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Making a Decision
Author: Janine Fox
Date: 02-16-08 20:21
“You don’t have to do this. You’ll be safe here. Your father and I will protect you, you know we would do anything to protect you.”
Janine blinked back tears as she gazed up at her mum. Sirius was waiting outside, ready to take her to Harry. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to leave, but she knew she had to.
A gruff cough made Janine look up in surprise. Her father stood just outside his study, pushing on his glasses nervously. “Will you come in here a minute Janine? And bring your backpack.”
Janine stood still, shocked that her father was even speaking to her. It was the first time he’d spoken a whole sentence to her, let alone two since she had returned home. Giving her mum a quick confused glance, she picked up the magically enhanced backpack that was sitting next to her and followed her father into his study.
Once inside, she stopped and stared. Her father’s desk held a number of items, some she recognized like the Sneakoscopes that whirled like dervishes, and others that were completely foreign to her.
“Come on now, there isn’t much time Janine. Open your pack and get these in there.”
Hastily, Janine began to scoop up the items, unable to hide the tremor in her hands as she packed the items inside her bag. As she set about the task, she kept her eyes averted from her father, but when the last item was in her bag she finally looked up.
“I recognize some of these items from my classes, Dad. But others…” she shook her head feeling frustrated and confused all at the same time.
Giving a tight smile, that seemed more pained, her father handed over a black leather bound journal. His journal.
“It’s a bit jumbled. But it holds a lot of information. Of course, it mostly focuses on the Dark Arts and what I’ve learned over the years, but it will explain how to use some of these items. Hopefully it will keep you safe.”
“Dad, I…”
He held up his hand to stop her. “Janine, I was wrong. I see that now. What’s happening right now, this Pureblood nation, it’s not right. There isn’t much I can do to help fix this, but that lad of yours…” He rubbed his thin face. “I was wrong about Harry Potter. And I’m sorry about before. After he killed… killed…” his words choked as he tried to say Voldemort’s name. “After he killed Him, I started to understand what a special person he really is. I’m not saying I’m glad you’re with him – your life would have been much less complicated and much more safe if you had never gotten with that boy – but I understand that things are as they are and you need to be with him now. He can probably protect you better than I can anyways.”
“Oh, Dad.” Janine’s tears were running down her face freely now as she rushed over to her Dad to give him an impulsive hug. He stiffened at first, but then relaxed and returned her hug.
“You be safe Janine. I’m going to keep contact with Remus, he’s an old colleague of mine you know, to keep up with what’s happening. Just know I’m on your side, both your mother and me, and we’ll do anything we can to help.”
“I know Dad. I always knew.”
She buried her face in her Dad’s robe and felt him kiss the top of her head. Pulling away reluctantly, she wiped at her face and picked up the backpack which now included her Dad’s journal. Leaving her Dad in his study, she walked out to the hallway. Hugging her mum one last time, and silently hoping she would make it out of the house before Pinky returned from walking Rocko, she stepped outside.
Sirius looked up quickly. “Are you ready?”
Nodding silently, Janine took his arm and braced herself, not even sure as to where they were heading. Closing her eyes, she felt her body lurch forward. She didn’t open them again until Sirius quietly murmured, “We’re here. Go on inside. I need to leave now and get back to Drucilla.”
Again, Janine nodded, and stumbling in the dark she quickly moved to the side door that she could see outlined in the darkness. Opening the door, she hesitated, unsure where to go next. But she needn’t have worried. Two strong arms pulled her inside and out of the cold. And being enveloped within them, Janine’s initial doubts evaporated as she knew she was where she wanted to be, the only place she could be. With Harry.
