On The Hunt

"You done?"

"Just a second… yeah, all done," Sirius smiled, tucking a bundle of parchment inside the locker. He locked it with his signet ring and watched in satisfaction as it flashed.

"I still find it hard to believe that you made me the heir to the Blacks, Padfoot," Harry remarked as they walked out of Sirius' office. Sirius chuckled.

"Well, get used to it, Prongslet. You're the heir to two of the biggest families there are. And frankly, I'd not have it any other way."

Harry chuckled.

"And you certainly didn't do it to say 'Fuck you' to your family's Pureblood ideals, am I right?"

Sirius guffawed, making a few people turn around to look at them. Harry shook his head.

"If that's what you believe, Harry," Sirius grinned.

"I can see why your mother hated your guts," Harry remarked with a laugh.

Sirius chuckled.

"That hag hated everything that was better than her. No big deal there," Sirius grinned before he caught sight of something that made him pause. "Toad at your 2 o'clock," he whispered.

Harry looked out of the corner of his eyes and saw the most horribly botched human transfiguration in history hobbling forward. Despite his considerably strong grasp on Occlumency, he could not hold back a grimace before he quickly schooled his expression into a more neutral one.

"Hem hem," a grating sound reached their ears, and they sighed internally as they paused in their stride to look at the abomination.

"Sorry ma'am, but we don't want whatever it is you're selling," Harry said sincerely, and Sirius bit his tongue to keep from snorting.

Umbridge's face twisted into something ugly for a second before a fake smile covered it up.

"I am not a salesperson, Mr. Potter. Let me introduce myself. I am Dolores Jane Umbridge, the senior undersecretary to the minister."

"Ah. You are the undersecretary," Harry remarked as if it was some huge revelation. "Tell me Ms Undersecretary, is Minister Fudge so intent on making an enemy out of the old houses, even more than he already has, that he's instructed his staff to forego proper etiquette?"

Umbridge blinked.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Potter. But I can assure you that Minister Fudge has the best interests of Wizarding Britain at heart, and that includes the ancient families that built it as well."

"I see," he nodded, before fixing the toad with an even look. "You know, Ms. Undersecretary, I would tell you to shove your assurances somewhere, but I doubt you could reach there. So, I will spell something out for you instead. Twice already, you have forgone proper etiquette when addressing the heir of one, let alone two ancient and noble houses, especially when the person in question is your superior. I would like you to tell me what to make of it. Should I assume it is on the instructions of the minister, or is it that you deliberately choose not to behave as etiquette dictates?"

Umbridge's eyes flashed and Harry smirked internally. He saw her open her mouth, obviously to vomit some more words wrapped inside a layer of sweetened poison, and interrupted her before she could get a syllable out.

"Forget it, Ms. Undersecretary. If you did not know, we have got some important tasks to do. If I were you, I would work on my etiquette so I did not offend someone who might not be so forgiving next time," his eyes flashed dangerously for a second and he smirked when he saw Umbridge flinch slightly.

With a nod and a smile, Harry started walking as Sirius followed in his wake, all the while trying with all he had to not laugh.

"And if someone asked me why that toad doesn't like you, I'd show them a memory of what you just did," Sirius laughed once they were inside the elevator. Harry leaned back against the wall and chuckled.

"I just poked some harmless fun. Being a pureblood ponce is nice sometimes," he smiled. Sirius shook his head with a chuckle as Harry grinned.

Still joking, they walked out of the elevator towards the atrium, intent on putting the unnecessarily tedious day behind them.

XXXXX

The sound of floo alerted Daphne Greengrass to her father's arrival, and she put her book down on the table before walking to greet him. She entered the foyer and saw her mother kiss her father before they turned to look at her.

"Ah Daphne, please call your sister. There is something I want to talk about," her father said. Daphne looked at him askance, and he nodded. With a smile, Daphne turned around and walked away.

Evelyn looked at her husband and remarked, "You're looking awfully chipper. Did something happen?"

Cyrus looked at her and grinned.

"It was glorious. That boy schooled the ministry and swatted down Lucius Malfoy like some bug. I had half a mind to kidnap him and make him my son, ha!"

