grab his hand, intent on comforting him, but he shook his head at her and she drew back, understanding, but wounded.
"Well, mate," Ron tried with false humour, "at least we know what your power is?"
"Is being a member of a Dark family really a type of power?" Hermione inquired drily.
"I have always thought that the 'power' was your ability to love, my dear boy," Dumbledore offered, watching Harry's troubled form with concern.
"My ability to love?" Harry asked, stopping to look at the Headmaster in disbelief.
Dumbledore nodded. "You grew to love Sirius after only hours of knowing him. If that isn't a power, I don't know what is."
Harry traded incredulous looks with his two best friends. It was more likely that Harry being a member of a long-lost Dark family was this 'power'. Dumbledore was clearly barking.
Hermione cleared her throat. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to leave that for another time. On the previous matter..."
Dumbledore nodded. "Of course. If you truly want to join the Order, Harry, we'll be having a meeting Thursday evening, after dinner. My office password is Pepper Imps."
Harry nodded in understanding. "Thank you, sir."
"Of course. Now, I believe you three should head out so I can see you at breakfast two hours ago." Dumbledore winked at the students, and they all grinned back before heading out of the office, pulling up their hoods. While classes were in session, it was best that they tried to remain as unnoticeable as possible.
In the empty Room of Requirement, Hermione said, "Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to be okay?"
Harry paused in the process of finishing getting dressed – the Room had created two curtained-off corners so the three students could change – and thought it over. Next to him, Ron watched him with a concerned frown.
Finally, Harry said, "I'm not sure. But I've got you two by me, right?"
"Always," Ron replied, clapping Harry on the back before walking out, fully dressed.
Harry finished tugging on his school robe and walked out after Ron. Hermione hugged him once he was in the clear. "Of course we are."
Harry smiled thankfully at his friends, wondering how he would have survived without them. "Let's have a third breakfast, then," he suggested, grinning widely when Ron's eyes lit up and Hermione let out a helpless sigh.
The rest of the week leading up to the holidays was filled with discussions of the queen and her two retainers' visit to the Ministry. The Prophet ran constant stories about Skeeter's disgrace, as well as the Ministry's scramble to improve their Magical Creature's office.
By Thursday morning, the three friends were mostly pleased enough with the Ministry's efforts that they'd agreed to just let them continue for now. But if they heard anything that might suggest that the idiots weren't continuing to be useful, they'd go in and tear them apart.
For their first day of break, Hermione had agreed that they deserved a day off, so the three friends left their books and homework in their dorms and went out on the grounds to visit Hagrid and sit at the edge of the lake. Even Malfoy coming by to taunt them didn't ruin the nice day.
After dinner, Harry took his aging potion, grew out his hair, and covered his scar. He dressed in dark red robes with the Kaizer family crest and pulled out his Kaizer Lord ring to wear. Once he was properly dressed, he pulled on his invisibility cloak and hurried to the Headmaster's office, ducking the few students that were in the halls with practised ease.
Once he'd entered the stairs that went up to the office, he pulled off his cloak and put it in the bottomless bag that Ron had once used for their official documents. At the top of the stairs, he knocked and walked in when Dumbledore called, "Enter!"
"Headmaster," Harry greeted when he stepped into the room. He paused minutely when he saw Snape sitting in the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, before continuing with, "Professor."
Snape eyed him darkly for a long minute before saying, "Potter."
Harry cocked an eyebrow at Dumbledore, who sighed and said, "Professor Snape figured it out on his own, my boy. He has already given an Oath that he won't give away your identity."
Harry glanced back at Snape, who was glaring at him, and asked, "If you figured it out, what about your House?"
"That has been dealt with," the snappish man replied.
Harry looked to Dumbledore, who nodded, then sighed. "Very well. And the meeting?"
"Headmaster, I must disagree with allowing Potter to–"
"Severus, we've already discussed this," Dumbledore said tiredly. "Harry has been given my permission already. If he still wants to come, I won't deny him. He's earned his place as much as you have."
Snape's mouth clicked shut and he turned to glare at Harry, who simply raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. Harry had grown up too much over the past year to be phased by the same glare he'd been subjected to for five years. "At least the Order won't think too poorly of me, despite my stated House," Harry commented drily. "After all, what sort of Slytherin is hated by his own Head of House?"
Snape sneered. "You? A Slytherin?"
"He would have done well in your House, Severus," the Sorting Hat called from its shelf. "I said it to him five years ago, and I'll say it to you now. He's as much an Evans as he is a Potter; possibly more."
Snape looked slightly constipated at the suggestion that Harry would have made a good Slytherin because he was such a mix of his parents. "I sincerely doubt that."
"Whether you doubt it or not, that is the truth," Harry commented coolly. "And if you're quite done questioning my supposed House, perhaps we should go?"
