Chapter 20
Everyone at the institute was up early that Saturday morning eagerly awaiting the arrival of the kids from the orphanage, they were all looking forward to spending some time with the children and Harry was delighted how well his present had been received by Hermione. She had flung herself into full 'help the children' mode and was delving through the adoption laws for anything that could be changed to help, one of the main problems was the whole 'blood' issue as sometimes babies were just left on the orphanage steps with no history available – Joan fell into this category which probably explained why the delightful little girl hadn't been adopted.
Harry smiled as he noticed his wife fingering her locket which had inter-twined HJP's engraved into the face and pictures of them both inside, he didn't need the back-up plan but couldn't help spoiling her every chance he got.
They had planed to take all the children shopping today and were waiting to see how that went before organising any more activities for the rest of the week, they were going to teach them swimming and flying with more being added as the holiday progressed.
When the children arrived it was pandemonium as their excitement had been building all week, two of the younger boys made a beeline straight for the pool and jumped in fully clothed. The fact that neither could swim had never even crossed their minds, water was for getting wet with and they certainly achieved that.
They eventually got them settled into rooms and the elves were working overtime trying to childproof the institute. To an adult a balcony is for sitting relaxing while you gaze out into the world around you, to a four year old it's an exotic climbing frame with treasure beyond measure on the other side so you just have to climb it.
The respect for Jillian Green and her team shot up and Harry knew they would need their expertise in designing the new orphanage at the former Malfoy Manor, out of everyone at the institute only Dan and Emma had any experience at dealing with young children.
The children sat mesmerised on the terrace and almost ignored the food on the table, not only could they see the beach and ocean but a cruise ship was sailing past to give its passengers a view of the famous cliffs. Some of the children were waving without understanding that the people on the boat couldn't see the Institute; it's wards kept them private.
Harry found Joan stuck to him like glue but unlike the Creeveys was not annoying him with inane questions every two seconds, she seemed quite content just to be near him and when he held his hand out to take hers as they walked her smile lit the entire room. Hermione had been working on sorting the children into groups who would be accompanied to Naples for some shopping and had smiled at her husband when Joan's name was at the top of their list. When Hermione took the girls other hand Joan just seemed to glow, both Potters didn't think the young girl had ever been as happy and they hadn't even done any shopping yet.
Everyone from the Institute was working in pairs and had about six children in their care as they headed out on a shopping trip that had little eyes sparkling with wonder, Dobby took Jillian and her staff to their new place of work so they could start informing the elves what needed to be done.
-oOoOo-
Connie sat in an interview room at the ministry having just finished writing her report on the incident, they had all been separated as soon as they reached shore and would stay that way until it could be established exactly what went wrong.
Amelia, Shack and his now ex-partner Tonks entered the room and took chairs opposite her as Amelia fingered the report on the table, "Ok Connie, forget this and tell us what really happened, Carrick is claiming he had the situation well in hand when you punched him out and allowed that bitch to escape."
Connie was sure getting practice at holding her temper, a few deep breaths later and she was at least calm enough not to shout. "Our Don' had a date and didn't want to waste the extra four hours it would take for another round trip so allowed the three most dangerous death eaters onto the boat at the same time. I recommended we stun them for the entire journey and was laughed at; the death eaters bided their time and sprang their trap with ruthless efficiency. I managed to overpower Rudolphus, and then stunned Rabasten but by that time the bitch had done her work and made off over the side. I checked that Phillips was indeed dead with his wand and keys missing before turning round to see that prick Riddick about to cast a summoning charm so I decked him."
"Please assume we're stupid and explain the reason behind punching him," Amelia asked.
"We had a man dead, another down unconscious and a boatman who I could tell had shit himself even from where I was standing on the boat. Not only didn't Riddick check if Jones was ok or could be revived to help us, he didn't even tell me what the plan was. The brainless wonder couldn't even handle a wand-less and handcuffed Rabasten with Jones for assistance, his intention of summoning a free and armed Bellatrix Lestrange into the boat was just plain suicidal. We would have all been killed while she was saved the trouble of swimming to the shore."
Shack shook his head; "you should have done us all a favour and threw the stupid bastard overboard to look for her, save us the trouble of a trial. There was me thinking that nobody could be as stupid as Cornelius Fudge and his nephew goes and proves me wrong."
"I'm sorry boss I wish…"
"You have nothing to be sorry about, but for your actions we would have four dead aurors and all three Lestrange's on the loose, Merlin knows Bellatrix is bad enough on her own. Your new assignment is minister protection detail along with Tonks here, now I know normally I wouldn't stand a chance in an argument with three women but this has to happen at least until this bitch is caught."
Amelia was set to argue but could see her friend and new head of DMLE was right, later today she was going to sentence the other two Lestranges to the veil and killing her husband and brother-in-law would put her right at the top of Bellatrix's murder list as if being minister wasn't enough. She had some phone calls to make then she couldn't put off dealing with that Weasley prat any longer, even if only to stop the old goat from bothering her secretary.
-oOoOo-
The kids were having the time of their lives, not only were they being welcomed into the shops but they had all been given gold to spend from Harry with strict instructions not to spend it on clothes as they would be bought for them. The magical shopping district was benefiting greatly from the Potters locating there and couldn't be more helpful, all shops had lines of credit set up for the Institute or Lord Potter's personal account. As this wasn't Institute business Harry was footing the bill for today and had even purchased half a dozen junior brooms to teach the younger ones to fly.
Both Potters couldn't help but notice that Joan never left their sides the entire trip, while the other children in the group would get excited about something in a shop window her highlights seemed to be holding their hands or receiving a hug. Harry recognised the signs from Hermione's childhood of a young girl desperate for some sort of affection, a kind word from one of the staff at the orphanage would probably have her smiling all day. The parallels between the two were reinforced when Joan dragged Hermione into a bookshop so she could spend the gold Harry gave her. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry for this young girl who was making such an impression on them.
Harry was drawn out of his musings by his mobile phone ringing and quickly answered when the caller ID indicated it was Amelia.
Two minutes later and he was calling for Dobbie, there didn't seem to be much sense in spoiling everyone's fun when they couldn't do anything about the situation. They were all heading back to the Institute for lunch in less than two hours and the news could be broken then.
-oOoOo-
Not for the first time Jillian Green thanked Merlin for sending the Potters to answer her prayers, the new orphanage building was beyond anything she could have imagined. The manor itself had been stripped from top to bottom and they now had a blank canvas to work with, even more incredible was the fact they had a budget for the refurbishment and such a wiling workforce.
She had met with the Potters twice more before today and the probing questions Hermione had asked reassured Jillian that this was not a passing whim for them, they were the most serious and mature teenagers she had ever met. On both of their visits Joan just happened to run into them, she was one of Jillian's favourites but because of being left on the doorstep they had no way of determining her blood status therefore her chances of adoption were slim to none. At least now thanks to the Potters she was guaranteed an education and, being a very bright child, she should do well.
