Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks Chapter 3: Two, a harry potter fanfic

Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks PG-13
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson

Summary: The amazing redemptionman Fumblebore has done it again, recruited yet another dubious person to the Light and inducted them into the Order of the Phoenix. But Narcissa Malfoy is not a woman to be taken lightly and doesn't suffer fools easily. She has plans of her own, plans that could prove disasterous for the Order... And Harry Potter, Champion of the Light...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.
If the layout looks screwy or symbols seems to be missing, you're probably reading the quickedit-mangled version of this fic on ff dot net, if it grates on your nerves too much, read it on hawksgalaxy dot com or something. ... Whenever I get around to uploading it there. :)

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger/E-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers
/thoughts/
/telepathy/
translation
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

Merry XXX-mas!

This was released as one part of my smutty XXX-mas 2006 event, when I made a bunch of shit available at The Fanfiction Forum, ff dot net and fan-fics-r-us. Not all of it was smut, but most of it was at the very least naughty. What and where shit was released, is found here below:

FMP - Unbecoming Conduct Chapter 1 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )
HnG - The Scoundrel of Go Chapter 4 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )
HP - Black Heir Chapter 2 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )
HP - Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks Chapter 2 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )
HP - Nymph in servitude Chapter 4 ( TFF, PP3+HaT Yahoo Groups, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )
C Naruto - Master Nin Chapter 4 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )
Naruto - Master Nin Chapter 5 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )
NGE - A Night with Misato ( fan-fics-r-us for XXX-mas, it had already been available on TFF for quite some time. )
NGE - A Morning with Misato ( TFF for XXX-mas, fan-fics-r-us sometime after XXX-mas. )
Ranma ½ - Urd Muyo Chapter 1 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )
Vandread - Robinson Tokai Chapter 6 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )

And a naughty new year!

Previously, on 'Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks'

"Severus assures me that he is on our side." Dumbledore argued mildly.

"Merlins Beard and Morganas Toenails! For crying out loud, people!" Narcissa sighed and shook her head in disgust, then fell silent, closed her eyes and everybody could see her counting to ten under her breath. When she was finished, she seemed to have gotten over the shock of nearly being killed and was quite a bit calmer. "Put him on Veritaserum before taking such utter ridiculous statements as irrefutable facts." she strongly suggested. "No wonder that the Dark Lord doesn't take the Order as a serious threat. All he's concerned about is Potter this or Potter that, occasionally Dumbledore that. Now I see why! Potter's the only one of you who has his head put on straight and actually does something useful." she venomously added.

"While on the topic of Veritaserum and ensuring the claims of suspicious people..." Mad-Eye hinted.

"Write down a list of what you want to ask me first and give me your word that only those questions will be asked and I'll gladly take the serum." Narcissa replied without hesitation.

"Constant vigilance..." Mad-Eye muttered approvingly, then turned his attention to Snape. "All right, Albus. We've taken your word for Snape's loyalty for long enough and now we've all seen just how bad a decision that was. It's time to put him under and see if what he claims holds any water under Veritaserum." he said and rubbed his hands together as he looked at the unconscious Potions Professor, the other people around the table unconsciously leaning away from the former Auror after seeing the terrifying expression on his face and the dangerous gleam in his eyes...

Roll credits

Chapter Two:

"So, awake are we?" a gruff voice inquired and Severus Snape opened his eyes, a move that he instantly regretted.

He had seen a lot, done a lot, over the years. Both as he first became a Death Eater, before that and after that. He had stared death in the eye more times then he'd cared to keep track of. He'd unearthed decaying bodies to harvest potion ingredients. He had dissected the nastiest creatures imaginable. He'd been exposed to more Dark Magic then most people even knew existed. He'd stood face-to-face with Lord Voldemort at the height of his power. He'd killed in cold blood, he had tortured innocents and he had once assisted in giving birth to a baby as a proper Healer had failed to arrive on time.

But nothing had quite prepared him for waking up to Mad-Eye Moody's grinning face just inches away from his own.

Though nobody else in the room mentioned anything out loud, they had to admit to themselves that they were impressed that Snape hadn't screamed like a girl when he opened his eyes. He'd merely let out a muted gasp before calming down again.

