The War for Souls

Chapter 11--No Confidence

"All right, Susan?" asked Harry. She nodded. "Need anything?"

"A shirt would be nice," she said, holding up the tattered edge of her blouse.

"Oh, right," he said. "Um...Hermione?"

"Right," she said after a second, and ran up the stairs.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Ginny stuffed her fist in her mouth, failing to stifle all the giggles. Harry looked at her pleadingly, and she stopped giggling long enough to wrap her arms around him.

"Wait," said Susan. "You two?" She looked from Harry to Ginny and back, and then at the stairs up which Hermione had disappeared.

"Got a problem with it?" asked Ginny, a slight temper flashing in her eyes.

"No! I just thought--" Before she could finish, Hermione emerged from the stairs, holding up a t-shirt.

"Thanks," said Susan. In one motion, she discarded what was left of the old blouse, and pulled on the proffered garment. "Um..."

"Yeah?" Harry looked up at her, and his eyes popped. "Oh..." The shirt barely covered Susan's chest, leaving her entire midriff exposed, and clinging to her like a second skin.

"Well," said Hermione, blushing furiously. "Susan is more...developed...than I am."

"Let me get you one of mine," said Ron. "That might work better." He walked up the stairs, studiously keeping his eyes on the ground, and earning a broad grin from Hermione for his efforts.

"I always thought you and...you..." said Susan, pointing at Hermione.

Hermione laughed mirthlessly. "You and the rest of the world," she retorted sharply.

"Everybody needs to calm down," said Neville. "Did you guys do okay at Alicia's?"

Ginny paled again, and clung a little tighter to Harry's arm. "Barely," he said. "Crabbe was there, and Remus tackled him through a window. I don't know what happened after that. Remus handed us a Portkey and stayed there to take Alicia to hospital. She was pretty bad off."

"Where did you go?" asked Luna.

"Two places," said Neville. "We went to Hermione's first, and checked the wards, and then to Justin's. The Death Eaters never showed up at Hermione's, and only one came to Justin's."

"Who?" asked Harry.

"No one I knew. But I think Moody knew him."

"Doesn't surprise me," said Harry. "Hold on a second, guys." He stood up, pulling Ginny by the hand into the kitchen. "Now, what is this about?"

"What?"

"You turned white as a ghost at Alicia's, and the same just now when Neville mentioned it."

"Oh, that..."

"Yes, that..." Harry trailed off as a thought, too horrid to comprehend, came over him. "He didn't...he couldn't..."

"No, silly," she smiled rather indulgently at him, reading his thoughts. "No, he wasn't solid when I lost consciousness, and I don't guess he ever really was fully solid, since I'm alive. That was what he did to the girls in school with him. He would torture them like that. Just like that--the ropes...the X-shape...the candle. He'd rape them over and over and over again and then memory charm them so they wouldn't remember. And then he'd come back and do it again. It was just like what they were doing to Alicia."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do it."

Harry laughed a bit at that. "Well, shall we invite Susan to stay here?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know," he said. "It might be safer that way." She nodded, and pulled him back to the sitting room.

*****

The Great Hall of Morag Castle, bleak and forbidding, was nowhere near as intimate or homely a meeting place as even the dismal kitchen of Grimmauld Place. However, it was the best the Order had at the moment, and it was where they assembled the evening of the revel. Most of the core members had arrived by the time Alastor stumped up to the table. "Well?" he said.

"I believe," said Dumbledore, "that we can refer to the events of tonight as a strategic draw."

"Would you care to elaborate?" asked Alastor.

"I cannot, but Severus might care to." He motioned to the black-robed Potions Master, leaving no doubt that Severus would elaborate, whether he cared to or not.

"We suffered no deaths, and only two minor injuries to Order members. Two students were injured, one seriously, and one's condition is unknown. At least one Death Eater is confirmed dead."

"It sounds as though we won something of a victory," said Arthur Weasley. "I hadn't heard the full account. Who was injured?"

"Remus fractured his ankle," said Dumbledore. "But I believe it was the result of a somewhat overeager pursuit. And Kingsley suffered a mild cutting curse to his shoulder. He should be right shortly. The two students injured were Miss Spinnet and Mr. Thomas. I am not sure, however, whose condition is unknown."

"Susan Bones," said Severus. "I was forced to kill one Death Eater and stun another to escape with her. I delivered her to the safe house, and returned here."