Jillian was startled by the sudden appearance of Dobby but his message startled her even more, "Miss Green, you and your staff must return to the Institute immediately. A wicked witch has escaped and may come to this house looking for her sister, mister Harry wants everyone, including elves out of this building very quickly."
It seemed pretty strange to be ordered around by a house elf but Dobby brokered no argument, less than ten minutes after Harry gave the order in Naples the former Malfoy Manor was totally empty.
-oOoOo-
Percy Weasley found himself led into a room that held the minister, four male aurors and Penelope, he had no idea what was going on but couldn't believe his ears when Madam Bones informed him what was about to happen.
"Mr Weasley you seem to think it's alright to demand young girls remove articles of clothing in public, I strongly disagree with that under any circumstances but even more so since one of them was my niece. Your fiancée here has argued that you meant no disrespect and it was their shirts you found offensive, she claims that you were not trying to sexually harass the girls and that no harm would have been done. As proof of this she is going to take her top off here in front of these aurors."
Percy was struggling with the thought that his incredibly shy Penelope was doing this for him, but as she slowly got to her third button reality paid a rare visit to Percy the prick and he was up out his seat and standing in front of his fiancée with his back to her blocking the view of the male aurors present.
"This has gone far enough, I know that I was incredibly stupid the other day and will accept any punishment handed out but this is not happening," Percy turned to see the minister practically smiling at him.
'Mr Weasley had my Auror undone one more button you would have felt the full weight of the law descend upon you," Percy span round to see a pink haired woman re-buttoning her blouse. "As you seem to have come to your senses I've decided to give you another chance, whether I like it or not you now hold a position that demands a certain level of behaviour on your part. Should that level sink below an acceptable point again I will come after you, do not make me regret this decision Percy as two Weasleys in the cells already is really quit enough."
Percy knew he was incredibly lucky to be given a second chance so with a 'thank you' he almost ran out the office desperate to find the nearest floo and get back to Penelope.
-oOoOo-
As the kids were sitting down to lunch at the Institute Harry arranged for a quick meeting with Jillian and her staff as well as Pomona, Minerva, Hermione, mum and dad.
"Bellatrix Lestrange has escaped and I am worried that she may head for the former Malfoy Manor looking for help from her sister. Why I have everyone here is to discuss our options and ask the following questions: can the orphanage staff stay here and will we have room come September the first for our students and the orphanage should they still be here?"
Jillian glanced towards her staff and received nothing but nods, "some of my staff only work part time but would be delighted to spend a few days a week staying here."
Minerva and Pomona were deep in discussion regarding accommodation and quickly came to a decision, "we don't see a problem with numbers but think it would be a good idea to have a separate floor or wing adapted to their specific needs. We also think it would benefit everyone if we all ate our meals together and allowed the children to mix as much as possible with the students. Even with teaching two subjects our relatively low numbers for the moment means that staff have some spare time on their hands and both Minerva and I would like to volunteer to run some classes for them, I'm sure some of the other teachers will do the same."
Emma immediately spoke for her and Dan, "we're pretty sure we wont be returning to dentistry and I can't think of anything more worthwhile, we will help you all we can."
Jillian could only nod in thanks; her throat just wouldn't work as she struggled to fight back the tears. Here were people she'd only recently met rearranging there school and lives to freely offer of their time and expertise to help her orphans. This was not a typical experience for the lady who had ran the orphanage for the last eight years, she had never went to Hogwarts but had learned the business from the inside out.
Thirty-one years ago she had been left on the orphanage steps and, like Joan and so many others over the years, her undetermined blood status had meant she was left to grow up in the place she now worked. When the manager left she had been working as her unpaid assistant for six years and had got the job under the prefix that no one else wanted it.
She was paid a pittance of a salary and ploughed most of it straight back in to help keep the orphanage running, these people were showing her more kindness than she had ever received and asking nothing in return. This was beyond her experience so she just had to nod and hope she was doing the right thing, life had taught her that when something sounded too good to be true it usually meant trouble but she couldn't see what the Potters had to gain by scamming an orphanage. Amelia was a frequent visitor to the orphanage and helped out when she could, the fact that she trusted these people went a long way to easing her fears.
What Jillian didn't know was that the Potters were well aware of not only her origins but the fact that she had been spending most of her money to ensure the children got at least fed. She would now be paid directly into her newly opened Gringotts account and the first time she visited it would be quite a shock, they had deposited back-money that amounted to her being paid a decent wage for the last eight years. A person who was prepared to give of herself in that manner was definitely the woman Harry and Hermione wanted running the orphanage.
They left the meeting to find Joan sitting on a chair beside the door engrossed with a book she had bought that morning, she came straight over and took Hermione's hand while asking her about something she'd read but not understood.
Dan and Emma watched with Harry as Hermione sat beside Joan with her arm around her shoulder, "she reminds me so much of Hermione," said Dan "I only wished that I'd put my arm around my daughter when she didn't understand something. It was right there in front of us all the time but neither of us saw it, it's not just about answering the question but also giving comfort with the gesture. That arm around Joan's shoulder is saying that it's ok not to know everything and always ask questions if you don't understand something. Our daughter and son are already better parents than we were."
"I hate to ruin your pity party dad but Hermione turned out just fine, you're just going to have to spoil your grandchildren."
This earned Harry a playful smack from Emma while he watched his wife answer his unasked question over their bond, 'yes love, this is what it's like to have family.'
-oOoOo-
Albus Dumbledore looked at the letters on his desk in total frustration, he'd sorted them under every heading he could think off but still couldn't see a pattern of what Potter was up to. All he was able to discern is that he hadn't taken any students older than his own year group, which thankfully left most of the seniors still at Hogwarts to compete. Only one figure was constant as he looked at the piles that loomed larger than the Himalayas to the old wizard, there were eighty letters of rejection in total, which was over a quarter of Hogwarts students.
Including Harry and his mudblood there were sixty-one students going to Potter, a dozen Slytherins had 'elsewhere' written on them with another two snakes going to Durmstrang and five Ravenclaws leaving for Beauxbatons. The number of students heading for Potter was by far the largest group and as it included all houses and all blood statuses he hadn't a clue what the brat was up to other than the fact that it couldn't be allowed to continue or Hogwarts wouldn't survive. Only the fact that he had four professors now on staff who had just left school, John Stewart in Herbology and Oliver Woods as DADA, filling his vacancies and being paid a lot less than the teachers they replaced would allow Hogwarts to continue this year.
He had wanted to call a meeting with the head's of house but that prat Percy getting arrested had put paid to that but now he was free they should be able to proceed early next week. He was not looking forward to telling Horace that Harry Potter was no longer a student at Hogwarts; the new head of Slytherin was almost salivating at the thought of adding the boy-who-lived to his slug club membership portfolio.
