Doxies Strike Again
The headmaster followed him out of the courtroom. “Harry,” the old man said, stepping in front of the teen, “I meant to ask you how your summer has been.” He stood there with his hands clasped, staring at Harry’s nose.
Harry didn’t know what his deal was, but he was sure it had something to do with the horcrux. Maybe the headmaster knew it was connected to Voldemort. If the old man did know, Harry wasn’t’ sure that he could forgive that.
“It’s been brilliant,” Harry said, see no need not to answer. “Getting away from the Dursleys was almost worth having my soul sucked out,” he added, making sure Albus knew he hated it there.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t told him before. He all but begged to stay at the castle many times. He knew that Tom had done the same, but he too had been denied. The parallels between him and Riddle was amazing sometimes. Especially since Harry was nothing like the man.
Where Tom reached out in anger, Harry reached out in love and friendship. Where Tom had lashed out on his fellow students, Harry ignored them, no matter how stupid they were being. Well, not Malfoy, but others weren’t worth his time. Tom wanted followers, Harry wanted friends. Tom wanted to rule the world, Harry wanted to be left alone.
So, yeah, he and Tom might have had similar childhoods, but they were nothing alike.
“Surely, you are exaggerating,” Albus said, glancing at the boy’s eyes for a moment. He could see the boy was sincere but was his family truly that bad? It was not a concept Albus could relate to. Even when the Dumbledore family was falling apart, they still loved one another. It took the death of his sister to finally make the family dynamic fall apart. With only he and his brother left. Aberforth now hated him, though he felt nothing but love for his brother.
Even with the tension between them, Aberforth would never strike out at him. He even tolerated Albus’s presence in his bar. The fact that the bar was in Hogsmeade showed that Aberforth didn’t truly hate him.
“Why would I do that? I have nothing to gain by lying, or exaggerating, as you put it. I can show you the scars, if you truly think I’m lying,” Harry stated, breaking the old man out of his thought, his voice was firm. “I hate them, they hate me. End of story,” he said, moving to go around the old man.
He really didn’t feel like talking to a wall. And with how much Dumbledore listened, that is what it was like. Nothing Harry ever said was taking in the context it was given. The only time he was listened to was if it had to do with Voldy. Then, and only then, were his words taken at value.
“Another question,” Dumbledore said, blocking his way again. “Has your scar hurt at all?” It was as if the man was reading his mind.
“What scar?” Harry said, a smirk playing on his lips. The scar had faded to almost nothing overnight. For which Harry was grateful. He liked it as a kid, but when he found out how he got it, he hated it with a passion. Now everyone can stare at a clear forehead and speculate what happened.
“You know which scar,” the old man chastised, glancing at Harry’s forehead, and not seeing the famous scar. “What did you do?” he asked, moving the hair aside, like the scar would appear if he did.
“Removed the horcrux,” the teen said, batting the man’s hand away. “Though, I have to wonder if you knew about it,” Harry said, a bite in his tone. “Bill knew what it was right away, and got rid of it for me,” he added, causing the old man to go pale. It wasn’t a good look. It made him look years older.
“Do you know what you have done?” the headmaster demanded, grabbing Harry’s chin, and looking into his eyes. He would have the whole story, even if the connection showed Voldemort what was happening. If what the boy said was true, they just lost that connection and any foresight into the Dark Lord’s plans.
Harry felt the intrusion, thanks to the necklace, and willed it away. “Yes, I know what I’ve done. Do you?” he asked, yanking his head back to remove the man’s hand from his chin. He didn’t tell him that he had had some dreams about Voldy, and that they had stopped with the scar gone.
“That was your contingency plan,” Albus said, lowering his hand and looking at Harry’s forehead like he just lost the lottery. All his plans were for naught. He would have to make new ones. And he wasn’t sure that the boy would be included. However, he’d have to be. The prophecy demanded it. There had to be a way…
“What do you mean?” the teen questioned, not sure where the old man was going with this. “How can a horcrux be a backup plan?”
“You would have been able to survive another killing curse,” Dumbledore said, though there was a bit of doubt in his tone. He was 85% sure that it would, but that was not odds he liked. Still, at the time it had been the only way that he could see the war being over. “That and Tom took your blood, making a connection that would have brought you back,” he added as an afterthought. He was still puzzling out what to do now.
