Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
The Time Meddlers
Chapter Twenty-Five - Courtesy of the Shadow
"…The Shadow's real name is…"
"…Dolores Umbridge," said Susan, causing her rescuers to gasp.
"What?" exclaimed Harry.
"She used to be Senor Undersecretary to Fudge," replied the weary girl, "until she got drunk and wrecked something in the Department of Mysteries. My aunt told me Fudge was appalled and wouldn't even let her explain what had happened at her mock-trial."
"Your aunt was there?" asked Hermione.
"Yeah. I think Umbridge's time in prison made her even crazier than she was before…"
"The portkey's ready," interrupted Sirius/Terry. "It'll leave in five seconds, and we don't want to linger here anyway."
He handed a quill to Susan. "This will take you to the lobby of Saint Mungo's. Unfortunately, we can't come with you. Get well."
"Thanks," replied Susan before she disappeared.
"Let's get out of here," said Hermione, prompting all three of them to Apparate, but not before they got a glimpse of the Shadow of Pain leaving the Fidelius-protected house. She was thinner and paler than before - her skin looked almost white - and was wearing blood-red robes, but there was no denying her identity. The trio disappeared with a loud pop.
--TM--
"It's my fault!" screamed Harry before punching the wall in the Chamber of Secrets. He'd been in a daze since he heard the Shadow's name and hardly remembered getting back to Hogwarts. He certainly didn't notice Hermione assuring Sirius that she'd calm him down. He was in such a state that he didn't even notice the damage he was doing to his right hand. Hermione knew she had to stop him before he did damage she couldn't fix.
"IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!" she shouted at him. "Now, stop before you hurt yourself worse!" She grabbed his hand, making him aware of his injuries.
"Ow! It is too my fault," he argued while she fixed his broken and bloody hand. "And you can say anything you want but the fact is that I did not have to set Umbridge up to go to Azkaban! I should've waited for you to return before…"
"We needed the Time-Turner before school began, so you were right to go on that mission." She sighed. "I laughed just as hard as anyone when I saw her picture in the paper from when she was arrested. There was no way to know…"
"I just had to have my revenge, didn't I? I should've known what the Dementors would do to someone like her. She was practically insane already. They drove her over the edge."
"She must've gotten out of prison just before we broke Sirius out," commented Hermione, realizing that nothing she said would absolve Harry of his guilty feelings right now.
"And immediately stole all the dark books she could find," added Harry, "and made herself powerful, so she couldn't go back to Azkaban. It's all my fault!"
Hermione sighed, realizing this was going to be a long night.
--TM--
Minister's Niece Rescued! Identity of the `Shadow' Revealed!
By Anna Jesse
It would appear that Minister Bones has more support than just the aurors, because two private citizens that go by the aliases Tox and Sky managed to find and rescue Susan Bones. According to Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, the duo has previously captured at least one Death Eater and turned him or her over to the Ministry, but Mr. Shacklebolt wouldn't reveal the identity of that criminal.
Susan Bones, age twelve, was portkeyed into Saint Mungo's last night around eight p.m., suffering from malnutrition, as well as several cuts which she revealed came from rituals that her captors, the Shadow of Pain and her assistant, Severus Snape, forced her participation in. The Healers expect her to make a full recovery from her ordeal. When asked by aurors, she revealed that she knew exactly who her captor, the Shadow, was: Former Senior Undersecretary to Former Minister Cornelius Fudge - Dolores Umbridge.
About a year and a half ago, Umbridge was arrested at the Ministry for…
Hermione and Harry read the article as they sat at the Gryffindor table the morning after the rescue. The Boy-Who-Lived glanced toward Susan's best friend Hannah Abbot at the Hufflepuff table and saw her happier than she'd been since before Christmas. Yet again, the Headmaster made no mention of Susan Bones or Severus Snape.