Mad-Eye seemed oddly disappointed at the lack of reaction and pulled back to a reasonable distance, hobbling backwards on his fake leg until he was leaning against the table. Snape's eyes hastily darted across the room and analyzed the situation.

He was seated on a high-backed chair about two meters away from the table. Everything below his neck was petrified. His wands were missing and the entire Order of the Phoenix was staring at him. He worked his tongue around in his mouth for a few moments and suppressed the urge to snarl as he recognized the faint aftertaste of Veritaserum.

/Interrogation then.../ he reasoned and mentally cursed himself for overreacting like he had. Sure, the presence of Narcissa Malfoy amongst the Order of the Phoenix could be potentially disastrous for him, considering what the woman knew. But if he'd only acted calmly and behaved as usual, he could have found out what she was after and just how bad it was for him that she was there.

But no, he had to overreact just like the bumbling reckless child he occasionally accused Draco of being.

And to cast an Unforgivable to boot! Any curse would have been bad, of course. But the Killing Curse?

/Yes, great work there, Severus.../ he mentally berated himself.

"Yes, I'm awake." was all he said out loud, however.

"What was your favourite toy as a child?" Mad-Eye suddenly asked and Severus felt the familiar stirrings in the back of his head as he tried to suppress or lie, only to have the potion overrule his conscious mind. /Masterful brew, probably one of mine./ he absently thought. If it had been brewed by a lesser man, perhaps he could have fought against and at least kept silent, even if it probably would have been impossible to outright lie.

"It changed from time to time, but the first I can remember was a model dragon that could breathe fire. Though I was told that the very first was a blue blanket which I never departed the crib without." he replied and mentally groaned as he saw people suppressing snickers and chuckles at his expense.

"I'd say the potion is working, all right." Mad-Eye approved with a wry grin. "So, professor. Why did you try to kill Mrs Malfoy?" he instantly demanded to know.

"I panicked when I saw her and overreacted." Severus replied after yet another useless attempt to keep that particular answer unvoiced.

"Why did you panic?" Alastor asked.

"She knows too much." Severus answered honestly.

"What does she know that you wanted to prevent her from telling us?" was the instant counter.

"She knows that I've been withholding information, that I've been on Death Eater raids I didn't actually have to participate in and that I never even tried to teach the Potter brat Occlumency." Severus replied, which caused Dumbledore to gasp in horrified shock.

"Okay. Let's begin with the information. What sort of information have you been withholding?" Moody asked.

"Some of the plans and movements of the Dark Lords Death Eaters, mainly. But also some of the plans the Dark Lord hasn't seen fit to keep secret. For instance, I knew very well that he was using his mental connection to Potter in order to arrange for the Ministry of Magic incident. In fact, I was helping that one along by raping the little pests mind, deepening his connection to the Dark Lord instead of blocking it off." Severus revealed, accompanied by another gasp from Dumbledore and an additional trio from Molly, Arthur and Tonks.

"What about the raids?" Alastor inquired.

"I've participated in more of them then I've told Dumbledore about. Some of them I knew of well ahead of time." Severus answered after a brief pause, though he still found himself unable to keep silent. /I really outdid myself with this particular brew.../ he thought absently.

"You mentioned raping Potters mind. I'm assuming this is what you did in lieu of teaching him Occlumency?" Moody demanded to know.

"Indeed." Severus replied.

"Why?"

"Because the Dark Lord knew that I had been assigned to teach him. If I'd actually gone ahead and done it, he would have assumed that I was betraying him." was the simple response. "That and the fact that I hate Potter with every fibre of my being. If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have slit his throat and harvested his remains for potion ingredients during his first Potions class." he added, causing a round of gasps from around the table and Dumbledore's expression to shift to a curious blend between outrage, disappointment and shock.

"Who's side are you really on, Severus?" Moody asked. "Voldemorts or ours?"

"Neither. I'm looking out for number one, namely myself." Severus replied. "I'm letting the Dark Lord know about enough of the Orders activities to remain in his good graces and I'm letting Dumbledore know enough about the Dark Lords activities to remain in his good graces."

