"So, young Mister Nott; you should think yourself very lucky. If it wasn't for my aurors, who were very quick to be on the scene, Lord Potter would have killed you right where you lay. It took the quick words of one of my aurors, begging for your life, that stayed Lord Potter's hand."
As Nott blanched, she thought, 'That's two Notts I've made do that today.'
"So, Mister Nott," she said. "You are going to be a good little boy. You are going to answer the questions my aurors are going to put to you truthfully and in detail. If you do not, I shall be informing Lord Potter you did not wish to comply. Then I'll step out of his way. Got me?"
Nott was quick to nod back.
Parents or guardians of the other two boys had also demanded the release of their precious children. However, once she explained what the three had done and against whom, all of them shut up and immediately switched to politely asking her to personally handle the matter, begged her to talk Lords Potter, Black and Greengrass out of more physical action and asked to be let know when they could collect their boys to take them home.
With no 'bought' Minister or dumpy, sneering Senior Undersecretary to harass her, her job was both much easier and a lot less stressful and aggravating.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
It wasn't long before Harry was contacted by Sirius via mirror and informed Black Manor, now (temporarily) renamed the Kennel, was complete right on schedule and right on budget. And he'd moved in, practically ordering Moony to move in with him.
"I told him it was much too big a place for me to be there on my own, so he agreed," explained Sirius. "So, I now need to tell you the floo address and password."
"Let me guess," said Harry. "The address is 'The Kennel' and the password is "Woof Woof'?"
Sirius pouted and said, "The first part's right but the password is, 'Hey, sex god'."
Harry broke up laughing, before he calmed down and said, "I can just see it now. Hermione activates the floo in the Doghouse and yells into the fireplace, 'Hey, sex god' right in front of her father." And cracked up laughing again.
"Oh!" said a sheepish Sirius. "Oops! I'd better change it."
That had Harry rolling about on the sofa in the apartment, laughing himself to tears.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
At Black Manor, Sirius walked into the library cum sitting room with a grin on his face and holding the mirror in his off hand.
Moony, who was sitting and reading a book, looked up and saw the expression on his friend's face. "No! He fell for it?"
Sirius chuckled and said, "Yep."
That had Moony laugh. "What was his reaction?"
"The same as yours," replied Sirius. "But, he also said, 'I can imagine the reaction on her father's face when he sees his daughter activating the floo and yelling "Hey, sex god" into the fireplace'."
That had Moony lose it to laughter. Which then had Sirius also collapse into a chair and laugh his head off.
"He's right, you know!" laughed Moony. "If you're lucky, Wendell would only pull out his surgical knives and come after you. If not, he'd come wielding a shotgun."
"Oww!" laughed Sirius. "Don't say that first one, ever again. My boys have already crawled up back inside!"
Finally getting himself under control, Moony asked, "When are you going to tell him the real password?"
"Tomorrow," replied Sirius, wiping his eyes clear of laugh tears. "I don't want it to be too much longer than that."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
On the Saturday before the upcoming Wizengamot session, the Alliance met. With Lady Marchbanks as Headmistress, she had no hesitation in allowing the Heirs to attend under 'family business' provisions.
She even mentioned that a couple of other Alliances were also, apparently, meeting either that day or the next, Sunday. And their Heirs and/or family members were attending those meetings under the auspices of 'family business'. So, the Heirs had no reason to find counter arguments to how they were receiving special privileges due to Marchbanks being a member of the Potter-Longbottom Alliance.
The main item of business was the discussion and determination of who the Alliance would support as Minister. Ogden immediately opted out, claiming his Chief Warlock position was a conflict of interest. No one gainsaid him, as each member was entitled to their opinion without rancour.
The meeting was much shorter than the previous due to there only being a month since the last. And the Heirs, after spending time with family, returned to the castle well before dinner.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After three weeks the Unspeakables believed they had convinced Dumbledore he'd been with them for almost five months.
For the Second Task of the 'Tri-Wiz' they gave him a bunch of made-up results, claiming they gave him the information as a reward for being co-operative. Harry had 'rescued' his beloved Firebolt from the bottom of the lake and come in third, but placed last due to his demand to only be awarded a single point by each judge.
However, it was as the 'made-up' time neared the Third Task, Dumbledore was pushing for more and more information regarding that particular Task above anything else.
Croaker had asked, "Why is the result of the Third Task so important to you, Albus? It is, after all, only a competition."
The old man had immediately closed up and went into this huge monologue - for that was all it really was - about how the Tri-Wizard Tournament was a great opportunity for the three leading European schools of magic to come together in fellowship. In other words, the old man had realised the Truth Chair would only cause him to glow red if he lied; not if he avoided the question.
He'd figured that out in their real third session, not the sixth session he thought it was. Croaker let him get away with it as, by the old man not directly answering, he was informing them the Third Task was, in fact, important.
That led Croaker to approaching the subject most carefully. With the aid of psychologists and mind-healers they formulated a plan on how to deal with it, as the Third Task was clearly of major interest to the old man.
At least, that was what Croaker thought was going on. He would soon discover just how effectively Dumbledore had misled him.
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