--TM--
Terry Cochran, aka Sirius Black, did actually contact Snape with a list of potions-based products for him to manufacture, in an effort to hide his participation in the rescue of Susan Bones. However, he received no response whatsoever. Whether Snape knew he'd been part of the setup or just knew that someone knew he'd been there was unclear, but obviously the potions master was taking no chances. Sirius half-expected Dumbledore to show up and express disappointment in him for tricking Snape like that, but it never happened.
Time moved quickly, and soon it had been a few weeks since the rescue, and Susan Bones arrived at Hogwarts looking healthy, although if you looked in her eyes, you could see she was no longer an innocent little girl. She had a noticeable scar on her forehead (but it was not shaped like a lightning bolt) above her left eye, along with about ten others that were hidden by her Hogwarts robe. Auror guards had escorted her into the building, but separated from her as she entered the Great Hall to join her classmates for breakfast. She'd only taken a few steps before Hannah Abbot practically jumped from the Hufflepuff table and ran to hug her best mate.
Harry didn't know who started it, but soon most of the Great Hall was applauding the Minister's niece, who had suffered so much, and he found himself joining in. After about a minute of that, Dumbledore walked up to his podium and proclaimed with a twinkle in his eye, "Welcome back, Miss Bones. As you can see, all of Hogwarts is overjoyed to have you among us once more. Please join us for breakfast. The pancakes are delightful."
Hermione turned to Harry. "Obviously, Dumbledore had to acknowledge Susan's presence, but still managed to say nothing about her ordeal or Snape's part in it."
"I noticed that, too. He simply won't admit, even to himself, that he was wrong about Snape turning good."
Neville, who'd been sitting with them, commented, "You're right. I never thought about it, but Dumbledore had that Death Eater her for over ten years, protecting him while he picked on students like me and still won't admit that was wrong."
"I think Minister Bones is getting sick of that, too," commented Hermione. "It looks like those aurors want to talk to him." Harry glanced toward the head table and noticed that the aurors who'd escorted Susan were now approaching the headmaster, no doubt to question him yet again on Snape's whereabouts.
--TM--
The next time the time-meddlers saw Susan was in Herbology, where they did some work with the adolescent mandrakes that had been at Hogwarts since September. Susan smiled at them quickly, but that was the extent of their communication until that Saturday, when Hermione was in the library alone.
"Hello, Hermione," said Susan when she walked up to the table the Gryffindor genius was sitting at.
Nervously, she replied, "Hi, Susan."
"Can we talk somewhere a bit more…private? And could you get Harry?"
"Of course. Come with me."
She led the Hufflepuff girl to an empty classroom on the seventh floor of Hogwarts and asked her to wait a few minutes while she went into the Gryffindor common room to retrieve the Boy-Who-Lived. Once they returned, the couple remained silent as they cast multiple privacy charms to ensure the meeting wouldn't be overheard. Realizing what they were doing, Susan remained quiet as well.
Finally, Harry broke the silence. "Hi, Susan. How are you feeling?" he asked in concern.
"The doctors say I'm in perfect health," she replied. "I just wish people would stop looking at my scars." She sighed and glanced at Harry's forehead. "I guess you know what that's like."
He nodded. "Hermione tells me you wanted to talk to us."
After taking a deep breath, the redhead told them that, "First of all, I wanted to thank you ag…"
"That's not necessary," interrupted Hermione.
"It's necessary for me," she replied. "Also, as I'm sure you read in the newspapers, I told them what you told me to."
"Yes," responded Harry with a grin. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"And what's the real reason for wanting to see us?" asked Hermione.
The girl's expression turned hard, and it was easy to see how she'd survived her captivity. "I want to help you fight Umbridge and Snape." The young Ms. Bones wished she'd brought a camera to capture the shocked expressions on her heroes' faces.
"No," said Harry when he found his voice. "It's too dangerous…"
"but not too dangerous for you?" Susan shot back.
"You haven't been trained…" argued Hermione.
"I can learn!" She looked each of them in the eyes in turn. "I'm too young to join the aurors. This is my only chance."
