Dumbledore\'s Folly

Chapter 6: (Not Quite a) Life-Long Siesta

The three figures, still glamourised, Apparated to Knockturn Alley. The dark alley had fewer people in it than it had during Harry’s second year, and now there were only a couple of dozen people on the street.

The sound of someone else Apparating into the alley came just before the figure shouted, “THE DARK LORD HAS TRIUMPHED OVER POTTER!” before the alley gave a loud cheer of jubilation and the figure Disapparated.

The crowd was still cheering loudly when Harry and Co. walked into Morbid Fascination Books. The low chime of the bell above the door announced their presence. The three walked up to the counter where a hunched-over man stood.

“How may I—Help you, sir?” the man said, stopping his words mid-sentence, then continuing again. The man’s face was scrunched up, although there did not appear to be a reason for this.

“I want one copy of every book here.” Harry said simply, as if it was obvious why he strolled in the store on that day.

“One copy of e-every book, s-sir?” asked the hunched-man.

“Yes, one copy of every book. How much will you charge?” asked Harry sounding unconcerned about the amount of money it would cost.

Harry silently cast a Confundus Charm on the man, who suddenly desired nothing more than to give him a copy of every book, free of charge.

“I wouldn’t dream of asking you to pay!” said the man quickly, evidently his nervousness had been eradicated.

“If you insist.” Harry said, indifferently.

Ten minutes later, Harry, Ginny, and Bella each carried a crate filled to the brim with books. “I’ll just shrink these then, alright?” Harry asked before waving his hand, instantly shrinking the boxes to nothing larger than large marbles.

Putting them in the pockets of their robes, they Apparated to Hogsmeade in front of a handsome-looking shop called Dark Arts’ Bane Bookshop. Harry, Bella, and Ginny walked through the door and repeated their request to the now clearly bewildered clerk. After confounding the clerk and shrinking the books, they Apparated to the cellar of Honeydukes and began the trek back to the castle.

“How did you ever manage to find this tunnel, Harry?” asked Ginny.

He then jumped into an explanation of the Marauder’s Map and how he came to possess it. “How come Fred and George never gave it to me or Ron?” Ginny asked grumpily.

“They probably figured I needed it more than you or Ron. Besides, can you imagine the menace you would become if you knew the location of everyone in the school? You’d be insufferable!” Harry teased.

Ginny and Bella both laughed as they continued on along the underground tunnel leading into Hogwarts. Before long, they made it to the statue of the humpbacked witch and exited. Having cast his invisibility spell on them, Harry led them back down to Moaning Myrtle’s loo.

They quickly returned to the safety and sanctuary of the Chamber of Secrets and pondered the days’ events. Harry felt bad for causing the Weasley family so much pain, but unfortunately it was necessary.

Ginny, too, felt badly about causing her family the grief that she did. She did feel somewhat touched that they cared so much for her though. She had felt abandoned by her family ever since Dumbledore attempted to place the Memory Charm on her. She thought that if her family cared for her then they would have tried to prevent Dumbledore from performing the Charm.

Instead it had been Mad-Eye that helped her escape, that had come as a surprise. She did not expect Mad-Eye to help her, but he did. She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of Harry’s voice.

“I think it is about time we got to studying these books,” he motioned to the crates of books they had un-shrunk, “because it could take awhile to finish them all. I suggest you start with the left crate Ginny, you the right, Bella, and I’ll take the centre. We’ll rotate from left to right when we are finished, all right?” Harry suggested.

“Sounds alright to me.” Ginny said to Harry.

“Alright, but I want to have some fun later,” Bella said, seduction in her voice, “with both of you.”

Harry shivered in pleasure at the sound of her voice and could do little more than nod. Ginny however was slightly taken aback, as of yet, the girls had had no direct sexual contact. It had always been Harry who had pleasured them, and they him. It had not been the girls pleasuring each other as of yet.

She was excited by the prospect and she too nodded.

Later that night after they had finished having their ‘fun’, Harry looked at both girls and said to them, “I love you two.” It wasn’t said in lust or any such way, but in actual love. For most this would cause a problem, creating a love triangle, but the girls did not seem to have a problem with it and simply repeated Harry’s words to one another.

And so it went on for several months, they would study fervently during the day; then they would have their ‘fun’ at night. The books they read were increasing their knowledge of magic exponentially and their powers were reacting similarly.

They had no contact with the outside world and liked it that way. They did not feel they were ready to unveil themselves to the world just yet but decided that when they did, it would be with a fury.

Harry had began to subconsciously form a plan in his mind. One day he sat the girls down and began to tell them of his plan.

“Alright, for the past few months there have been a few ideas stewing in my head. Six months ago when we ‘died’ we extinguished much of the worlds’ hope that Voldemort could be defeated. I suggest we arise from the dead on the one year anniversary of our ‘deaths’. I think then would be an ideal time to re-appear. We should be powerful enough by then to not need to worry about Voldemort too much, and we will strike fear in him with our very presence. As long as we keep up the pretense of having returned from the dead, Voldemort will be terrified of us. He will not want to risk the wrath of supposed immortals. I don’t really know any specifics for our return, but I think we should return during the Welcoming Feast. That should send the message to Voldemort.” Harry relayed to them.

