The Midnight Bloodline

Dumbledore could be found angrily pacing from one end of the office to the other, this could not be happening, all of his plans were crashing down around his ears. Everything had been running relatively smoothly, Harry was suffering at the Dursleys, Sirius was going mad in Grimmauld and soon he would have rescued the boy and earned even more of his trust. Now the boy was in an unknown location where he couldn’t get to him, Sirius is free to go wherever he pleases, and he was being portrayed as a senile old man. There was also the unexpected news about Harry’s three mates, he had known the boy was powerful, but three mates was simply unheard of, and they were all going to be placed at the school to ‘evaluate’ him!
He could only hope that they had not fully bonded yet, if they had even more of his plans would go up in smoke. He had been subtly trying to set the boy up with the Weasley chit since before he had even arrived. Mrs. Weasley had been more then happy to help, it was a wonder that no one noticed that a full grown witch had asked about platform nine and three quarters in a station full of muggles, she had played her part perfectly, not only allowing Harry to first lay eyes on Ginny, but also to gain his trust as a kind witch. Molly had a very controlling personality that fit perfectly into his plans, it was her way or the highway as the saying goes, it was why she was so harsh with the twins, they simply rebelled against any sort of authority. The money had really been unnecessary, she was more then happy to have her son as the boy-who-lived’s best friend and her daughter as his future bride, she hadn’t even touched the money, which kept Arthur from noticing that anything was amiss, that man would have immediately blown the whistle, he was a stickler for his view of right and wrong even if he was under his wife’s thumb most of the time.
Ronald was mostly kept in the dark about most of the plans, his temper made him horrible at keeping even the most simple of secrets, though he was far from innocent. His main job was to make sure that Harry made no other friends that Dumbledore did not approve of and also to make sure that he did not excel in his schoolwork, couldn’t have a smart puppet after all. Those were things that Ronald was very capable at and he was more then happy to do so for the chance to gain the famous Harry Potter as a friend. He had only needed to step in a couple of times when the boy’s temper had almost ruined the ‘friendship’. The boy knew nothing about the money, as he probably would have wanted to spend it on pathetic things like brooms and chocolate, Dumbledore never did like the stuff, lemon drops were the only candy for him.
Hermione had been more of an afterthought then anything else. She was ambitious to an unbelievable degree; it had been remarkably easy to turn her against the very boy who had just saved her life. She had plans of becoming powerful upon completion of her education and he provided what she would need, fame and money. All she had to do was help keep Harry in the dark and uneducated, and she did her job exceedingly well, making sure that he only learned the things that would help him in his eventual task of defeating Voldemort. She also made an excellent deterrent from Harry making any other friends with her intensely possessive personality. She had been one of his most profitable afterthoughts, the perfect little intelligent puppet that played to his tune without really noticing, her only real intelligence came from a book.
Ginny was much more devious about things. She knew exactly what she wanted, and she wanted to be the wife of the famous hero, she didn’t care about the boy, only the hero. Her very first year cemented her obsession, Harry saved her from the ballisk and her mind was set, she would be his wife. She was responsible for making sure that no one approached Harry for a relationship and had had to put several rather persistent males and females in the hospital wing where they were healed and obliviated by himself, as Poppy refused to do anything of the sort. This was to be the year that she was to present herself as the only person to see him for him and gain his attention, now the boy had three mates, all male. If they were not bonded there was still hope that Ginny would be able to snatch him away, he doubted the boy would have allowed the bonding, the abuse that he had encouraged would have made him very adverse to touch, so perhaps these events could be remedied. He calmed down at the thought and sat in his rather comfy bright purple chair and contemplated how best to remove Harry from those men and place him with his choice.