Evelyn chuckled before she grabbed his hand and started walking towards the dining hall.

"Sounds like someone made quite an impression on you," she remarked. Cyrus nodded.

"I'm going to go ahead with what we talked about last night," Cyrus said suddenly, and Evelyn stilled.

"Cyrus… aren't you being hasty? I mean, I trust your judgement, but don't you think the climate is too volatile right now?" She asked her husband with a worried frown.

Cyrus sighed and took his wife in his arms.

"You know the three of you are the most important people in my life, and I'll do anything to protect you. There is no safety on the other side, and neutrality is not an answer either. You know we barely managed to survive last time."

Evelyn nodded slightly.

"I know we must choose a side, but do you really need to tie Daphne down like that? You always said you will never make the decision for them," she remarked. Cyrus sighed.

"This is the right thing to do, Eve. And don't worry, I'll not take away my daughter's chance at finding something special. I won't do anything without her consent."

Evelyn looked up at her husband, who nodded with a tender smile. She smiled back and stood on her tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his lips.

That was the scene the two sisters walked into, and immediately, Astoria butted in.

"Get a room, you two! Ugh!"

Cyrus chuckled before pecking her lips as Evelyn detached herself from her husband's embrace. They turned to see Daphne hissing into her sister's ear who was standing there looking bored.

"Come on girls, sit down. Your father has something he wants to talk about."

The two girls nodded and walked forward to take their seats. Once all of them had sat down and food had been served, Cyrus looked around the table and nodded at his wife.

"How did the trial go?" Daphne asked impatiently. Cyrus chuckled.

"Brilliantly, if that is what you want to call that farce. Honestly, I have never seen such a one-sided beatdown in all my years as a member of the Wizengamot," Cyrus remarked with a chuckle. Daphne's eyes widened. Cyrus looked at her and chuckled, "You can see my memory after we're done here."

Daphne nodded with a pleased smile.

"So, Potter won, then?" Astoria chimed in between her bites, and Cyrus nodded.

"There was no case to be honest. Fudge was simply trying to frame Potter somehow, who frankly did not take it lightly. As a result, the ministry is facing a countersuit which I believe Potter will win," Cyrus chuckled. Astoria grinned, "Serves the morons right!"

"Astoria!" Evelyn exclaimed, "Steady with the language, young lady!"

Astoria ducked her head and looked at her father through her eyelashes, grinning when he winked at her.

"And you," she turned to glare at her husband, "don't encourage her!"

He gave her an innocent look as Daphne looked on with a smile.

"So, what did you want to talk about, father?" Daphne interjected, chuckling when her father smiled at her with relief.

"I managed to talk to Lord Black today after the trial, and I have invited them to dinner tomorrow. So, if you have any plans, cancel them. I feel it is going to be an important meeting tomorrow night," he stated. Daphne exchanged a look with her mother, who smiled at her, before looking at her father and nodding.

"Aw, do I have to be present? What will I do among you grown-ups?" Astoria whined, before shutting up when her mother glared at her.

"Yes Tori, we are welcoming them into our home as a family, and as such, we all have to be present."

Astoria dejectedly nodded before going back to her food.

The rest of the dinner passed with nothing of note, and Cyrus looked at his youngest.

"Finish your dessert quickly, Tori, you have pending homework," he said, and Astoria looked at him and nodded.

"Daphne, join me in my office if you want to watch the memory," he told his eldest, smiling when she beamed at him and nodded. "I'll be joining you soon," he whispered to his wife before kissing her softly and walking away. Daphne smiled at her mother before following her father.

They entered his study and Daphne saw her father walk towards the cabinet which housed their family pensieve. He tapped his wand on the runes and she watched as they glowed before the pensieve materialized out of it.

Cyrus placed the pensieve on the table and beckoned his daughter forward. Daphne joined him at the table and he smiled before placing the tip of his wand against his temple. He pulled a thin silvery strand and deposited it inside the pensieve, before nodding at his daughter.

Daphne inserted her finger inside the bowl and she was immediately dropped inside the memory. Instantly, she recognized where she was. Her eyes took in various people gathered, and she saw that the courtroom was filled to the brim. She observed the minister and his cronies and sneered before her lips curled distastefully when she saw Lucius Malfoy.