The Half-Blood Prince Has Left the Building
Author: Severus Snape
Date: 02-17-08 09:00
Seated in his cramped office, Severus read the Daily Prophet while drinking coffee and eating a thick slice of cranberry bread. The headlines blared various versions of HARRY POTTER ESCAPES MINISTRY CUSTODY, along with the usual mention of somebody getting arrested. Snape knew it wasn't a coincidence that every arrest involved someone lacking pure blood. It was becoming more and more obvious that Minister Smythe-Jones wouldn't rest until every wizard of an impure lineage was behind bars or in one of the camps rumored to hold the missing Ministry of Magic employees.
Snape wondered how long it would be before other "nons" were sent away. He knew that his fellow Order members were urging the nons they knew, including themselves, to flee to safety. Snape himself was at risk of being taken, since he was a half-blood himself. He, however, had no intention of running. If they came for him, so be it.
He turned the page in the newspaper and looked up when someone knocked on the door. It opened a moment later and the unfortunate-looking visage of Professor Harriet Snider appeared in the doorway. Her bulk spilled on either side of it, making it difficult for her to enter what had formerly been a broom closet and now served as Snape's office.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Snape drawled, pushing the paper away from him to give Snider his undivided attention.
"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Severus. Believe me." She smiled in such a way that the hair over her lip looked like a caterpillar stretching its elongated, furry body. She gestured behind her, but Snape had no way of seeing past her mass to see to whom or what she pointed.
"Several individuals are here to escort you off the premises. You will go quietly."
Snape leaned back in his seat, the hint of a smile touching his lips. "Is that right? Tell me, Harriet, why am I to leave Hogwarts? Has my performance been unsatisfactory?"
Her lips twitched, so that the caterpillar over her lip danced momentarily. "I can think of at least one other professor who has disappointed me more," she said, "but to answer your question: You are certainly not the ideal member of staff at this institution."
"So I am to be sacked, is it?" Severus stood, scraping his chair back as far as it would go (which wasn't far at all), and towered over Snider. She didn't at all look intimidated.
"In a manner of speaking," she replied, sickeningly sweet. She eased herself out of the room, finally revealing the other wizards who stood behind her in the corridor. He recognized one and stared at that individual intently for a long moment
A different one stepped forward, drawing Snape's gaze away from the one he recognized. The wizard announced, "Severus Snape, you are hereby placed under arrest. You will stand trial by the Ministry of Magic, to be sentenced to a term in Azkaban Prison."
The news of his arrest actually took Snape by surprise, as he thought they'd come to collect him as they had done all the "nons" at the Ministry of Magic. However, he remained ever cool and collected.
"And the charges against me are?"
"Murder, your association with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, and your invovlement in the events of March 4, 2000 when said wizard was killed."
"Really?" Snape queried, arching a black eyebrow. He looked at the wizard he knew and murmured, "My association with You-Know-Who."
The wizard Snape knew grinned darkly, reveling in the injustice Snape experienced.
"You'll relieve yourself of your wand," the first wizard said.
Snape gave it freely, his eyes never leaving the other wizard.
Snider finally spoke up again. "Your replacement for the remainder of the school year," she told Snape, indicating with a nod of her round head to the wizard who still grinned at him. "Amycus Carrow."
The two former Death Eaters held each others' gazes silently for a long moment, before Snape found his wrists bound and strong hands wrapped around his arms to lead him away. The hallway had been deserted before, but as students began to head to their first classes of the morning, it filled rapidly. Many paused to watch Snape being escorted away, some laughing at the sight, others whispering frantically to one another.
The small party couldn't disapparate from the school until they reached Hogsmeade. From there, Snape was taken via side-along apparition to the Ministry of Magic, where he awaited his fate.
(Rodolphus) Brecqhou, Sark
Author: Bellatrix Lestrange
Date: 02-17-08 11:20
Rodolphus looked out of the window of his office. A warm breeze came in from the open window, a reminder of the breath of spring. In the garden outside snowdrops littered the wet ground, and the green buds of a few resilient daffodils attempted to drink in the sun.
