Lone Traveler: Professor of Defense

Sirius Black, along with his brother Regulus, traveled with the Headmaster and their Defense Professor to Gringotts.

Security was very high. Although the normal work of the Goblins seemed to be unaffected, there were now four guards instead of two at the doors, two more guards at the inner doors, and several guards standing at various locations along the walls of the main lobby.

Sirius informed the one that seemed to be leading the guards that he was here to witness a trial. The group was led quickly through a door that led to a long hall which opened into a large meeting hall.

Sirius saw his father and, with Regulus, made his way over. Albus and Gary were directed to have a seat as well.

At precisely 9:45, a large group of goblins led Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black to the area set for the Defense. A man dressed in formal robes and a wig stood by her. Another man in a wig stood at the accuser's table.

And at 10:00, the room was called to order by a very large Goblin holding an axe in its rest position.

When the Judges entered, many wizards were surprised to see that one of the judges was a Wizengamot member wearing traditional robes.

It was soon explained by the center Judge (another Goblin) that the procedures were being held according to Goblin rules of evidence. This meant that while the Defendant had a right to a barrister, the defendant did not have a right to refuse Veritaserum.

There were immediate cries from some Purebloods. These were quelled when the Bailiff took his axe from its rest position and ordered them to be quiet or face eviction or even imprisonment in a Goblin cell. The grin on the Bailiff's face spoke of how much he would like to prevent disruption using his weapon.

The Court read out the charges and the Defense Barrister entered a plea of not guilty for the defendant as each charge was read – Bellatrix refused to speak.

The Crown's prosecutor presented the evidence. The Defense tried to poke holes in the procedures used but this came to naught. Finally, Bellatrix was forced to take Veritaserum. The Prosecutor proved quite easily that Bellatrix had invaded the Royal residence as a reprisal against interference in matters Magical by the Queen.

Her membership in the Death Eaters was also proved, as well as her hatred of Muggles which drove her.

Desperate, her Barrister asked her why she hated Muggles.

It proved to be the stone which started an avalanche. It turned out that as a young girl, Bellatrix didn't hate Muggles – in fact she was quite curious about them. However her mother, upon hearing the young girl asking questions and espousing the idea that muggles were interesting, had performed the Crucio curse on her.

Bellatrix had reverted to speaking as a young girl in almost a baby voice, crying out against her punishment and agreeing to despise Muggles to prevent being tortured again.

The Crown's prosecutor tried to object to this Defense, but everyone present could see that his heart wasn't in it.

When it was done, she was taken away for her own dignity.

Arcturus Black was called to the stand to deny that such things could happen. He refused to do so. He was quite candid that he had recently found that many of the current generation of Blacks had been subjected to the torture curse for going against what was believed to be the Black's motto.

Arcturus decried the technique and stated that he was perfectly fine with his daughter-in-law as well as the Black sisters' mother being arrested and tried for performing unforgivables on the children of his House.

This definitely caused an uproar among the Purebloods who had come to witness the trial. Arcturus stood defiant and Sirius and Regulus Black moved to stand in front of their Grandfather as shields against any who would attack him for what he said. Their faces showed defiance and resolve.

The upsurge of protests were cut off when the Bailiff called for backup and the Purebloods soon had a group of guards standing behind them with drawn weapons.

The lead Judge sounded almost approving when he told the boys that the Court would ensure their grandfather's safety while there were there and they could return to their seats. Both boys bowed with respect to the Judge and did so.

The Prosecutor, despite his lack of enthusiasm, skillfully argued that she was guilty regardless of her past history and deserved some punishment.

Her Defender argued passionately for mercy and that it was obvious that her behaviour was the result of crimes committed against her.

The Judges withdrew to deliberate and took only an hour to make a decision: With a vote of 2-1 (the Goblin was obviously the 1) the Court found her Not Guilty but ordered her to receive treatment under a mind healer AND a psychiatrist working together. The Black family was ordered to pay for the cost of treatment, which Arcturus easily agreed to. She would not be released until she was found to be not a danger to herself or others.

While quite a few of those who had attended left, Arturus remained behind with the others to make arrangements for payment and to find out what would happen. He also agreed to allow her to be questioned for details on Voldemort using Veritaserum. With the Lestranges being also incarcerated, she had no other choice but her natal family to be responsible.

Gary, who had witnessed all of this with the approval of Arcturus, smiled. Her Vault could now be accessed by the Black Paterfamilias.

When everything was done, Gary spoke to Arcturus. "If you remember, there was that item that I tried to find out if was already in the Lestrange vault after the brothers were caught. Perhaps now would be a good time to check."