"For revenge?" asked Hermione. "Because if that's it I'm…"
Taking a deep breath, the redhead admitted, "Revenge is part of it, yes, but it's more than that. I've seen first hand how evil they are. They make You-Know-Who…"
"Voldemort!" interrupted Harry. "He couldn't beat a baby and people still fear saying his name! If you're too scared to say the name of a dead…"
"VOLDEMORT! Alright? Voldemort! Does that make you happy?"
Harry grinned slightly. "A bit." He stared into her eyes and found determination - the same determination that had led him into so many adventures. The same unwavering determination that made Hermione follow him to Hell and back. He looked at Hermione. "She's serious about this." He sighed. "What do you think?"
Hermione thought it over for about fifteen seconds as she looked into both her boyfriend's and then Susan's eyes. "Let's see how resolute she is, shall we? We'll duel. Harry, you referee. No Unforgivable curses, fight until one is either unconscious of surrenders - that's it." Harry silently backed into the wall to observe the fight.
"What?" exclaimed Susan. "I…"
"If you don't want to join us, just say so."
"It's not that. Just I…"
"Need to draw your wand if you don't want to go down without a fight."
Reluctantly, the girl complied, determined to prove herself."
"Ready," said Harry. "One, two, three, begin."
A fraction of a second after Harry announced it, Susan felt a curse hit her foot and she fell. When she saw her opponent still pointing her wand, she rolled over, barely escaping the next hex. As she scrambled to her feet, she noticed that her left foot was bleeding and sore. She pointed her wand at Hermione. "Stupefy!"
Hermione silently raised a shield that easily blocked the spell and sent a hex that broke Susan's right leg, sending the girl back to the floor. "Is that the spell you want to hit the Shadow with? A stunner?" She shot several stinging hexes at Susan, who refused to acknowledge her pain as she glared at her opponent. "Do you think Snape won't revive her? Or do you plan to stun both?" she mocked.
"They'll go to jail!" Susan shot back.
"Umbridge has been there. Didn't help! That Dumb-Old-Dork controlling the Wizengamot would keep Snape out no matter what he does, giving him a second chance to hurt people like you!" She shot another spell - this one breaking Susan's left arm.
"Reducto!" screamed Susan, landing a spell on the surprised girl's right hand, causing her to drop her wand. The Hufflepuff relaxed and looked at her bleeding foot before getting kicked in the head, knocked unconscious.
"Did you have to be that vicious, Hermione?" asked Harry, irritated.
"Yes, I did. If she can't use lethal curses, we don't want her to fight with us. Plus, we had to make sure she doesn't surrender easily."
"I think she already proved that while she was a prisoner," argued Harry.
"That's different than in battle."
Ignoring that comment, Harry quickly began healing Susan's wounds while Hermione healed her own. Once all her injuries were taken care of, Harry woke the Hufflepuff girl.
"Are you alright? Hermione was a bit too…"
"I'm fine, Harry." She turned to Hermione. "I understand the lessons you taught me, but I didn't enjoy the class. I'll never hesitate to use powerful curses in a fight and never turn my back on a conscious opponent."
"Good," replied Hermione, before offering the girl her hand to help her up. "I am sorry I was so hard on you, but the people we fight are…"
"I know how vicious the Shadow of Pain is," she interrupted with a dark expression.
Hermione turned to Harry. "First, we need an oath of secrecy from her, and then we teach her Occlumency and Dueling."
--TM--
Over the next few months, Harry and Hermione began training Susan rigorously, making it a point not to reveal anything about the Room of Requirement, Chamber of Pac Man, their Time-Turner, and especially their Time-Meddling. However, she didn't openly hang out with them, so neither Neville nor Hannah (Susan's best friend) knew anything about that arrangement.
At the same time, the aurors weren't getting any closer to capturing Umbridge, although more disappearances had occurred and Kingsley had been informed by one of his other contacts that the Shadow had begun recruiting. He shared that information both with his boss and Tox. Amelia Bones had managed to remove every position Dumbledore held because of his refusal to reveal Snape's whereabouts, including as headmaster, much to the surprise of all, although officially Albus had retired.