Fortunately he was Albus Dumbledore and had a foolproof plan for getting the brat back to Hogwarts and once again under his control. When he came to compete in the Tri-Wizard Albus would take the brat aside and show him the prophesy, once he realised that he had to face Voldemort the offer of special training under his illustrious self would be more than enough to entice the ungrateful brat back to the castle. He would be recorded as an assistant professor of DADA to overcome his magical oath and it might settle Woods as Albus was having to use compulsion charms every other day, the boy must be fanatical about Quidittch to fight it so hard.
Unfortunately that would be the only assistant professorship open, due to reduced student numbers, and this would also separate him from his mudblood and friends leaving Ronald Weasley as his only other option.
Of course any training Albus gave would be old, archaic spells that took so long to cast they would allow Voldemort to kill him easily, leaving the great Dumbledore to come to the rescue of the wizarding world. Sometimes his brilliance dazzled even himself and when the dust had settled the wizarding world would see just who was taking the piss.
-oOoOo-
Peter Pettigrew was not a happy wizard, this was not a new phenomenon but the degree of unhappiness was gradually climbing to heights that hadn't been scaled in well over a decade. They had been travelling for ages before finally reaching their destination last night, his master was exhausted but was getting stronger every day and there lay his dilemma. The more Peter cared for his master the stronger he became but as his strength grew so did his temper and the body he inhabited was now able to use a wand.
The better care he took of his master then the more likely he was to be on the receiving end of his wand, Peter was not what you would call a smart wizard but even he could see the flaw in that logic - unfortunately he'd chosen his side and couldn't change now.
He'd been sent by his master to collect any information he could on the current situation in wizarding Britain which was why he was now strolling through the shadows of Hogsmead late at night.
"Can you please show your left arm?"
The question that was really a demand came from the shop doorway in front of Peter where a man who was missing his left sleeve now appeared, he also had a wand in his hand that was pointed directly at the death eater.
Peter was totally taken aback, what the hell was going on here? "What seems to be the problem sir?"
"Oh no problem," the man answered, "unless of course you have a dark mark on your arm."
Peter noticed more people being drawn to the incident and every one of them had their left sleeve missing, his blood froze as realisation of what this meant sank into even his slow mind.
"Oh there won't be a problem then," he said as his right hand reached for his left sleeve. With everyone's attention now on his arm, Peter spun round and dived for the narrow alley between the shops. No sooner was he out of sight than stunners were being fired in his direction. He changed into his rat form and crawled into a hole underneath the building where he stayed for over an hour, when the coast was clear Wormtail emerged and kept his form while rummaging through some refuse looking for newspapers.
What he found scared him more than Voldemort, and that was really saying something. George Grafton was on the front page of the old newspaper minus the back of his head with the banner headline screaming, "Potter dispenses justice!" It was all here, the new laws, punishments and the fact that Potter wasn't living in Britain any more. Normally there would be a mad scramble to find some patsy that would present news like this to the Dark Lord but since there was only him available then he would just have to screw up his courage and face his master. A very scary thought passed through the mind of the death eater, supposing he was the only one left?
He might not have that worry if he didn't get a move on, he was late and bringing bad news that not only destroyed death eaters but shattered his master's plans as well, there was every chance the Dark Lord's temper would see Peter killed tonight.
-oOoOo-
Night was falling on the beach at the Institute as the older children toasted marshmallows over bluebell flames in the sand. Jillian watched while the youngsters fought sleep before finally succumbing and then being whisked to bed by an elf, she shared a look with her staff that clearly said they could get used to this. She looked towards the Potters and couldn't help but smile, Jillian had seen this happen occasionally over the years where a couple and a child had just clicked. Watching them together she wasn't even sure if they were aware of it yet and she would need to talk to her friend Amelia on what was possible, though where the Potters were concerned she was learning that nothing could be ruled out.
Joan had fallen asleep with her head on Hermione's lap but she had shooed the elf away who was going to take the sleeping girl to bed, Harry couldn't take his eyes of his wife as she unconsciously ran her fingers through Joan's hair. Seeing the two of them together was a beautiful sight for the young wizard, although Hermione was more of age to be her big sister the relationship definitely leaned more towards mother / daughter, dad was right on the money when he said she would make a wonderful mum.
Today had ended once and for all any debate between the Potters about whether they were right to come back in time, watching the sheer joy on the children's faces just from the pleasure of being on the beach beside the sea was a patronus worthy memory. Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna all had great fun splashing and playing games with the kids, even taking them on broom rides over the sea. Joan was a bit reluctant at first but Hermione whispered in her ear, "nothing bad will ever happen to you while Harry's there." This gave her the confidence to climb on and she was soon enjoying herself as the five of them gently raced above the waves with their passenger's laughter ringing in their ears.
Harry was carrying the sleeping Joan back up to the Institute while wondering how this little girl had wormed her way into their affections so quickly, Harry had felt a connection that first day in the orphanage but it was just something that refused to be analysed. Perhaps it was both of them being left on a doorstep as babies or the fact that she didn't make friends easily but something about this kid cried out to both himself and Hermione on an almost primeval level. Whatever it was there would be no ignoring it, as Joan already seemed part of their lives.
He glanced towards Neville who had Luna burying into his chest as they walked beside them, the news of Bellatrix's escape had hit the young wizard hard. They knew from the previous timeline who was responsible for what happened to his parents and the way Luna had been supportively clinging to him all day indicated he had shared the details with her. Having fun with the kids had been good for him today though Harry had immediately binned his proposal that they cut back on training while the children were here, with that bitch on the loose and armed they needed to be ready for anything.
-oOoOo-
Bella was beyond tired, she had been pushing herself to get inland and avoid any ministry search parties that were sure to be looking for her, but lack of food and sleep were beginning to take its toll and she needed a bolthole for the night. She could feel her master getting stronger and was drawn towards him like iron filings to a magnet but Bella was worn out. She chose the house at the end of the street and an alohomora gained her entry, it was a risk performing magic but that spell was so low powered she doubted if the ministry monitors could even detect it.
Making her way into the kitchen she discovered exactly what was required handily protruding from a block of wood, large sharp knives. She had to kill quietly while using no magic and these were just perfect for the job, the death eater stealthily made her way up the stairs of the darkened house. Bella found a couple lying sleeping in the first room and approached the bed with a knife in each hand, the husband's eyes shot open as she expertly slid the knife between his ribs and straight through his heart. The man was dead but his brain just hadn't registered that fact yet as she repeated the procedure on his still sleeping wife.
Having checked the rest of the house was empty she returned to the kitchen and ate everything she could lay her hands on, she would have liked to torture the couple before sending them on their way but didn't want anything to distract her from getting to her master. There would be plenty time for pleasure later but right now she needed to sleep, having eaten her fill she lay down in an empty bedroom and was soon fast asleep though with her wand still clutched in her hand.