"What are your plans then? You can't have been planning to go on like this forever, I assume?" Alastor inquired.

"I've always put my support more on the side that appeared to be winning at the time, then the other. At times, I've been more helpful to the Dark Lord then the Order. Other times, it's the other way around." Severus explained. "The moment one side appeared to have the victory firmly in hand, I would have supported it entirely, completely abandoning the other. Either way, I would have been on the winning side, whichever one that would have been."

"At the moment, you've mainly supported Voldemort, I assume?" Moody asked for clarification.

"Yes. Ever since he regained his body, he's had the upper hand. Even more so now." Severus replied.

"Why is that?" Moody instantly asked.

"He's well on his way to uniting the vampire clans under his banner. The werewolves are still debating the issue, but they're itching to throw off the last century's worth of Wizarding oppression and while many of them distrust the Dark Lord's goals and intentions towards them, they're even more distrustful of the oppressive Ministry of Magic. The giants are already mustering their forces, preparing to join the fight on the Dark Lords side. Just last week, he also made contact with the Summoners of Gar'taith, who've expressed willingness and even a certain eagerness to negotiate terms for their support." Severus replied. "Before long, he will be ready to make his move and at that time, precious few will want to stand in his way."

"The Summoners of what?" Hestia Jones suddenly spoke up with a confused expression.

"Yeah, who are they? I've never heard about them before." Tonks interjected.

"I'm not surprised. They're an obscure cult of demonologists." Moody replied with a grunt. "I doubt that there's more then five or six of them in the country, if that. Isn't that right, Severus?"

"That was correct up until last week." Snape countered. "Their practises have been severely hampered by several Ministry decrees and laws over the last five decades. While they don't exactly support the Dark Lords other goals, they have just as large an interest in seeing the Ministry fall as the Dark Lord and are willing to offer their support, if only temporarily and probably only in cases where their assistance would prove detrimental to the Ministry of Magic. Many of them have left for more open-minded countries over the years, but a small group still remains in a secret community in Cornwall and many more are prepared to return home to fight for their cause."

"What sort of threat do they pose, though? There hasn't been a truly successful Summoning since the reign of Grindewald." Alastor commented.

"Not within British borders, no." Severus agreed. "To Summon anything but minor Imps, Incubi and Succubi would require large rituals with ten or more Summoners working in concert and there just haven't been that many of them in Britain for the last thirty or so years. But last week, fifteen cultists arrived from Germany and eleven more will arrive from various other parts of Europe over the coming week. That will be enough to pull off larger Summonings then the Wizarding world has seen in the last three or four hundred years." he added.

"That could be nasty." Moody grunted and scratched his left ribcage. "Demons are no joke... No bloody joke."

"Are they really that powerful?" Mundungus asked with a worried expression.

"Yes. The more powerful ones are also able to bypass most Wards, which could be devastatingly effective against places like Hogwarts, The Ministry of Magic and Azkaban, all of which rely mostly on powerful Wards for protection." Severus replied, though the question hadn't really been asked of him, but more to the room in general. "The Summoners likely wouldn't assist in an assault on Hogwarts unless a large gathering of Ministry officials were there, but they would probably view the Ministry and Azkaban as acceptable targets." he added. "I suggested for the Dark Lord to send them to deal with Potter as proof of their willingness to assist, but I do not yet know if they accepted or not."

"Tonks, Jones, Shacklebolt. Go get Potter. Now!" Moody snapped.

"Told you so..." Narcissa sighed with a rueful shake of her head.

"Harry!" Tonks exclaimed with relief as she appeared with a loud 'pop' of displaced air, causing Harry to twirl around on the spot, dropping the book he was holding as he fumbled for his wand.

+Pop+

"Prove who you are!" Harry snapped as he moved the wand between the three who'd just Apparated into his room at number four. Tonks rapidly went through a number of differently coloured, shaped and lengthed hairstyles, which seemed to be sufficient, as Harry lowered his wand. "Blimey. Don't scare me like that! What do you want?" he asked as he bent down to retrieve the book from the floor, though he still kept the wand out and ready to be used.