Dumbledore smiled at the clear show of why Harry would have done well in Salazar's House, and why he played a Dark wizard so well, and stood. "Of course. Harry, my dear boy, I will be sending you with Fawkes, and he will be bringing you back, if that's to your liking?"
Harry nodded agreeably. If he continued to come through the Floo and obviously be travelling with Dumbledore, the Order might question his supposedly being out of Hogwarts. Fawkes bringing him would dissuade that belief rather nicely.
Dumbledore nodded to Fawkes and the bird flew over to Harry's outstretched arm, landing on it gently. "I will see you shortly, Harry."
"Heimrich," Harry reminded the Headmaster calmly, just before being enveloped in flames.
Harry and Fawkes arrived upstairs just outside the curtain that covered Mrs Black's portrait, which was screaming profanities at the top of her lungs.
"You did that on purpose," Harry said to the preening phoenix, then turned to the picture and said, "Do be quiet, madam."
Mrs Black fell silent when she saw the crest on Harry's right breast, eyes widening. She smiled at him after a moment and said, "Lord Kaizer, I presume?"
"You presume correctly, madam," Harry agreed. "Now, if you would keep your silence, I would much appreciate it." His easy smile chilled and he added, "Lest I find a way to burn you down."
Mrs Black shrank back into her portrait and didn't say another word. Harry drew the curtain over her picture with a smile and turned to find Sirius next to him, watching him curiously. "Lord Kaizer," the man said.
Harry inclined his head. "Lord Black."
Mrs Black's portrait slammed open and she snapped, "He's no Lord Black!"
Harry's eyes flashed angrily and he turned his wand on the woman, snapping, "Fabrica Eradico."
The woman gasped in horror, then was gone, leaving behind an empty picture. Harry had looked up a spell that might destroy her in the Black library over the Christmas holidays, but it had been Dark, and he hadn't been brave enough to cast it as Harry Potter. As Heimrich Kaizer, however, that was perfectly acceptable.
Sirius swallowed nervously. "Thank you, I guess?"
Harry shrugged, putting his wand away. "I understand that you dislike Dark magic, Lord Black, but even you have to acknowledge that it is sometimes the only way."
Sirius shook his head. "Doesn't mean I'd ever use it. I've seen what it can do to people."
Harry cocked an eyebrow. "That's not Dark magic, Lord Black, that's inbreeding," he commented, making Sirius' lip twitch with a smile. "Now, I was invited to a meeting, but the phoenix seems to have overshot." He glanced at Fawkes, who was sitting easily on Harry's shoulder.
Sirius chuckled and motioned for Harry to follow him, then led him to the kitchen, where most of the Order was already assembled, including the Weasleys, Dumbledore and Snape. Almost the entire room turned to look at the newcomer with varying degrees of suspicion, and Dumbledore said, "Lord Kaizer, welcome."
"Headmaster," Harry replied neutrally, as if he hadn't seen the man moments before.
Sirius easily took his usual seat, saying, "Lord Kaizer finally got rid of my mother."
Everyone seemed to adopt looks of respect and Harry snorted before taking the open seat next to Dumbledore that the man was subtly directing him to.
Once Harry sat, Dumbledore said, "Lord Kaizer has asked to join the Order, and I gave him my agreement. I would like you all to treat him with the same respect as you do your fellow members."
"In spite of my Dark nature," Harry agreed drily.
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, shooting Harry a mild disapproving look. "Now, does anyone have anything new to report?"
A couple of the aurors in the Order reported on the Ministry's movements, all nodding to Harry when they mentioned the actions being taken in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Snape also gave a report on Voldemort's actions, which weren't many, as the man was still collecting his forces.
Harry frowned at the news of Voldemort's inaction, mentally noting that they needed to do something about that. Harry was, by no means, prepared to meet up with Voldemort, but perhaps he could find a way to draw the man out into the open?
"There's also the matter of Potter," Snape said, voice interrupting Harry's thoughts. "The Dark Lord is talking about trying to draw the boy to the Department of Mysteries, since only he and Potter can touch the orb."
"So he wants Harry to get the prophecy and have someone else bring it to him," Dumbledore mused. Snape looked immediately to Harry at the mention of the prophecy, but the boy didn't show any surprise, only a well-hidden spark of sorrow.
"Prophecy?" Harry inquired, playing his part as the unaware Lord Kaizer.
"In the Department of Mysteries," Dumbledore explained, "there is a prophecy which Voldemort wants his hands on, one which tells of Harry Potter, the person who can bring him down."
Harry nodded in understanding, thinking hard. Voldemort wanted to draw him out so Harry could get the prophecy for him? Well, wasn't that ironic, since Harry rather wanted to get the man out into the open himself. But Voldemort would probably send his own people, rather than coming himself, and that wouldn't really work, though it was certainly a way to capture a bunch of Death Eaters.