Of course it was warmer here than in Britain; being further south and just off the coast of France afforded a milder climate. The island of Sark was part of the Channel Islands, nominally owed by Britain under the leadership of the muggle Queen, here her title was Duke of Normandy. Sark was a small island, three and a half miles long, just off one of the larger islands called Guernsey. The island was mostly still Norman-French, its laws a throwback to the Norman invasion where the residents were still called ‘tenants’ and you still by law had to hold arms for your overlord. Even better, the language spoken was mostly Guernsenaise, a Norman French patois, and hard to understand unless you were local.
The Ministry of Magic had annexed the island just off Sark, called Brecqhou. It was now Rodolphus’s sole charge. When he had been offered the job, Rodolphus had jumped at the chance to do something, while Bellatrix had flat out refused to have anything to do with a job. As far as she was concerned, coming from a pureblood, ancient family gave her the right to do nothing other than order others around. And plan. She was up to something obviously, something that required her undivided attention.
Rabastan was a different story. He too had jumped at the chance to repay the Ministry, and they both intended to pay off what they considered a huge debt by doing what they could for the pureblood cause.
“You know, I might just move here permanently,” muttered Rabastan from the doorway. “No muggle cars or transportation allowed, a few locals already well versed in the matter of an overlord, it couldn’t be easier.”
Rodolphus snorted. “That would totally negate the point of us being here and hidden,” he replied. “As far as the locals are concerned, they suddenly have a terrible desire to stay as far away from Brecqhou as possible. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”
Rabastan looked irritated for a moment. “You have a new batch arriving today,” he said, changing the subject. “Have you informed the masses why they are here yet?”
“No, however I do intend to rectify that immediately. Care to join me before you leave to administer your community, perhaps watch how we do things?”
His brother snorted. “Whatever. I think I’m perfectly capable myself but do carry on regardless. Don’t let me interfere with your moment of triumph.”
Rodolphus opened the office door and stepped out, admiring his domain. Apart from the office, which was a sixteenth century cottage, other new cottages had been built surrounding a larger square. These new cottages were basic, simple dormitories with a WC and each one with its own dining hall. Each building was marked with a roman numeral. A separate kitchen unit was placed further to the rear.
In the middle of the square a group of people stood bunched together, unsure of themselves or what was going on. Muttering began as they spotted Rodolphus and Rabastan.
When he was about twenty feet away, Rodolphus stopped, waiting until he had their attention. “I’m sure you are wondering why you have been brought here from your places of work,” he began, his voice carrying over the square, which was now deathly silent.
“As Nons, you are now the property of the Ministry and deemed to be incompetent to function in normal society. Most of you have family; be rested assured that they too are being catalogued as we speak, and those who also qualify will be sent to similar locations for their protection.”
He paused until the tumult of complaints had settled down. “This facility will hold all those Nons formally associated with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I’m sure I’ve met some of you before,” he added, a cruel smile crossing his face. He turned and began to pace. “There will no contact with the outside world unless your position requires you to leave to perform work. You will not be allowed the use of your wand unless absolutely necessary, in which case it must be signed in and out daily. The majority of you will be given work to perform that can be done from this location.”
The crowd had gone from unsure to sullen in a matter of moments and the mood was ugly. Rodolphus smiled, stopping once more before the group in front of him. “This community is guarded by Dementors as well as the regular staff. I would urge you not to try to leave.
“Finally, all nons registered with this community will be marked on the right hand with the letter N for Non. This will allow all those Pures who come into contact with you to be aware of whom they are dealing with. Any questions you may have will be dealt with the staff of this facility, which are easily recognizable by their purple banded uniforms. Those matters which require further attention will be escalated up the chain of command depending on the circumstances. Enjoy your stay.”
Ignoring the furor of shouting and anger behind him, Rodolphus headed back to his office with Rabastan, smirking. He was going to thoroughly enjoy his new position, he could tell already.