“You know that for sure?” was the next question. He could hear the doubt in the old man’s voice. Harry hated the thought that the man was relying on something evil to save his life. How would that even work?
“It was my hope,” Albus said, there was sadness in his eyes. He folded his hands together and sighed. He had no clue how to treat Harry now. It was simpler when he knew the boy had to die, but now…
“Well, I’ll just have to avoid being hit,” Harry said, moving to go around the man again. This time Dumbledore let him go. The old man just stood there, with a contemplative look on his face, like he was thinking of contingency plans.
Harry thought about setting the doxies on him, but he decided to wait until school started. That way there were more people to lay the blame on, or at least could be accused. He was sure something like that would never be proven. He would be very careful. However, if the next DADA professor tried to kill him, all bets were off.
A bit further down the hall he ran into Lucius Malfoy.
“Mr. Malfoy,” he said with a nod of his head. He was going to be as polite as he could be. Maybe if he struck up a conversation with him, the man would be delayed enough to get caught. He was sure Malfoy was up to no good. It would be the only reason he’d be hanging around the ministry. Probably to bribe someone.
“Potter,” the blond man said back with the tiniest inclination of his head. He was smirking like he knew the outcome of the trial, so Harry dissuaded him of that notion.
“I was found not guilty on all charges. Isn’t that great!” Harry said with enthusiasm, almost clapping his hands like a child. He wanted the man to feel less smug.
“Really,” Malfoy said in a slow voice, like that was the last thing he expected to hear.
“Yeah, it was really easy to get off. Once I showed them, I was justified in my actions, they all voted me not guilty,” the teen said, bouncing on his feet. Inside he was cracking up. The man looked like he had just swallowed a bitter potion. Harry was sure he had bribed someone, probably Fudge, to make sure he was expelled. A bitter potion indeed.
“That was quite smart of you,” was all the other man could say, though his tone was neutral. He didn’t know how Potter had gotten Fudge to shut up enough to show his memories, or even how he did it, but that didn’t sound good for anyone.
“You might want to make yourself scarce,” Harry warned, causing the other man to lift a brow. So far, Lucius was giving him a token of his attention. It was like he was expecting someone to come down the hall any minute to tell him that Harry was lying.
“Oh?” Malfoy said, his hand tightening on his cane, bringing his full attention to the teen in front of him. Was the boy threatening him? That would not be a smart move on the child’s part. He was older, faster, and far more experienced.
“Fudge is going down, and I’m sure he’ll take you with him,” Harry explained, not mentioning that he had outed him as a Death Eater. “I showed what an incompetent he was, and he’s going to be outed and probably imprisoned. That toad lady as well,” he added, moving his hand to his side.
He tapped the bag, and he felt the queen look out. He subtly pointed to Malfoy. It was a signal they had worked out. She slipped back in and got three of her men. They snuck out behind Harry’s back and moved along the floor until they were within reach. It was then they all three struck. They bit his ankle, making Malfoy jump.
“What in Merlin’s name?” he said, grabbing his ankle, and hopping around. “I’ve been bit,” he said, his voice astonished, like anything would dare to bite him. He was a Malfoy.
“Is something the matter?” Harry asked, seeing the doxies fly toward the entrance to the Ministry. They would sneak back in as he passed. He only hoped they used their training and stayed hidden. He would make sure to slow down, or even stop to talk to someone near the entrance. That would give them time to get back to their swarm.
“Doxies?” Lucius said, seeing the pests too. “In the Ministry?” he asked in confusion. The ministry was sprayed monthly to prevent pests. He had made sure that that was one bill Fudge didn’t cut. Blasted man had probably done so without consulting him. That greedy bugger. Well, he would be having words with the Minister. He didn’t believe that a child, like Potter, would be able to foil the plans he and Fudge had. Even with the memories of his use of underage magic.
“Doxies? What are they?” Harry said, his face completely confused. He was happy the three had gotten away. He didn’t know how three bites would affect an adult, but he was anxious to find out. It would be like an experiment. That way he could plan accordingly, and not endanger the troops needlessly. If three could kill, that was all the better. Either way, Malfoy was in for a bad day.