"Some tea, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked Harry softly from behind him, a teapot in one hand.
Harry smiled at her and held up the cup which had been at each space around the table. "Please," he agreed. Mrs Weasley poured him some with a smile and Harry whispered, "Thank you," when she finished.
"If only I could get Severus to be so polite," the woman said with a wink before moving on.
Harry smiled to himself and sipped at his tea while the Order discussed the prophecy issue, and how they would keep Harry from going after said prophecy. Next to him, Dumbledore shook his head hopelessly at their various suggestions, while Snape just sneered at the lot of them, considering that the boy in question was sitting at the table with them.
Finally, Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, "Heimrich, you've been rather quiet."
Harry swallowed the tea he'd just sipped and said, "Why not ask the Potter boy himself? Or at least tell him Voldemort's plans. Perhaps, if he's aware of the possible threat, he'll be less likely to fall for the Dark Lord's tricks."
"But Harry's just a boy," Mrs Weasley said.
Harry sighed and shook his head in disgust. "If you expect a child to save you, you cannot treat them like a child. From what I've seen and heard about the Potter boy, he's been through more than enough in his life already, and he should be granted a little more responsibility. Tell me, how many times must he face Voldemort before you'll believe him capable of making his own choices?"
The Order was silent in response to the question, and Snape had to hand it to the boy, he had a point, and he'd delivered it in a way that would make any Slytherin proud, rather than throwing a tantrum like a Gryffindor. Perhaps the Hat had been right about Potter managing in the House of Snakes.
After that, the meeting was filled with discussions about the guarding of the prophecy and intelligence gathering. Everyone carefully stepped around any mention of Harry, leaving the decision of what to do about the boy up to the Headmaster.
When the meeting was finally over, Harry had Fawkes take him back to the Room of Requirement, where his friends were waiting for him.
"So?" Hermione asked, "How'd it go?"
Harry groaned and dropped into the empty chair, downing the potion that would reverse the changes to his age. "They're mad, the lot of them. And they spent five minutes arguing whether or not they would tell me about Voldemort wanting me to go to the Department of Mysteries and get the prophecy sphere so his men could take it and he could find out what it said. Great Merlin."
Ron snorted while Hermione shook her head. "What did you say, then?" she asked, correctly guessing that he'd eventually had his say.
"I told them to tell me about the threat, since I may be a child in body, but hardly in soul, and I can make my own decisions without their input, thanks. Asked them how many times I had to face Voldemort before I was going to be old enough to make my own choices."
"Oh, I'm sure they took that well," Ron commented.
"It shut them up," Harry replied darkly. "Ah, speaking of shutting up – I got rid of Sirius' mum's portrait, since she was irritating me."
"Brilliant! How'd you do it?" Ron asked, sitting forward. Hermione looked rather curious herself.
"The Art Destroying Curse," Harry replied. "Found it in one of the books in the Black library over the hols, but I could hardly use it as Harry Potter, yeah?"
"Practising Dark magic, now?" Hermione replied.
Harry shrugged. "I'm half Dark, Hermione. Might as well know how that half feels."
"Any good?" Ron asked uncertainly.
Harry sighed and shook his head. "Feels just like casting Light magic, guys. Maybe if I cast a certain amount of it, it'll start to affect me negatively, but for right now it just feels like I'm casting an accio or something."
Hermione shrugged while Ron's nose twitched in suppressed disgust. "Well, as long as it's not causing trouble for you," Hermione decided.
Harry nodded, then sat forward, face serious. "From what Snape was saying at the meeting, Voldemort's still biding his time and collecting followers. I was thinking, perhaps we should call him out, so the world can see for sure he's back. This prophecy thing might be the perfect excuse, but I doubt he'd come himself."
Ron rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "Want me to think on it?"
"Yeah."
"Harry, this sounds like a bad idea," Hermione cautioned.
"Do you have a better idea?" Harry demanded. "Because it's looking to be the only way we'll be able to draw him out at this point."
Hermione sighed. "No, I don't. Will you at least tell the Headmaster before you put this into effect, so he and the Order can be ready to back us up?"
"Definitely," Harry agreed. "I don't have a death wish, you know."
"Could have fooled me," Hermione replied drily, then smiled to show she didn't mean anything by it.
Harry grinned back, then got up to change behind the curtain the Room had provided. Behind him, Ron and Hermione started bouncing ideas for getting Voldemort out in the open back and forth.
A/N: That's all. 'Til later, then. ^.~
~Bats ^.^x
1 - Descendants ||| 2 - The Truth About Muggleborns ||| 3 - Defence |||
5 - DoM ||| 6 - America ||| 7 - Playing at Life
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