ᵇᵃⁿᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵒⁿ ʰᵉʳ ; ʰᵃʳᵐⁱᵒⁿᵉ

Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12

Albus could see why everyone was jumping to the conclusion he was some kind of covert dark lord, still didn't mean he had to like the idea though. He supposed it would make his eventual victory all the sweeter, it remained to be seen whether Minerva and Severus would ever forgive him after being forced to spend some time in Azkaban.

When the wizarding public discovered that not only was Voldemort still amongst them, he always would be until the Potter boy was dead, Albus expected he and his friends to be hailed as heroes for having the courage to act on that information. It was one thing to hold strong moral opinions against their actions, those self same morals would soon disappear when it was their family's lives that were in deadly jeopardy from a returning Lord Voldemort. The opinion of the British wizarding public was as fickle as the country's weather, Albus though could forecast with a fair degree of certainty that they would quickly be calling for the Potter boy's head in order to see an end to the dark lord.

There were actually two things stopping him approaching the minister with this vital information. Albus had a life long aversion to passing on knowledge he considered too important to be known by others and also the fact that the ministry was about as secure as a fair maiden's virtue in a brothel. Albus hated admitting his shortcomings, even to himself, but he just didn't know how many horcruxes Tom had created. He daren't let the fact that he knew about them make its way back to Voldemort, that particular information leaking could spell disaster.

He needed to be able to operate without the restrictions the prophecy placed him under, yet that would only happen after Harry Potter met his demise at the hands of Voldemort. The boy's name being entered in the tournament was an obvious attempt to do that very thing. Albus though remembered Tom Riddle from his Hogwarts days and knew he was a resourceful young man, there was bound to be a back-up plan swinging into effect about now.

With Voldemort back and Potter gone, Albus would be able to walk right into the ministry and write his own terms for saving their arses. He was confident that would all take place before this summer was over, Albus just hoped Minerva and Severus could hold out in Azkaban until then.

-oOoOo-

Harry awoke slowly, feeling as if one side of his body was numb. The reason for this was soon apparent, as he didn't require his glasses to recognise Hermione. Even although his new bed was massive, she was attached to his side like a limpet. His slight movement though alerted her to his awakening and soon his vision was full of bushy brown hair. A tender kiss later and she was putting his glasses back on him.

"You frightened the life out us Harry, was Voldemort responsible for that?"

Harry drew her into a hug to quell the shudders that racked his body from the mere thought of what he had seen. Thanks to the addition of his glasses, Harry now confirmed he was in his own room at their new house. While he was wearing pyjamas and tucked under the covers, Hermione was fully clothed and lying on top so neither felt the need to jump apart as Sirius entered the room.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?"

"Like Dudley and his gang kicked the shit out of me. How long have I been here?"

"Once you stopped convulsing, the healer from St Mungo's administered a small dose of dreamless sleep potion. It's just after six in the evening. You feel up to talking about it?"

"No, but I need to. I only want to do it the once though so could we get everyone to gather here?"

Hermione was lying in his arms and could easily have stayed there for the rest of her life, her concern for Harry though made her speak out. "Don't you want to get up for a little while, maybe have a bite to eat?"