"Severus, are you saying your cover has been lost?" asked Minerva McGonagall in a shocked voice.

"Minerva, if losing my cover saved one child; I consider it an even trade, even if I am killed for it."

"But--"

"Minerva, Severus has done as he saw fit, and I cannot say I disagree with his reasoning. We may have been deprived of our best spy, but we would undoubtedly have been deprived of Miss Bones' life had he not acted."

Minerva fell silent and lowered her head. "Now, I feel I have one more piece of information to divulge to you," the Headmaster continued. "I have already told you that Harry is unquestionably the Ambrosius of Wales. However, I did not tell you that I utilized a combination of scrying spells provided by an expert in the matter, and Miss Granger's formidable research abilities to attempt to locate the Ambrosii of Scotland and Ireland. Thus far, we have had no luck finding the Ambrosius of Ireland. Miss Granger, however, believes that Susan Bones is the Ambrosius of Scotland."

"And you are prepared to take her word for it?" asked Severus.

"Hardly," said Dumbledore. "I believe that Miss Granger has a fine intellect, and her research skills are superb. However, on a matter of this importance, I would not take the word of a single person, no matter how expert they might be. I will be consulting with others on this matter soon."

"Would it be too much to ask who?" asked Alastor.

"At the moment, yes," said Dumbledore. "I believe that sharing his identity would put him at too great a risk."

Alastor nodded his assent. "Where are you going with this?" he asked.

"I believe we should allow Miss Bones to remain at the safe house with Harry and his friends, at least for the time being. We have already seen that Voldemort has targeted her, and with the combination of her Aunt's position, her own recent activity in the Wizengamot, and her possible station, she is in even greater danger than most of the students."

"I agree," said Arthur. "I think we should have her stay there. I can talk to Amelia tomorrow."

"Don't bother," said Dumbledore. "I will do so myself. What I wonder is if Alastor would consent to inform those already residing there, and to make the necessary accommodations, since Remus is somewhat indisposed."

"Before I go anywhere, who did Snape kill?"

"Darius Nott," said Severus.

*****

Harry had just come back from the kitchen when Moody arrived. Susan eyed him nervously. "Evening," he said gruffly. "Everybody unhurt?"

"We're fine. How's everyone else?" asked Harry.

"Lupin broke his ankle jumping out a goddamned window, but other than that, we're alright."

"Is Remus okay?"

"He broke his ankle. No, he's not okay, but he's not about to die. Don't worry about Lupin, Potter; he can take care of himself."

Harry nodded. "What's going on?" he asked. "I know you wouldn't be here if something wasn't up."

"Good instincts, Potter," he said. "Yes, indeed. Now, I've only heard the beginning of the story, so I suppose I'll leave it up to you and Granger to tell what I don't know, but I'm supposed to make arrangements to have Bones stay here with you for a while."

"We were just going to ask about that," said Ginny.

"What?" said Susan. "Why do I feel like everyone's deciding what I do without asking me?"

"Join the club," said Harry.

"And it'll only get worse with a girlfriend," said Neville.

"Granger?" said Moody. "I was told you were the lead on this project."

"What? Oh, right. Okay, well, Susan, I don't know what you know about the Ambrosii, but you should know that Voldemort is one of them. He's the heir of Salazar Slytherin."

"Right, I knew that," she said, without a single flinch at the name.

"And Harry is the heir of Gryffindor."

"Wow," she said, taking the information in stride, but keeping a wary eye on Moody.

"To make a long story short, it's going to come down to Harry or Voldemort. Harry needs to have the other two Ambrosii on his side--we think--to defeat Voldemort. So, we've been looking for them."

"That makes sense," said Susan, now trying to smile nervously at the old Auror.

"No need to be scared, lass," he said. "You're on our side." He grinned, making him look more frightening than usual.

"As I was saying," said Hermione, "we know that Harry is the Ambrosius of Wales, and Voldemort is the Ambrosius of England."

"What about the other two?"

"Well, that's where you come in," she said. "We're fairly sure you're the heir of Helga Hufflepuff, and the Ambrosius of Scotland."

She was incredulous. "But I thought the Ambrosii died out four hundred years ago."

"The lines of the Ambrosii can never die out," said Harry quietly. "It's the enchantments on the lines. They were just hidden."

"Oh. Are you...are you sure?"

