Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: I know it's been a while, sorry, RL has been heck. Many thanks to Lady Starlight for her help on this fic.

Chapter 23: A Night on the Town.

*********************SG-1 Headquarters, Hogwarts Dungeon*****************
August 9, 2019

With an annoyed jerk, Harry pulled his glasses off his face and tossed them roughly to his desk. His fingers massaged the bridge of his nose absently as he slumped into his chair. His shoulders slumped, then as small hands suddenly started massaging his shoulders softly, Harry let loose a small moan as his tense deltoids started to unwind. "What's wrong?" Hermione whispered as she came around from behind his chair and perched on his desk facing him.

Harry waved at the papers littering the desk, at the data crystals and assorted reports enumerating the efforts of the resistance in occupied England and Europe. He flicked his fingers and a stack of data crystals discussing the contributions of the free allies sailed into a small box and closed themselves in a drawer. "What are we doing Hermione?" Harry said, his green eyes dull. His hand shook slightly as he reached for a cup of coffee.

Hermione's hand intercepted his, her right held his left steady as her other hand came across and took the cup from his hand. Her eyes met his as she slowly held the cup up for him. Humoring her, Harry took a sip. "Harry, you can't keep up at this pace love...you just got out of..."

"Cause I screwed up again."

Hermione glared at him, before shaking her head, her eyes softened as she looked down at him, "no Harry, not because you messed up." Harry shook his head, not agreeing, but not wanting to argue with her. He never would again if he could help it at all. In an effort to forestall more words, he scanned the folders lying open on his desk. A smile, a dark mischievous smile lit his eyes as he read the header of one report from Fred and George on the activities of the Pureblood society crowd in London.

"Mione," Harry asked as he levitated the folder into her hands, "do you remember Berlin?" She read the header, and glanced at a picture of the Death Eater field commander for Scotland. Brown eyes came up to his, and her lips twisted in a small, twisted grin that caused his heart to flutter.

"I think I have the perfect dress."

***********************London, Minister's Palace***************************

August 10, 2019
8:15 pm

For the second time in less than two weeks, Hermione Potter's hair was red. Deep red curls were piled on the top of her head, with a few loose tendrils falling loose to frame her face. Emerald green eyes smiled up at Harry, as he held out a hand to help her from the carriage. White teeth flashed in a grin, and then captured her lower lip, as Harry tucked her arm into his. Together they walked towards the entrance of Fudge's residence. Rumors had escaped of the events of the second, and like any politician his first priority was appearances. He must show that he was in total and utter control. So, to show that he was, he threw a party.

Harry returned the tiniest of winks as he stepped between a pair of masked Death Eaters guarding the door. In deference to Hermione, he had taken her eye color today. His hair was a light sandy color, though no possible amount of magic could actually tame it. With a temporary spell on his eyes to correct for his nearsightedness and a glamour hiding his scar, no one who casually knew Harry would think it was he. After all, why would Harry and Hermione Potter just casually stroll into the largest gathering of Death Eaters in London?

As they entered through a brightly lit archway, they stepped into a large, open ballroom. Deeply polished hardwood floors passed under their feet, and chandeliers of enchanted crystal softly swept through the colors of the rainbow above their heads. They strode though the midst of tables set elegantly with white linen, and burdened with the "elite" of English Society, or at least whom Malfoy considered the elite. A curious thing had happened when the Ministry fell all those years ago, it seems that the ranks of the Pureblooded had vastly increased. Malfoy had elevated individuals and whole families to the ranks of the Purebloods. At the same time, those such as the Weasleys who had fought against him; were declared tainted, equal to Muggles. Of course, as there was in all struggles of this type, the ones in between, the individuals and families who did their best to stay out of the struggle. Who might hate and despise the Death Eaters, the roving werewolf packs, the Dementors, the X'Sheen and most especially their leader, but not enough to risk their lives and the lives of their families.