"You-know-who may have demon Summoners working for him now and Wards doesn't..." Kingsley started to explain.

"Work well against some demons. Yeah, I know." Harry interrupted and turned the book he'd just picked up from the ground around, displaying the cover to the newly arrived trio. "The Blood Wards here might hold up against a demon, though I don't know for how long." he added.

"Get your things, Mr Potter. We're taking you to safety." Hestia ordered.

"Stay. Go. I wish you guys would make up your minds." Harry sighed, but moved over to his school trunk and started packing.

"Well, aren't you Mr Perky-pants." Tonks teased with a small grin. "I figured that you'd be happy to blow this joint."

"I am. But I would have been happier if I hadn't been forced into coming here against my will in the first place." Harry retorted.

"It was for your own protection, Potter." Kingsley commented.

"Which of course excuses the fact that I'm basically being kept as a prisoner here against my will. Right?" Harry snorted as he approached Hedwig's cage. "Hey, girl. I'm heading for headquarters, I guess. Do you want to come with or fly there on your own?" he asked and Hedwig crawled out of the open cage in response, giving his right index finger a brief nip before she leap off for the window, where she waited for Harry to open it for her, before she left with a brief hoot.

Harry packed the rest of the stuff he wanted to bring in silence, then closed the trunk and turned to face his three visitors.

"Well, now what?" he sighed tiredly.

"I'll make a Portkey. Tonks, get the trunk." Kingsley replied and picked up a broken controller to one of the many gaming consoles Dudley had gotten over the years, tapping it with his wand as he murmured under his breath. Tonks gave Kingsley a mock salute, before she shrunk the trunk and levitated it over, putting it into one of the pockets of the ragged and torn jeans she was wearing. "Everybody grab on to this." Kingsley ordered and held the controller out in front of him. "Phoenix." he simply uttered once everybody was holding on, which triggered the now nearly familiar sensation of Portkey travel to Harry and caused all four of them to disappear from the cluttered room at number four Privet Drive.

"Good, you're safe." Moody announced as the three Order members popped back into the meeting with Harry, Harry tripping and falling to the ground with a pained grunt, Tonks managing to stay on her feet for a second longer, before she too joined him on the floor.

"Somewhat." Harry grunted as he pushed himself off the ground, brushing his pants off before he looked up, only to break out into a smile as he spotted Snape tied to a chair. "What's this? Have you finally seen this asshole for what he really is?" he asked with a nod in Snape's direction. "About time!"

"Harry, my dear boy. I'm afraid that I've made a grave mistake in appointing Severus as your teacher in the mental arts and for that, I'm truly sorry." Dumbledore spoke up with a contrite expression.

"No, really?!" Harry mockingly exclaimed with a fake shocked expression. "Why, I could have told you that after the first lesson with him. And I'm not talking about my first Occlumency lesson either! That prat never should have been a teacher in the first place and as for having him teaching me one-on-one, that's so ridiculously absurd that it boggles the mind. In Potions, there are at the very least witnesses around that tempers him. ... Somewhat."

"I am sorry." Dumbledore repeated. "I had no idea. And no excuse. I should have known and I didn't. For that, I am sorry. Truly sorry. I hope that you can forgive an old man for this mistake."

"If it had been just that one mistake, sure. That, I could forgive. As one in a long and seemingly never-ending line of them? No way." Harry retorted, causing Dumbledore to flinch and seem even more contrite then before.

"Harry! That's no way to address the headmaster. If you were having problems, you should have come to an adult for help." Molly protested.

"Come to an adult? No thanks, considering the lack of positive results that has brought me over the years, I've finally realized that it's time to learn how to deal with matters on my own." Harry replied.

"Mr Potter! You are in no way capable of handling matters on your own, which the recent disaster at the Ministry of Magic clearly shows." McGonagall protested.

"Well, neither are you adults, from what I can see." Harry countered angrily.

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed. "Apologise to Minerva for your rudeness right now." she insisted.