Arcturus considered that. Albus watched curiously. Finally, he nodded. "A good idea. Let's go find me account manager."

Albus asked, "If I may be so curious, what are you talking about?"

The two men turned to Albus and considered. They looked at each other. Arcturus' face was neutral. Gary shrugged. Arcturus then said, "I believe it's something that should be explained but not right now. I believe I shall keep Professor Septimus with me for a while. He will return by the evening meal."

Albus nodded, a little put out that it wasn't immediately explained, but also knowing that his Defense Professor did not keep things to himself unnecessarily. And so he left and made his way back to Hogwarts. He took the two Black brothers with him. They had promised already not to speak of what they knew of this.

As they walked to the Lobby to take care of things Gary said, "You will need to ensure you are safe. If the Dark Wanker finds out that you have access, he'll send some of his minions after you – or try to attack himself."

Arcturus gave a tight smile. "It's a good thing I've had the wards updated. I also have a few surprises in place in case that isn't enough."

"Good. I'd rather you kept yourself safe – the Black family couldn't survive if you were killed before you could finish transforming your House."

Arcturus replied, "If I fall, Sirius will finish it. I've taken his father out of the line of succession. If I am killed, Sirius will be emancipated and become Lord Black immediately. I'm not worried."

"I hope you are right," was all that Gary could say. He did surreptitiously place a charm on Arcturus that would be undetectable by mortal wizards: If he was attacked, Gary would feel it and he would come.

The Goblins were asked, if anyone inquired, to report that the Lestrange vault was locked down until she was released, by the order of Lord Black. All permissions had been revoked and no one could enter unless one of them was legally released.

Sirius was informed a few weeks later than Narcissa Malfoy had tried to access the vault under an old authorization but was rebuffed.

Classes proceeded as normal. Voldemort had tried to attack a few more places, but his numbers were down. The Ministry, due to the Queen's threat, was more diligent about combating him. Even if the Ministry was fairly complacent as Voldemort was mostly attacking the Pro-Muggleborn faction, no one wanted to see the Wizengamot ordered disbanded for not dealing with the problem.

In other worlds, the voices which demanded the Ministry confront the Voldemort problem were quickly countered by Death Eater attacks against them and fear by those remaining. In this world, the Muggles were much more scary to the Purebloods. And so, despite being someone sympathetic, the Ministry truly did oppose the Death Eaters.

It was heartbreaking when a student received a black letter from the Ministry with news that a family member had fallen. But it was few and far between.

It was Easter Break and Gary was mentally reviewing his progress:

Remove the curse against the Defense Professors. Check.

Prevent Petunia Dursley from becoming a complete bitch. Check. (He still marveled at the relationship between Peter Pettigrew and Petunia Evans.)

Teach the Marauders not to be bullies. Check.

Get Severus Snape away from Death Eater recruiters. Check.

Improve long-standing deficiencies in Hogwarts Education, specifically Defense, Potions, and History. Check. Check. Check.

Teach Dumbledore he was not God. Ehh – that was better but he was still a bit know-best.

Put the Death Eaters on the Defense instead of having them operating without fear. Check.

Bonus: Get the Black Family away from their former path. Check.

Getting Acromatula colony removed from Forest. Still to be done.

Collect current Horcruxes (Diary, Diadem, Ring, Cup): Check. The Cup had finally been retrieved and while Gary had not actually destroyed them yet, they were ready to be cleansed.

Prevent the other Horcruxes from being created: Locket, Nagini, Harry Potter. Check. He hoped.

He then considered it. Kreacher was used to test the defenses – there was no guarantee that the Horcrux was placed right before that.

Gary smacked his head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. To ASSUME is to make an ASS of U and ME."

He stood up from his desk and contemplated how to confront the circumstances. He could use divine power to break the enchantments. Or he could try forcing a sentient or semi-sentient creature to drink the liquid.

Gary's problem was the he considered it a crime to just torture any creature save those that were specifically evil – made evil. Even Grindlylows, as much as they were called demons, were a natural creature (as much as natural as magical creatures could be anyway) and had a place in the natural order of this world.

Gary considered the different worlds that he had visited and tried to recollect a creature that was without redemption. Suddenly, he remembered one world and a slow smile crept upon his face. There was a "live" creature that was extremely susceptible to being mentally controlled that was, by its very nature evil and unable to be redeemed. Created specifically to be evil, he had no compunction about using his abilities to control one of them.

After sending a Patronus to Albus to inform him he was going to be away, Gary concentrated and traveled.