The fact that a man Dumbledore had protected and kept as a teacher for so long had participated in the capture and torture of a student gave her the momentum to go even further than Fudge had been able to in the other timeline. Anything he had to say about Snape actually spying was ignored once Susan had testified about Severus' participation in her torment. Still, the old man did manage to stay out of jail by calling in every favor he'd acquired over the years. Rumor had it that he was reviving the Order of the Phoenix to combat the Shadow, but Harry was the last person who would be told about that. McGonagall was acting Headmistress until the end of the school year, although she had made it clear that she did not want the position to become permanent.
--TM-
"Is everything in place, Severus?" He and his boss were at their new headquarters - another abandoned warehouse under the Fidelius charm.
"Yes, Shadow. Our operative will steal one next week."
"Only ONE!?" yelled Dolores Umbridge, whose very name came from the Latin roots of `pain' and `shadow' respectively. She pointed her wand at Snape, intent to torture him.
"Yes, Mistress," he replied defensively. "If an accident occurs where they're kept and one is missing, no one will think anything of it. However, if several disappear, then everyone will know what we're planning, and prepare accordingly…"
"Making it a useless gesture," she completed, before reaching for her pink cup and sipping her tea. "Very well. We shall have to content ourselves with one of that particular weapon. It is too bad they are so rare and mature so slowly. Very well."
"If that is all, I'll be going. The old fool is waiting for his false report." He turned to leave.
"Hem, hem!"
He stopped in his tracks and turned. "Yes, Shadow?"
Calmly, she reminded him, "See that nothing ruins this plan. I will not tolerate another failure." She giggled. "If you do fail, I have the perfect ritual for you to participate in." Another giggle. "Good day, Severus."
--TM-
Easter Break had just begun and many students, including Harry, Hermione and Susan, were staying at the castle for the holiday break. That trio was now standing in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and fortunately the ghost wasn't in there at that moment.
"Why are we, especially you, Harry, here?" the Hufflepuff asked. They'd basically had her follow them there without revealing the destination after instructing her to bring a shrunken broom in her purse.
"Because you've learned enough Occlumency that we feel we can trust you with some of our secrets," replied Harry as he pulled a small globe out of his pocket. "Here. This is a thought sphere where a memory is recorded." He held it out and Susan took it.
"What's it for?"
Hermione instructed her to, "Hold it in front of this sink and tap it with your wand."
The girl obeyed and looked frightened as she saw a small snake speak Parseltongue, causing the sinks to separate, revealing a large hole. Harry had given her a memory of himself as Tox opening the entrance. He explained, "This is the way into our headquarters, the legendary Chamber of Secrets."
While Susan Bones was learning about the Chamber (she laughed her head off at the Pac Man images that had replaced Salazar's original decorations), Animagus forms and the Time-Turner, there was a disturbance in one of the greenhouses. When Professor Sprout discovered the problem, it appeared that there had been a small fire and a few of her plants had been destroyed. She couldn't tell who or what caused the fire.
--TM-
It was about a week before school would be let out, and Diagon Alley was crowded as usual. It was exactly noon in and it was a beautiful day. The sun was out and many witches and wizards, along with their pre-Hogwarts children, were out doing their shopping, when something appeared unnoticed in the middle of the street. It was a type of magical plant, although it looked like an adult midget with shrubbery growing out of its head. Attached to it was a note that simply read, `Courtesy of the Shadow.' The plant let out a loud scream.
--TM--
Please review. Thank you to those who have.
I was honestly surprised that no reviewer ever mentioned the meaning of Umbridge's name in the HPLex dot org website. Here's what they say about her name:
"dolor" = Latin for pain, sadness, grief, resentment.
"umbrage" =
offense, from Latin "umbra" shade, shadow, ghost.
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