Ron sat with Harry on the front porch as he re-read the latest edition of the Quibbler. "I don't know what the other wizarding governments are thinking," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "An international quarantine? Really? How do they expect to enforce it with those portals Greyback can use?"
Harry nodded, understanding where Ron was coming from. The Ministry was one of the most secure locations in all of Britain, warded against apparition, portkeys, and even the flu network was closely monitored, just like every other wizarding government in the world.
Greyback's portals circumvented all of it, but there were still a few drawbacks that fortunately went in their favor.
"They can't use the portals for international travel," he explained. "They use too much magic. My guess is that when they left the Ministry, it was to someplace close by, a staging area."
"That's a relief," Ron replied. The idea of werewolves being able to appear anywhere, and at anytime had him more than a little worried.
Harry nodded. "It's basically the same thing the study group used," he explained. "Just on a much smaller scale, but whoever opened it is probably still dealing with a severe case of magical exhaustion."
"Wait," Ron said, furrowing his brows. "I thought it was Greyback that opened the portal."
"No," Harry shook his head. "Greyback is powerful, but he couldn't have opened the portal on his own. It probably took at least four, maybe five werewolves to do it."
"If Greyback didn't open it, then how did it appear right when he needed it?" Ron asked, intrigued.
"That's what I've been thinking about too," Harry replied thoughtfully. "I think he can communicate with the other werewolves without actually speaking. I noticed it when I fought them — maybe not with words specifically, but definitely with emotions or feelings."
Ron's eyes widened as he considered the implications. Bigger and stronger werewolves were bad enough, but werewolves that communicated with each other the way Harry described was a truly frightening thought.
"They can coordinate in real time," Ron realized. "Setup ambushes, warn other werewolves of attacks. The possibilities are endless."
Harry nodded, about to reply when his eyes widened. He quickly stood up, drawing his wand, sensing apparitions.
Ron looked at Harry, not knowing what was wrong, but quickly drew his own wand, following his head, and not a moment too soon as seven aurors appeared in front of them, wands drawn.
"Lower your wands! NOW!" the lead Auror shouted.
Harry recognized him immediately, Harkwell. The same Auror that harassed the homeless man outside of the Leaky Cauldron the last time he was in Diagon Alley.
Harry slowly lowered his wand. "It's alright, Ron," he said, who reluctantly did the same.
"Drop them on the ground!" Harkwell barked. "I won't ask a second time."
"I'll holster it," Harry replied evenly, not intimidated in the slightest. "That's the best deal you're going to get."
"No, you'll drop them," Harkwell said with a malicious smirk. "I'm taking you in for obstructing an active investigation."
"Harkwell, that's your name, right?" Harry asked, seeing his game for what it was. "Does the Wizengamot know you're out here?"
"Harkwell? How does Potter know your name?" The Auror standing to his right whispered.
"It doesn't matter," Harkwell replied dismissively. "He obstructed an investigation. We take him in."
"That's Harry Potter" the auror whispered more urgently. "And he hasn't obstructed anything."
"I didn't… I'm not… Sorry, Mr. Potter," he finally said, lowering his wand as he spoke up. "There must be some kind of mistake."
"Elwood," Harkwell hissed. "Get your wand up, you bloody coward."
"There's no mistake," Harry replied. "Your friend Harkwell was harassing someone the other day. I put a stop to it, and now you're all here. I'm sure you can connect the dots."
Elwood looked at Harkwell sharply. "I didn't sign up with the task force to get into a duel with Harry Potter. What the hell is going on? The truth Harkwell."
"You have a job to do, and I'm your superior. That's all you need to know!" Harwell snapped. "So get your wand up!"
"Mr. Potter," Elwood said, ignoring Harkwell. "My name is Marcus Ellwood. We received a tip that someone at this residence is harboring a werewolf. All we're here to do is test everyone, and conduct a search. After that, we'll leave. There's no need to escalate things."
"A werewolf?" Ron demanded incredulously. "Here?"
"Good point, Ron," Harry agreed. "You said you received a tip. Where? From who?"
"That's confidential," Harkwell blustered, his face reddening with anger. "And I will not ask nicely a second time. You're outnumbered! Drop your wands now!"
"Let's see," Harry replied, ignoring his threat. "You had a public disagreement with me in front of multiple witnesses a couple of days ago, now you're here because you received a 'tip' there's a werewolf around here, and by asking you questions, I'm obstructing your investigation. Does that about cover it?"
Two other Aurors lowered their wands, realizing both the political and legal mess they'd just stepped into.
"Don't say I didn't warn you, Potter," Harkwell sneered. "Fire!"
The four Aurors on Harkwell's side fired, sending a combination of body binds and stupefys.
"Protego!" Ron shouted, creating four small shields to intercept the spells, each of them shattering on impact, but with enough magic to stop the spells, monetarily stunning the Aurors.