The final two orcs at Minas Ithil – or Minas Morgul as it was now known – were in contention. One was holding the belongings of the prisoner and the other was trying to force that one to stay and help find the invader.

Just after the one with Frodo's belongings was stabbing the last Captain, a bright light appeared right behind him. He turned and was wide-eyed as a Man looked at him. He was further non-plussed when the man grinned at him.

He tried to turn and run, knowing his information was vital, but suddenly was hit by … something … and knew no more.

Harry Potter looked down at the creature he had just stunned. This one would do nicely.

However, before he could move to truss it up, a call was heard. Harry looked up curiously and saw a hobbit of all things at a window. Divesting the creature of whatever he was carrying (and it seemed to be things that were too nice for the orc to have owned), he finished tying and gagging the creature before levitating it. He had it following along as he made his way toward the tower.

He was met at the door by the hobbit who he now recognized from an earlier visit.

"Samwise Gamgee! What the hell are you doing in this horrible place?"

Sam was taken aback. "Do I know you?"

The man waved off the question. "No – not in this world. But why are you here?"

"I'm trying to get to my master who was taken prisoner!"

Harry looked at Sam. "Ohhhh. You're on that quest. So it's Frodo up there?"

Samwise nodded nervously.

"Well, let's go."

Same looked at the orc who was floating behind the man. "Why are you taking that with us?" He then noticed it was off the ground and his eyes widened. "How is the orc floating?"

Harry grinned. "Because I need to have someone torture themselves and orcs are irredeemable. And it's off the ground using magic."

"Magic? Are you a wizard?"

Harry bowed. "Harry Potter, Wizard. At your service."

Sam now had a sudden hope. "Can you help me find my master?"

Harry sighed. "Yeah. If I don't I'll feel like I've left things undone." He moved the orc off to the side and let it down. "I'll come back for this later."

Harry tried a point-me spell and noticed immediately that there seemed to be something which made his spells weaker. He frowned and considered. He turned to Sam. "Are there any chains around here? Something is fighting my magic and if the spells wear off that orc the whole reason I'm here will be gone."

Sam helped find a length of chain and Harry overpowered his magic to fuse the ends together so that it couldn't break the chain even if it woke up. He then took his wand and put more power into it, accessing his divine nature. This worked.

In far-off Barad-dur, Sauron felt the foreign magic being used in his realm. He concentrated his Eye in that direction. He saw Minas Morgul and wondered what was happening. He mentally ordered a Ringwraith in that direction.

The two made their way up the stairs. At the apparent top, Harry noticed that his wand was moving in random directions. He concentrated and looked first down and then up. He grinned as he saw the trapdoor.

Looking around he saw the ladder and moved it over. Sam didn't wait and quickly climbed the ladder.

Harry didn't feel any evil being nearby (as muted as his perceptions were in this damned place) and so he just followed. He heard Sam's glad cry. "Master!"

By the time he was up the ladder, Sam was furiously checking Frodo over. Frodo was on guard. "Who is this?"

Sam answered. "That's Harry Potter – he's a wizard. He helped me find you."

Frodo was surprised. "A wizard? Aren't all wizards old?"

Harry gave Frodo the gimlet eye. "It's not as if we're born old."

Frodo blushed a bit. "Sorry. I only know Gandalf."

"Fine. Anyway. I believe these things are yours."

Frodo's eyes lit up as Harry took the bundle from the sack he had hastily conjured.

Frodo rifled through the things and then looked like he was in despair. "It's not here."

Sam asked worriedly, "What's not there?"

"The Ring! The Ring is missing!"

Sam blushed. "Oh – sorry. I took that when I thought you were dead."

Frodo's eyes widened and his voice suddenly was harsh. "Give it back! Give it back now!"

Harry noticed the tone immediately and frowned. This was that damn compulsion. Taking his wand he hit Frodo with an Imperius – the only way to break the control quickly.

Frodo suddenly was stock still and his eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"I overrode the control being put on you. We're going to have to take care of that damn ring before it kills you. Where are you going with it?"

"Mount Doom. I have to throw it in Mount Doom."

He pointed out the window at the smoke plume which could be seen even if it was 50 miles away – the volcano itself wasn't visible. He sighed. "Take put a hand on my robe."

The two hobbits, confused, did so. Harry concentrated and traveled to the farthest visible point.

The three appeared about a mile away from an Orc camp. Harry's eye's widened as he saw an evil apparition flying overhead suddenly turn toward them. The creature screamed. Harry withdrew his wand and cast a Patronus – his Mrrrr Patronus. The Creature screamed. Harry didn't wait around. He looked and saw the mountain with the smoke coming out and concentrated again.