Looking around Hermione, Hermione saw Fudge standing, talking to a pair of young witches, one blond, one brunette that looked as if, if they tried real hard, could maybe figure out how to tie their shoes. Hermione turned to Harry, their eyes exactly level in the short heels she had on. He carefully didn't smile as her currently emerald eyes flicked up towards the heavens for just a second. I would make a blond joke about the one on the left, but that would insult just about anything I could think of, including blond ferrets...and I don't mean Draco.

Yeah, Mione. Fudge looks awfully happy for someone who woke up just the other day with a flaming copy of the house crest above his bed. Harry gave her tiniest of grins, more of a wrinkling around the eyes than anything. He took a plate from a sideboard and started filling it from a groaning buffet. All this, and half a mile from here...

Yeah, but those people didn't sell their souls to Lucius, Harry. Hermione replied in a silent growl. She glanced up at Fudge once more, Back to work love...Fudge can answer for his sins later, I promise you. Her eyes flickered for an instant, and Harry nodded.

"Hello there." Cornelius Fudge said brightly as his eyes obviously took in Hermione, only barely flitting over Harry before returning to her. He smiled as he took in the jet-black, fitted dress; held up with only a thin pair of straps, with a slit up one leg all the way to her hip on the right. A thin black garter was visible on her leg as she moved slightly and extended her hand demurely. Fudge brushed his lips against her knuckles, and Harry repressed a shudder...and the sudden desire to start to experiment with new and interesting curses. "I don't believe that we have met, my lady?"

Hermione graced him with a smile, "Adrienne...Adrienne Weber," she said, her soprano slipping into the upper class accent of her youth without a thought. She waved vaguely towards Harry, "this is my companion Reginald Saganami-Flint"

"AH, Yes, the Webers and the Flints" Fudge commented airily, "both upstanding families with the proper, outlook, on the roles of Wizards and lesser folks in society." He turned to Harry, "Flint, eh...any relation to Marcus Flint?" Fudge inquired.

"Distantly I am afraid." Harry responded, his voice adopting an accent totally unlike the tone of his youth, of a life spent with the Dursleys, who despite their dreams, had been anything but upper class. "And your companion?"

Fudge looked briefly embarrassed, and then recovered, "My apologies, this is Deraus Smythe, he is my personal assistant." Deraus nodded. Fudge engaged in some small talk, until with a muttered excuse, Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him to the dance floor.

Harry smiled as her arms came up to his neck, her elbows resting on his collarbones. He reciprocated immediately as his arms dropped low on her waist. Harry! Hermione giggled silently as his fingers dipped a bit lower for an instant. They moved slowly together, their eyes never leaving each other's. They danced for one, then a second song, never even bothering to stop dancing. The room faded away, the Death Eaters, the society snobs, even the poor bedraggled house elves that were silently and cringingly serving the guests, were less than shadows to them.

"That was fun last night." Hermione whispered. "I am still a touch sore though."

"We aim to please." Harry murmured back as they spun, through the midst of the dancers. "That little yipping noise is new...excited much?"

"Well we do have years to make up for." Hermione replied. Her eyes danced, and even though the color was his, for the moment, his stomach hiccupped. She opened her mouth, but was suddenly interrupted as a voice, in which they could actually hear the twinkle from almost the entire length of the island away murmured in both of their ears through the tiny communication beads both had inserted into their ear canals.

"Um. As interesting as the bedroom adventures of my grandson are..." Dumbledore said over the wireless from his office in Hogwarts, "you are supposed to be working." He managed not to chuckle too much.

Hermione checks flushed red; she dropped her face to the shoulder of Harry's dress robes to hide the sudden blush. "We're on comms still aren't we?" She asked unnecessarily.

"YES" Ron, Ginny, Lupin, Tonks and Sirius all replied as one over five more sets from their hidden locations in the surrounding area. "So Hermione," Tonks asked in a feigned, husky voice, "what noise was that?"

"There's our target." Harry mentioned almost casually, both to stop this train wreck before it started and for the odd, strange reason that he actually had spotted his target.