"Not bad, Ron," Harry praised as the aurors stared at Ron slack-jawed, not only at how quickly he got off his four spell but also how accurate he was under fire.
"A little less power next time though," he added. "About one eighth less per shield would have been enough."
"Yeah," Ron agreed, shaking his head. "I felt it the moment the spell left my wand," he added, keeping his eyes trained on the Aurors, knowing that every ounce of magic he saved meant he would have that much more magic in a prolonged fight.
"I'm not in the business of fighting aurors," Harry said, his voice taking on a harder edge as he stared down Harkwell. "But if you want to make an issue of it, we can."
"No, that won't be necessary," Elwood said quickly, feeling as if the temperature had just dropped despite it being a warm summer day.
"Lower your damn wands," Elwood hissed, making a point of glaring at Harkwell specifically before looking at the other three Aurors that fired, and holstering his own wand.
The aurors that fired gulped nervously, holstering their wands, following Elwood's example, then finally a scowling Harkwell did the same as he realized he was on his own.
Harry nodded to Ron, holstering his wand as well.
Elwood breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's try this again," he said, forcing a smile onto his face. "We're not here to cause you any trouble. We received a tip about a werewolf in the area. We'd just like to do a simple test," he said, reaching into his pocket. "And then we'll be on our way."
"This is pure silver," he said, holding up an ingot. "The test is simple. All you have to do is touch it, and we'll know."
"Alright," Harry relented. "But after this I expect there to be no more visits, and for the matter to be closed."
"Fair enough," Elwood said, cutting off a grumbling Harwell before the man could make this any worse for them.
"Satisfied?" Harry asked after he and Ron touched the ingot.
"No," Harwell jumped in. "The tip was for the burrow. We'll check everyone here."
"Excuse me a moment," Elwood said as turned on his heel, grabbing Harkwell by the elbow and pulling him a short distance away from the house.
"Harwell, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Elwood hissed, making sure he was quiet enough not to be overheard.
"My job," Harkwell replied, glaring back. "And this is insubordination. I could have your job for this."
"Have you been living under a rock?" Elwood demanded. "Do you even know what Potter's capable of?"
"Don't tell me you believe that garbage you read in the newspaper," Harwell said dismissively. "It's all overblown. I fought in the last war, against you-know-who, and that kid, he may have a few fancy tricks, but I'll tell you right now, tricks don't win wars, men do."
Elwood looked at Harkwell incredulously, not even sure where to begin correcting his superior. "…that kid," he said, glancing back at Harry. "He took down five werewolves by himself, and you know what?… never mind," he said, rolling his eyes, realizing how pointless it was to waste his time talking sense into Harkwell.
"The point is, the men, they're not going to fight him," he said. "So you think you can take him down all by yourself, then be my guest," he added sarcastically. "He probably won't kill you, so we can take what's left of you to St. Mungo's, and MAYBE they can put you back together."
Harkwell exhaled, considering his options. 'The whole point of bringing backup was to avoid something like this,' he thought angrily. 'It's just my luck they all turned out to be a bunch of bloody cowards.'
"Fine," he grumbled. "What's your idea then? Because I'm not leaving until we search everyone here."
"If it will end this farce," Harry called out, making it obvious to the two aurors that he'd overheard everything they said. "We'll ask them to come outside, and you can test them too."
Elwood and Harkwell shared a look before staring back at Potter in surprise, both of them wondering how he could have heard them from so far away.
Elwood was the first to recover. "…That will be fine, Mr. Potter. Thank you for your cooperation," he called out.
Harkwell shot Elwood another glare, considering telling him off for sucking up to the suspect, but thought better of it, not wanting to be overheard again.
"Ron," Harry asked. "Could you go inside? Tell everyone what's going on, and to come outside. We don't want this thing to escalate anymore that it already has."
"Like hell we don't," Ron replied angrily. "You heard 'em. They're trying to stitch you up."
"I know," Harry agreed. "And we'll handle it, but not here, and not now."
Ron shot one last glare at the Aurors. "Fine, but if they try anything…"
"They won't," Harry promised, his own patience wearing thin with the aurors as well. "If it comes to it, I'll put them down myself before they make it halfway across the yard."
Ron nodded, stepping into the house, returning a few minutes later with his mother, Bill, Percy, the twins, Ginny, and Daniela.
"I'm sorry about all this, folks," Elwood called out, trying to calm things down as he saw the looks on everyone's faces, ranging from fear to outright hostility.
"My name is Marcus Elwood. We're with the werewolf task force," he explained. "There's been a report of a werewolf in the area, and we're just here to check it out. There's a test," he said, forcing a smile onto his face. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt, only takes a couple of seconds. After that, we'll be out of your hair. Does that sound good to everyone?"
"Ron told us," George replied, his eye flat, smirking inwardly when half of them couldn't meet his gaze. 'Maybe there is a silver lining to losing an eye,' he thought sardonically.
