Chapter 38: The Attack
26 October 1995.
Aberforth Dumbledore, the proprietor of a dingy and rather run-down tavern in Hogsmeade, was reading The Priggler's article with Harry Potter's published letter with an undisguised interest that looked strange on his rough, unshaven face. Occasionally breaking into laughter and sipping his ale, he read about the male editorial board's outrage at the attempt to limit the rights of gorgeous Veelas to animals. When he got to the part of the article where Potter talked about a werewolf who had served in the Aurorat during the First War, the man shook his head. Overall, the article made a good impression, but without the ministry's acknowledgement of the Dark Lord's resurgence, it was a voice crying out in the wilderness.
- Xenophilius Lovegood had done his best, Albus. - Determined to get somewhat close to the Headmaster who was losing confidence in him, Sirius had come to morning tea in his office, waving a fresh newspaper. - But until the Minister takes his head out of the sand, it's all idle talk that might make a person or two think twice.
- Sirius, what does Harry say about his future plans? - Looked at him over his glasses Dumbledore. - 'Can you still correspond with him?
- Yes, he left an address where his mail is picked up and forwarded on. In fact, that's how I managed to get a letter from him to Pridira.
- Is he coming back? - Dumbledore didn't let the question slip.
- Sixth year, maybe..." Sirius mused. - I think he's hired teachers there, so he won't be too far behind.
- Sirius, where do you think he gets the money for all these childish pranks? - Dumbledore asked curtly.
- 'If you're wondering if it was me who provided him with the money to run away, then no, Headmaster,' Black replied discreetly. - 'It's just that Harry went into Gringotts and got control of his baby safe. And the Potters were not a poor sort, even more than poor.
Sneaking a glance at Dumbledore, the aristocrat saw the latter become worried.
- And the goblins had given him access to the Potters' accounts? He's a minor!
- He somehow managed to convince them that he had the right to use the children's safe, strange, eh Headmaster? - Sirius couldn't help but sneer. - He's been entitled to it since he started at Hogwarts, hasn't he?
The Headmaster, who'd gone off his head, pretended not to hear the question. Bleak's eyes glittered dangerously as the aristocrat left the office, wishing he could see Dumbledore's face as he read the new article in the Prophet.
* * *
The article, though it was not on the front page, but only on the next spread, was quite interesting. A huge, half-sheet, moving collodograph, judging by the characteristic rainbow glare - made with the help of the memory pool - showed the readers a few seconds of Harry Potter's fight with a huge basilisk and the fuzzy figure of the wizard who was cursing him. The boy's slender figure, surrounded by a halo of magic, seemed even smaller in contrast to the enormous serpent.
"Where was Dumbledore?
Recently, our editorial office received a letter from Harry Potter, who looks set to become our regular author-by-letter. His kindly provided memoirs, one of which you see now in the paper, told us the horrific story of the appearance at Hogwarts of a dark wizard and the Slytherin basilisk Salazar Salazar released by that wizard.
From the very beginning of the school year at Hogwarts, an unknown wizard released a basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets, from the sight of which the students began to turn into stone statues, but - neither the school authorities in the person of the Grand Wizard Dumbledore, nor the Gilderoy Lockhart, who turned out to be a fraud, hired by him, could do anything until the spring, when there were already five petrified figures in the infirmary. The Minister of Magic, unfortunately, wasn't in too much of a hurry to solve the problem either and allowed himself to be persuaded by Dumbledore's assurances that he had the situation at Hogwarts under his control.
It's an unfortunate fact, but the parents of the students who ended up in the infirmary were not properly informed of this fact, and have every right to file lawsuits against the school administration, in which our editorial board supports them in every possible way.
And in the spring... In the spring something happened that we see no explanation for. You may notice that the collodograph shows Harry Potter fighting alone. But where was the victor of Grindewald, the greatest light wizard of all? Why was the sophomore allowed to descend alone into the secret chamber of the great Slytherin. But in a hard fought battle, while still a child, Harry Potter managed to wrest victory from the hands of a dark wizard and a basilisk subordinate to them."
The next collodograph showed two episodes at once - when Potter's chopping blow did get the head of the huge reptile and the death of the dark wizard.
"Potter, who managed to overpower the basilisk and the unknown dark wizard, thanks to the tears of the Headmaster's phoenix that flew in at the last moment, remained alive, although the basilisk's venomous fang pierced his arm through and through."
A new collodograph, where a jagged scar stands out as a pale spot on a rather muscular, tanned arm.
"And then, taking young Ginevra Weasley, who had been kidnapped by the dark wizard, in his arms, Harold Potter carried her out of the Chamber of Secrets, sealing the door so that no possible evil could ever again escape. He brought her to Headmaster Dumbledore's office, where at that moment it was being decided to close the school and evacuate the students because the powerful wizards didn't dare to go down to the great Salazar's room.