Gregor Anderson strode into the room. The field commander for Lucius' efforts to finally subdue Scotland and consolidate his hold on the British Isles looked tired as he talked to a short blonde witch next to the robe clad orchestra. The music swelled as he led her onto the dance floor. The stout wizard led the small witch roughly, stepping on her toes at least twice as Harry watched. Hermione winced against Harry's shoulder as he did it once again. We're on. Hermione commented, and Harry returned the slightest of nods.

Absently, Harry led Hermione in their dance over next to Anderson. They danced next to the mismatched couple, for another song, until the orchestra stopped. The dancers drifted off the floor, vaguely towards the tables and buffets. A few of the guests started to cluster together, to talk about how beautiful their gardens were in their country manors, the Quidditch season, Malfoy had forced several teams to play for his followers entertainment, and how utterly horrible their lives were as they were inconvenienced as they might have a shortage of tea. A scraggly house elf levitated a tray full of flutes of champagne past them, and Harry grabbed a pair and handed one to Hermione.

Her eyes flicked sideways as Anderson's dance partner left attached at the arm of a tall, dark haired man in the robes, but not the mask of a Death Eater. Her eyes grinned up at Harry as they drifted vaguely towards Anderson. Mione, Harry whined silently, why am I always the one that this happens to? Why not Draco or Ron? You like hitting Draco...you're good at it.

I guess, Harry sighed, "Bookworm is in play." He said in a whisper that only carried to Hermione's ears, and the others on the wireless ears. He heard an affirmative from Lupin. Hermione's eyes were on Anderson; she caught the wizard's eyes and gave him a bright smile. Harry growled at her, and snarled something quietly.

"What...HOW DARE YOU." Hermione snapped, and as every eye in the room looked to them...CRACK. Her hand snapped across Harry's cheek, leaving a bright red hand mark on his face. Sorry Love, I'll make up for it tonight. She stalked off, leaving Harry standing, seemingly dumbfounded in her wake. Her path seemed to randomly cross Gregor's she turned back for an instant, and still walking forward crashed into Anderson, her loosely held champagne flute emptying down his front.

"Oh...My." Hermione squeaked, her face growing red. "I didn't see you there."
"I gathered." Anderson replied dryly. A moment later his front was dry as he flicked his wand over his robes. "It looks as if your companion is somewhat annoyed." Hermione glanced back at Harry, who was glaring at the pair of them.

"He gets that way, I don't know why I agreed to come here with him." Hermione agreed, and turned back to Gregor and extended her hand, "Adrienne Weber."

Anderson took it, and brushed his lips across her knuckles, as before with Fudge, Harry repressed a shudder and Hermione had a brief, nauseous sensation. "Gregor Anderson, I am head of Operations for Scotland for Emperor Malfoy." His words weren't quite boasting.

"Charmed," Hermione replied and glanced back, quickly at Harry. He had his arms crossed and continued to glare at the back of her head. She glanced to Anderson. She looked slightly embarrassed. "Look can we get out of here, he'll be like that all night." She smiled at him, with a look that promised...something. Suddenly unable to speak, Anderson led her to a small side door. They went through it, into a small ornate hallway. After passing five or six doors, he bowed her into a darkly paneled room and eased the door shut. It locked with a soft click and he pocketed his wand.

The room was a library of sorts; a large desk sat at one end a huge chair behind it. Several other comfortable lounge chairs and a large leather couch provided the seating. Shelves lined the walls, filled with leather bound tomes. Hermione walked to the shelves and ran her fingers along the bindings. Her eyes grew dark as she turned to Gregor. In a rush she was across the room. She roughly grabbed Gregor and pushed down onto the couch. Before he could utter a word, she was straddling him, pushing him further into the cushions. Almost purring Hermione nuzzled his, neck. Her left hand inched up until it was tangled in his hair, while the other slipped down, and eased under the thigh of her dress.

