The Plotting of Slytherin
Lucius Malfoy looked at the book that he had on his desk. He had been entrusted with it and told that it would help to achieve the noble goal of cleansing Hogwarts of the mudbloods.
Now that he was aware of exactly what it was, he knew that it must be destroyed. He was almost tempted to write in it – but he was familiar enough with Dark magic to know when to avoid temptation.
Decision made, he picked it up with a gloved hand and apparated from his study – the only person able to do that from the room.
He looked around at where he appeared. He would miss his old playground. If any other wizard or witch knew what he had done within this room, he would be locked into Azkaban or given the kiss. The sturdy stone building, hidden in a far corner of one of his properties, was warded against almost all detection. He had brought a number of Muggles here and had his fun. But Severus' talk about the changes coming … he had to close the door on this.
He threw the diary into the middle of the room. He backed away to the door, pulling his gloves off as he did. He threw those after. He backed out of the door and pulled his wand. Mentally preparing himself, he cast fiendfyre.
The Dark fire started at the center of the room. As he watched, he saw the Diary become engulfed. He almost lost his concentration when the Diary emitted a cry of pain. He shored up his mental focus as he observed a dark cloud emerge from the Diary, with the face of his old Master. He felt both satisfaction and sorrow as the cloud seemed to be eaten by the Dark flames.
Even with the destruction of the book, he did not cancel the spell. The Dark flame moved on from the center and began eating into the room. The shackles, the tables, the tools he had used for his enjoyment – all were eaten and destroyed by the fire. When the entire room was destroyed, he called forth the supreme concentration needed to end the spell.
Almost before the fire winked out, he reached out with his other hand and slammed the stone-laden door shut. With the door closed, anything left of smoke or fire would be contained and he did not need to worry about anything missed.
He took a few moments to get his breath and recover his strength. When he was once again calm, collected, and somewhat rested, he apparated out of the hidden dell with its hidden room, never to return again. The building lay long forgotten under concealment wards until far into the future.
Far away in the forests of Albania, a Dark wraith – feeling unaccountable weak – had just taken control of a large elk. It would have preferred a more carnivorous animal to inhabit but had been driven by need to the closest and largest animal it could find. As the Dark flame consumed its remaining anchor in far-away Britain, the consciousness of the wraith was subsumed by the instincts of the ruminant and the animal began running away from whatever had spooked it.
Albus moved around his office, retrieving a few items he would need for his trip to Geneva. He was very close to being named the Supreme Mugwump and he wished to have a few things at hand in his new office in Geneva.
The ICW was largely based upon the premise of international cooperation to maintain the secrecy of the magical world. It had no control of its member states beyond that one facet. However, members of the body did enjoy some influence.
Whenever there were possible trade issues or new magics, the members usually dealt with them there. It was, effectively, one meeting per year that he had to attend but a very important one.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. He turned to look at the detection stone and called out, "Come in, Severus."
The blank expression of his new Head of Slytherin was expected – Severus was very wary of showing his emotions to others. "What can I do for you, Severus?"
Severus, looking faintly curious, asked, "Are you leaving for a trip?" The Headmaster's travel accoutrements were in a pile in the middle of the office.
"Yes. Annual meeting of the ICW. We try to schedule it during the spring break for each school. I will be back in a few days."
"Ah. I see," Severus nodded in acknowledgement.
"But I'm certain that is not why you are here…"
Severus curtly nodded again. "Yes. Black has finally visited Potter's spawn. He reported that the boy is healthy and cared for, if not particularly close to his relatives."
Albus sat down in shock. "He was able to visit the boy?"
Severus nodded. "From the report he gave, yes. The couple has demanded that Black watch the boy within their home while they vacation on the coast for this week. Black offered to allow the boy to stay with him but for some reason they demanded the boy stay at their home." Severus shrugged. "It is really all of very little consequence."
Albus thought furiously. It was obvious that the compulsion to keep the boy within the wards was working. The one thing he didn't understand was how Sirius even found the family. "He has reported no problems?"
Severus smirked. "Black complained that he was having a difficult time living within a muggle home without magic, but his acquaintance – the werewolf – is attempting to keep him from burning the place down with his stupidity."
Albus was shocked again. "Remus is also present?"
Severus gave the Headmaster a dry look. "I believe I have made that point. It is probably better that it is so. At least Lupin has a small modicum of intelligence – his choice of friends to the contrary."