"No, we aren't, honestly," said Harry. "It's the best guess we have right now."

"Just a guess?" said Moody.

"An educated guess," said Hermione. "We're missing a few pieces in the middle."

"Right," said Moody. "Now, we know you're a target for Voldemort already, but you've been busy getting yourself higher on his list. You'll be safer here."

"Aunt Amelia?"

"She has more Auror protection than anyone other than the Minister and you being there won't make her safer."

"Okay," she said softly. "I'll stay."

"Good. Wait here and I'll set things up for you."

Moody called them up in a moment, and asked Susan where she wanted her bed. She pointed to a spot near the door. Moody nodded, and pointed quizzically to the bed next to it. "Mine," said Ron.

"That'll work," said Susan, smiling. Hermione gave her an odd look.

"Why don't you stay over on this side," said Luna calmly, sitting on her own blue-and-bronze bed.

"Oh...uh, okay." Moody mumbled a few words, and a bed shimmered and appeared in the space next to Luna's.

"Hmph." He muttered again, and the wall moved out a few feet. With some quick wand flicks, he had rearranged all the beds, reshaping the semicircle. He took a look at the other beds, and conjured black and yellow bedclothes for Susan's bed. She looked apprehensively around the room.

"Thank Remus," said Harry. "He did up the first six like that."

"Oh, that's not what I'm worried about. There are seven beds in here. And...well..."

Harry and Ginny burst out laughing, and everyone else smiled. Hermione reached around the door and pulled off the sign. Susan seemed somewhat satisfied with the explanation, and Ron's further admonition to be careful. Moody told everyone to go to bed, and clunked down the stairs.

It was perhaps the least restful night he had had all summer. After he had been awakened around midnight to go to Alicia's, it had been nearly dawn when everything had finally been sorted, and he had been able to go back to sleep. Now, as he opened his eyes to see Remus standing over him, it seemed as though no time had passed at all since he had collapsed into bed. "Ugh," he said, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Had a rough night, love?" asked Ginny teasingly from across the room. His face flushed, but his heart jumped slightly at the endearment.

"Didn't we all?" asked Susan rather less cheerily. Harry started at her voice, then remembered she was now a resident there as well.

"That might be," said Remus, "but there's no rest for the weary today. The Wizengamot awaits."

"Oh, bloody hell," said Ron.

Dressing took longer than expected, especially since the only clothing Susan had was her very dirty skirt, and the t-shirt she had borrowed from Ron the night before. Hermione transfigured a set of her own school robes into a dark dress robe, and with much trial and error, managed to adjust the size to fit Susan. Finally, seven tired and bedraggled students and one hobbling werewolf arrived at the Ministry. Security seemed tighter than ever, and Harry vaguely wondered if the attack on the family of the second-ranking official in the Ministry had anything to do with it. Ginny voiced nearly the same thought. "How much of this is because of last night, d'you think?" she whispered as they walked down the torchlit corridor of Level Ten hand in hand.

"I dunno. Could be--" He never finished. At that moment they entered the chamber, and the whole room fell silent. Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that every set of eyes in the room was on them. He caught one set in particular--Baddock's. The opposition leader's face lit with a sadistic glee, and a horrid thought shocked Harry's mind. Instantly, he dropped Ginny's hand as though it had burned him, and raced to his seat in the well without glancing back.

Ron was beside him in a second and grabbed the collar of his robes. "What the hell--"

"Not here, not now," hissed Neville. Ron slowly released Harry's robes, giving him a black look as he did.

"Chief Warlock!" Baddock called. "I see that Mr. Potter has seen fit to return to the well. It was my understanding that he was not permitted to vote. I ask, therefore, that you order him removed to the gallery."

"Objection!" shouted Neville and Susan at once. Neville smiled, and nodded to her to continue.

"Chief Warlock, I report a judgment of the Superior Court of Magic. On petition, all so-called convictions against Sirius Black are overturned." There was a smattering of applause from their supporters, and a more widespread murmuring.

"Preposterous!" boomed a deep voice from the opposite side of the well. Harry saw a broad, thick-set man with a grey-black shovel beard marching purposefully down the aisle. "I arrested Black myself! I was there! He was as guilty as any Death Eater out there! And now, after he escapes from Azkaban, you want to legitimize his crimes, and free him!"