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Fawkes glared at the back of the old coot’s head with hatred, if only he was not bound to him he would peck his eyes out and then shit in the empty sockets! He had had no idea the evil the man possessed until it was to late, he had always been bound to the Headmasters of Hogwarts. He had been the last Headmaster’s familiar as well, but switched to Dumbledore after it was decided that the man was to gain the position. He had been forced to watch with horror as Dumbledore abused his position to make himself the most powerful man in England and now he was clutching at even more fame, the man disgusted him to his very core. Even the ghosts couldn’t stand the man. Hopefully Harry would put Dumbledore in his place, six feet under; and he would be free to bond to the next Headmaster, though he doubted that he would be pleased to receive the honor.
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Minerva could feel the tears pouring down her face and she couldn’t find the strength to wipe them away. She had known that there was something very wrong with the Dursleys and she had tried to convince Albus that there had to be another option, but he had promised her that they were the only people that he had left. She knew that she was partially responsible, she had noticed the signs of an abused child but she had deluded herself into thinking that Albus would have never placed him into such a household. There was no way that she would ever be able to make in up to Harry nor would she be able to face Lily and James in the afterlife, she was unworthy. She swore to herself in that moment that she would do everything in her power to help Harry in anything that he would do. She would never be free of her guilt but she would spend the rest of her days trying.
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Hermione was staring at the article in shock, this couldn’t be happening! She had become friends with Harry because his fame would allow her to become anything she wanted to be once she exited Hogwarts. She started taking money from Dumbledore shortly after she managed to become friends with Harry, her job was simple, she was to make sure that he remained ignorant of his position and remained in the middle of the class rankings. It hadn’t been hard to do, he seemed to follow along without too much trouble, although every once in a while she would catch a look in his eyes that sent chills down her spine and made her doubt his complacency. This article could have ruined everything that she had worked so very hard for. Hopefully she would be able to convince Harry that she had no idea that Dumbledore had created an account under her name and that she would never have betrayed him like that. Yes, she would just have to play the clueless little bookworm and appeal to Harry’s forgiving nature, he would surely forgive her, right?
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Goldridge allowed a feral grin to spread across his face; it served that manipulative old excuse for a wizard right. They had thought that they had stopped him the first time from stealing money from Harry, they were unaware of his other accounts and for that the whole goblin nation felt a large hit to their pride. Dumbledore had drained very little from the Potter vaults in comparison to what he had taken from the others, not only the Aeroius accounts but also from the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw accounts as well. The total amount taken in both money and artifacts was staggering; he had even taken Gryffindor’s sword from the vault in Harry’s second year of schooling. He had taken great pleasure in not only reclaiming every last Knut and artifact but also in heavily fining Dumbledore’s accounts and putting all the fines directly into Harry’s vaults, the next time that thing received his bank statement he would be in for quite the surprise. The laugh that followed rang throughout the halls of Gringotts and terrified all of the humans in the building as it brought a smile to every goblin’s face.
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The vampire known as Salarius found himself laughing for the first time in centuries. It looked like the Wizarding World was about to get very interesting, with his favorite little being at the center. He had known that that boy would do amazing things, and it looked as if his intuition was right as usual. He would have to prepare his coven to help the little one at a moments notice as well as informing the other coven masters, he was the one tasked with keeping an eye on Harry through the news. They would all be ready to show the wizards why one did not mess with the masters of the night, it was time that they remembered their place in this world.
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Hadrian rolled on the ground while laughing for a good hour before he was able to calm down enough to finish the article. He knew that Harry was beginning to make his move in this little wizard war and that soon it would be time for the werewolves to stand tall and he could hardly wait. He knew that most of the other packs would feel the same, with the exception of Fenir. All he cared about was feeding his bloodlust and protecting his pack, if Harry’s side looked like the best for him to meet those ends then he would join up readily, otherwise he would stay with Voldemort, where he could cause as much havoc as he wanted.