A blur of steel whirled around her right hand as she jerked his head back, and a five-inch balisong blade nicked the skin of his throat. "Don't make a sound." Hermione growled lowly. Behind her, the door clicked open and Harry eased in. His fingers flicked and the walls lit with a brief, white flash. Hermione stood from the shocked Death Eater and froze him with a gesture.

Gregor watched helplessly as Hermione turned her back to him, sauntered over to Harry and flung her arms around his neck. Her hands fisted in his hair as their lips met and tongues dueled. Harry staggered back a step. They broke for air as Hermione stepped back and crossing to a chair, sat in it facing Gregor. She crossed her legs, exposing a great deal of leg as her right rested on top. She leaned back and flicked her fingers at Gregor.

Harry leaned against a shelf next to Hermione's chair, crossed his arms and glowered. He was very good at glowering after all. A blue flash flickered in his eyes, and his hair grew dark. As the blue faded, his eyes returned to their brilliant green. He smiled darkly at Gregor as his scar faded back into view and the Death Eater swallowed heavily.

Hermione's now chocolate eyes were hard as she looked across at their target. She regarded him silently for a long minute, then in a soft, toneless voice, spoke. "In the old days, we would have arrested you. Now...I'm afraid that the options for you are more, shall we say extreme." Her eyes bored into his. Her mind stretched out, her probe instantly hitting a mental wall. She raised an eyebrow, her eyes flickered and the wall shattered. A cascade of images flooded her mind, and an instant later she smiled as "Interesting..." she turned to Harry. "He's keeping the prisoners at their little school."

"Potter..." Gregor said disbelievingly, finally, "You're dead."

Harry stood and walked over, he leaned over the back of his wife's chair until his eyes were level with Gregor's, "No," he replied flatly, "no I am afraid that your master's wet dream hasn't come to pass." He stepped back and waved his hand. Anderson flew across the room, to land splayed against a wall. He struggled, but an invisible, irresistible force held him spread-eagled about three feet off the ground. "We're not going to kill you, or even Obliviate you." Harry mentioned casually, almost as if he were merely discussing the weather for a pickup Quidditch game. "On the contrary..." His eyes glowed softly as an invisible wind snuffled every candle and lamp in the room. Plunged into darkness, Gregor could only see two pairs of glowing blue orbs. "Tell your master that his greatest mistake was to ever come after my family...I would suggest that we never meet again." The orbs vanished without a sound and a moment later the lights returned.

The room was empty, other than the frozen Death Eater, still pinned to the wall like a fly in amber.

**************************Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts********************

August 15, 2019

5:15 pm

"Thank you all for joining me." Dumbledore said politely, nodding to each of his guests in turn. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna were sharing a couch to one side, Harry petting Fawkes who had come over to see old friends. Minerva was sitting in one of the normal guest chairs while Lupin, Tonks and Sirius were occupying the couch opposite Harry and Neville with Ginny in his lap, and Draco two further chairs beside them.

The light from the late afternoon sun was shining in the windows and glinting off Dumbledore's glasses. The old wizard was wearing a small smile, the type that indicated that he knew something you didn't and one that had infuriated almost everyone in this room over their lifetimes. He looked down at a stack of parchments on his desk, periodically marking something before going on to the next. He looked up and his eyes twinkled, "School starts in seventeen days, ladies and gentlemen."

McGonagall looked at him, and crooked an eyebrow, "Albus, we are already training the kids..."

"No Minerva," Dumbledore's grin grew, "I meant the regular school year. Hogwarts will reopen on September the first." Shocked mutterings erupted in the room, as Dumbledore's words sunk in. Behind Dumbledore, the sorting hat stirred and stretched as if it were getting ready. Above and around him, wizards and witches started dodging from portrait to portrait, urgently whispering in each other's ears.

After another long minute of shock, Hermione finally spoke up, "Albus...how?" She looked at Harry, he shrugged, "I mean, you won't have any students...besides our kids of course."