"Sirius is dead!" yelled Ron. "Voldemort killed him! Does it hurt to admit you made a mistake now? Or will you die for your pride like Crouch?" Harry wasn't sure if it was the name, or the brashness of Ron's challenge, but the murmurs died, giving way to a shocked silence.

"Anselm," said the calm, melodic baritone of Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Review the file. Weasley is right. Black was innocent, and now he is dead."

"Highly unusual though it is," began Neville, but the wave of muttered conversation through the hall made it impossible to hear him.

Dumbledore rapped his gavel, and Neville began again, earning a glare from Anselm. "Highly unusual though it is, I would ask the Wizengamot to issue an official statement confirming the death of Sirius Black."

"On whose witness?" asked Anselm, still shooting angry looks at him.

"Mine," said Neville.

Ron stood again. "And mine." Harry looked out at the gallery and saw Remus standing along with the three girls. He tried to smile at Ginny, but the look she shot back was ice cold. As he looked over the rest of the hall, he saw that Kingsley had gotten to his feet, along with a rosy-faced witch with curly black hair who smiled at him like an old friend. He knitted his brow in puzzlement until the witch's nose abruptly lengthened to a long beak, and he recognized Nymphadora Tonks.

"Auror Tonks," said Dumbledore. "Would you relate the events for us?"

Tonks limped into the well, reminding Harry that she had been injured herself that awful night. "The night of 13 June, I received word that there were intruders at the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries. Along with my colleague, Auror Shacklebolt, and our informant, Mr. Lupin, we reported to the scene." Harry was unused to hearing Tonks so businesslike, missing her usual effervescence.

"It appeared that what occurred was a group of convicted Death Eaters, apparently led by the Lestranges, had taken Sirius Black hostage, and were holding him, hoping to lure Mr. Potter there, probably to capture him." She was giving a somewhat doctored story, which Harry assumed was calculated to protect the secrecy of the Order. "When we arrived, the intruders had rendered one of the children unconscious, caused severe injuries to two others, and were torturing a fourth under the Cruciatus curse, in the Death Chamber." Harry's mind flashed back. He could see the veil. He could feel the cold stone steps, his desperation as he tried to haul Neville, unable to stand, up the stairs, his relief as he saw Sirius arrive, and the clawing emptiness he felt as Sirius went through the veil. He was no longer hearing Tonks or seeing the Wizengamot. A sharp rap from Dumbledore's gavel brought him back.

"Thank you, Auror Tonks," said Dumbledore. "Are there any objections to the Wizengamot declaring, on this evidence, that Sirius Black is dead?"

"No, Chief Warlock," said Anselm.

"Then I will grant Mr. Longbottom's request, and declare Sirius Black dead, and his will in force. Therefore, Mr. Potter's status as a voting member of this body is dependent on his new guardian, Remus Lupin."

"Objection!"

"Damn it," hissed Susan. "Werewolf laws."

That was the thrust of Baddock's objections, and the thrust of the outcome was that Remus was disallowed as Harry's guardian. Dumbledore once again got a recess called, and Harry followed Susan, Ron, and Neville to a small office off Madam Bones'.

*****

Anyone who looked at the tiny office a few seconds after their arrival would have thought they were watching the last hours of a dying cause. Ron had rounded on Harry and was giving him a treatment the recipient would have been grateful to receive from Voldemort. Ginny was sitting in a corner of the room, barely moving her lips as she whispered to Luna and Hermione. The only people who seemed at all concerned with what was happening in the large chamber they had just left were Susan and Neville. "We have to get Nott's death confirmed," said Susan.

"But we can't put Snape out there," Neville retorted. "That's like putting a target on his back, and giving a road map to You-Know-Who."

"Right, but no one else saw Nott die."

"But they don't know that."

"What do you mean? Lie to the Wizengamot?"

"Not lie exactly," said Neville. "But Nott died trying to attack you. Malfoy was already in the house, wasn't he?"

"I guess."

"You easily could have seen Nott die...maybe Malfoy killed him, or maybe we can even make Nott out to be a hero, he died protecting you from Malfoy."

"Everyone knows Nott was a Death Eater," said Susan. "Aunt Amelia just couldn't find the proof to get him convicted."

"What are you two going on about?" asked Ron, who was either satisfied with Harry's explanation or weary of berating his friend.

"Trying to lie to the Wizengamot," said Susan.