Albus was flummoxed a bit by the report. It was almost inconceivable that the two were at the Dursley home given the wards he had erected. He was a bit frustrated because he had places he had to be. Finally he nodded and dismissed Severus, almost pushing him out.
He missed entirely the satisfied smirk that Severus Snape was sporting.
The Headmaster rushed to the cabinet containing the monitors. There were no indications that anything was amiss. The Dark magic detector was even showing a drop of any Dark influence anywhere within the wards – surprising because it was especially attuned to the scar on the boy's head.
He resolved to check things out on his way to Geneva.
As a result, he rapidly completed his packing and shrunk it all down to his pocket. He then flooed to the Leaky Cauldron as the closest floo with an apparition point available. He exited the Cauldron and in a little used point attempted to apparate to Privet Drive.
He was almost astonished to find that the wards were acting as he designed. He was unable to get closer than a mile away. He could have flooed to Arabella's, which was the only safe haven he had arranged for within the wards, but he didn't have time to socialize.
Finally, he sighed. He would have to learn more of what was happening with young Harry and the wards when he returned from Geneva. It was likely something that the Potters had done with their friends which had allowed it, and he didn't have time to verify. It seemed that all else was satisfactory and so he returned to the Cauldron and flooed to the Ministry to the International Portkey station there.
Severus, however, could soon be found walking up Privet Drive to Number 4. He had been truthful that the Dursleys were away on holiday. The three wizards had decided that little Harry should stay within the wards for at least the first full year inasmuch as possible to ensure the wards fully settled, or at least for the thirty-two weeks required as was reported by their visitor.
He knocked on the door and it was soon opened. Remus Lupin looked pleasantly surprised at the identity of the visitor – which irritated Severus for some reason. "Severus! Welcome. Welcome. Come in."
Severus nodded and moved to enter the doorway. Once within the house, he looked around. "Where is the fool?"
Remus almost chuckled – Sirius and Severus did not have a buddy-buddy relationship. "Sirius had to change him – he's not potty trained yet and my nose is too sensitive."
Severus was curious. "Can't you control what you smell? Breathe through your mouth?"
Remus looked cautiously up the stairs and said quietly, "Yes. But I would prefer that Sirius not find that out. He's the godfather; it's better that he do it."
Severus smirked at the werewolf. "I would say that's almost worthy of Slytherin." Lupin chuckled quietly at Severus' approving tone.
Soon the two were sipping tea, waiting for the final member. They heard the approach. Sirius was speaking even as he came into the room. "Merlin, that was stinky. You're going to do it with me next time to get used to it – I'm not …" Sirius finally saw that there was a visitor. He grinned and called out (more quietly than expected) "Sevvie! I see you've come to visit."
Severus nodded. "Yes. The Headmaster finally is aware that you have visited. Where is the boy?"
Sirius sat down and pulled his own cup to him even as he reached for the teapot. "He's down for a nap. Apparently kids take regular naps until they get much older. Who knew? Anyway, what happened?"
Severus described the incident in the Headmaster's office. When he was done he said, "I thought it the best opportunity once Minerva mentioned Albus' plans. He had no time to do more than a cursory inspection – so you have at least five days before I am certain the Headmaster will be contacting you."
The three discussed their plans on dealing with the Headmaster. Finally, Severus asked a question which had tickled his curiosity. "The boy has moved from the cupboard?"
Sirius nodded in satisfaction. "Yeah. Apparently he isn't so frightened now that he's seen me and Remus. We got the little bedroom upstairs set up for him. His sleep area is like a little cave made out of hangings and such so that he can retreat there if he gets frightened. Vernon put a lock on the cupboard so he can't use it to hide. Complained about the extra work, of course, but he did it nonetheless."
Severus nodded in acknowledgement. "Good. I will be visiting Lucius soon to work on the final piece of the Dark Lord. Lucius is a bit hesitant, but he's coming around."
Sirius nodded. "Yeah. He's a ponce – never liked him. By the way, what do you think about keying in one more family to the wards here?"
Severus was curious. "Whom are you thinking of?"
"My cousin Dromeda. Her little girl Dora loved playing with Harry when they visited Godric's Hollow. And it would give another option for the Dursleys to call if we can't come." He grinned. "It helps that Ted's known in the muggle world as a former weather reporter from their fellyvision."