Could it be that Harry Potter, already in his second year, could claim the title of great light wizard if he dared to argue with Slytherin's creation? The editors leave the answer to the readers' judgement."
- I don't like what's going on, Cornelius. - Malfoy broke away from reading the article. - On the one hand, everything seemed to be gently and neatly directed only against Dumbledore, as if someone was seriously intent on bringing him down.
- But, Lucius, do you really think it's Harry Potter, that unstable boy, who's managed to get his wits about him and is now trying to ruin Dumbledore's reputation?
- No, I don't think so, although whoever it is is clearly acting in alliance with Potter, if even we check the memories, they'll probably turn out to be genuine. I was in Dumbledore's office when Potter brought in that Weasley redhead, it looked exactly like the article and the collodographs.
- 'It's to our advantage either way, Lucius,' the Minister, confident of a speedy victory over his political opponent, was pleased. - Dumbledore is getting too caught up in politics, it's time to point out to him that his place is at school, not in the Wizengamot....
- Where, incidentally, he had recently been stripped of the ability to control the Potters' vote, previously available to the old man as the boy's guardian. Black had pulled out a document signed by Potter at the last meeting, placing the vote under his authority. Dumbledore was furious, but it was beautifully executed - signed, imprinted with magic and a drop of blood. Goblin work, they know a thing or two about magic contracts.
- And what should we expect in the near future, Lucius," the Minister was clearly waiting for advice.
- I think that Dumbledore, who is losing his grip, will soon fly from his post... All the more reason for you and I to do our best, Cornelius. - The aristocrat laughed. - In the meantime... In the meantime, we need to find the source of all these articles. Skeeter, for all her venality and mendacity, is getting genuine memoirs and eyewitness collodographs from somewhere... And you'll have no more adversaries in English politics, Cornelius.
The aristocrat, mentally scolding the naive bureaucrat with his last words, touched his wine glass to the minister's glass, imagining that a year or two later he or Lord Voldemort himself would be sitting in the same chair.
* * *
After reaching the edge of Hogwarts' anti-apparatus shield, which no living wizard could penetrate, except Dumbledore, who used his phoenix teleportation to do so, Sirius apparated to the Black mansion.
- Bleck," Frown greeted him, sitting in the living room, poring over some parchments. - We have a good chance to have a close conversation with someone who knows the Lord intimately.
- That's interesting," Sirius grinned. - How did you get a hold of him?
- One of my agents worked with him, I picked her up at an orphanage for wizarding children who'd lost their parents in the First War. A capable girl, I've never regretted the time and effort I put into training her.
- Are you suggesting I visit your informant in her company? - Black grinned.
- No," He pulled a vial of murky brown Polyjuice potion out of his pocket. - I'd rather Melissa stay relatively safe in any mess, and when we start stabbing our... client, I'm afraid there's going to be a fight. He should be home tonight.
Auror laughed hoarsely, drinking the potion in one gulp. His body and face immediately rippled, transforming the grey-haired, crippled wizard into a slender girl of twenty-five, with long hair and bright green eyes.
Black whistled.
- Alastor, will you introduce me?
- Go to the Dementors," Alastor replied in a soft, chesty voice. - She's already taken.
- I never got the part of our training where I had to learn how to get into character, even if I drank Polyjuice potion with a girl's hair. - Sirius wrinkled his nose. - I remember James and I never managed to pass MacLeon's exam for that section at the Auror Academy.
- Because you were idiots back then, thinking the job of an auror was all about dueling with dark wizards. - Alastor muttered, but the woman's voice had less effect than the old auror's hoarse growl.
- Few aurors risk reincarnating in a woman's body, the centres of gravity are too different," Alastor paced the room, getting used to the motor skills of the unfamiliar body. - And it always feels like crap, m'kay.
- I remember," Sirius laughed. - James had rushed to the bathroom at the first minute, and didn't come out until after the turnover was over, all green and shaking
- And you came out after him, just as green," Alastor cut him off. - MacLeon told me.
Alastor, muttering a few harsh curses, transfigured his usual costume into a woman's dress on the third attempt, then turned to Black, who was trying not to laugh.
- If I were MacLeon," he mumbled, "I'd have to beat you arseholes up in study hall for another six months. Till you passed my Polyjuice potion operations test.
- All right, all right, Alastor," Sirius laughed, "I hear you.
- We need to get to Dark Alley. - Alastor paused in front of the mirror and grimly examined his reflection. - Ugh!
Spitting, the auror headed for the exit.