"Not really," said Neville. "But the honest Hufflepuff won't fudge things a little to prove the truth."

"What are you on about?" asked Hermione. Harry and Ginny were now deep in conversation, so Susan assumed that whatever issue had been raised there was being solved.

"Nott," said Neville. "We have to get him declared dead without dragging Snape up in front of the Wizengamot."

"Moody?" asked Hermione.

"That's something we hadn't tried," said Neville. "I dunno. Anyone know where to find him?"

"I've got a pretty good idea," said Ron. A few moments later, he returned with the ex-Auror, not to mention his father and Percy.

Susan briefly ran through the necessities of the situation, a blush forming every time she made mention of the idea of deceiving the court.

"Listen close, lass," said Moody, picking up on her discomfort. "I know you've been raised well, and you've learned from the time you were wee to treat the Wizengamot as something sacred. Well, it's not. And it's a far cry from being unless we get Fudge out of there."

"Not to mention," said Hermione, "that we have about a day to get him fired before he gets put under the Imperius."

"And not to mention," added Neville, "that Darius Nott is dead. We're not lying. We're just getting at it a different way, since we'd be killing Snape to drag him in front of the court to prove it."

"Now that's something for the ages," said Ron. "Neville Longbottom being concerned about Snape."

"I AM NOT ASHAMED OF YOU!" Every head in the room turned to Harry, except Moody's. He simply swiveled his eye to look through his ear at him.

"Oy!" said Ron. "We're only discussing the future of the wizarding world over here. Don't let us disturb the lovers' spat."

Both Harry and Ginny blushed furiously. "Sorry," she muttered. She lowered her voice, and whispered something to Harry. Susan thought she caught the word "Baddock," and she knew immediately what was going on.

"I'll do it," she said. Hufflepuffs were honest, but they were stubborn as hell about doing the right thing, too. She was going to see a world where Harry didn't have to drop his girlfriend's hand in public to keep her off the hit list.

A house-elf summoned them back to the chamber, and Susan noticed that Harry didn't drop Ginny's hand until they reached her seat in the gallery, and he gave her a significant look as he made his way back to the well. Dumbledore made it easy on her, too. She knew he had to appear impartial, but he was greasing the procedural wheels as much as he could.

As soon as he informed the court that Harry's guardianship would have to revert to Darius Nott, on account of the anti-werewolf legislation, she was on her feet. "Chief Warlock, I would like to present evidence that Mr. Nott is recently deceased, and therefore unable to act as guardian."

Baddock objected, but more feebly than before. He knows. More to the point, he knows we know. She spun her tale, sticking to the facts as much as possible. She had been at home when Darius Nott and another Death Eater she didn't know had arrived unannounced. The unknown Death Eater had attacked her; she had fled from him, and had come across Nott. Her attacker had fired a killing curse, missed her, and hit his comrade. She had escaped in the confusion, managed to floo to a friend's house, and alerted Madam Bones.

The only question Baddock was able to raise to her story was how she knew Darius Nott. She answered calmly that she was acquainted with him through her aunt, and that she knew him by sight. Dumbledore ruled quickly in her favor, and Harry was a ward of the court.

"As Chief Warlock," he continued, "it is my privilege to dispose of the guardianship of underage wizards who find themselves wards of the court. There are three traditional means of doing this." As he spoke, Susan realized that he was trying to make Harry aware of what was happening. "The first is to allow families to bid for his guardianship. I believe that would be inappropriate in the case of a wizard so close to coming of age.,. Secondly, I could exercise his guardianship myself. Again, as this young man is a student of mine, that would be inappropriate. Therefore, I will ask Mr. Potter, who would you request as your guardian?"

"Well, Prof--Chief Warlock, I would prefer Remus Lupin." There was a murmur. Dumbledore held up his hands, and Ron looked like he would explode again. "However, I understand that isn't possible. Would it be possible to request Arthur and Molly Weasley?"

"Mr. Weasley?"

"My wife and I would be honored," he said. "And I grant permission forthwith for Mr. Potter to assume his ancestral seat on this council.

The momentum shift was palpable. Susan could almost feel the moderates switching sides. The wind was gone from Baddock's sails, and he was very close to being implicated as a Death Eater. And, more importantly to Susan, Harry's eyes were shining in unbridled joy as he cast his vote to remove Fudge in a clear, ringing voice.