Not without a Fight
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 02-17-08 11:58
"Professor McGonagall! Professor McGonagall!" fourth year Slytherin student John Worsley exclaimed, rushing into the Transfiguration classroom as if his life depended upon it. He ran all the way to her desk, where she was seated with an eagle-feathered quill poised over an open, leather-bound gradebook.
"What ever is the matter, Mr. Worsley!" Minerva exclaimed, lowering her quill.
"It's Professor Snape!" he proclaimed. "He's been arrested!"
Minerva pressed her lips together tightly. By now, several other students had come in to tell her the news, and they nodded their heads vigorously in agreement.
Professor McGonagall stiffly rose from her seat. "Thank you, Mr. Worsley." She looked from him to the handful of others in the room and said, "To your classes, all of you, or to the common room or library if you don't have a class to which to go."
The students scattered immediately, even though they really wanted to follow Professor McGonagall and see what she would do about Snape's arrest, if she could do anything at all. Minerva's instinct was to find Dumbledore and ask him for advice, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. She decided she needed to inform the Order of the news, and since she didn't have any classes until the afternoon, set out to leave Hogwarts to accomplish that very task.
She walked briskly through the corridor, reaching the marble staircase just as Snider and a small entourage came into view at the bottom.
"Good," Snider said, glad she wouldn't have to climb the stairs after all. "We were just coming to find you."
Minerva, poised at the top of the staircase, looked sternly down at the faces below her. "Do you realize you're associating yourself with a known Death Eater?" One of the individuals standing with Snider was none other than Alecto Carrow.
"A false accusation, I assure you," Snider replied coolly. "However, there is much I can accuse of you and as such, it gives me great pleasure to tell you that you're fired! There's no need to pack your things. I'll have the house elves dispose of them once you're off the property."
"And what legitimate cause do you have for letting me go?"
"Oh, I never said I'm letting you go," Snider drawled, grinning evilly. "These fellows wouldn't allow it, anyway," she went on, indicating to the two wizards standing near Alecto. "Do you know why that is, Professor McGonagall?"
"Are they here to arrest me?" Minerva asked shrilly.
Snider's grin widened. "I suppose I ought to have given you more credit. You're not as stupid as I thought."
Professor McGonagall was beyond angry. She hadn't heard any of the details of Snape's arrest and didn't know that he'd gone quietly, but she wasn't about to give up without a fight. She produced her wand.
"I'm glad you think so. Stupefy!" she cried out, landing the spell squarely in Snider's ample chest. Snider fell backwards, stunned, her body fat jiggling as it made contact with the flagstones. Alecto and the two other wizards whipped out their wands, shooting spells in McGonagall's direction. For her age, she dodged them expertly, and sent a few of her own towards them. Bright lights bounced off the stone walls and even hit some of the portraits, eliciting complaints from some of the people in the paintings.
Because classes were more or less in session, the halls weren't as crowded as they might have been, though they weren't by all means completely deserted either. A student hiding behind a suit of armor got a great fright when a spell crashed right into it, causing it to topple over.
Minerva's attempt to defend herself didn't last more than a few minutes. She was outnumbered, and Alecto wasn't shy about using the Cruciatus Curse to get McGonagall onto her knees. Defeated, Minerva stared up at Snider, who'd just be revived and looked incredibly angry. She swung back her arm and slapped Minerva across the face. The impact of the blow stung her cheek.
Snider staggered back, breathing heavily as if the effort to move so forcefully had taken up all her energy. "Take her away," she told the law enforcement officers. "Lock her up and throw away the key."
To Alecto she said, "Come along. Let me show you your new classroom."
Professor McGonagall was escorted out of the building, across the barren Hogwarts lawn to the village of Hogsmeade. She arrived at the Ministry of Magic sometime later, where she was booked and placed in a holding cell right next to Severus Snape.
A Visit From Ministry Officials (Fred)
Author: Blossom
Date: 02-17-08 13:01
A stern looking Witch and an equally hard faced Wizard step into Weasley's. Just inside the door they stop and scan the interior, their eyes coming to rest on Fred at exactly the same moment. They approach the display Fred is working on, the woman asking, "George Weasley?"