The young man sneaked into the house as quietly as possible and ghosted up the stairs with a mad gleam in his eyes, he was in so much trouble but right at this moment he didn't care. He knew his dad would freak over him being out all night but any punishment would be worth it, no longer would he be the butt of all the jokes in school because he was now a man and nothing could wipe the smile off his face. Nothing that is except seeing his parents bedroom door open and both of them lying there with knife handles protruding from their unmoving chests, he took a deep breath before screaming "HELP!" at the top of his lungs while racing back down the stairs. On this night of firsts for the young man he had the dubious honour of being the first person hit by a killing curse from Bellatrix Lestrange in over a decade.
Since the aurors now knew where she was Bella was forced into apparating to the one place that came to mind where they couldn't follow, it was very risky but the sounds of apparition pops coming from outside left her with no option so she disappeared before they had time to get any wards up.
-oOoOo-
The group had almost finished training and Amber was progressing well with her shooting when an injured Dobby appeared and had Harry on his knees trying to asses the damage to his little friend. "Dobby will be fine, Mrs Black called for Dobby to tell him wicked witch is in Lord Black's house. Wicked witch caught Dobby with spell but I protected myself." His grin wasn't masking the fact that he was in pain.
"Winky!" Harry called and was instantly rewarded with the arrival of the elf in question, "get Dobby to Poppy and make sure he rests until he's better."
The determined expression on Winky's face left no doubt that his orders would be followed to the letter, Dobby was in good hands as she popped both elves away to find the healer.
Harry turned round to see everyone staring at him in anticipation, "well why do you think we've been training? Suited and booted people, we leave in five minutes."
He grabbed Neville as Hermione took Luna and they apparated to the corridor outside their rooms, "full armour and game faces, this is as real as it gets."
Neville hugged Harry while pounding his back before kissing Luna and diving into his room where the elves had his armour laid out waiting on him. Luna kissed Harry, "thank you, this means a lot to Neville," he just hugged his sister before dashing off with Hermione to get ready.
Back on the beach Sirius had pulled Amber into an embrace and kissed her so hard her toes curled, his 'see you soon' before grabbing Dan and following Remus with Emma as they apparated to the Institute left her sinking to her knees on the sand thinking he was in so much trouble when he got back. That thought led Amber to praying he did come back and released a whole other set of emotions in the young woman.
At opposite ends of the institute two girls had been watching the training session on the beach and could sense something wasn't right so both Ginny and Joan started racing towards Harry and Hermione's room to find out just what was happening.
Hermione left their bedroom to find herself being crushed in a hug by a crying eight-year-old, Joan had taken one look at her outfit and didn't need to be told any more.
"Joan it's alright, remember what I told you yesterday? 'Nothing bad will ever happen to you while Harry's there' well here he is and he won't let anything happen to me."
Harry had been on the phone to Amelia as he joined Hermione in trying to consol the young girl, both were dressed for battle and Joan now had an arm round each of them.
Ginny glanced towards them wondering if they were going after Riddle but Harry's answer of Bellatrix did little to lessen her concerns, everyone said she was nearly as bad as her master. She took the still crying Joan in her arms as a similarly dressed Neville and Luna joined them and they all made their way to meet with the others.
Harry had Hermione and Neville either side of him with Luna directly behind, they had devised this diamond formation in the last timeline and were using it again. Across from them the others were using the exact same tactics with Remus in front, Dan and Emma beside him with Sirius guarding their backs. All eight had weapons drawn and were ready for anything.
They were portkeying in as two groups to cover each other, with a quick nod to Ginny and Joan they were off to face a wicked witch but didn't think a bucket of water was going to melt this one.
Chapter 21
Bella was picking herself up off the floor wondering what the hell had just happened, the dazed witch shook her head trying to clear the ringing from her ears after being slammed into a wall. She had heard her aunt's portrait speaking to the strangest house elf the pureblood witch had ever seen, when Bella had noticed the Potter coat of arms on his uniform she fired off a curse at the creature. The little bastard actually had the audacity to move out of the way and then fire a curse at her; Bella was so surprised she didn't even react hence coming round on the floor with a sore head. What was the world coming to when a house elf not only tried to dodge your curses but actually fought back, they were on her masters list for annihilation anyway but Bella would ask the Dark Lord if she could deal with that one personally.
Bella was going to have a chat with her aunt's portrait to find out what else had changed while she had been away when two groups did the imposable and portkeyed into the most noble and ancient house of Black. She adopted her usual tactic of a spread of three killing curses that would hopefully hit a few but at least scatter them, forcing her opponents to seek cover.
As soon as Luna had confirmed there was nobody behind them she shouted 'clear' and they went into full attack mode, as the green killing curses came rushing towards them she levitated furniture to block their path. Sirius was doing the same job for the other group allowing six people to rain down spells and bullets on their target, Bellatrix might be good but nobody could stand up to that barrage.
The female death eater didn't have time to register her astonishment at the tactics being deployed as Bella was too busy trying to stay alive, she dived onto the floor and her momentum slid her along the recently polished surface until she hit the double doors of the dining room. Jumping up Bella frantically attempted to apparate but discovered to her dismay preventative wards were already in place so was left with no choice but to enter the dining room as the doors were destroyed just as she got clear. Bella felt something tear into her left elbow with such force that it spun her round, this was probably not a bad thing for the death eater as two reductor curses whizzed by where her head and chest would have been the second before.
The pain being emitted from her now useless arm was excruciating but Bella had quickly come to realise that if she didn't get out of here she wouldn't feel pain ever again, these were not ministry aurors out to capture her using nothing stronger than a stunner – these people wanted her dead and had the skills to achieve their goal.
The death eater had been in enough fights to recognise this battle was only going to end one way unless she got out of there in the next few seconds.
Amelia had grabbed everyone available to her upon receiving Harry's call, he told her they were working on a timescale measured in minutes so the minister had to trust they knew what they were doing. Tonks, having been brought back into the Black family by Sirius, was able to see the house but not enter it until invited by him. The metamorphous was in charge of setting up the perimeter and anti-apparition wards, Sirius would create the portkeys that would take their group inside the house and Amelia's task was ensuring the bitch didn't get away.
This proved easier said than done as glass suddenly appeared out of nowhere and forced her team to take cover, the flying glass was closely followed by a truly terrifying sight. Bellatrix Lestrange was considered the wrong side of crazy on a good day, this was probably not one of her better days as she swooped down amongst them loosing blood from the side of her head while her left arm looked to be hanging off at the elbow. She was sending off killing curses in all directions and the aurors were left scrambling for cover as she raced right through them until reaching the edge of the wards, she apparated with only one thought in her mind as her left forearm dropped onto the pavement.
Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped for now but nobody would be asking her to lift up her left sleeve as it would be empty, they weren't quite sure if she'd splinched herself or if there just wasn't enough tissue left holding the arm on during apparition.