They agreed, and so it was decided that they would arise during the Welcoming Feast, roughly six months from that day.


*~*


Three or so months into their studies, Harry came across an extremely rare form of Apparation. The Apparator would burst into flame and appear at their location, much the same way Apparation worked. The trick was, however, that there had never been a ward that could block or detect Phoenix Fire Apparation.

It would be ideal if Harry and his companions could master this style of Apparation, as they would be able to Apparate through the Hogwarts ward while escaping detection. Harry had found this Apparation style in an ancient tome that they had gotten from Dark Arts’ Bane.

Only one of a pure soul and extreme power could travel by Phoenix Fire, something not even Dumbledore could accomplish. It took more than a month of training and countless hours of practise, but eventually Harry, Bellatrix, and Ginny were all able to manage Phoenix Fire Apparation.


*~*


It was not long after the three had mastered Phoenix Fire Apparation when Bellatrix brought up an idea that had been stewing in her head for quite some time.

Frustrated with her physical limitations in things such as dodging, Bella decided to brew a De-Aging Potion. It was a very complex potion, but luckily the ingredients necessary could all be found in Salazar Slytherin’s personal potions cabinet. The Potion required a month to simmer before adding the final ingredient (a hair belonging to someone of the age you wish to attain) and being ready for drinking.

Bellatrix plucked a hair from Harry’s head and popped it into the cauldron and the potion inside began to spark violently. After the potion had calmed down sufficiently for human consumption, Bella flasked it and drank a large mouthful.

Harry and Ginny watched in shock and awe as Bellatrix de-aged in front of their very eyes. It was very much like watching a film of a growing tree in reverse. Lines of aging on Bellatrix’s face disappeared, her facial features becoming more youthful. The haunted look in her eyes that Azkaban had produced reduced, although there still was a flicker of it in her eyes.

The potion, while not actually changing her age, reversed the physical effects that age had produced. Neither Dumbledore nor Voldemort had ever bothered to brew such a potion because their body’s had improved with age. Bella however, having incurred the wrath of Azkaban, was very negatively affected by age, indeed.

The first thing the new and improved Bellatrix Lestrange – Black, she had been reminding them to call her. She no longer considered herself married to Rodolphus, nor had she since the Death Eaters began her torture – was walk over to Harry, who’s mouth was slightly agape, and gave him a long, deep kiss.

She then turned toward Ginny and repeated what she had done to Harry, leaving both more slack-jawed and googly-eyed than they had been before she kissed them. She kissed with such youthful exuberance that both Harry and Ginny were taken aback.

*~*


“Alright, Ginny, we’ve held off teaching you these for long enough. There really isn’t much more we can teach you after this, so let’s get on with it.” Harry said to Ginny.

Today they, Harry and Bella, were going to teach Ginny the Imperius Curse, one of the three infamous Unforgivable Curses. Ginny was both excited and a little scared at this pronouncement. She had long since realised they were holding the Unforgivables back from her, probably because they didn’t think her ready to handle the psychological affects of having used the curses.

Four months had passed since they had decided to return to the world upon their Deathdays. They had studied rigorously, learning all that they could in the time they had allowed themselves.

Harry and Ginny both felt Hermione would murder to have access to as many books as the three of them did. They had converted one of the many rooms of the Chamber of Secrets into a rather extensively library, which was filled with transfigured stacks.

Harry had considered raiding the Hogwarts library to look for books they did not yet own, however chose against it, realising that it would be too dangerous to go prancing around the castle during the middle of the school-year.

Harry did, however, decide to make a jaunt to the Central Ministry Library in London to scrounge any books they did not own. This trip, they had decided, would happen in on the day of their return to the public eye.

“You are going to cast the Imperius Curse on this snake first –“ Harry conjured a snake, “—and then you will progress to more complicated to creatures until you begin to cast it on us.” Harry explained.

“Attack no one! Fight against the voice in your mind.” Harry said to the snake. The snake did not protest and so they began.

“Imperio!” Ginny shouted at the snake. Suddenly, she felt a sensation akin to Legilimency mind-link Harry had taught them. It took her a moment to realise she was supposed to ordering the snake.

“Chase your tail!” Ginny commanded to the snake mentally. Without hesitation the snake began to chase its’ tail in a circle.

“Bite your tail!” Ginny commanded, feeling more daring. Again, the snake did not hesitate to comply with her order. It bore its’ fangs and sank them into the tail it had been chasing.

“Allow yourself to die.” Ginny commanded once more. The snake continued to bite its’ tail until it ceased movement and succumbed to death.

“Wow, Gin. You’re frightening with that curse! You obviously have a gift for the Imperius! I’ll have to remember that.” Harry said.

“Well, ready to try it on me, then? I warn you, I have thrown off Tom’s Imperius, and I do not know if yours is as strong as his.” Harry said to her.