"When me, Ron and Hermione went to Professor McGonagall to tell her that the Philosophers Stone was in danger of being stolen, she simply dismissed our concerns. The stone was in danger of being stolen, just not by the one we suspected. We had to prevent this from happening on our own because of that and I had to face both Voldemort and our DADA professor in the process." Harry started, taking a bit of satisfaction in how most people in the room flinched when he said Voldemort. "When I told Headmaster Dumbledore that I was being abused by the Dursley's, he simply dismissed me and sent me back, which he has done every year since my first. This has led me to being insulted, beaten, forced to do an amount of chores that no child is allowed to do under British laws and left me with scars that still linger today." he continued and pulled back the sleeve of his overly large shirt, revealing ugly scars on both his arms that made the people in the room gasp in shock.

"When me and Ron went to Lockheart for help, he wound up trying to Obliviate us when he didn't succeed in just running with his tail between his legs. This led to me being bit by a Basilisk and having to face Voldemort's memories." he added and pointed out the scar from the Basilisk. "When I went to McGonagall to reveal that students were being tortured with a Blood Quill by Umbridge, she just told me to bear with it. I still have scars from that too, as might other students as well I guess, as I wasn't the only one being kept in 'detention' by her." he added and held up his hand, displaying the scarring he had there from repeated use of the Blood Quill.

"When I tried to tell Snape about Sirius at the Ministry of Magic, he didn't do anything about it. When I tried with Dumbledore, he refused to see me. So, I wound up having to go to the Ministry of Magic and face Voldemort yet again, which I would have known was a foolish move if someone had just bothered to tell me about the prophecy. I wouldn't even have had to been told about the contents about the prophecy, just that Voldemort wanted it and needed me to get it for him." Harry stated gravely and shook his head. "That is what has happened whenever I've tried to go to adults for help. Abuse, torture, attempted mind-rape or being dismissed because I'm supposedly too young to 'understand' what is going on. So, why exactly should I go to adults for help, when that has just served to worsen every single problem I've ever had that I've tried to get help with?" he finished, glaring at everybody around the table.

"You... You and others were... Being tortured?" McGonagall asked with a horrified expression and a complexion even paler then Snape's usually was.

"Yes, but you didn't even care to really hear me out when I tried to tell you. You just dismissed me. Just like when the Philosophers Stone was about to be stolen." Harry agreed, which caused Minerva to flinch guiltily.

"You... You were being abused at home, truly?" Dumbledore asked with a dumb-struck expression.

"Yes, but you just thought I was whining and never bothered to check it out, didn't you?" Harry agreed with a venomous tone of voice and a hateful expression. "Not to mention that it's your fault that I was placed there to begin with! If you were deliberately trying to make my upbringing as similar to Voldemorts as possible, you did a great job! Just like you did with Tom Riddle. Though why you would want to create another Dark Lord through your foolish actions, I do not know. But you've probably done more to meld me into his equal then Voldemort ever has. Are you enjoying your position and reputation as the leader of the Light so much, that you deliberately try to create Dark Lords for you to stand against after Grindewald was defeated? If so, then smashing job, Headmaster! You succeeded marvellously with Tom Riddle AKA Voldemort and you nearly succeeded with me as well while making yourself look good and infallible in the process." he finished, as Dumbledore shirked back from Harry and sunk lower in his seat, a completely defeated expression on his face and tears streaming down his bearded cheeks.

"Heh. No wonder that Voldemort doesn't view the Order as a threat." Narcissa commented with a smile. "Good show, though. This is even better entertainment then an evening at the theatre." she added and mockingly clapped her hands.

"Quiet! You aren't helping!" Molly suddenly snapped, wiping tears from her eyes and trying to maintain a stern expression, which was a loosing struggle after Harry had let them know about his life, which had apparently been even more horrifying then she had ever imagined.

"Neither are or have you guys been, from what I can see and have heard. Letting traitors into your midst, assisting in the life-long abuse of an innocent boy... Yeah, smashing work everyone." Narcissa commented. "Like I said earlier, Potter is apparently the only one of you with a functional brain."

"Why, thank you, Mrs Malfoy." Harry replied with a terse smile.