"G-good," Elwood nodded. "I'm going to step forward. Don't worry, I have my wand holstered. I'll have you touch this, and we'll be done in no time," he said, holding up the ingot.
"Thank you," Elwood said after each of them touched the stone. "Now that that's settled, we—"
"It's not settled," Harkwell interrupted. "We search the house too."
Elwood took a deep breath, pushing down his anger before he ended up cursing Harkwell, reminding himself that the man was his superior. But with him constantly escalating things, practically daring Potter to react he was beginning to think it might be better to just to stun the man, and deal with the fallout later.
Considering the paper thin reason they were here in the first place, which seemed more and more likely to be a fabrication to settle a personal vendetta, he didn't see a way out of this that didn't end badly for them.
"Like hell you will," George growled, stepping forward.
"Easy, George," Harry said without turning around, holding out his arm to stop him.
"They're not turning our house inside out just because they want to go on a power trip," George replied in an icy voice.
Elwood looked across the yard, the option of stunning Harkwell looking better by the second, recognizing the children that fought in the battle of Hogwarts alongside Potter, wondering again what Harwell was thinking, leading them into what amounted to a slaughter, and for what? A supposed werewolf sighting that they all knew was made up?
"That's not going to happen," Harry said, looking Harkwell in the eye. "This farce is over. You want to keep pushing? Go ahead, but I don't think your men are going to back you up."
"You may be right about that," Harkwell smirked, tipping his hand. "But see, that's the thing. I'm game to find out. You going to attack an auror, boy? You going to light this candle? Because I know the way that goes, and it ends with every auror in the country on your doorstep. Is that what you want, boy?"
Harry felt his eye twitch. That was twice the old war hawk had called him boy, using the same dismissive tone his father used.
'What the hell?!' Elwood thought as he felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead, feeling the tension ratchet up, now afraid to even reach for his wand to stun Harkwell and risk Harry misinterpreting it as an attack.
"Everyone, stop, please," Daniela said, feeling like she was watching two opposing armies prepare for battle. "This is all getting out of hand. Let's all just take a breath. We're all on the same side."
"Mrs. Weasley?" she asked. "There's no harm in letting them search your house. It's just things. Things can be replaced. People can't, and I'm sure… I'm sure the aurors will be careful not to damage anything, right?" She asked, looking at Elwood, the only auror who had been reasonable so far.
Elwood nodded. "Yes. You have my word miss."
"A-alright," Molly said, pushing Ginny behind her.
"You heard her," Harkwell said, shooting Harry a victorious smirk. "Top to bottom, go," he ordered the aurors.
"No," Harry shook his head, "not you," he said, pointing at the four aurors that sided with Harkwell. "You three," he said, pointing at Elwood and the two aurors that sided with him.
"You don't give my aurors orders, boy," Harkwell said, recognizing that it seemed to set Potter off, and having him fly off the handle would make his job that much easier when he came back later to arrest the werewolf sympathizer.
"I swear to god Harkwell," Elwood hissed. "You keep this up, and Rathborne, Vale, and I will leave you here to deal with this mess you created on your own."
Harkwell shot Elwood a glare, but couldn't risk calling his bluff, not without changing the narrative he was building. "Fine, get in there, but you better not half-arse it."
Elwood nodded as he, Rathborne, and Vale moved past the Weasleys and into the house, glad to be away from the growing tension, but also worried that without him there to reign in Harkwell it would only get worse.
Harkwell looked at each of the Weasley's studying them carefully, despite the anger on his face the oldest one wasn't a real threat, neither was the mother, or the youngest, but the others… they had seen battle, nothing like Potter, or his friend, so they wouldn't cause too much trouble, then his eyes settled on the blonde, clearly not a Weasley, her blonde hair and blue eyes a dead giveaway.
Harkwell stepped forward, ignoring the warning look in Potter's eyes. He'd already taken his measure of him, and while the kid may be powerful, he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't let this escalate into a full-blown battle, not unless he threw another spell, but there was still plenty he could do to get under his skin.
"And you are?" he asked, looking Daniela up and down, leering at her just enough to make sure Potter noticed.
"Daniela Bianchi," Daniela replied, hoping the aurors searching the house would finish sooner rather than later, not for her own safety, but for theirs.
"What are you doing here?" Harkwell asked. "Italian?" he said, recognizing her accent. "You're a long way from home."
"I'm a mind healer," Daniela replied. "I got here before the quarantine."
Harkwell laughed derisively, "and what? These are your patients?" he asked, glancing at the Weasleys. "They cry on your shoulder about all their problems, do they? Then you do what? Kiss it better?"
"Something like that," Daniela said flatly, refusing to be baited by the man.
"Really?" Harkwell asked, smiling widely. "How about you quill me in for a session or two then? I have a thing or two to get off my chest, maybe yours too," he said suggestively.