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Fleur’s mother Fiona read the Prophet with a calculating look about her fine features. Dumbledore had harmed the young man that had saved her Gabrielle, the one who had been so very polite even knowing that they were Veela. He had even been able to ignore their allure, even Fiona’s husband Demitri was not completely immune and he was surrounded by them everyday. She would watch this very closely, she owed the young man a life debt as did her youngest daughter and she would pay it back if it was the last thing that she did even though she knew that Harry would never demand it of her. She would have helped him regardless, he was quite the rare young man, it was too bad that he had found his mates, he would have made an excellent son-in-law, oh well, can’t have everything.
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Molly read the Daily Prophet with shaking hands, how could everything have fallen apart so quickly? The article made her out to be a member of a family that was taking money to harm Harry and that wasn’t true. She didn’t want the money, she just wanted her family to be powerful, and she wanted only the very best future for her children. Bill and Charlie were in highly respected fields, even if she did not approve of their dangerous jobs. Percy turned out wonderfully, so young and already the Minister’s aide, he was her pride and joy, he would be a great man one day, and the name Weasley would be respected. Fred and George were at best black spots, they constantly rebelled and disobey her, always playing pranks on everyone, they never thought about how people saw them. Ronald was not the most intelligent or talented but through Harry he would have the chance to become anything that he wanted to be, he gained power and respect just for being Harry’s best friend, the boy’s fame made almost anything possible.
Ginny was her life’s work though, the only girl to be born into the Weasley family in generations. She had started early, making sure that her daughter had become enamored with the idea of being the wife of the Savior, making sure to plant the idea in her head early, letting it grow until it was her goal in life. She spent copious amounts of time teaching Ginny all of the things that she would need to know to ensnare Harry and also the things she would need to do to make sure that she kept Harry happy so he never even thought about divorcing her as the scandal would tarnish their name for generations. She taught her everything from cooking and sewing to how to please a man in bed. The lesson was given with one of the boys that Ginny had lured home from Hogwarts, a Michel or something. She had felt no remorse for putting the boy under imperious, if it helped her Ginny become Mrs. Potter then it was worth it.
She would have to fix this mess, perhaps she could have Arthur make a statement about them not knowing about the money. He had had no idea about any of it, the man would have thrown a fit, so they could use whatever means they wanted to test his words and they would find only truth. She would also need to take care of those ’mates’; she had spent too much time on Ginny to let it all go to waste now. If they were not bonded it would be a simple matter of having Ginny sleep with him to bind him to her with a simple binding spell. If they had bonded she would have to find some way to ’remove’ his mates from the picture, either way they would not interfere with her plans, her children were going to be powerful no matter what she had to do to make that happen.
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Arthur knew there was something wrong, an abnormal amount of people were passing by his desk and glared at him as they passed. He had never been a popular man at the Ministry; he never spoke out and took a position that everyone thought was useless. He thought that muggles were fascinating creatures, they seemed to do remarkably well without magic, though he was convinced that they were lower then wizards in the scheme of things, they didn’t have magic after all. He was convinced that there was something wrong when Percy, his own son, walked up to his desk with a hard look on his face and told him in a voice that held no emotion that he was to immediately report to the Minister’s office and that he was there to make absolutely sure that he went directly there. He tried to get Percy to tell him what was going on but his son refused to even look at him, let alone speak to him. They made it to the Minister’s office in record time, he entered the office alone with a sense of trepidation, he hadn’t been in the Minister’s office since he accepted the position he was now in, and it had been years.
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Cornelius watched Arthur enter the room with a calculating stare; if the man had any idea at all about what Dumbledore had done he would crucify him himself. He had had one of the Unspeakables place a three hour truth ward on his office so he could question Arthur as well as some of his more Dumbledore fanatic Aurors, Kingsley and Tonks had been cleared while Moody had been found to be under a compulsion charm that once removed had caused one hell of a fit from the man. Several of the lower Aurors had been found guilty of helping Dumbledore with his schemes and been summarily dismissed and placed under house arrest until a more suitable punishment was found.