"Have a seat, Potter. You've earned it." Moody grunted and held up a grizzled hand in the direction of the Weasley matriarch and patriarch as it appeared that they were about to protest against it. "If you haven't stood eye-to-eye with you-know-who himself, you're not allowed to argue that decision. And if Albus does, I'm just going to ignore him due to past poor judgement in regards to Potter. That leaves me, Shacklebolt, Tonks, Snape, Malfoy and Potter himself. Snape isn't allowed a part in this decision and if Shacklebolt or Tonks argues, I'm overruling them."

"Don't look at me, I wanted to have him here from the start." Narcissa commented with a shrug.

"I'm staying." Harry decided as Moody looked over at him, then took one of the free seats.

"Good. Then let's get on with this without further interruptions." Moody grunted and turned his attention back to Snape. "The vampire clans. You say they're on his side?"

"Eleven out of the seventeen are. The other six are still debating the issue." Snape replied.

"Nasty, but it's really only a threat against the Muggles. Wards against vampires coupled with sunlight charms will render most Wizarding abodes safe from them." Moody snarled while Narcissa mumbled an almost cheerful 'good riddance, Muggles' under her breath. "What about the werewolves and why hasn't Lupin heard anything about it?"

"After I reminded the Dark Lord that Lupin was one of them and part of this order, he let his emissaries spread the word that Lupin was working for Dumbledore and the Ministry. That didn't go well over with the rest of them, who apparently has put a price on the 'traitors' head for siding with the Ministry. None of the Tribes have given a definitive answer, but two or three out of the five in the country are likely to respond positively as a whole. Minor groups of them have already joined up, but it's currently less then fifty individuals." Snape replied.

"Fifty?! Oh, shit..." Hestia mumbled and broke out into a faint shudder.

"Shit is right. Those will be a bugger to deal with." Tonks agreed, one of the few in the room who'd actually had to stand up against a werewolf in a real fight.

"Not necessarily." Narcissa commented and put two slender fingers into her cleavage, from which she extracted two metal spikes that had been tucked into holsters she had ordered sewn into her brassiere when she ordered it. She held them up for the entire room to see and offered a faint smile. "Make sure to carry silver spikes with you at all times and banish them at any werewolf foolish enough to cross your path. Enchant them with a shield-breaker and you're almost guaranteed to take out whatever werewolf you're targeting as long as you have somewhat decent aim, even if they have magical protection of some sort."

"But, Enchanting silver is almost as hard to do as gold or platinum. It can take weeks even for an accomplished Enchanter to do a single item." Flitwick piped up from his cushioned seat. "Me and Minerva are arguably the most accomplished Enchanters in the country at the moment, but even if we worked in concert, it'll take at least a week to do a single one."

"Which is why these are hollowed and have a core of poison-soaked willow." Narcissa replied with a proud grin. "Which means that they work just as good against vampires as werewolves and due to the wood core, Enchanting them is the work of but a moment." she declared as Flitwick leaned back against the backrest with a stunned expression, before he broke out into a pleased laugh.

"Brilliant, Narcissa! You always were one of my most gifted students!" he approved, while Fred and George were whispering urgently between each other, apparently having their creativity sparked by being offered a simpler and much quicker way to enchant objects made out of noble metals, as long as they weren't completely made out of noble metals.

"Why were you carrying those?" Hestia inquired as she looked curiously at the sharpened silvery rods, nodding to herself as she saw that the foremost tip wasn't silvery, but had a more dull wooden surface. Silver against werewolves, wooden stake against vampires and for everything else, the sharpened rod no matter the material would most likely do the trick. And if not, the poison would most assuredly finish the job. She turned an awed gaze at Narcissa. It was an impressive notion, extremely nasty, but impressive none the less.

"Lucius informed me that Mr Lupin was once again a part of the Order after Snape had revealed it to the Death Eaters. At the time, I was rather worried about an Order raid upon the manor, so I had these manufactured." Narcissa replied without hesitation, which caused Remus to flinch and shrink back in his seat as he realized that those two spikes had been made with him in mind. Narcissa put one of the spikes back to where it came from under the close scrutiny of every male eye around the table, before she allowed the other one to pass around the table.