"Leave her alone!" Percy shouted, moving in front of Daniela.
"Outta the way, kid," Harkwell said, slapping Percy in the head, or at least trying to, only for the boy to duck under his arm.
He turned on his side, narrowly avoiding the boy's uppercut, but not the jab to his chin.
Growling, he brought up his knee, ramming it into the boy's stomach, but the moment he made contact he was on the ground seeing stars, feeling like his head was in a vice.
"That was a mistake, Harkwell," Harry said, his voice cold as a glacier as he pinned the Auror's head down with his foot, pulling his wand arm back with the other.
"Potter," Harkwell laughed, despite his predicament. "You and your friend just put your hands on an auror. That's a one-way ticket to Azkaban."
"Yeah," Harry replied. "I thought that's where you were going with all this. There's just one problem. You didn't tell the Wizengamot you were coming here, did you? Admit it. You went rogue. There's no tip you're following up on, no evidence. You're here to settle a score."
Harkwell let out a bark of laughter. "Evidence? You think I need evidence, you little shit? I can make whatever evidence I need."
"You really are a psychopath, aren't you?" Harry replied, his eyes narrowing.
"Tell yourself whatever you need to, werewolf lover," Harkwell accused, already feeling a bruise forming on his chin where the other kid got in his lucky punch. "But we both know the worst you're going to do is break my — AAARGH!" he screamed as Potter twisted his arm and pulled.
"Your arm?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "No, we both know that won't put you down for long — a quick potion, and a good night's rest, and you're back on your feet. What I did was pull your arm out of its socket, tore a few ligaments too. That should keep you out of action for at least a week."
"You're dead, Potter!" Harkwell snarled through the pain. "You hear me? You're dead! My men — ARGGH!" he screamed again as Harry pulled him to his feet.
His eyes widened, seeing all of his men on the ground with the Weasleys standing over them.
"They're not dead," Harry answered. "Just stunned, but that may not be the case next time."
"There's nothing here, lets—" Elwood said, the words dying on his lips as he stepped out of the house, his eyes widening as he spotted the Weasley's standing over the downed aurors, along with Harkwell standing beside Potter, his wand arm hanging loosely out of its socket.
"Elwood!" Harkwell barked, clearly not having learned his lesson. "Don't just stand there!"
"No," Elwood shook his head, refusing to draw his wand, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Harkwell. "There's no one else in the house, let alone a werewolf. Nothing to indicate anyone here has been harboring werewolves. We are done!"
"Mr. Potter," Elwood said, hoping that things hadn't escalated past the point of no return. "If you'll allow me to envervate my team, we'll be on our way."
Harry nodded his head, watching as the three remaining Aurors walked around him, giving him a wide berth as the Weasley's stepped aside, but kept their wands drawn as they envenerated their team and silently apparated away, Harkwell sending one last glare at him before he popped away.
Percy marched up to Harry after they left. "I had him, Harry," he said, with a hint of anger in his voice. "You didn't need to step in."
"I know you did," Harry agreed, surprising him.
"Then why?" he asked, confused.
"Percy," Harry replied, knowing exactly where his anger was coming from, making up for what he thought was his failure at Hogwarts. "We haven't seen the last of Harkwell, and he's going to hold a grudge; better he have that with me than you."
Percy looked like he wanted to continue arguing before Daniela stepped in.
"Thank you, Percy," she said gratefully. "I appreciate what you did, but I think Harry's right. He's going to hold a grudge, and he's proven today that he isn't beyond making false allegations or manufacturing evidence to do it."
Bill nodded, agreeing with Daniela, and speaking from his own experience. "And with the political climate the way it is, and the threat of Greyback worse than ever, the Wizengamot isn't going to go after Harry for something like this, but anyone else, they're going to want to make an example out of."
"You'll get your chance, Percy," Harry promised, squeezing his shoulder.
***
"James?" Lily asked, stepping into her husband's study. "Is everything alright? You've been quieter than usual," she said, noticing the copies of the Quibbler and Prophet littered across his desk, along with the letter from his late father.
James nodded, still looking out the window absently. "I've been thinking about a lot of things, Lily," he said tiredly.
"Your father's letter?" Lily asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.
James nodded, handing it out to her. "My father knew, or at the very least suspected, what Dumbledore was up to before he died. He tried to warn me more than once, but I was too stubborn to listen."
Lily skimmed through the letter, her eyes widening slightly as she read the section about the 100,000 galleons before quickly schooling her features.
"James, what's going on?" She asked, putting down the letter. "This alone isn't enough for you to have spent the last three days brooding."
"He said we were both too stubborn to listen," James said quietly, thinking about his father. "He was right. I could have built something with him… I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "He died not long after he wrote this letter. If I had just set aside my ego for once, then maybe… maybe we could have actually built some happier memories."
"Oh James," Lily sighed, moving around the desk to hug her husband comfortingly. "We all do things we regret."