He motioned for Arthur to have a seat as Percy closed the door. As soon as he sat down Cornelius cleared his throat to make sure that he had his full attention. “Have you read the Daily Prophet this morning?”
He watched the confused expression cross Arthur’s face slowly before he answered. “No sir, I normally leave home before the paper arrives, I read it when I get home before dinner. Was there something important in today’s issue?”
Cornelius leaned back in his chair as he looked Arthur over, he looked like a bumpkin. “Yesterday I received a rather disturbing letter from our own Mr. Harry Potter.” He watched as Arthur’s eyes widened. “It seems as if Dumbledore has kept many things hidden under those obnoxious hats he wears. Harry’s mother was not a muggleborn, but the last remaining heir of the Aeroius family. Which means that the muggles that he was placed with had no claim to him, does it not? Dumbledore also kept the Potter’s will from being read, he let an innocent man be put into Azkaban without a trial, and he even stole money from the young man and deposited it into several accounts which includes your own account, do you have anything to say about that Mr. Weasley?”
Arthur’s face paled to an almost unnatural shade. “Of course not, that boy is like a member of the family, we would never take money from him. There has to be some mistake, we have never received any money from Dumbledore, we do just fine on what I bring home. Molly and the kids would tell you the same thing if you asked. As far as I know Dumbledore placed that money there knowing we wouldn’t even notice to have someone to use as a scapegoat, but we had nothing to do with any of it and I will not allow my family to be dragged through the ringer because of false accusations!”
Cornelius watched the normally quiet man raged. “That is more then enough Arthur, you know that it is policy to question everyone involved in a scandal like this. The room was warded so that only the truth could be told within; you just cleared your family, for now. Just be aware that the rest of your family will be watched and if any of them shows that they were out to harm Mr. Potter in any way, they will be taken in for all charges related to this incident. It says nothing about whether the Ministry trusts you or not, but we cannot let such a heinous act against someone like him go unpunished, surely you understand that?”
Arthur felt his face heat up, what in Merlin’s name was he doing, he just yelled at the Minister. “I understand and I apologize for my outburst, I lost control of my emotions, it won’t happen again.”
Cornelius told Arthur that he was free to go and watched as the nervous man almost stumbled out of the office. That man was pathetic, his wife ruled his entire life, it was her that he would have to watch, and unfortunately he couldn’t call her in until she showed her hand. He had no doubt that she would, she always stuck him as the obsessive sort, she probably thought that her plans were all for her children’s and Harry’s own good and wouldn’t give up until they bore fruit. He would wait and watch, playing the part of the clueless Minister trying to cover his own hide and when she showed her hand he would be there to bury her so far down that she would never find her way back up. He hated women who thought that they were always right and the men in their lives were always in the wrong, his mother had been the same way, she had forced him into politics without even asking what he wanted to do. She had died alone in her pretty mansion that he bought her when he became Minister, surrounded by all her baubles and possessions; he hadn’t even attended her funeral.
He shook himself as he penned a letter to the once infamous Sirius Black, he didn’t think that it would be a good idea to simply hand Harry over, but he was sure that the young man would love to have him come by for a visit or two before the new school year began.
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Remus had been taking a short stop over at Grimmauld with Sirius when the Prophet arrived that morning, Sirius had never really liked the newspaper but they had nothing else to do so they curled up in the newly cleaned out living room and Remus read the paper while Sirius sat at his feet and listened while he stared in the fire. They were both stunned when they read the article on the front page, they both raged when they read about Dumbledore’s manipulations and they celebrated when they got to Sirius’ new found freedom. When they got to the part with Harry’s mates, well they would deny it to their dying day, but Sirius managed to let out a very ‘manly’ girlish squeak and fainted while Remus managed to last a couple of minutes as he stared into space before he landed on the floor right next to Sirius.
They awoke several hours later to find a missive from Fudge himself that invited Sirius and a friend *cough* Remus *cough* to his home to visit with Harry and his mates that weekend.
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