As it transpired, Ginny’s Imperius Curse was a good deal more powerful than Voldemort’s. It was intensely powerful and Harry had a very difficult time indeed throwing it off. He did, however, throw it off eventually.


*~*


By the end of the week it had become apparent that Ginny, while excellent at the Imperius Curse, had a Cruciatus Curse that was relatively weak by the threes’ standards. Her Killing Curse was as good as anyone’s, but her lack of proficiency at the Cruciatus bothered her greatly.

Bella, however, was, as always, a master of the Cruciatus. Her Crucio was more powerful than Harry’s and a good deal more powerful than Ginny’s, they had agreed that only Voldemort’s Cruciatus Curse was more effective than Bella’s.


*~*


The day of Harry’s scheduled jaunt to the Ministry Library came and it was decided by the three that only Harry would go. Harry, however, forbade the other two from practising dueling or any magic at all for the day, saying that they may very well need their strength upon their return that night.

Harry was very much aware that this would be a good opportunity for any Death Eaters that might be about to gain themselves the favour of the Dark Lord by capturing him. Harry wasn’t even remotely worried about the Death Eaters, nor should he be, but didn’t want to reveal that he was indeed alive.

Casting a Glamour Charm on himself to make him look like a red-haired man with hazel eyes, Harry prepared to leave. Harry had decided to cast a three-way mind-link between them, so that if need be, he could call them into action. They had agreed that Harry would only summon them if he found himself in a situation he could not easily handle. They did not want to reveal themselves to the Hogwarts wards unnecessarily.

Can you hear me, girls? Harry asked mentally.

I hear you, Harry— Ginny said in Harry’s head.

Yes— Bella’s voice in Harry’s head.

Excellent. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, come after me unless I call for you. It would be best if we were able to maintain that we are dead, I will only call you if I cannot get out of a situation, alright? Harry asked, before casting the invisibility spell on himself.

Both girls nodded in agreement and Harry set off toward the entrance to the Chamber.

Harry floated up the tube that led to Moaning Myrtle’s loo silently. Myrtle had not been in her lavatory all year, this was unnerving to Harry because in his experience, Myrtle rarely left unless it was to spy on some unsuspecting teenage boy in the Prefect’s Bathroom.

Harry had intentionally not performed Phoenix Fire Apparation to go to the Ministry Library, as he did not want it to become public knowledge that he could do it. It would make him (unknown, Glamourised Harry) a prime target for the Dark Lord, who would feel threatened.

Harry was walking along the corridor that would lead him to the secret tunnel into Hogsmeade, wherefrom he would Apparate (normally) to just outside the Ministry library. Harry walked along the secret passageway until he felt he was far enough from the Hogwarts wards to Apparate away.

Apparating to the large, imposing building of the Ministry Library, Harry walked up the steps and entered through the magnificent double-doors.

The interior was like that of a Gothic-era church. Like a great cathedral, the ceiling seemed to stretch on forever. Eventually, Harry registered that it couldn’t possibly stretch on forever and that was probably enchanted in much the same manner as the Hogwarts Great Hall ceiling.

Harry looked amongst the books for several hours, picking out several dozen that he did not already possess, and walked promptly out the door. He didn’t bother to confound the librarian, as he or she seemed busy in the back room.

Harry walked out the front doors of the library, Apparated back to the underground tunnel, and proceeded back to the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry went through the many corridors that would lead him to the Chamber and noted how quiet the school was without the hundreds of students swarming the halls and causing various states of hell for the teachers.

Harry continued along the corridors and entered Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. He walked over to the entrance to the Chamber, said the Parseltongue password, and slid down the slide that took one to the Chamber of Secrets.

He walked down the path and entered the main Chamber, and was the custom for whenever Harry returned from somewhere outside of the Chamber, the girls jumped on him. They dragged him to the bed where they promptly undressed him and, as they say, shagged him senseless.

Two hours later, after shagging in the shower and finally being able to clean himself (or rather they cleaned each other), they left the bathroom, sat in the large chairs in the centre room, and planned their grand entrance.

They spoke like teenagers (which, by age, they all were anyway) planning a great prank. They were discussing the look on ‘that old coot’s face’ when Harry’s scar did something it had not done for more than a year: it burned. It burned with such intensity that Harry immediately clapped his hand up to his forehead and yelled in pain.

“Harry? What is it, Harry?” Ginny and Bella were asking at the same time, identical frantic tones in their voices.

“Scar; Voldemort plans to attack somewhere tonight – Hogwarts!” Harry said. He hadn’t meant to say Hogwarts, but the moment the word escaped his lips, he knew that there was resolute truth behind it. Voldemort was going to attack Hogwarts tonight. And he intended to do it just after the Welcoming Feast.

“Tonight, after the Welcoming Feast, Voldemort is going to attack the castle head-on.” Harry said, short of breath. “He’s feeling invincible. With me dead he has free-reign. He’s bringing something in the area of one hundred Death Eaters with him. We need to appear during the Welcoming Feast. We have to warn the school.”

Harry said to them, the grimace of pain he previously wore was replaced by a solemn expression, “Prepare for a battle.”

9/12/05