"But we don't always make up for them in the time we have left," James replied, looking down at the copies of the Quibbler, depicting Harry… his son, the lives he'd saved, the people he'd helped, all the incredible things he'd done.
Lily glanced down at the Quibbler, feeling a surge of irritation as she looked at the pictures of Harry. "What are you saying, James?" she asked.
"I'm ashamed," James admitted quietly. "Why did I treat him the way I did? Why wasn't anything he did ever good enough? Why did I tear him down every chance I got? I've been asking myself that for days, and I don't know…"
"You saw what he was like, James, the moment he got a few galleons. He forgot all about us," Lily replied, glaring at the picture of her estranged son.
"Maybe," James replied, but he didn't sound convinced. "I threw him out, Lily. What reason did he have to come back?"
"What is going on, James?" Lily asked, her irritation showing. "You've never felt this way about Harry before. Where is all this coming from?"
James cradled his head in his hands, unable to keep the lie in any longer, wordlessly pulling out the newspaper with Isabel Fudge's obituary.
"James!" Lily said, shoving the newspaper away. "Don't change the subject. What's going on with you?" she demanded.
"Look at it," James replied insistently, tapping Isabel Fudge's obituary.
Lily looked down, reading the obituary for the first time, her eyes softening as she regarded her husband. "We've been through this, James. You're not responsible for this. It was the aurors who did this, not you. What does it have to do with Harry?"
"I lied," James admitted. "It wasn't just the aurors… I was there too. I cast a spell… I still don't know exactly what happened, but it combined with the auror's spells… She was just standing there Lily… then she was on the ground, and I… I ran."
"No, James," Lily shook her head, her face paling. "You told me you just sent a tip to the aurors. You weren't there. That's what happened," she insisted.
"No, Lily," James shook his head. "I lied. I lied so well that I even convinced myself of it," he said bitterly. "Until…"
"Until what?" Lily asked.
"Moody came here," James admitted, still feeling ashamed for not fighting back as he confessed everything. "It was after everything happened with Fudge. He pulled me out of our bed in the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep. He said he killed the aurors who were there with me that night. He threatened me, said he would kill me too. That's when it happened."
"When what happen?" Lily asked, panic settling into her voice. "You're not making any sense."
"That's when I remembered the truth," James replied, too engrossed in his confession to see the state his wife was in. "It was me, Lily. I did that to her, and now she's dead," he said, his voice broken. "And ever since then, I keep thinking about all the mistakes I've made… and every day… it just gets harder to pretend they don't bother me."
Lily sat on the edge of the table, looking lost. What James said, it happened months ago.
"…Lily?" James asked, looking at his wife in confusion. She looked like she was a million miles away.
"…There's more," Lily revealed, realizing she'd been manipulated for years. "You remembered what you did. When you came home that night, you were distraught. I've never seen you like that before or since. I couldn't even make sense of what you were saying. You were crying one second, throwing things around in a rage the next. You smashed up your whole office. I was scared."
"What?" James asked, looking up sharply, not remembering any of it.
"…I called Dumbledore," Lily confessed, her words catching in her throat. "He.. he came straight away, and when he saw the state you were in, he stupefied you. I'm so sorry James…. I didn't know what to think, what was going on, not then," she said, the words rushing out as she remembered how panicked and afraid she'd been that night. "He said.. He said he was going to help you… and I believed him."
"W-what did he do?" James asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"He cast legimens on you," Lily confessed. "Almost ten minutes went by before he stopped."
"He told me… told me you'd suffered a psychotic break, something terrible happened, and he had to block the memory, or you would lose your mind," Lily replied.
"…Why didn't you ever tell me?" James asked, feeling betrayed.
"I couldn't," Lily confessed. "Dumbledore never told me what happened. He said that if I knew, and slipped up. If I mentioned it to you, it could unblock the memory, and the same thing would happen again, and he might not be there to fix it in time."
"He erased my memories?" James asked in shock.
Lily nodded tearfully. "…James, I'm so sorry. I thought… I didn't have any reason to distrust Dumbledore then. He said he was helping you."
James stood up from his desk, hugging Lily tightly, the betrayal he suffered from Dumbledore running deeper than he'd ever imagined, leaving him wonder if it had happened just once, or had Dumbledore been erasing his memories for years.
***
Amelia Bones looked up from the report she had been reading, a frown on her face, as her door slammed open with a loud bang, revealing a red-faced Harkwell who promptly stormed inside as if he owned the place.
"What happened to you?" Bones asked, setting aside her annoyance at Harkwell when she noticed the sling on his arm.
"It doesn't matter," Harkwell snapped angrily, sitting down in the chair opposite her. "I need to borrow some of your aurors. About twenty should do it."
"Borrow?" Amelia asked incredulously. "What do you think this is, a library?"
"I'm serious!" Harkwell growled.