-oOoOo-
The creature that was Voldemort was in a terrible mood and his dilemma was the polar opposite of Peter's, the more he cursed the useless servant the longer he would have to wait on Wormtail being able to take care of him again. Thus he had limited his administration of the cruciatus to the bare minimum his temper would allow though Peter still ended up unconscious. His screams had even attracted the attention of the old muggle caretaker and he had to be dealt with, fortunately Nagini was available to dispose of the foolish old man.
Peter had muttered something last night about having a plan but he was too enraged even to listen, oh how he wished for a better servant than Wormtail.
Magic can do amazing things, sometimes it almost seems sentient because at the exact same instant an agony riddled Bella apparated but without a destination in mind. All that her pain-muddled brain would process was 'must find master' so magic took a hand, granting both of them their wish and the death eater appeared before her lord once more. She managed to mutter 'master' before collapsing at the creature's feet.
-oOoOo-
Amber had joined Ginny and Joan as they waited for news, Pomona was trying to be angry at Remus for not telling her he was going but was much more worried about her wizard not coming back that she wasn't able to sustain it.
When they heard the ringing sound Amber was up like a shot and sped to the nearby room containing the telephone, she answered it and sank to her knees before realising that they were all looking at her with grim expressions. "It's Harry, everyone's ok with nothing more than a few cuts and bruises."
Joan buried her face into Ginny and cried her little heart out in relief until Amber tapped the girl on her shoulder, "it's Hermione, and she wants to speak to you."
She took the device with trembling hands and heard the instantly recognisable voice coming from it, " hey Joan we're fine, I told you nothing bad will ever happen to me while Harry's there. He could hear you crying all the way to London and didn't want you to worry; we have to talk to some people here and might be a while. You enjoy yourself and we'll be home to see you soon."
Everyone could see the instant change in the little girl's demeanour, she still had tears running down her cheeks but her face was now the proud owner of one of the widest smiles available, Joan whispered "love you" not realising that the device in her hands would send those words straight to Hermione and require Harry to catch his wife as her knees buckled beneath her.
Joan handed the device back to Amber and almost skipped out the room with no concept that a thousand miles away a bushy haired, brown eyed witch was clinging to her husband crying tears of joy. The post battle adrenalin rush may have amplified the effects those words had on her but she wasn't sure, what she was sure of was that both she and Harry were growing very attached to a young witch named Joan.
-oOoOo-
They were in the kitchen of Grimmauld when Harry summoned Winky, she immediately made them all tea and informed Harry that Dobby had a fractured shoulder which Poppy had healed, he was to take it easy for the rest of the day but should be fine by tomorrow.
Sirius had spoke to his mother's portrait and she had suggested that Bella and Cissi be cast from the family then this couldn't happen again, a couple of spells on the tapestry and this was accomplished. He took the family pensive into the kitchen so they could review this morning's event and save Amelia asking lots of questions. There was already elves repairing the damage they had caused and even the doors had been put back together.
They had all been told the grim news that Bellatrix had wiped out some random muggle family for a bite to eat and a few hours sleep which just made them angrier that they hadn't finished her earlier when they had the chance.
Shack, Amelia and her protection detail watched along with the eight as they made their superior numbers count and the minister couldn't help but compare this with their poor performance outside. They watched as a piece of debris cut Neville's cheek and another slammed into Emma's chest, Dan's bullet almost separating the death eater's arm while a reductor from Neville almost separated her head from her shoulders but instead took her ear off. She had caught them out when she had run towards the large window and blasted it with a spell just before reaching it, Bellatrix had jumped through the hole and raced away from the house.
When it was over Shack and Amelia were very impressed with their tactics but it was left to Connie to pour cold water on them.
"Those tactics wouldn't work for the auror division for the simple fact that I can't think of anyone I trust enough for me to stand against a killing curse and hope they blocked it. They stood there and never doubted that the other members of the team would do their jobs and protect them, I've never seen anything like it and am so glad they're on our side."
Hermione just smiled at the auror, "the difference is we're all family and couldn't let each other down if we tried, we trust the other members of the team with our lives because we have to. We're the ones who are going to end this war because we're the only ones who can, and that information ladies and gentlemen is classified. This is not our idea of some recreational fun and we left some very worried people behind including an eight-year-old who was breaking her heart, once Voldemort is dead these suits will be hung up for good."
Shack looked to Amelia who nodded confirmation that Hermione spoke the truth while his brain started putting the facts together, "this would explain our orders not to engage Voldemort in a fight, and can I assume that the snake is similar to that tiara?" A knowing smile from Harry and Shack connected the final few dots to form a picture he wasn't sure was to his liking, "does this mean the Prophet actually got something right for a change, you are the chosen one?"
It was actually Luna who answered the head of the DMLE with such venom in her voice that her friends got worried, "he might be the chosen one but that doesn't mean he's going to face that bastard alone, we'll be with him every step of the way and right by his side when he ends this once and for all."
Neville pulled her into a hug; the pensive had been hard to watch for Luna because this was no longer training. If she missed a block then it wasn't house points lost or a detention, a member of her family was going to be injured or worse. During the fight she had been just carrying out what she had learned but now sitting down and watching her actions left the young blond witch terrified.
Harry tried to reassure her, "Luna we know you had the worst job today but you are by far the best at defending the group and there's no one I trust more to keep us safe, you were absolutely brilliant today and I'm so proud of you but I'll let Neville administer the kiss I want to give you Sis."
One Neville administered kiss later and Luna was almost back on an even keel, they would talk about it later but she appeared over the worse of it for now.
Amelia was deep in thought for a moment before asking, "Harry, could you and your group fight some aurors as a demonstration? It was clear today that our current tactics are going to have to be reviewed and I think the sight of four 'children' whipping the arses of some over confident aurors would go a long way to highlighting their deficiencies."
"We currently practice three to one odds but I don't know if we want to give that advantage to aurors, lets say ten with nothing stronger than stunners as we wouldn't want to hurt anyone."
The cheeky way Harry said it had the auror's backs up but Shack had just watched a display that none of his department could match, individual match-ups he was confident his aurors would do well but their teamwork was devastating. "I would be really interested to see your training methods, would it be possible to observe a session?"
"As long as you don't mind getting up early and don't inform the aurors we'll be facing about it," Harry answered, "will you be alright for tomorrow mum?"
Emma couldn't help but smile every time Harry used that word, "should be, bit sore at the moment and expect to be bruised but Poppy should have me fixed up in no time." She then turned to Remus, "could I get a heavier weapon? I felt most of my shots were being deflected by all the debris that was flying around while Dan's seemed able to punch through it."
A wolfish grin appeared on his face, "how about a pump action shotgun with some charms on it to make it recoilless?"
A shudder passed through Dan, Hermione and Harry at the thought of what that weapon could do in Emma's hands but she just gave a dainty smile and replied, "that will do nicely."
"Remus Lupin you have totally corrupted my mother!" Hermione's remark was said in jest and they all had a chuckle at Emma's obvious joy at getting a bigger gun.