"Here he comes," she heard her father whisper, and she turned around to see none other than Harry Potter walking in. She could not help but feel impressed at his confident gait as if he had no care in the world.

Over the hour that followed, Daphne could not remember how many times her mouth had fallen open as more and more revelations happened. She laughed and looked on with wide eyes when Potter dressed down Lucius Malfoy and the case that had been put up against him. She mentally applauded him when he threw the documents signifying his lawsuit against the ministry in front of the scribe, who looked at him with bewilderment.

Safe to say, Daphne Greengrass was more than impressed with Harry Potter, and she admitted to her father that much. Cyrus simply chuckled at the look on his daughter's face.

"I'm glad you think so," he remarked once they had come out of the memory and taken their seats at the table. "Tomorrow, they will be joining us, and I am going to formally extend our proposal for an alliance."

Daphne looked at her father with a smile.

"I'll support you in any way I can, father," she vowed. Cyrus looked at his eldest with pride.

"You really want this, don't you?"

Daphne looked at her father in surprise before she smiled.

"I just want us to go back to the way we were, not what we are now. Neutrality is for cowards. How can we stand on the sidelines and watch as innocents suffer? And didn't you say great-grandfather used to say something he had heard once?"

Cyrus looked at his daughter proudly.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Daphne smiled.

"Well, I'm no man, so I'll use woman instead," she chuckled, and Cyrus laughed.

"You know, sometimes I find myself shocked when I remember that you're a Slytherin, when in reality, you have so many traits of a Gryffindor," Cyrus admitted. Daphne grinned.

"Now father, just because I'm brave, that doesn't mean I'm not cunning or ambitious," she remarked.

"You know, daughter, you could try to be a little humbler," he chuckled. Daphne shrugged and grinned before standing up.

"I only said the truth. Goodnight, father," she smiled and walked out of the office.

Cyrus looked at his retreating daughter and smiled.

'It is indeed the right path. And I know it will bring you the most happiness, Daphne,' he thought, pulling out an official document and placing it on the table.

'With this alliance, we will finally join the right side in this war, to end it once and for all,' Cyrus whispered to himself, looking up at the sleeping visage of his grandfather above the fireplace.

XXXXX

The evening found Harry Potter sitting in his usual place beside Sirius at the table in the kitchen of #12 Grimmauld Place. They had made it back in time and were currently waiting for the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix to show up. The room was slowly filling up, with people slowly incoming, and Sirius had already expanded it. Looking around, Harry could see familiar faces around the table. His eyes fell on the chairs a little bit further away from him, where his former friends had been sitting a few minutes ago. Unlike the others, they hadn't congratulated him on his victory but had given him small smiles. Not seeing any loss in reciprocating, he had given them a small nod of understanding and that had been that.

If he was being honest with himself, he was not happy with how things had unfolded. And in some ways, he could understand where they were coming from. Everyone had their flaws, himself included, but something about what happened really hurt. Maybe it was the fact that he had come to trust them more than life itself, and the hurt from their betrayal had been amplified considerably when he considered everything that they had gone through during the previous four years. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to forgive them. However, that did not mean he had to go out of his way to be rude or distant. Cordiality would suffice.

The meeting was scheduled at seven, and right at the stroke of 6:58, a flash of fire appeared. A few people flinched or jerked back at the sudden movement. Looking none the wiser and sporting a calm smile on his face, Albus Dumbledore emerged out of the phoenix fire.

'Got to get one of those,' Harry thought, grinning internally.

Dumbledore looked around at the crowd assembled and smiled jovially before taking his seat at the opposite head of the table. Harry caught his eyes and he nodded.

"Good evening, everyone. I hope this is all?" Dumbledore looked around the table.

"Yes, Albus," Sirius nodded, and Dumbledore looked at him with a smile.

"Excellent, now we can begin after the unwelcome interruption from the previous day," he nodded. A few people looked at Harry with grins on their faces, undoubtedly having already heard what had transpired inside that courtroom and fully approving of his conduct. Harry allowed himself to feel a little bit of satisfaction at that.