"Then you better start explaining," Amelia replied, in no mood for nonsense.
Harkwell shot her a dirty look before continuing. "I was out with the task force, chasing up a lead on a werewolf. We were attacked. I need some extra muscle to bring them in."
"There's seven of you, aren't there?" Amelia asked, feeling like Harkwell was leaving something out. "Unless you ran into an actual werewolf, you should have been able to handle it."
"They surprised us," Harkwell grumbled, looking away.
"Us?" Amelia asked. "So how many more of you were injured?"
Harkwell looked down, knowing he couldn't lie; Bones would sniff it out in no time. "Just me."
"You're not making any sense," Amelia replied, shaking her head. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Look, Bones," Harkwell said, losing his temper. "It's not that long ago that you were a wet behind the ears Auror, so I assume you remember what it's like to be out in the field. Things don't always work out. Sometimes things get messy, and you just have to clean it up. That's what this is."
Amelia exhaled slowly, tapping down her anger at the disrespect in Harkwell's tone. "And I assume you still remember why you went into 'early retirement,' and you haven't changed one bit, have you? Still cutting corners."
"I am authorized by the Wizengamot to conduct this operation in any way I see fit," Harkwell snapped, his eyes blazing with fury. "And I am asking you to lend me a few aurors as a courtesy. I can just as easily go over your head."
Amelia let out a bark of laughter at his audacity. "Let's get something straight right now. I am an auror, you are not. The Wizengamot appointed you to investigate. You're not even allowed to call yourself an auror to the public!"
Harkwell pursed his lips. "My task force is keeping people safe!"
"Elwood is your second, right?" Amelia asked, ignoring his outburst, knowing she wouldn't get anything useful out of him in the state he was in.
When Harkwell nodded, she went to the door. "Jane," she called out to her secretary. "Get Marcus Ellwood in here."
"Right away, Madam Bones," Jane replied.
"That isn't necessary," Harkwell said, standing up. "It was a mistake coming here. I'll handle it myself."
"Oh, no you don't," Amelia shook her head. "Sit!" she barked, pointing to the chair. "You want my aurors? Then we're doing this the right way. My aurors will carry out any lawful action. So we're going to find out just what kind of mess you got yourself into, and IF there is any actual merit, MY Aurors will assist."
"I told you I'll handle it!" Harkwell shouted, making his way to the door.
"You can leave if you want," Amelia replied. "But honestly, you've piqued my interest. I'm going to speak to Elwood either way. So you can either be here to tell your side, or I can go by what Elwood says; either way is fine by me."
Harkwell shot Amelia a hard glare before he sat back down in his chair.
A few minutes later, Elwood walked in. "Madam Bones, you asked to see me?" he said, pausing when he saw Harkwell in the chair across from her.
"Yes, have a seat," Amelia said, gesturing to the seat beside Harkwell. "I'm told you were chasing a lead on a werewolf?"
Elwood nodded stiffly, sitting down.
Amelia frowned, knowing enough about internal Ministry politics to recognize when someone was given an order to remain quiet.
"Do you have anything to add?" Amelia tried again.
"No, Ma'am," Elwood replied, an angry look crossing his face.
"Alright," Amelia said, trying a different tack. "Harkwell here is saying that you got ambushed, and now he's asking for twenty aurors to back up the task force, and go after them. Do you see any issues with that?"
"What?" Elwood demanded, staring at Harkwell in shock.
"I see," Amelia continued. "Marcus Elwood, you were an auror for the past four years before transferring to the werewolf task force. As an auror, I know you understand how important it is to protect your comrades in the field, but most importantly to prevent them from acting outside the law, so I'm going to ask you right now. What are you putting my aurors in the middle of?"
Elwood sighed, rubbing his face, knowing that he was about to be booted from the task force, but despite needing the extra galleons to provide for his wife and children, he couldn't be a part of this, not anymore, so he talked, telling Bones about everything that happened from the moment they arrived at the burrow, along with his suspicions about the so-called tip Harkwell received.
Harkwell remained silent, glaring between Elwood and Bones, knowing that nothing he said would change the outcome. Neither of them truly understood what it meant to fight a war. They were both far too soft and idealistic to see the war right on their doorstep for what it was.
Amelia rubbed her temples, feeling a migraine coming on. It was so much worse than she had thought. Their only saving grace was Harry seemed to be willing to leave things as they were.
She wasn't sure she would have the patience for it in his position.
"Harkwell, how did you know Harry Potter was at the Burrow?" She demanded.
"I didn't," Harkwell lied. "Like I said, I was following up on a lead."
"A lead you still can't substantiate," Amelia pointed out.
"That doesn't matter! Elwood even said it! He attacked me. Now give me the aurors I need to bring him in," Harkwell demanded.
"Damn it, Harkwell!" Elwood exploded. "You started that fight, and you know it! And what? Now you want to put twenty aurors through the meat grinder because your ego is bruised?"