Severus looked at Sirius with annoyance. "Television. TELE-vision. What is it with wizards unable to remember simple words? Tele means at a distance. Telephone – sound at a distance. Telegraph – words at a distance. Television – sight at a distance. Can you at least pronounce the words correctly?"
Sirius looked a little contrite – but very little. "ANY-way. Ted did a stint as a weatherman while he was studying up to become a solicitor. He's been on the television and so most muggles have seen him. I'm certain the Dursleys will be less against it if it's someone famous. They kind of are into that."
Severus sighed. "Yes. Petunia's sense of social value at work." He thought about it for a minute. "If we do this, we cannot let the Headmaster know in any way. The girl will have to promise not to talk about spending time with the boy. It would not do for it to become common knowledge."
Sirius and Remus both nodded in agreement.
The man in charge of government's monitor station walked into the building where he was based. He spoke to the other man present. "That was the most demented elk I've ever seen."
The other man was curious. "What are you talking about?"
"I was driving around to look for poachers and one of the elk was on a rampage. I had to shoot it to stop it from attacking me. It ran off. We're going to have to go out when it gets light out to find it – have to get it tested for rabies or something because it wasn't acting like any other elk I've ever run across."
All across magical Europe (mostly in Britain), wizards (and one witch in Azkaban) were awakened by a strange pain where their Dark mark was located. As the elk who had been shot bled out, the final portion of the soul of Tom Marvolo Riddle passed over to the other side, never to be seen again.
Bellatrix Lestrange, in her cell in Azkaban, was at first joyous that something was happening. As she looked in anticipation at the Dark mark, it suddenly stopped tingling and faded entirely. She looked at her arm in horror and betrayal. As she cried out in reaction, the last of her sanity fled.
The prisoners around her soon were following. Their one hope seemed to be lost and the futility of their position finally sunk in.
Severus Snape had been woken by the tingling. He, also, was watching at that very moment. When his Dark mark faded, he felt a thrill of satisfaction. He would have to visit Lucius in the morning.
Elsewhere in Hogwarts, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, who had been tossing and turning as the curse on his position had worked on him, suddenly stilled. The almost untraceable attack upon his mind and being suddenly had stopped – and he fell into the deepest sleep he had enjoyed since he had taken the position at Hogwarts.
Lucius, who had been sitting in his study, also recognized the fading. He looked at his arm and took a deep breath. This had not been anticipated. His mind started making plans on what he would do. He would have to work to contact his former associates to ensure they did not make any sudden steps. But first …
He reached for the half-full bottle of firewhisky and poured a tall glass of it. He would take this chance at a small celebration.
The planned call from the Headmaster did not come. Once the Headmaster returned to Britain, he was distracted by the reports of the sudden deaths and loss of sanity of the Death Eaters in Azkaban.
He was informed by Severus of the final fading of the Dark Mark, which confused him to no end. His attention was drawn away from Harry Potter the child and toward Harry Potter the concept: The boy's status as necessary for the defeat of Tom seemed to be obviated.
He had been informed that the prophecy orb within the Department of Mysteries had grown dark. He was left to scrambling to try to find the reasons behind this change.
Bartemius Crouch sat within his office going over the reports that formed a large portion of his job. He was a much changed man.
Two months earlier, his son – along with a number of other Azkaban prisoners – had succumbed to insanity and death. This had been the final straw which had driven his wife toward death, apparently of a broken heart. His only purpose left was doing his Ministry job.
What did he care about being Minister now? He had no son, no way to continue the family name. He would have happily, if given a chance, used whatever magic available – light or dark – to change the happenings of the last year.
Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. He looked up, "Yes?"
The door opened and his secretary moved in. "You have a visitor, sir."
"Who is it?"
"Lucius Malfoy."
Barty Crouch was confused. Malfoy was a suspected former Death Eater, regardless of his being cleared. None of those who were suspected had approached the self-declared enemy of the Dark Lord Voldemort. "Send him in."
Barty Crouch stood up waiting. Soon the elegantly dressed Head of the Malfoy family was walking into his office. Crouch greeted the man, not offering his hand – neither were under the illusion that they liked each other.
"Mr. Malfoy, what can I do for you today?" Crouch asked as he motioned the man to a seat.