“Of course, a half-blood wouldn’t know,” the blonde sneered, then his face turned green and there was a rumbling in his stomach, like he was about to be sick.
“You’d better get some help. You don’t look so good,” Harry said in faux concern. He almost touched the man, but he held his hand back. He was sure it would be unappreciated.
“Malfoy,” came a call from down the hall, accompanied by the clicking of heels.
They both turned to see Madam Bones hurrying up the hallway. “You are under arrest for being part of a terrorist group,” she said, her wand already trained on the man. There was no way this man was getting away. His face had been clear in the memory. He had gone to You-Know-Who willingly, there was no mind control. He would not be getting off this time.
“Urgh,” was all Lucius said as he doubled over in pain. He spewed up his lunch in front of Harry, who immediately stepped back.
“Gross,” the teen said, still stepping backwards.
A house elf popped in and cleared it up.
“What happened?” Bones asked, still keeping her wand trained on the sick man.
“He just got bit by doxies,” Harry said, waving his hand in the opposite direction the doxies had flown. “They went that way.” There was no way he was going to let this be pinned on him.
“Doxies? In the Ministry?” she echoed Malfoy’s question. Like Malfoy, she concluded that Fudge had cut the budget. It was just like the ex-minister to do something like that.
“Don’t ask me, I don’t work here,” the teen said, holding up his hands in supplication. He was ready to go back to Grimmuald Place and celebrate all he had accomplished. He only hoped it all worked out like he thought it would. However, they say ‘the best laid plans of mice and men’. He was sure that meant nothing worked as planned. So that meant he would have to come up with backup plans. He only hoped that the twins finished their top-secret weapon.
“Another thing to look into,” she mumbled like it was the last thing she wanted to do. She then looked at Malfoy. “How many bit him?” she asked, looking at the sick man.
“Three, I think,” he answered honestly. There was no reason to lie.
“Well, that’s not too bad. He’ll be in for a bad couple of days, but after that, he can stand trial,” she said, bringing out some cuffs from her pocket.
“Isn’t there a potion?” Harry asked. If there was, then he’d have to have some on him in case of accidents.
“There is. However, I will be flushing him anyway, this will help,” she said with a smirk.
“I’m sorry I created more work for you,” Harry said, his voice sincere. While he’d like everything to go the way he wanted, it did mean more work for the woman who look like she already had so much to do.
“No, I’m glad you did. Doxies are the last thing on a very long list,” she said, cuffing the sick man and dragging him away. It was harder than it had to be, since he was hunched over, clutching his stomach. It was like dragging a toddler who had sat down. It was actually funny to watch.
Malfoy’s cane fell from his grip and Harry picked it up. He looked at the ornate design on the stick and noted the top came off. He pulled, and out popped Malfoy’s wand. “Well, well, well, lookie here,” he said, putting the wand back and twirling the cane like Fred Astaire.
“Harry,” he heard from behind him. He turned and saw Mr. Weasley. “There you are,” the man said, huffing as if he had run to get there. “Why didn’t you stay at the courtroom and wait for me?” Arthur asked, leaning down with his hands on his knees.
Wizards were really out of shape. Of course, it could be the man’s age. Probably both. Harry just hoped that he never got that bad. He exercised as often as possible. Harry Hunting was now a great way to keep in shape since he was faster than everyone in Dudley’s gang of miscreants. Sometimes he antagonized them just to get them to chase him.
“Sorry, Mr. Weasley, I didn’t know I was supposed to,” Harry said, putting his hand on the man’s shoulder, like that would help him catch his breath.
“No problem. As long as you’re safe,” the redhead said, finally able to breathe. “Are you ready to get out of here?” the man asked, a smile on his face.
“Yup,” Harry said, twirling the cane.
“Is that Malfoy’s cane?” Mr. Weasley asked in an astonished voice.
“Yup,” Harry said as he walked towards the entrance.
He stopped there and waited, bending over as if to tie his shoe. It was a good cover. He felt a tug on his sleeve, indicating that the three doxies were in the bag. So, he stood and followed Arthur out of the ministry.
There was a party to get to.