"Before we begin this meeting, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Heir Potter-Black on his successful defence against the baseless murder charge, while pushing the ministry on the backfoot in one swift move. Well done, Harry," Dumbledore remarked. A chorus of applause rang around the room, people smiling and grinning. Harry looked around and nodded before Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Now that we are done, let us begin this meeting in the earnest. As I stated yesterday, we have a new member in our ranks. Although he has not taken his OWLs yet, which I am sure you know is the minimum criteria we had set for admission into our little group, I have deemed it prudent to make an exception in his case after taking into account his prior experiences with Voldemort."

A few people flinched but nothing else of note happened. He met Tonks' eyes, who winked at him before he looked ahead.

"If anyone has any concerns regarding this decision of mine, I welcome you to speak," Dumbledore invited.

A few people looked around, but no one spoke anything. Dumbledore took note of this and nodded.

"Alright, now that we're done with that little formality- "

A sharp banging caused Dumbledore to pause, and he looked to the side where Alastor Moody was standing, leaning against the wall. The wizened auror had his eyes trained on the young wizard, who looked at him evenly. Everyone else took note of the same, and they turned to look at what was unfolding.

"Albus has told me all about your exploits over the years, and I would have found some of them very hard to believe, lad, if he hadn't shown me your memories. I admit to have my reservations regarding your membership, and while I still do, I will agree to it. Merlin knows we need capable wands around here," he muttered, looking at the group of witches and wizards assembled. Harry nodded.

"Meet me in the duelling room after the meeting, Mad-eye. We can have a spar if you wish," Harry remarked. Moody grinned, his gnarly face twisting.

"Glad to see someone who doesn't need things spelled out and can read between the lines. You'll do, Potter."

Dumbledore looked on with a smile as Alastor leaned back against the wall and nodded at him. With a chuckle, he turned back to look at the assembled group of people at large.

"Now that we've finally got it all out of the way, let us begin this meeting in the earnest," he intoned.

"Headmaster," Mr Weasley began slowly, and Dumbledore turned to look at him, "there was something I heard a few people talking about today at the ministry. About some letter from the ICW."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"I was going to inform everyone about that after the meeting, but now that you have brought it up, I might as well get it out of the way," he smiled.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore smiled.

"Cornelius had sent an official application to the International Confederation of Wizards when he had me removed from the post of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. He wanted them to remove me from my position of Supreme Mugwump. Alas, there are many who have disagreed with my opinions over the years, and they were all too eager to get rid of me. I got the official letter today after the trial concluded."

A few eyes widened at the information while the others took on a grimmer look.

"But they can't just remove you like that!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, and Harry looked at her before looking back at Dumbledore who was sitting at the table with a serene smile on his face.

"Believe me when I say that I am not bothered. I have my place as the headmaster of Hogwarts, something the ministry cannot do anything about."

Harry nodded. The position of power at Hogwarts was decided by the charter postulated by the founders and magically binding on the school itself. No one from the outside could dictate the happenings and only the current headmaster could choose his successor.

"These political positions, while beneficial to some extent, do not define someone's power," Dumbledore remarked in a lecturer's tone, and everyone paid attention, "after all, these are nothing but fancy titles which mean nothing without your abilities. Cornelius can do all he wants, but he cannot take from me what makes me myself. The same holds true for any of you. No matter how much you are stomped on or have your voices curbed, nothing will take away the traits which make you such capable witches and wizards, and above that, remarkably brave people."

Despite himself, Harry smiled at hearing that. Dumbledore really had this remarkable skill of influencing others without even meaning to. People around the table looked down before nodding in understanding.

"And it is not as if this is to our detriment. After all, I do not have to do any paperwork and can focus on more important things with all the time I am going to have," Dumbledore smiled, looking meaningfully over at Harry who nodded with a smile. He was looking forward to learning from a wizard as exceptional as Dumbledore.

"Now, does anyone have any information they have gathered that they wish to share?"

"I asked Tonks to dig into ministry archives for any evidence of someone from the ministry sanctioning the order for Dementors to be sent to Little Whinging. Unfortunately, there is nothing she could find," Kingsley intoned. Tonks' hair turned brown as she nodded.