Malfoy sat down. "Mr. Crouch. First, let me offer my condolences on the passing of your wife. I was saddened to hear of it."
Crouch nodded almost curtly, "Thank you."
Lucius nodded. "Now. I come to you to report a matter which threatens us. It is something that must be handled swiftly and viciously."
Crouch was curious. He was somewhat expecting a report about some Muggleborn doing something too obvious. So he was very surprised by what followed. "What is it you are concerned about?"
Lucius reached into his robe and pulled out a tube. He put the tube on the desk and pulled the end off. Lucius looked up at Crouch. "Note the Muggle nature of what I present." He reached his finger into the tube and pulled out what any normal person would recognize as photographic paper. He placed this on the desk and uncurled it. "Although I am, as most are aware, a proponent of the belief in the traditional ways of our world, I have recently become aware of the necessity of monitoring the advances of the Muggle world. Do you know that Muggles are recording locations in many places? That they have devices around their financial and government institutions which keep track of all that happens around them?"
Crouch peered at Lucius. "I was somewhat aware. It is not a matter of great importance."
Lucius shook his head. "And that, Mr. Crouch, is a mistaken belief. It has recently been brought to my attention that the Muggles are placing more and more of these devices in their world. They record the various movements to observe criminals and those that would destabilize their government. These, for example, are copies that were created by Muggles due to an investigation into a disappearance."
Crouch reached out to pull the sheets toward him. He was surprised by what he found. The pictures were a series of shots over a few seconds of time. There were dates and times stamped right on the image.
In the first image, a woman was walking alone in front of a building, its location not obvious. The next showed the same woman with a man suddenly behind her. The next showed the woman being grabbed from behind around the throat. And then her being dragged away. The last was a closeup of the face of the attacker. Mr. Crouch paled.
"Yes. What you see before you are the photographic images of Walden McNair, Ministry Executioner, attacking and dragging away a random muggle woman. The next photograph shows the absence of both McNair and the woman. These images have been disbursed to Muggle law enforcement offices all over Britain."
Crouch looked at Lucius in horror. "Yes. This incident is fortunate in its presentation."
"How is this fortunate?" Crouch asked in outrage.
Lucius gave Crouch an intense look. "The Muggle device in question only records once every second. While the disappearance is odd, it isn't one of the higher quality devices that they have begun using. Did you know that muggles can place small camera devices around a building and record what is occurring in front of the device? These recorders could be as close as within the device itself or hundreds of feet away. This crime took place in Inverness, late at night, in front of a Muggle bank. The recorder was in a locked bunker below the bank. I am told that very soon the recorder could be in London and the images it would capture would be as clear as any photograph."
Crouch looked at the photographs and then back to Lucius. "What would you have me do?"
Lucius replied, "Your job as the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. While I do not care about some random Muggle woman in the least, I do very much care that we are opening ourselves to Muggle scrutiny. The laws that have been put in place in the last century protecting Muggles from wizards are, to my surprise, completely necessary. If we don't control our citizens, the Statute of Secrecy will fall. And Merlin help us all when that happens."
Crouch asked, "You say when and not if?"
"Yes. I am coming to realize it is almost inevitable. Wizards and witches apparate willy-nilly – unaware that there need be no Muggle present for our secret to get out. If it was the matter of some random Muggle, a quick memory charm would fix it. But if it is recorded using their technology? How can we control it? How can we erase an image taken here and recorded on a Muggle device a thousand miles away? If it recorded in small bits of electricity on a device we would never see as a camera? We are on borrowed time."
Crouch sighed, understanding the point being made. "So these …"
"We must make an example of the man. Investigate him fully and see justice done. The average citizen will be horrified by the crime, but the more intelligent ones will be horrified by the attack on the Statute. We must begin to take steps, or our way of life may come to an end."
The investigation into Walden McNair turned up much more than even Lucius Malfoy could have imagined. There had been an effort made to follow him and to find all of his places. Besides his home, there was a building in a remote location in the Forest of Dean which he visited. Once McNair's location was verified elsewhere, Aurors and cursebreakers broke the very minimal wards that the building was under.
The remains of animals, humans of varying ages, goblins, and even a centaur were located within the building. There were no live prisoners – the raiding Aurors were of two minds about that: None could be saved, but none were left traumatized to be dealt with.
It took two Aurors and two hitwizards to take McNair into custody. He tried to fight back, but those arresting him were taking no chances.