"Let me clear this up for you, Harkwell," Amelia sighed. "You don't have the authority to arrest or detain anyone other than werewolves; anything beyond that is a job for Aurors. You have a clear and precise mandate from the Wizengamot."
"Investigate the werewolf attacks, find anyone that may be supporting Greyback, and if required, bring those people to justice. That does not give you the authority to harass anyone you please."
"I know what my mandate is," Harkwell growled. "And before I was attacked, that is exactly what I was doing."
"You've been out of the game for a while," Amelia said, her eyes narrowing. "So let me give you some clarity," she said, reaching into her desk, and pulling out a stack of newspapers.
"Recognize him?" Amelia asked, pointing a finger at Harry fighting the golem, hiding her smirk as Harkwell's eyes widened.
"No? You're right. It is kind of a grainy picture. How about this one?" She asked, dropping the next newspaper on the desk, this one featuring Harry fighting the entity and closing the portal.
"What do you think?" she pressed. "Maybe just a fluke?" she asked sarcastically. "Probably just in the right place at the right time. I know," she said, snapping her fingers. "Let's look at this one," she said, dropping the last newspaper on her desk, the one showing Harry killing five werewolves.
"That happened at the Ministry," Amelia said, her voice now cold as ice. "During a Wizengamot meeting, no less. He is the only one we know of that stands a chance against the werewolves."
"So what do you think? The Wizengamot, the very people that appointed you head of this task force, are they going to side with you? The man who clearly didn't even bother to read the briefing before taking the damn job, the man who wants to put Harry Potter of all people in Azkaban, or are they going to side with him?" She said, slamming her hand on the picture of Harry. "The one who saved their lives!?"
Harkwell visibly paled as he read the headlines, looking at each of the pictures slowly. He had read the briefing or skimmed it at any rate. He thought they were exaggerated, didn't even bother reading the newspapers, knowing they would be even more sensationalized, but seeing the truth now, he sat there dumbfounded.
When Harkwell didn't answer, Amelia stood from her desk. "In case it isn't clear yet, Harkwell. I will not pull a single one of my aurors from their duties, especially not for one man's bruised ego," she said, storming out of her office as she went to have a long overdue talk with the Minister.
She ignored Umbridge, not even bothering to acknowledge her shrieking as she shoved open the door to the Minister's office, and slammed it shut behind her while casting a locking charm for good measure.
Rufus looked up startled as his office door slammed shut, swallowing nervously "Amelia? What's going on."
Amelia took a moment to observe the minister. He was pale, like he'd just been put through the wringer. It was the first time she'd seen him since the attack, and until now she thought he'd been exaggerating.
"Minister," she said with a sigh, her eyes softening slightly. "We need to talk about the werewolf task force."
"How about we talk about it in a couple of days? Delores can put something on the books," Rufus replied, attempting to shut down the conversation. "You know how it is. The paperwork never stops, and I'm still four days behind," he joked, pointing to the large stack of parchment at the corner of his desk.
"No," Amelia shook her head, frowning, feeling almost as if the Minister was avoiding her. "This can't wait. The task force is out of control. They're harassing people on the streets, threatening them with Azkaban, and that's just the start. They need to be reined in, especially Harkwell."
Rufus sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You know it's not that simple. They may report to me on paper, but it's really the Wizengamot they take their orders from."
"Yeah, and they've set up you and me to take the blame," Amelia replied. "They're out there claiming to be aurors, when they're not, and it's my department that has to deal with the complaints, and when this goes sideways, you're the one they report to on paper."
"It can't be that bad," Rufus replied. "People are scared, angry. The task force may be a little overzealous, but once they get results, people will calm down."
"Results?" Amelia snapped. "Let's talk about results. Do you know where they went earlier today? The Burrow."
"The Burrow?" Rufus asked, furrowing his brows. "Weasley's home, right? Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?"
Amelia nodded.
"Then I'll stop you right there," Rufus replied. "No one is above the law, not even ministry heads. That's their job, investigate any leads as to the whereabouts of Greyback and any werewolves that support them."
"It wasn't just the Weasleys that were there, and the task force didn't limit themselves to asking questions, and performing a search," Amelia replied. "Harry Potter was there with them, and the task force knew he was there before they showed up."
"Okay, so what's the problem?" Rufus said with a shrug of his shoulders, still not understanding what the issue was. "Who better to talk to about the capabilities of these new werewolves than Harry?"
"If that's all they were there to do, I wouldn't be here," Amelia snapped, losing her patience. "They were there specifically to pick a fight with Harry so they could throw him in Azkaban," she said, relaying what she had learned from Elwood.
".. And you trust this Elwood?" Rufus asked, visibly paling. "There's no chance he's making this up?"
"Absolutely not. He reported to me directly for years before he transferred to the task force," Amelia replied.