"Have you ever considered a career in the Department of Mysteries? This is brilliant work." Hestia commented as she closely scrutinized the unique weapon, before she passed it along.

"Lucius never would have allowed me a real job. It wasn't 'befitting of a Malfoy', he always claimed." Narcissa replied with a shrug.

"Nice, but back to business." Moody grunted as he glanced hastily at the spike, then passed it along and turned back to Severus.

"How long until the effects of the Veritaserum fades away?" Moody asked and Snape struggled for several moments before he couldn't help but reply.

"Not long now." was all he said however.

"How many of the giants will side with Voldemort?" Alastor demanded to know.

"All of them." Snape grunted out and horrified expressions broke out all around the table.

"And I thought the werewolves were bad enough!" Hestia groaned and shook her head in dismay.

"Fred, George. Remember how you two pranked Terry Boot last winter?" Harry asked the twins who looked at him in confusion for a few moments, then both of them grinned as they realized what he was talking about.

"That's brilliant, oh nearly adopted brother of ours!" one of them approved.

"Smashing idea, beloved main investor of ours!" the other agreed.

"What are you three talking about?" Kingsley rumbled as the twins patted themselves down, looking for something amongst the plentitude of both visible and hidden pockets on their garish robes.

"Ah, found one! I'd be happy to demonstrate, Mr Shacklebolt, if I could borrow a few moments of your time." one of the twins said, but didn't wait for an answer before he pulled Kingsley out of his seat and left him standing a bit away from the table. "This is a Frozen Pond Cracker." he explained and held up a small bright purple firecracker of some sort, which he instantly threw at Kingsley's feet.

+POPBANGCRACKLEPOP+

Kingsley cursed and jumped up away from the noisy firecracker, only to have his eyes widen as the firecracker did more then make a terrible racket. It also emitted a puddle of water which instantly froze beneath him, creating a completely smooth icy surface that had the added benefit of a non-sticking charm, making it more slippery then just about anything.

"Whooop! Waaaah!" he exclaimed as he touched down and entertained the room with a highly impressive display of dexterity as he actually managed to remain upright, despite the fact that his feet were slipping and sliding like crazy, looking almost like something out of a Muggle cartoon.

"Accio Kingsley's boots." the second Weasley brother suddenly said and that was the end of it, Kingsley's feet were both pulled out from underneath him and he went down with a loud thud and a pained exclamation.

"Sorry about that, old chap." the first brother apologized.

"But you did ask, dear chum." the second added.

"They'd need to produce bigger ponds, of course. But get a couple of those at the feet of some clumsy giant and he'll be kept busy until somebody magics the ice away, if they just don't simply manage to knock themselves unconscious in the fall." Harry commented.

"Assuming of course that the fallen giant..." one of the brothers spoke up.

"Doesn't crush the nearby wizards when it topples..." the other continued.

"Thus leaving the giant without someone to remove..." was added.

"The ice and thus trapping it for the rest of the day." was the finish.

"Have you two ever considered a career in the Department of Mysteries? This is brilliant too!" Hestia asked as she stared at the sheet of polished ice covering a patch of the floor.

"Don't give the lads any ideas, Jones." Shacklebolt groused as he made his way back to his seat, rubbing his tender backside. "We'll have to work in the same building, after all."

"I think the effects of the serum have passed, due to all these interruptions." Moody sighed as he peered closely at Snape. "His eyes cleared for a moment, before they turned glassy again. He's just trying to give off the impression of still being drugged." he sighed and stood up, spinning around to face the rest of the room. "What are we going to do about this piece of human excrement?" Moody grunted with a nod in Snape's direction.

"If Potter doesn't want to press charges against him, I suggest we Obliviate him and send him back to spy on the Dark Lord. But never let him in on any important meetings ever again." Narcissa suggested with a shrug.

"Charge him? The man has done a great service to our cause, despite recent wrongdoings." Dumbledore interjected. "And Obliviate him? That isn't very ethical."

"No, I suppose not. What do you suggest instead?" Narcissa agreed.

"Let him go back to spy on the Dark Lord as he is." Dumbledore said.