"We will..." Dumbledore held up the stack of parchment he was holding, "These are the students who, should by rights, be in school. They will get their chance." He motioned to Fawkes, and in twin falls of fire, the bird teleported across the room. Dumbledore flicked his wand at the stack of parchment, and with a bright white flash, the parchments became filled envelopes, quite familiar to everyone in this room. Harry alone had probably had five thousand delivered to him in one momentous day, almost twenty years ago. "Dobby" Dumbledore said softly and with a quiet POP, the elf appeared.

"Professor Dumbledore sir, what can Dobby do for you?" Dobby smiled as he glanced around the room, "Ohh Harry Potter sir, I did not see you there, or his Mione either, Dobby appolo..."

"Its ok Dobby" Harry replied quickly as Ron sniggered at the "his Mione." With a flashback to yesteryear, Hermione whacked Ron upside the back of the head, "OWW."

Ron glared half-heartedly at her as Luna giggled at him. Dumbledore smiled and turned to the elf, "Dobby please see that these owls are sent out by the school owls as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir, Dobby will..."

"Wait a moment, Dobby," Harry interjected, "you never mentioned how we were going to get the students here, or how that we were going to keep Lucius' hordes from overrunning this place as soon as he learns that it is reopened. And if we do, we don't exactly have a staff."

Dumbledore turned serious and rose from his desk. Walking over to the window, he looked down at the grounds, his hands behind his back. The Headmaster looked slightly tired, but not beat. His fingers tapped a rhythm only known to himself as he looked down at Hagrid's hut, the hut now even more decrepit and worn than it had been when Hagrid was occupying it. He took a breath and spun to them, "Lucius will not attack; himself...not yet. He will send his dark minions first, that will be your job, Harry, Hermione."

Harry stared at Dumbledore, a slightly unbelieving look on his face, Our job, are we supposed to go mow down every one of them? Hermione just shrugged and gave him a little half-smile, the question was a mystery to her as well, "and just how will we do that, Grandfather?" Harry inquired, with more than a little sarcasm in his tone.

"You two are going on a little trip." Dumbledore smiled, "I have studied the X'Sheen since they first appeared. But it was your discoveries while captured, and Ginny's before she was discovered that gave me the clue." Looking over at Ginny, "while you were undercover, before your capture, you witnessed Lucius with a glowing red sphere, correct?"

"Yeah" Ginny replied, puzzled. She shook a bit as unwanted memories of that last assignment flicked through her thoughts. Neville gave her a supporting squeeze; she turned and gave him a small smile before returning her attention to the ancient wizard at the window.

"The Orb of Maccebus." Dumbledore said into the silence. "I have given great consideration to how Lucius gained so much power after his master's death..." Without looking, he could almost feel a hand going up, even though she never moved, "Yes Hermione?"

"Isn't that a myth, the Orb was supposedly lost with Atlantis, wasn't it?" Hermione said, the gears grinding behind her eyes. She bit her lip as she flicked back through twenty years of reading, and finding nothing, really only half remembered legends. "Wasn't it supposed to be like a magical battery or something?"

Dumbledore nodded, impressed with her for the innumerable time. "Yes, that was one of its purposes, its original one, anyway." He sighed, "Wizards, despite what Lucius may have decided are not inflatable, not now, and not ten thousand years ago. What I know about the object is thus: The Atlantians were involved in a terrible war. A war with ones, not of this world." Dumbledore nodded at their shocked expressions, "Yes that is the legend, I do not know if it is fact or fiction. Plato was correct, there was a great city in the sea, its towers shining for all to see, but the dark ones came. In a desperate attempt to stop them, the great Wizards of that time used the Orb to enslave a great deal of the attackers to it. However during their attempt, the enemy detonated a great green wave in the midst of the city causing all life to cease. I am afraid when the Ministry created the Kedavra Bomb they were only repeating history."

"So what happened to Atlantis, and how was the orb..." Harry asked quietly.