With a shake of hair grown a tad too shaggy Fred replies, "Fred. George isn't here."
"The Hogsmeade branch told us he is."
Fred turns, leans against the display table, and crosses his arms. "Perhaps I can be of assistance."
"We're from the Ministry. We just need to ask your brother some questions," the woman answers.
"Is this about Harry Potter?"
"No," the man speaks for the first time. "Not our case. We are attempting to locate Majandra Fine as well as her father Paul Fine."
"What about them?" a voice similar to Fred's asks, coming down an aisle towards them.
"George Weasley?" the woman inquires.
"Who are you?" George asks.
To Fred the man gruffly states, "You said he wasn't here."
Fred says, "He wasn't, but..."
"I just got back," George finishes.
The woman finally identifies herself and the man by name. "I am Victoria Vaisy and this is Zeus Gibbon. We are trying to locate Majandra Fine and Paul Fine. Have you seen either in recent weeks?"
"Why are you looking for my wife?"
"Pardon?" Vaisy asks.
"Easy enough question," Fred says with a roll of his eyes. "Why are you looking for George's wife?"
Gibbon shakes his head. "What does your wife have to do with our inquiry?"
George and Fred exchange a look, wondering just how dense these two are.
Vaisy states, "We are looking for Majandra Fine."
"So you've said. Why are you looking for my wife?"
"We're looking for Majandra Fine," Gibbon says, looking confused. "Who is your wife?"
Fred has to bite his lip to keep from laughing. George looks from Gibbon to Vaisy then slowly speaks, "Majandra Fine Weasley is my wife."
Gibbon, still looking confused, asks, "But we were told Majandra Fine is a Non."
Vaisy sneers at George, "According to Ministry policy Majandra Fine has not been your wife for a number of weeks now. Zeus and I thought perhaps you were referring to a legitimate wife."
"Yeah," Gibbon mutters.
Fred puts a hand on George's shoulder, preventing George from getting in either Vaisy's or Gibbon's face about the legitimate wife comment. To the Ministry people Fred asks, "Why are you looking for Majandra and her father?"
Vaisy, who seems to be the smarter of the two and thus the one who does most of the talking, informs them, "Paul Fine has not been at work well. He has missed a very important meeting. We asked the woman who was once considered to be his wife, Eliza Llewellyn, about him but she said he moved out and left no forwarding address. A search of the premises did indicate that any clothes that might have been his were not there. We had hoped that since you were once married to Paul Fine's daughter, you might be able to tell us where Majandra Fine is. She might know of her father's whereabouts."
"Don't forget we're supposed to take Majandra Fine into custody."
Vaisy shoots Gibbon a withering glance. Obviously he wasn't supposed to have mentioned that part, at least yet anyway.
George archly asks, "Oh? Really? On what charge?"
Vaisy glares at Gibbon again before saying to George, "Ms. Fine is expected to attend a very important meeting for her work..."
"Majandra works at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary as part of her training towards Potion Master, or Mistress I suppose it would be in her case. What meeting could she possibly need to attend that is of the Ministry's concern?" Fred interrupts.
"I'm sure I don't know, Mr. Weasley. I can only tell you what I was told. Ms. Fine is expected at an important meeting as we are to see that she is told the location and make sure that she leaves for it. Also, according to records at St. Mungo's, Ms. Fine is expected a child. With the newest Ministry policies in effect, the Ministy needs to monitor her progress and take the child into custody once it is born."
With that George explodes, "You are NOT taking my child when he's born."
George is reaching for his wand when Fred literally had to tackle him. Through gritted teeth Fred tells the two Ministry buffoons, "It's best you go now."
Fred, with help from two others - an employee and a customer - keeps George down for at least five minutes, making sure that Vaisy and Gibbon are long gone.