-oOoOo-
They arrived back at the Institute to much hugging by Ginny while the two Sprout ladies dragged both Marauders off for Merlin knows what. Joan had heard the commotion and came hurtling round the corner and launched herself at both Potters, clinging on and taking assurance from the fact they were back in one piece. The two injured were taken to see Poppy by their partners while Harry and Hermione sat on a sofa with Joan in between them.
Hermione kissed Joan's forehead, "told you we'd be fine."
"I was so worried" she answered, "why do you have to fight, can't someone else do it? Harry's already fought the bad wizard, isn't it someone else's turn?"
With her eight year old logic Joan had got right to the crux of the matter and Harry wasn't about to brush this bright girl off with some glib excuse. He had his arm around her shoulder and then took one of her little hands and brought it up to his scar, "when I was a baby the bad wizard killed my mum and dad before trying to kill me, it didn't work and he left me this. He's tried twice more since then and will keep on tying to hurt me and my family, which is why we're here in a place that's hard to find. He will never stop coming after me, my wife, mum and dad Granger and any children we have, which is why we must fight him so that we can live our lives without fear. We intend to beat him so we can live happily ever after."
"Not all fairy tales end that way," replied the bright little witch.
"No and I promised myself I wouldn't lie to you, we are doing everything in our power to make sure we get the ending we want."
Joan buried her head in his chest but Harry still heard the whispered "I want it to." It was time to speak to Jillian Green.
-oOoOo-
Jillian had been half expecting a visit from the Potters so wasn't to surprised when they asked to speak to her, their opening comments did however catch her off guard.
"We are having our marriage blessed in a few days, it was originally going to be our wedding but since we're soul bound that's no longer necessary. The ceremony and party will take place here and everyone from the orphanage is invited. We plan on taking a three week holiday straight after it and that is where the problem might be, we would like to take Joan with us and are speaking to you first to ask if this is possible." Hermione found she was nervous waiting on an answer.
Jillian was not drawing out the silence deliberately but trying to figure out the best way to handle this, these people were effectively her bosses. Eventually she had only one option as the welfare and happiness of Joan was her only priority here. "Can I ask why? Please forgive my question but I have to know your intentions towards the child, I see her getting closer to you every day and to take Joan on a three week holiday then hand her back to me would be cruel beyond measure."
Harry and Hermione smiling at her was not the reaction she expected until he spoke, "you have just confirmed our faith in you as the best person for the job, let's see if we can put your mind at rest. We are both extremely fond of Joan and that fondness is growing by the hour but this is not a decision we wish to rush, as the thought of hurting her doesn't bare thinking about. Hermione and I are pretty sure that we want Joan to be part of our family and feel that three weeks together would turn that into being certain. Assuming Joan would accept us as parents we would start proceedings as soon as we return to formally adopt her."
This was what Jillian had been hoping to hear and she couldn't keep the grin of her face, "well normally I would say you were too young to take on that many responsibilities but having watched you both closely I can't think of two people I would rather see Joan go to. Shall we send for her?"
Winky appeared with a bemused Joan who immediately went to sit with Hermione as Harry spoke to the young witch, "there's a delay with the new building so everyone's going to be staying here for a lot longer than we thought and will be at our marriage blessing on Saturday." It was plain to see that Joan thought this was great news.
"After the blessing Hermione and I, with mum an dad will be going away for three weeks and we'd like you to come with us." Harry saw her expression change to one of uncertainty and understood the reason why, "Joan we're very much alike you and I, I was also left on a doorstep and wondered what I had done wrong to deserve it. Going to sleep every night hoping that tomorrow would be the day when I would wake up and find it had all been a mistake, this is your tomorrow Joan. We want you to be our daughter and for you to use these three weeks to see if that's what you want. Don't feel you have to be a perfect little angel or the deal's off, we've already made up our minds and this is to see if you can put up with us as parents."
Joan had tears running down her cheeks for the third time that day but had never been happier.
"I have to warn you Joan that Hermione is very crabbit in the morning," this earned him a playful hit from his wife, "and she also hits her poor defenceless husband for no reason." This had all three girls laughing though Harry wasn't sure whether it was the poor or defenceless jibe that caused it. "Are you sure you want her for your mother?"
Joan nodded emphatically before both girls became entangled in a mutual hug involving lots of tears, Harry watched before turning to a Jillian Green who had tears unashamedly running down her cheeks, "I don't think we need to wait those three weeks, do you?"
She just smiled at him, "I never thought you did in the first place, I'll get the paperwork started today and I can't see the ministry giving you any hassle over it. Not when you've got the ministers mobile number in your phone."
-oOoOo-
Voldemort managed to revive Wormtail and got him to seal Bella's wounds then force some blood-replenishing potion down her throat, they had burgled an apothecary on the continent to maintain a supply of unicorn blood needed to keep him alive but they had also grabbed a variety of potions as well.
When Bella regained consciousness and Voldemort discovered all his loyal death eaters were not only being hunted down but also taken from Azkaban and killed as well, only the fact that he was so weak saved the two servants. It was with great trepidation that Peter administered his master's potion but Voldemort wanted revenge on those who'd wronged him and Potter was top of the list.
"Wormtail, tell me this plan of yours?"
Peter now wished he'd kept his mouth shut as his master administered the torture curse until he was unconscious anyway, now he was literally putting his head on the chopping block with no measurable gain for him. If the plan worked his master would take the credit, if it failed he would pay the ultimate price and even with the telling he risked his master's wrath.
"Master, the Potter brat is out of our reach for the moment but it's still vital that you get a new body, I may have a way to accomplish that and deal the brat a devastating blow." The fact that he wasn't cursed yet encouraged Peter to continue, "when I was keeping an eye on the brat in his dorm over the years one thing was constant, the boy who's pet I pretended to be was always there to save Potter's arse. He killed the troll you released in the castle and only his sacrifice allowed Potter to face you with the stone, he was in the chamber of secrets but the resulting rockslide when he defeated the formidable Gilderoy Lockhart prevented him accompanying Potter further. He even faced up to Black and the werewolf and is the Potter boy's closest friend and truest ally. If you choose pureblood Ron Weasley for the renewal ceremony you will be removing a foe whose been a thorn in your side with the additional benefit of crushing Potter with the loss of the person he thinks of as a brother."
Peter had heard all these stories directly from Ron as he talked to his pet and wasn't overly concerned if the boy had embellished his role in proceedings slightly; he was a lot more concerned at the moment with saving his arse.
Voldemort thought over the plan and had seen how close both boys were in his time as Quirrell, this plan might actually have some merit and he wouldn't have to wait so long to regain his body either. "Are you sure he wouldn't have left Hogwarts with Potter?"
"The Weasleys are a poor family but proud purebloods, they would never take gold they hadn't earned honestly. He'll be at Hogwarts."
"You just staked your life on it Wormtail, in September you will sneak into the castle to make certain that he's there then we can make preparations to snatch him right from under the old fools crooked nose. While everyone else is waiting on the champions being chosen we will perform the ceremony on the night of Halloween, sending Potter his friend back piece by piece."