The three were now on the slopes of the Volcano. Harry looked around and saw a path and a large cave. "There!"

Frodo and Sam, still shocked from the travel, looked. They saw he was right.

"Hang on."

Harry used magic to travel again and they were at the cave mouth. Frodo looked like he was fighting to stay calm. Harry hit him with another Imperio. Frodo shook his head. "I'll keep doing that until it's destroyed."

Frodo nodded. The Ring was fighting and it was strong here – but Harry was a God.

The three quickly walked to near the edge. Harry told Sam to hand it to Frodo – which he did. Luckily, Sam seemed to overcome the compulsion to keep it using his own emotions of love for Frodo.

Harry hit Frodo once more with an Imperio and then withdrew it. "Throw it in!"

Frodo immediately did so. They looked over and saw the Ring hit the Lava – and felt the ground rumble. Harry grinned and grabbed the two and traveled once more.

They reappeared in the chamber that had held Frodo.

They felt the Earthquake even from here. "Get underneath that table!" he called pointing to a stone table in the room. The three quickly moved together. Luckily, the tower, 60 miles from the epicenter, was strong enough to withstand the quake.

Harry grinned as he felt the snap of the Dark magic which surrounded them suddenly … disappear.

The Captains of the West had been discussing exactly what they should do. Just as Aragorn was agreeing to Gandalf's plan to assault the Dark gate to distract Sauron from the Ringbearer, the group felt the sudden change in the air. All of them stood up and moved outside to look toward the East where Mordor was.

All of the them men who were awake had done the same.

Suddenly a black image, darkness, filled the sky to the East. Despite that, each of them felt a new hope. And suddenly, they felt the ground quake somewhat.

Eomer asked, "Is it the end?" He was skeptical despite the new light feeling he had.

Gandalf called back, "No!" With a loud voice he called, "HOLD MEN OF THE WEST!"

Everyone stood and watched as suddenly a bright sunlight broke through the dark cloud and a swift wind forced the Darkness back. Gandalf knew what that meant. In a loud voice he called, "THE RINGBEARER HAS FULFILLED HIS QUEST! SAURON IS DEFEATED! MORDOR FALLS! THE WEST HAS WON!"

A great cry was lifted and it was echoed throughout the city and the through the lands.

In far off Erebor, the Men of Dale and the Dwarfs of the Mountain, as they confronted the host that was gathering to attack, felt the tension in the air break. And suddenly, the Dark Hosts they faced dissolved into confusion and fear.

The King of Dale and the King of the Mountain both cried out, "ATTACK!"

In the Elven realms, those that faced the forces streaming from Dol Guldur felt the change in air and saw the confusion of their enemies. The absolute control that Sauron wielded in Mordor was not present here, but still they had been strengthened by his will. And that was now lost. The Elves suddenly had new hope.

And in Cirith Ungol, the creature known as Gollum felt the destruction of the One Ring. And suddenly the unnatural life that had sustained him for all of these centuries was withdrawn and he fell to his knees. His mind cleared. And suddenly, the Dark force which drove him was gone. And he felt sudden joy – and remorse.

His eyes closed and he fell down. Within a few minutes, the form which had been the hobbit-like creature that had been turned into that loathsome beast reappeared. Great age showed on the body and it stopped. And thus passed Smeagol, kin of Deagol, and he would no more be seen in the world.

When the ground had settled, the three at the top of Minas Ithil crawled out. Frodo was distracted. "It's over."

Harry nodded. "Yep." He looked at the hobbit and saw the vestiges of the horrible time he had experienced. With a smile he said, "Sam? Do you have a clean knife?"

Sam nodded in confusion. "Yeah. I still have Mr. Frodo's sword."

"Pull it out and each of you make a small cut on your arm – just enough to bleed but not dangerous."

Frodo and Sam looked at each other and nodded. The wizard had helped them and so they did as he asked.

"Okay. Put your arm on the table and don't be surprised."

The two hobbits did as asked and Harry turned to his phoenix form. His song lifted their hearts. And they watched in surprise and awe as the wizard-turned-bird moved his head over their arms and cried tears into their wound.

Suddenly, the wounds healed magically. And they could feel the tears that had been shed moving through their bodies, healing the hurts and pains and poisons that they had experienced. And both suddenly felt renewed – if a bit tired.

Harry turned back. "Okay. Let me get my prisoner and then we need to skedaddle."

They didn't know what they meant but Frodo quickly dressed in the clothes that Harry had retrieved and the group moved down.

They found the orc almost mindless. Harry shrugged. "Well, this will make it easier."

For the next hour, the group made its way out until they were outside of Minas Ithil.