"I… I'll handle it from here," Rufus said shakily, knowing that he would need to bring this to Ogden's attention.
"Do it fast," Amelia replied. "Because he was in my office today asking to borrow my aurors to go back and arrest Potter. I'll leave it to you to guess how well that would have gone."
"Would have?" Rufus asked.
Amelia nodded. "I explained to him just how stupid an idea that was and gave him the briefing he didn't seem to have read when he took the damn job. That will buy you some time, but you need to handle this, or your tenure as minister is going to be a lot shorter than you think."
Rufus breathed a sigh of relief as Amelia left his office, looking down at his hand that had been shaking the entire time, glad she hadn't noticed the state he was in.
The Wizengamot was already breathing down his neck to get results, but a scandal involving the werewolf task force was the last thing he needed, along with everything else that had gone wrong since his tenure began.
***
"Harry," Ted said, walking into the Burrow. "I just got your letter. How is everyone holding up here?" He asked.
"Pretty well, all things considered," Harry replied.
"This is unbelievable," Ted said, shaking his head as he sat down beside Harry "They just came in here and threatened to arrest you?"
"They were egging me on too," Harry replied. "Harkwell, he seemed to be the one in charge. He actually wanted me to attack him."
"The same one we talked to in the alley," Ted replied, remembering their confrontation outside the Leaky Cauldron.
"Do you think they'll be back?" Harry asked.
"There's some good news there," Ted replied. "I sent a letter to Amelia Bones, explaining what really happened, and why Harkwell was really here. She told me the Aurors won't be pursuing it, and she's already had words with Harkwell about it as well."
"Excuse me," Daniela said, sitting down across from them.
"Daniela," Ted said, concerned for her as well. "How are you doing?"
"A little shook up," Daniela admitted. "So is everyone else, but I'll be fine. There's something I wanted to talk to you both about as well."
"Oh?" Ted asked.
"It's something Harry said, actually," Daniela continued. "When you called Harkwell a psychopath, I think you may have been more right that you realized. This isn't a full assessment, just my impressions based on observing him, and what you mentioned about him when you first met him, Harry."
"Do you think he poses any further risk?" Ted asked.
"That's difficult to say," Daniela replied. "He's unlikely to let this go, but doesn't have a clear path forward. If he really is a psychopath, he'll become fixated on you, Harry, and harboring a grudge will just be the tip of the iceberg."
"He may not attack you directly, but could attempt to do so through proxies," she warned.
"Ted," Harry said, heading Daniela's warning. "I'd like to look into getting some wards put up around the Burrow just to be on the safe side."
"I'll get on it right away," Ted promised. "There's something else as well," he added, taking out a letter and placing it on the coffee table.
"What's that?" Harry asked curiously.
"It's from the goblins," Ted explained. "With the quarantine in place, we obviously can't move forward with the plans for the dig. The goblins are negotiating with the Egyptian government to make an exception, but it doesn't seem like they're willing to grant one, at least right now."
"I'm not going, not yet," Harry replied immediately. "Not until this thing with Greyback, and the task force is done with."
Ted nodded. "I had a feeling you would say that. I've already informed the goblins. They aren't happy about it, but given the current situation, they aren't holding out much hope of it getting resolved anytime soon either."
"How about the scholarship program?" Harry asked, changing the subject. "Do we have any new candidates?"
"Quite a few actually," Ted smiled. "After the Ministry Christmas Party, and the newspaper articles, we've had more applications than I know what to do with. I'm still going through them to figure out which ones actually need the scholarship, and which ones have the money, but don't want to pay for it on their own."
"…And what about Tonks?" Harry asked, "Have you heard anything from her yet?"
"I've hired an investigator, but so far they haven't found anything beyond the letter she sent me after she disappeared," Ted replied with a sigh. "I'm starting to think I won't find her, at least until she wants to be found."
"I'm sorry, Ted," Harry said sympathetically. "I wish there were something more I could do to help."
"No, it's alright, Harry," Ted replied. "You have your hands full, and despite everything, my daughter knows how to handle herself."
***
Hi! Thanks for reading There's a lot I wanted to get across in this chapter. At this point in the story Harry is thought of as one of the most powerful wizard in the world while also being only 11 years old, and has the reputation to match.
Harkwell is a effectively a man that time passed by. He didn't actively participate in the wizarding world for almost a decade, and has never seen anyone as powerful as Harry, so is naturally skeptical. He's also arrogant, and his experience in the war tells him superior numbers trump individual magical ability.
What did you think about the revelation about James? I'm trying to expand his character from the one dimensional version from book one, and explain why he is the way he is.
Please take the time to review and let me know what you think of the story.
If you would like to support me and my writing, please consider visiting https://taplink.cc/jumpin for all the stories I'm currently working on and early access to chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12 of Legacy of Shadows along with some character portraits for Merlin, Morgan and Nimue, and an audio versions of the chapters.