Bella was at first unsure if this was in fact her master but hearing his cruel genius banished all her doubts, she was home once more.
-oOoOo-
The eight plus one marched into the ministry resplendent in their Institute robes, they'd actually been stopped in the Alley and asked to lift their sleeves where upon a laughing Harry had to ask the gentlemen if he would accept his word as their armour came down to their wrists and there wasn't a force on this earth strong enough to make Emma, Hermione and Luna take their tops off in public. When Harry was recognised they nearly fell over themselves trying to apologise though the group did notice they were the only ones sporting two sleeves to their robes.
The plus one was of course Joan who proudly wore her robes with the Potter family crest feeling like she finally belonged, Harry had spoken to her about the danger they might face in public so she knew exactly what to do. Get to the centre of their formation and make herself as small as possible, though considering she felt ten feet tall walking down the street holding her mum and gran by the hand that might be difficult.
They entered the ministry building and Tonks was waiting on them as they were ushered through security and straight to the auror training area, it had a large empty duelling arena in the centre with viewing positions all around it and had Harry shaking his head.
"Amelia you seen our pensive memory of Bella's fight and visited the Institute to watch us go through our paces, is this really how you train aurors?"
She actually looked embarrassed, "Fudge would only allow us duelling practice and any sort of combat training was forbidden, we wanted to wait until after your demonstration to reinforce the need for change."
"Sorry Amelia, Joan you stay with gran and granddad while we go and give a demonstration."
Emma pretended to be angry at Harry's use of the word 'gran' but both she and Dan were delighted with the outcome, they knew their children were desperate for a family and hoped this might see Hermione waiting till she was at least eighteen in this timeline before having a baby. In the meantime they got a delightful granddaughter to spoil and who could fail to fall in love with Joan.
The four removed their robes leaving them in black tight fitting clothes over their body armour, the time Remus spent as a bodyguard had also taught him knives and each of them had a blade of some description concealed on their person.
They walked into the middle of the arena and went into their diamond formation but with Neville and Harry swapping positions, they were pretty sure that the aurors were just going to stand there and try to overload their shields with a constant barrage of stunners. Their counter was for the Potters to provide shields for the group while Neville and Luna picked the aurors off, if things got hairy Luna would assist with shields as Neville reduced the pressure by knocking down their opponents.
The quartet could see the looks of distain coming from the aurors as they surrounded the kids, they felt insulted that they were being forced to participate in this farce of a publicity stunt and intended to end it quickly.
They got their wish but not in the manner they thought, when Amelia said 'go' both Potters had shields up that reflected back everything that was cast at them, in the end Neville and Luna only had to stun three of the aurors and the whole thing from start to finish took six seconds.
The watching audience of aurors and ministry officials were shocked into silence, as the teens started reviving the downed aurors one of them didn't take it too well. He sprang up and knocked a surprised Luna onto her back before striding towards the arena exit, he didn't get to take two steps before an enraged Neville Longbottom was all over him.
Donald Carrick knew he was in deep shit and couldn't see a way out of it, he'd tried to blame the entire Lestrange fiasco on that bitch Hammer but the fact that he was now stuck behind a desk while she was on ministerial protection duty told everyone what the outcome of the upcoming enquiry was going to be. When he got the offer of participating in the demonstration against Potter and his school friends he grabbed the chance like a drowning man, here was his opportunity to shine.
He had just managed do dodge his own curse that was reflected back off their shields when the little blond bint hit him with a stunner, the same blond bint reviving him proved just to much for his ego and he shoved her out the way as soon as he stood up. The disgruntled auror had only taken a step when he found himself face to face with an enraged Neville Longbottom; Donald took a swing at this kid as well before finding himself in a world of pain.
Donald Carrick fancied himself as a muscular young man but his muscles were purely for impressing the ladies, Luna may appreciate Neville's but they were primarily for situations like this. He easily dodged the auror's attempt at a punch and landed two solid ones of his own, the prick then made another feeble attempt, which he effortlessly blocked and followed up with another few strikes. He could see the man teetering so decided to finish him off using Hermione's signature move with an adaptation of his own, he smashed the auror's kneecap and spun quickly round connecting his elbow with the pricks now broken jaw resulting in him crumpling to the floor unconscious.
Neville turned to see the rest of the team had his back and a quick glance upwards showed the other team forming up with Joan casually moving into the centre, for a few seconds the whole situation had the potential to go pear shaped as every auror in the place was embarrassed at how easily they had been defeated.
Connie caught the movement out of the corner of her eye as the other team formed up and knew all it would take would be one spell to start a fight that would be hard to stop, she deliberately moved her hands away from her wand while at the same time stepped over to cover Amelia's back. She was delighted that Tonks had caught on so quickly and mirrored her actions to protect Shack; Connie had seen these people fight against animated dummies and their mannequins had put up a far better fight than the static dummies that called themselves aurors.
Harry broke the tension, "do we really want to do this? We were invited here to show tactics that may help save lives only to find an auror knocking a thirteen-year-old witch to the ground because his ego was dented, well witches and wizards her fourteen-year-old boyfriend just dented more than his ego. Either Mr Longbottom or myself have the right to challenge this prick to a duel for his actions against Miss Lovegood but we are content to consider the matter dealt with if you are. If not then let's have at it because we've got business to see to elsewhere this afternoon." The power was now radiating off both Potters with blades being drawn by all four members of the team, the noise of Emma pumping a round into her shotgun sounded like thunder and kicked Amelia out of her stupor – she had expected the aurors to lose but the manner in which they did shocked her to the core.
"Aurors stand down!" Amelia shouted.
"You can't give that order minister, only the head of the DMLE can," a scarred old wizard shouted.
Shack shrugged his shoulders; "we intended to weed out the hangers on by departmental evaluations, if you wish to attack Lord Potter and his party it will save us the time and paperwork. These people, including the two muggles behind me with weapons drawn, faced up to Bellatrix Lestrange and her killing curses while aurors cowered behind any cover they could find. We've just seen them in action and I've watched them training and these eight would make mincemeat out of the whole auror department. We have grown complacent, fat and lazy which cost an auror his life last week, and for what reason? What did we achieve in the last war except to free death eaters with enough gold to bribe the right officials. What you see before you is the future of magical law enforcement in this country, we will be adapting most of their training methods to suit our needs and entry to the program will be based purely on ability. The days of family influence in my department are over and anyone who doesn't like it can hand in their badge and robes now."
Kingsley's deep voice was booming of the walls by the time he was finished, the line had been drawn and aurors now knew what was expected of them though four would resign before they were pushed. That option was not available to Carrick, Amelia wanted him tried in court and Shack was only too happy to comply.