As he made his way to the entrance to the sparsely populated part of magical London where Dark Alley was located, Alastor grimaced as he felt the interested stares of several wizards passing by. Sirius's satisfied face, still chuckling, also caused the auror mild irritation. It was hard to expect absolute adequacy from a man who had escaped from Azkaban after fourteen years of imprisonment, though, so the last Black's sense of humour, which had survived in prison, wasn't the worst of it.
- We're at the far end of the alley, Lord Black.
Sirius nodded, adjusting to the auror's gait.
Alastor listened to his own senses as he walked past the shops, which were found in almost every house on this stretch of street. The paranoia he'd developed over the years screamed that things were getting more and more dangerous, but no amount of careful glancing around and nonverbal scanning of the neighbourhood showed the slightest sign of trouble. His intuition, however, was still there, clearly telling him that there was a good fight ahead of them, and the auror tried to trust his senses.
- Sirius," the auror said with a single lip, covering his mouth with his palm. - I can feel it coming. Prepare yourself.
There was no change in Black's expression or gait, but Alastor realised that the aristocrat had turned to his generic powers, gathering strength for a sizzling blow.
A typical Diagon Ally couple, consisting of a richly dressed wizard and a girl in an expensive dress, had reached the turn leading into Dark Alley. Alastor clutched a small amulet in his pocket, sending an alarm signal to the Aurorat duty team in the barracks. The signal instructed them to go on high alert so that they would be able to apparate at any moment to the head of the task force, who, since the Aurorat head had left his position, had become Alastor.
The dark alley was, as always, sparsely populated. The few wizards, many of them hiding their faces under hoods, walked leisurely about their business. Sirius Black forced himself to move and speak naturally, not showing that he was tense to the max and ready to fight an unknown opponent. Sirius himself didn't feel any possible threat, but he trusted the paranoia and intuition of the old Auror, who had been an Aurorate legend back in the days when Bleek himself had trained there.
After walking down the alley past the shop run by the former auror who had once sold his wand to Potter, the friends found themselves in a sparsely populated part of magical London, where there were either extremely dubious entertainment venues or the homes of those who had been forced to leave more prosperous places for a variety of reasons. The most respectable of the werewolves, the former Drowners whose guilt hadn't been proven in the courts since the First War, the alchemists who dealt in forbidden ingredients-anything that would interest even the most discerning buyer could be found here.
- There he is. - The quiet voice of a wizard wrapped head to toe in a black robe came from the attic of a building down the street where Alastor and Sirius were walking. He and his partner, on the signal of an informant from The Leaky Cauldron, had apparated towards the aristocrat, hiding in the one house that Sirius Black could have walked past. They'd waited in Hogsmeade and in Diagon Ally twice before, but this time it seemed that luck had smiled on them, and Sirius Black was heading in exactly the right direction.
- He's not alone," the second wizard objected. - There's some wench with him.
- She's not an obstacle. Let's get started," the first one cut him off, clutching the signalling amulet.
His partner silently activated an artefact that blocked a small section of the apparatus.
- Fiendfire! - Jets of Hellfire burst from the windows of the houses in front of the wizards.
- Bombarda! - The magic gathered by Sirius tore them sharply upwards, and a force-filled Explosion flew into the window of one of the houses.
The elusive second it took for the attackers to safely put out the Hellfire was enough for Sirius and Alastor to go on the attack in turn.
A wisp of black smoke flew off Alastor's wand, quickly turning into a cloud that enveloped one of the assassins. Disintegrating Mist, one of the strongest spells of necromancers, like Avada, was not repelled by shields.
- Who are you? - Sirius Black, holding a ball of bubbling Hellfire in his hands, eyed his attackers warily.
Instead of answering, one of the figures touched his chest, deactivating the barrier, and the surviving assassins vanished.
- 'Escaped,' the Avada launched by Alastor hit the wall a second after the enemy disappeared.
- Commander. - With a clap, an auror in a purple robe appeared beside them, leading the aurorate duty team. - What happened.
- 'Trace the hardware trail, Corwen,' waved off a grim Alastor, whose disguise didn't seem to fool his subordinate.
Turning round, the two wizards headed onwards, to the farthest end of Dark Alley.
- Commander!" Corwen's voice made them turn round. - Introductions?
Only prepositions were censored in Alastor's tirade.
- It's this way," he grumbled as he approached a house half a block away. The unremarkable building didn't even have a full magical defence, just a few signalling spells on the windows and doors that would be no problem for any strong wizard.
Knocking, Alastor took a few steps away from the door. However, even after several minutes, not a sound was heard in the house.
- Did the bird slip away," the auror said in a low voice as he turned back to Black. - We'll run out of potion soon.
- Okay," Sirius shook his head, "no luck. Apparently the sounds of our scuffle made him run away.
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