"This is a chance to possibly provide some families with answers to what happened to their missing loved ones and solve some cold cases by the aurors."
Remus argued, the werewolf's words causing his anger to flare at the mention of the Chief Warlock. "The cursebreakers will destroy the inferi on sight! You know they'll just destroy the bodies so that they can get their payment quicker!"
...
He was just about to rant about Dumbledore, but he stopped himself as he came up with a better plan, a plan more fitting for the Lord Black. "This is not a matter that requires the involvement of the Wizengamot. It does not challenge the preexisting laws and the courts, or taxes and legislation, or the running of the state, nor does it risk the Statute of Secrecy Remus. Therefore, this is not a matter that falls under the Chief Warlock's limited authority. This is actually a matter for the Aurors, therefore this matter requires the involvement of Madam Bones and the Ministry of Magic, not the Chief Warlock." He countered in a reasonable tone, he did somewhat agree with Remus that they should use this chance to solve some open cases from the war.
After all, he had been one of the aurors investigating many of those disappearances, so it might solve some of his old cases. That said, he wasn't about to let the Chief Warlock take credit for the massive find to boost his weakened political image. That gave him an idea. He'd have to discuss it with Harry and see what this cunning godson and heir would make of it, and between the two of them they could certainly flesh out the idea for maximum impact.
"I'll talk with Madam Bones about it Remus, but only after the trial is done, so it won't be mixed up in politics and other back handed deals," he remarked, giving a peace offering to his old friend. "If she believes the Chief Warlock should be informed, then I'll defer to her judgement, but not before. Ok?"
"Ok," Remus agreed, accepting the offered compromise.
Whilst such a big, public find of missing wizards/witches from the war would certainty help win and persuade some of the more undecided votes against Lord Malfoy, he didn't feel it was necessary yet to reveal the seaside cavern at this time. If the trial started to stall, or to go against him and Harry, then he would let slip the knowledge of the mass grave, turned inferi horde, to renew any diminished anger concerning the last war. It would also galvanize public support to see justice done and the perpetrator made to pay, but he doubted that would be needed given all the public support they had so far.
Plus, he didn't really want to reveal the cavern to the public just yet, since it only guarded a single locket. It would raise a number of uncomfortable questions about what made this locket so important to Voldemort that it required a virtual army of inferi to guard it? Why guard it at all? What made it so important that his brother was willing to die to retrieve it? And did he want really want these questions being asked by the public if Voldemort's cavern was revealed?
"What are you thinking about Sirius?" Remus asked from his chair.
"Just the trial," he lied. "Hopefully everything will go as planned on Wednesday."
...
"So, the final exam curriculum that I sent you the other day, is it proving useful?" Harry enquired over the enchanted mirror, whilst stroking Shadow on his lap, the cat too watching her through the mirror.
"Of course it is!" she answered back with a big smile.
"Good," Harry replied with a satisfied smile.
She gave her younger cousin a curious look, "How did you even get a hold of the marking criteria anyways?" Tonks asked.
"Remus," Harry answered honestly. "The headmaster gave him all the marking and assessment criteria for DADA so that he could start preparing his lessons for next year. I may have surreptitiously made myself a copy."
"So Remus doesn't know?" she questioned, knowing that her Harry had a strong dislike for the werewolf.
"No, he doesn't," Harry confirmed, before changing the subject. "What's Hogwarts like with McGonagall in charge?"
...
Ministry of Magic
She critically looked over her Aurors who were standing proudly at attention before her. They were arranged in two lines of four, their backs straight and rigid, their uniforms impeccably pressed as she walked down the line inspecting her troops, before she stopped in front of them, clasping her hands behind her back. She took a moment of silence to mentally review her speech.
"Many of you are wondering why you are here today, why I have had you swear oaths of secrecy," she began, her prepared speech flowing off her tongue, her one good eye sweeping over them. "You have been personally selected, by me, for your integrity, in order to form an elite unit within the Aurors," she revealed, her words already having an effect as the men and women under her command stood straighter, prouder at her praise.
"'What does this unit do?' I would imagine you're asking yourself at this moment. 'Will I still be hunting dark wizards?' In a sense, you will be, but your targets will hide behind false smiles and high priced lawyers. This unit is being formed to be the new anti-corruption unit within the DMLE, charged with investigating internal affairs within the walls of the Ministry and the Wizengamot, to hunt down and reveal the corrupt within these walls, to bring justice to the ones who hide behind their social ranks and positions of power," she told the group, who were disciplined enough to hold their questions in check.
Looking over the group again, she intentionally made eye contact with each of them. "In the last couple of weeks it has been realized that there are many men and women like Lucius Malfoy within these walls," she said, as she gestured with her hand to the walls. "Even within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, even within the Aurors themselves." A handful of Aurors cursed under their breath once they realized where this was going.
"In the last couple of weeks it has been confirmed that there have been informers in this elite department of law enforcement, those who have been selling themselves and their services for gold, like common street whores, selling out investigations, destroying and sabotaging evidence, and selling out their brothers and sisters to the highest bidder," she explained, 'and to the papers' she mentally added.
"You will be tasked with purging this corruption from within the ranks, this cancer that has infested this unit, this department, the Ministry, and finally, the Wizengamot. You will be the fire than burns away the filth, that restores the creditability of the Aurors, that restores our tainted honour."
"This will be hard, stressful, time consuming work, where even your friends may come under suspicion, but it is an essential task, one that needs to be done so that we can trust our colleagues again, to know that we won't be stabbed in the back when our guard is down, when our attention diverted, to know that we won't be betrayed by our own when gold is offered up." She paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in for proper effect. She recalled her illuminating interview with Professor Snape, the one who had revealed the truth about Lord Voldemort to her and the cursed objects known as horcruxes.
She valiantly suppressed the urge to shudder at the thought of Lord Voldemort's potential return, or the renewal of the mayhem, bloodshed and chaos of the last war. It was only a last minute miracle that saved them the last time after all. If it came down to fighting in the streets once again, in most ways they were even worse off than before.
"During the war against Lord Voldemort, a decade and a half ago, this department was ineffective to say the least. Lord Voldemort's agents and allies had hopelessly infiltrated this department and every other department of the Ministry, to the point where Lord Voldemort knew our plans before even we knew of them, and even knew of our investigations.
This was why we never could catch him, why we could never win, why so many high level Death Eaters like Lord Malfoy went free, whilst so many of our brothers and sisters died in ambushes, or even in their homes and beds with their families screaming around them," she spoke with tears in her eyes, as she remembered those awfully dark years of constant death and betrayal lingering in the air.
"The code name for this clean-up operation is Cerberus, you will report directly, and only, to me, on this matter," she stated in a firm tone. "If I hear anyone gossiping about this to their friends I promise you that you will find yourselves without a job and swiftly become an inmate of Azkaban." She explained in a cold, ruthless tone, giving them a harsh look with her one good eye. "If anyone, and I mean anyone, Fudge, Dumbledore, even Merlin himself, asks you what you are investigating, you will answer that you are investigating the smuggling of illegal creatures and ingredients. Nothing less, nothing more. Do you understand?"
"Yes Madam Bones," the eight Aurors answered together.
"Good," she offered with a sharp nod. "You'll be split into two squads, and will be assigned to investigate one of the two senior Aurors who I believe were on the payroll of Lord Malfoy and have links to the pureblood supremacy group known as the Death Eaters."
...
A/N : if we get 400 power stones by the end of the week, I will release an extra chapter ;)
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :
p atreon.com/loveran