"The Muggle legends are more or less correct on that part, the city was an artificial construct, it sank beneath the depths of the Atlantic. They are wrong about the location, it was much further north than once was thought." Dumbledore stated.

"But what does this have to do with Malfoy's powers, and what does it have to do with the X'Sheen?" Hermione retorted. Glancing over at Harry, "and what does this have to do with us?"

Dumbledore nodded, he took piece of parchment from his desk and handed it to Hermione. The parchment was seemingly in gibberish, with the markings of Hogwarts, and the emblems of the founders at its top. "Malfoy used the Orb to jumpstart his abilities, naturally he would not be nearly as powerful. Unfortunately now that his body has learned to channel the greater energies, for lack of a better term, he does not need to use it to manifest his abilities. He is as great as his former master now, make no mistake."

Harry looked grim, he grabbed Hermione's hand and squeezed. Here we go again.

Yeah Harry.

Dumbledore must have read their thoughts in their eyes, "Yes he will be a great foe, to defeat him, first we must strip him of his X'Sheen allies."

"How will we do that?" Draco snapped suddenly, "My arsehole of a father has thousands of them under his thrall, hell maybe millions, and they are individually as powerful as the average surviving wizard and twenty times more ruthless.

"I know..." Ginny suddenly peaked up, Dumbledore waved in her direction, silently yielding the floor. "When I was undercover...right before they caught me..." Ginny stopped, and closed her eyes for a bit, clearly not wanting to remember something. She opened them again, but she did not meet anyone's eyes, especially not Hermione or Harry's as she looked absently out a window. No one spoke, after a moment, she went on. "Lucius had a meeting with the X'Sheen, they tried to leave in it, after he said something that insulted them, but he put his hand in a box and they were dragged back like a giant magnet had them."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed, "The Atlantians bound many of the X'Sheen to the Orb, in an attempt to use them against each other. In retaliation, they stuck with all of their available forces at the city. Mutual annihilation was the result. And the cause of our dilemma today. Because Malfoy controls the Orb, he controls the X'Sheen who control his empire." Dumbledore looked at them, a slightly predatory look in his eyes. "If the Orb is destroyed, the X'Sheen will abandon him. They may be back, and most likely will be back, but we will loose an enemy at least for a time." Hermione nodded as she squeezed Harry's hand. She had known this, or at least much of it years ago.

"But to destroy the Orb, we will have to confront Malfoy, and go through the Death Eaters and werewolves and Dementors and X'Sheen just to get to him." Harry pointed out bitterly, "No offence grandfather, but I don't know if all of us together can do that. Sure we can play a prank and sneak into Fudge's ball, but to destroy Malfoy..."

Dumbledore nodded sagely, "Yes, if that were the only way, the task would be nigh impossible." He walked over to his desk and sat lightly, "However...there is another way. Hermione if you translate that document, you will that it is, for lack of a better term, find a treasure map."

"Huh?" At least four voices uttered at once.

"That parchment gives clues to the location of an item that may allow us to fight this war on an even footing," Dumbledore replied, "it is an record of writings of the Founders, they knew the old legends were true, and that the Orb, if recovered would be a force for evil, so they created a counter. The Orb of Annakus."

"Is that even real?" Hermione growled, a tad exasperated, "There are so many legends about them, that we know can't possibly be real, I know that Godric was trying to create a magical battery as well, but it was never completed."

"Actually Hermione," Dumbledore replied softly, "It was. However to keep those that were unworthy from misusing its powers, he hid it, somewhere. The parchment should start you on a series of clues that should lead you two to the Orb."

"And what then?" Harry inquired, curious despite himself.

"Then dear grandson" Albus Dumbledore paused as the looked over the two for a long moment, "Whatever it takes, whatever it costs, we storm Malfoy's lair. You use your Orb to cancel out Malfoy's, releasing the X'Sheen from his service and we kill the bastard." His blue eyes were hard, "it is as simple as that."

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