He had known that, thanks to continual budget cuts and being forced to except people who barely knew one end of a wand from the other, the department was in poor condition. The two Lestrange incidents and today highlighted just how far they'd sunk. Thanks to Lord Potter's generosity and with Amelia's backing he now had the funds and political will to rebuild the department into one that could kick some ass instead of getting it whipped by some teenagers.
With the crisis over Emma placed the tip of her shotgun into it's holster and marvelled again at how it shrunk to fit before becoming invisible, she then took her new granddaughter by the hand and headed down to meet the kids.
"Uncle Neville that was so cool the way you hit that man who hurt aunty Luna," Joan loved the idea of having family so much that she was 'adopting' everyone into it with aunt Ginny and the marauding uncles added for good measure. She wasn't sure what status the Sprout ladies had in her new family but was looking forward to calling them aunty as well.
Joan hadn't just been adopted into the Potter family as everyone else seemed to have adopted the little girl as well, "your aunt Luna could have beat him up but she'd just had her nails done and didn't want to break one on his hard head." Neville loved to hear her calling him uncle as, like the other three he'd led a lonely life up till now and adored his extended family.
Amelia cleared her throat to get their attention, "Lord Potter I have some people here you agreed to meet."
Harry was racking his brain with even Hermione puzzled until they saw the man with a little girl, clutching a poster.
"Hello lord Potter, I believe the deal was that I provide you with a memory copy of your relatives arrest and you would sign my daughters poster."
Harry immediately knelt down to speak to the girl and sign her poster, Joan watched the scene with a hint of jealousy until she felt her mothers arms go around her from behind and then she bent down and kissed her cheek.
"He's your father now honey but look how happy he's made that little girl just by talking to her and signing a poster, this is just something we Potter girls are going to have to get used to but never forget it's us he loves. If any women or girls step over the boundaries though you have my permission to kick them in the ankles."
Joan was giggling but her dad was roaring with laughter from reading a piece of paper.
He rejoined the group still laughing, "it seems that when the charms wore off reverting the Dursleys back to human both were still in the quarantine cages, the muggle authorities think they're some kind of animal rights group and had managed to lock themselves in while freeing the walrus and ostrich. Vernon keeps screaming that it's the freaks doing this so they're sending him for psychiatric tests before charging them."
"Well this is my wedding present to you love, Dobby got Ragnok to track it down for me but it's yours to do with as you wish," Hermione handed Harry a legal document that had him confused at first until he realised what he held in his hands.
"I thought we could go today love and take the whole family to visit," Harry grabbed his wife before twirling Hermione around and soundly snogging her.
"Could someone please tell me what my daughter just volunteered us for?" Dan asked.
"Your brilliant daughter is just taking the new family motto to a different level, 'don't get mad, get even' but I only hope she's never mad at me."
-oOoOo-
Dudley Dursley's life was going down the toilet, literally. He had spent his entire summer so far cleaning out his aunt's dog kennels, who knew the little bastards could shit so much. He was forced to do the work while his aunt sat getting slowly pissed on sherry and bemoaning her lot since mum and dad got arrested, before that her excuse was they were both missing.
He'd been working like the freak all summer and missed his telly, playstation, snacks and gang but if he didn't work he didn't get fed. Dudley at first thought his aunt Marge was joking, and then he was sure he could outlast her but when the dogfood started looking appetising big D knew it was time to pick up the brush and shovel.
She would inspect the kennels in the morning and how well he was fed depended on the results though as the sherry consumption was getting progressively worse they'd had to settle for take-away the last couple of nights.
Dudley was wearing an old pair of torn dungarees while leaning on his brush as he paused to wipe the sweat of his face when all his attention switched to the Rolls Royce that had just turned into the drive heading towards the house.
He made his way over and his tongue was actually hanging out at the sight of the girl who the chauffeur was helping from the car, she was so beautiful that he didn't notice the person that came out next until he spoke.
"Hello Dudley, love your new look. It really brings out the colour in your eyes, actually mate you look like shit!"
Dudley was now wondering if it was such a good idea to drink the remains of the sherry left when his aunt Marge eventually passed out because what his eyes were telling him just couldn't be true. The young man was dressed in clothes better than anything his father had ever owned and standing with his arm around the goddess that had exited the Rolls first. A young girl and an older couple joined them, though the woman was definitely still hot.
"Harry?"
"Got it in one Dud, just brought my family along to meet you. This is my wife Hermione, our daughter Joan, mum and dad Granger and not forgetting our chauffer Remus."
Dudley wasn't sure if it was the sun, sherry or the smell of all the shit but something was definitely off here, he didn't get time to say any more as aunt Marge and Ripper came out the house.
Ripper didn't know anything about fancy clothes or cars, he just sensed the boy he'd been trained to attack so he did, unfortunately for the misguided animal a certain big black dog was waiting in anticipation of this very event.
Padfoot leapt from the car and had Ripper by the scruff of the neck before the poor mutt even knew what was happening, the large dog then vigorously shook the now squealing bulldog before tossing the animal to land heavily at the large woman's feet.
"That vicious dog will be destroyed, attacking my poor, gentle Ripper in his own garden no less. I shall be contacting the authorities at once." Marge was bristling with so much indignation that she never even noticed who was standing there, it wasn't until the vicious dog walked over to the group and was hugged by a little girl, Joan so loved her uncle Padfoot, that she recognised Harry.
"Boy!" she screamed, "what are you doing here? Get off my property now."
"Actually Marge that's what I came to see you about, if you would be so kind Remus."
"Right away lord Potter," the marauder walked forward in his chauffer uniform and only his years of pulling pranks allowed him to keep a straight face, he handed the woman who made Molly Weasley look thin a bunch of very official looking documents.
"You see Marge my wonderful wife bought me this land as a wedding present, your current lease stipulates I am required to give you one months notice of eviction and that is what you now hold in your hands. On the first of September the bulldozers will be here to eradicate any trace of these buildings, as someone who actively encouraged her dog to bite a little boy you will receive no sympathy from me or my family."
This colossus of a woman who had been Harry's most malicious maligner and venomous chastiser crumpled to the ground and wept into the notices she had been given.
Harry felt no elation, took no pleasure at her predicament rather his feelings were more that justice had been served and he could now put his past behind him. He would carry the physical scars for the rest of his life but the mental ones were being healed with lots of love from those around him.
Dudley was now in awe of his cousin, he'd always been taught to respect those who were 'better off' than the Dursleys and to sneer down at those below. Harry was now obviously of the other category but Dudley was now unsure of his own place in the world.
"Harry, what's going to happen to me?"
Harry considered this for a moment before answering, "I would have much preferred an orphanage to Privet Drive but I wasn't given a choice. You've been heading down a bad road Dud but the choice is yours, clean up your act or the Dursleys will be starting a new trend of family units in prison. I don't intend ever to meet you or your family ever again, I'm very happy to have a family of my own now."
Dudley watched as the gorgeous girl, her hot mother and the little girl all hugged and kissed his cousin before they climbed into the Rolls and drove out of his life forever.