"There is no documented evidence that supports the ministry's hand in what happened yesterday. I scanned the files from top to bottom, but there is nothing."

"But we know who it was," Kingsley remarked, looking over at Moody and nodding. The auror grunted.

"That toad will get hers one day, that I can tell you," Moody snarled.

"Yes, but without concrete evidence, convicting her will be impossible," Mr Weasley muttered.

"We will see what we can do about her when the time comes, Mr. Weasley. She is nothing but a cruel, vindictive woman with delusions of grandeur. Not someone to fear, just to be slightly wary of. And all her power comes from Fudge. Once he is gone, she's done for," Harry remarked.

"Precisely," Dumbledore nodded. "For the moment, she is not someone worth deliberating over. We have more pressing matters to attend to, namely, the movements Voldemort is making in the shadows," Dumbledore's voice took a slightly grave tone.

"I received an owl from Hagrid. They have almost reached the giant habitats, but they saw some envoys of Voldemort en route as well. He has said that he would try his best, but Voldemort sending people so soon to the giants is a cause of concern."

Harry's eyes widened slightly.

"Giants," Moody said distastefully, flexing his fingers, "nasty buggers. It's a pain taking one down. Merlin knows how much destruction an army will cause in that dark tosser's hands."

"All we can hope for is that Hagrid and Madame Maxime emerge successful in their endeavour and manage to convince them to stay neutral at the very least."

"I wouldn't bank too much on that, Albus," Moody muttered, "giants revel in destruction. If Voldemort promises them uninhibited access, no number of pretty promises will sway them to stay neutral."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Still, we must try, no matter how small the probability is. Same with the werewolves."

Moody grunted but did not say anything.

"Is there any progress on the recruitment front?" Dumbledore asked.

"Amos Diggory has shown interest in joining. His son Cedric graduated this year and has joined Gringotts as a curse breaker." Mr Weasley said with a smile.

"With your son, I'm sure he will make a useful addition," Dumbledore nodded.

"I'll talk with him tomorrow."

Sirius took a moment to deliberate before deciding to simply go ahead.

"What is up with Greengrass, Albus?"

At the other end of the table, Augusta Longbottom perked up at the name.

"Greengrass?"

Every eye turned to look at the intimidating old woman, who was looking intently at Sirius. The old marauder nodded.

"As many of you are aware, Greengrass was a surprising but welcome voice of support during the trial today. Afterwards, he came to meet us in my office. To get to the crux of the matter, he has invited me and Harry to dinner tomorrow evening."

A gleam entered Augusta Longbottom's eyes and she looked at Dumbledore, who was smiling knowingly.

"What is it?" Harry asked. Augusta turned to look at him and grinned.

"Go to that dinner. If I am right, you'll not be returning empty-handed. And Black, I would suggest keeping an open mind when meeting the man. If he has a proposal like I suspect he might, deliberate upon it." she chuckled, before pausing, "Or… meet me when this meeting ends. I have something I want to talk to you about."

Sirius looked at her for a moment, before he nodded.

"Alright."

Harry looked at Sirius, before fixing his gaze on the headmaster.

"You want us to invite him to join the order?"

Dumbledore smiled.

"I don't think you'll need to, if his actions so far are indicative of anything. I am very sure that he wants to join the war against Voldemort."

"But why now?" Mr Weasley interjected with a frown, "If I recall correctly, the Greengrasses sat on the fence in the previous war, never supporting any side, and they rode on that stance for years. Even after the fall of He-who-must-not-be-named, they never showed any indication of supporting any side in political or civil matters."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Who knows? A lack of incentive maybe? Or maybe a lack of choice? It is often not easy to discern the motivations of a pureblood family, particularly one belonging to the Neutral faction," Dumbledore remarked mysteriously, and Harry looked at him. The old man knew far more than he was letting on, that was something he was certain of. He looked at Sirius and nodded. Whatever the game of Greengrass was, it would be revealed shortly anyway.

All they had to do was wait for a few more hours to find out what his intentions were.

XXXXX

To be continued…

XXXXX

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