There was soon a meeting in the smallest Wizengamot chamber. Present were the DMLE Director, Crouch; the Minister, Bagnold; the Head Auror, Bones; Head of the Goblin Affairs Office, Mockridge; the Chief Warlock, Dumbledore; and Lucius Malfoy, as the wizard who had instigated the whole investigation.
Bagnold had just been informed of what was found by the DMLE and she was suitable horrified. "How did this investigation begin?"
Crouch deferred to Lucius (to the surprise of most present). "Recently, it has come to my attention that Muggles had ways to record the goings in a number of places. Through a contact, I learned of the hunt for a suspect in a Muggle kidnapping that was photographed by a nearby camera. The image was of McNair. I brought this to Director Crouch's attention."
Barty Crouch took over. "I instigated the investigation. As it involved a Ministry employee, I had to seal the records until the arrest was made. We could not take the chance of alerting the man that he was being watched. Finally, we found a remote location he seemed to spend much time at that was not found within his records. A raid produced the results reported. Now we must deal with it."
Dumbledore, taking on the image of a wise statesman, said, "I believe we must keep the trial a secret. I am certain that the normal witch and wizard do not need to see what was found. A trial and placement in Azkaban would take care of it."
Lucius Malfoy was having none of it. "With respect for the venerable Chief Warlock, I completely disagree."
Most in the room were surprised. Crouch, who had spoken at length with Malfoy at the beginning, was not. Crouch himself took the lead. "As surprising as it may be to those that know me, I have to agree with Mr. Malfoy. While the crimes are horrific, the true danger that this case presents is the evidence that was obtained by Muggles. The Muggle world is becoming overcome with technology which will record and see everything that takes place in almost all areas. This case will highlight to the Wizarding public the necessity of following the law regarding apparition and portkeys."
Lucius then volunteered his own idea. "Also, two of the victims we found in McNair's hideaway were goblins. Mr. Mockridge, what will the likely result of the report to Gringotts?"
Mockridge shuddered. "It will take a lot of diplomacy. Tensions will increase exponentially."
Dumbledore asked curiously, "Do they need to be told?"
There were a number of voices raised in protest to that. Mockridge "Despite our best wishes, the hint of it being leaked and the goblins will have a treaty violation as a basis for another revolt. No. It isn't pleasant. But they MUST be told."
Lucius, who had not been able to make his point, continued. "I think that rather than Azkaban, we must seriously consider turning McNair over to them after his trial."
Lucius remained calm as the outrage washed over him. When it had run out he said, "The goblins have their own laws. The history of wizard-goblin interaction is riddled with incident after incident where one side or the other did something that caused the other side to rise in outrage. As impolitic as it is to suggest, the vast majority of cases started with a wizard violating goblin customs. I say we begin to reverse the damage caused by policies of the past. There are treaties which call for the Ministry to turn over those that commit crimes against them. In most cases, we refuse because the criminal also attacked wizards or witches. So we claim jurisdiction. I say that we acknowledge the other crimes he committed. Inform the Muggles so they can have a representative present at his trial. Inform the goblins while respectfully returning the remains of their people. Inform them of our plans to turn him over to them after his trial in the Ministry – and then turn him over regardless of his being found innocent or guilty. I daresay that the expected tensions will disappear."
It took much more argument but eventually Lucius' plan was followed. Walden McNair was quickly tried and convicted of multiple murders and of casting many curses unforgivable. He was not given an opportunity to expose any other possible criminals as this was not a Death Eater trial.
Lucius had deliberately sacrificed the fellow pureblood to the goblins so that any inconvenient testimony he might give would be quashed.
That he so publically pushed for the conviction of a Dark wizard who was probably a former Death Eater (no Dark mark remained to prove it either way) caused his image to begin to change within magical Britain.
A/N: I am certain that many were waiting for Lucius to get his. Canon Lucius is an unrepentant Death Eater who deserved far more than the minor inconveniences that JK eventually subjected him to. Unfortunately, bunnies aren't always nice and pet-able and justice doesn't always prevail. As a fan of "the good guys always win" it's hard to write a story where such a major criminal gets away with it. But that, unfortunately, matches canon far too closely and it fit the arc I was writing. At least he helped to finally kill Voldemort in the end. Some small payment on the very large cosmic balance he owes …