Harry stopped and turned back to look at the old fortress. He squinted at it for a long moment.

Sauron might be defeated but the taint was almost ingrained into it now. He asked Frodo without turning his head, "Do you thing I should try to cleanse this place or should it be destroyed?"

Frodo considered that for a long while. "It's been a place of evil for a thousand years. But it was a place of guarding for two thousand. Whatever you feel you should do – do."

Harry considered that. He had never tried to cleanse such a large environment – nor had he tried to destroy such a large edifice.

His phoenix song could cleanse Dark magic and didn't actually take much magical power. He would try to cleanse it first. "Okay. Keep a watch over that creature and wait for me here. I'm going to try to cleanse it. If it doesn't work, I'll leave it for those now in charge to take care of – destroying it by magic would take too much energy."

Frodo and Sam shrugged but agreed.

Harry turned into his phoenix form and flew over the tall tower. And gathering himself, he let forth the loudest song he could sing. It was a song of hope and renewal and rebirth.

He could feel it working. The Dark taint that exuded from the place below him started withdrawing at the sound of the pure creature's song.

Soon, extremely large eagles flew in. At first somewhat wary, he saw that these creatures did not move to attack him but flew around him, as though flying in formation.

And, after a long song, Harry could feel the snap of the final Dark taint withdraw and the Citadel below him felt neutral now.

With that, Harry flew back toward Frodo, and the large eagles followed him. He landed near Frodo and Sam and the bound orc and quickly turned to face the flight of Eagles.

Rather than attack, the Eagles landed close by.

"Greetings. While I do not know you, you have the feel of a Wizard. My name is Gwaihir the Windlord, Chieftan and Lord of the Great Eagles."

Harry bowed. "I am Harry Potter, Wizard, also called the Lone Traveler."

"You have wrought a great Magic. Even I can feel the taint that was removed by your song. How did you do this?"

"I long ago found that I could turn into a phoenix. This is a Creature of Light and in that form I have many abilities. Unique to me is the ability to cleanse Dark magic with my song."

Gwaihir nodded with great respect. "Such a thing I have never seen. Your song drew us and we are blessed by the Valar to have witnessed it. Why are you in this place?"

"I came here to find an orc to use to help dispel a dark curse and to help defeat the Dark Lord of my world. I found Frodo and Samwise, who bore the Dark Lord's Ring to Mordor to destroy it. I helped take them the final distance to complete their quest. I could not leave without trying to cleanse this Dark magic which came from that place."

The Great Eagle looked at the hobbits and said, "It is obvious that your bravery is larger than your forms. You have done this world a great service. What boon would you have of us in recompense for helping to throw down the Dark Lord of the One Eye?"

Frodo paused. He had heard the stories that Bilbo had told. "Do you know of Minas Tirith, the City of Guard?"

The Eagle nodded. "It is twenty leagues West of this place."

"I believe that the remaining members of the companions that set out with me from Imladris can be found there – that is where they were going. If it is not a burden, I would ask assistance in traveling there so that I can report to Strider that I have completed my quest. He is the one that led us after Gandalf fell in Moria."

Gwaihir nodded. "I and one of my brethren will take you. And perhaps you will find a surprise when you arrive." He was the one who had found Gandalf at Galadrial's request after he had been returned by the Valar. It was obvious that this small being did not know this. It was not his place to tell him but the White Wizard was most likely at that place as well.

Harry nodded. He felt no deception from the Great Eagle – except a secret joy. He also felt that the Eagle was about to prank Frodo but not maliciously. He would be amused to find out what the Eagle planned – but this was not his world.

The Great Eagle turned to him. "And would you like to travel there as well with that tainted thing?"

Harry said, "No. But I thank you for asking. It is time to return to my world to finish what I started which brought me here. But any debt is paid if these are returned to their fellows."

"Very well then."

Harry turned to Frodo and Sam. "Good luck. May you find Peace and Joy following your ordeals." He turned back to the Eagles. "And may you find warm air currents and easy prey in all the days of your life."

The Windlord bowed his head in respect. "May you find success in the defeat of your own Dark Lord."

Harry grinned. "Oh, I will. Have no fear." He moved to where the orc was and grabbed the chain. "Goodbye."

The Eagles and Frodo and Sam watched as the wizard and his captive disappeared into light.

The Eagle them motioned to one of his fellows and the other Eagle came forward. They both moved their heads down until the hobbits had access. "Climb up but take care not to pull our feathers or you shall be dumped on the way to the City of Guard."

Frodo replied nervously, "We'll be careful." Sam nodded with great energy in agreement.