"Oh, of course. Why, he's only mentally raped Potter, killed and tortured innocents and sold the Order out to the Dark Lord. Of course we should just let him go without seeing justice made, that's much more ethical. How silly of me." Narcissa mocked with a snort.

"He still goes unpunished if we Obliviate him, however." Kingsley argued.

"Well, this is as I see it. Either we put him in Azkaban for life for his numerous crimes, both past and present. That would be the ethical thing to do, which is why I find it so surprising that Dumbledore didn't suggest this course of action." Narcissa replied. "In spite of the fact that he deserves jail, he can still be of use to us however. So we Obliviate him and make him believe that I made all of you think that it would be foolish to have him as a part of our Inner Circle, then send him back while telling him to keep silent about the fact that he doesn't know very much about what we're up to any more."

"If the Dark Lord kills him, well, then we know for sure that he's useless as a spy anyway because the Dark Lord can pass through his Occlumency barriers like they weren't even there. But justice will still be served, as Snape is put to the death he so richly deserves. If the Dark Lord doesn't kill him, well, then he can somewhat redeem himself for his crimes by doing the Order a great service as a spy." Narcissa continued and then her face hardened. "Only this time, we verify everything he says with Veritaserum, everything! This will also ensure us that he's telling us everything, then we Obliviate his memories of the interrogation and send him back again, none the wiser that we've interrogated him with Veritaserum."

"I like the way you think, lass. I like it very much! Constant vigilance!" Moody approved with a wide grin.

"This is a mans life we're talking about here. You're willing to gamble with a mans life? Truly?" Dumbledore asked with an ashen face.

"If you hadn't been blatantly ignoring all his victims over the years and allowed him to stand trial for his many crimes, instead of being allowed to go out and commit more crimes and thus creating more victims, he would have been given the Dementors Kiss or thrown in Azkaban for life anyway. The only reason why he still has a life, is because you have been ignoring the fact that he's been out creating orphans, widows and widowers. We are talking about a torturing mass-murderer here. Are you telling me that the fact that he's a spy for us, justifies that he goes out on Death Eater raids, killing innocents? Are you telling me that his life is worth more then all the men, women and children he's killed over the years?" Narcissa argued. "Do you realize that by protecting this man from justice, you're an accomplice to all the murders he's committed since you started holding his back and offering him your protection? That without you getting involved, men, women and children who are dead today would be alive? Think about that, before you start rambling about gambling with lives." Narcissa spat out.

She didn't actually care overly much, those Severus had killed were mostly Muggles anyway and while she didn't advocate killing Muggles, she didn't see it as a great loss if somebody else killed them off. But the Order was composed out of goody two-shoes and by associating Dumbledore with Severus murders, even indirectly, his position would be weakened.

And that was something she did care about. If she was going to be part of some light-sided Order, it had damn well better be an effective one and with Dumbledore as a leader, it wouldn't be. She would prefer it if she herself held the reins, but the chances of that happening were slim to none, she figured. She was too new, too outspoken and too many didn't trust her.

Moody would be her second option, as he at least had the guts to do whatever necessary to get the job done. But he was also too outspoken, too paranoid and likely wouldn't get much support from the rest of the order.

She would probably have to back someone lesser suited individual that she didn't really think was appropriate for the job, but who'd still do better as the orders leader then Dumbledore would. Someone like Kingsley Shacklebolt, Amos Diggory or Flitwick.

Or...

Narcissa hastily glanced over at Potter, before she redirected her attention to Dumbledore, who seemed to be nearing some sort of mental breakdown from all the shocks he'd received during this meeting. She'd have to think about the Potter option later, for now, there were much more amusing and important things to do.

"But... It was in the best interests..." Dumbledore weakly spoke up, but didn't manage to finish his sentence, before he trailed off by himself and fell silent.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Narcissa replied after a few moments of silence and Dumbledore seemingly flinched back from her before she'd even said much. "But even acts done in everybody's best interests have consequences. For instance, your decision to put Potter with the Muggles, meant that he was likely safe from the Dark Lord, unless of course Pettigrew has told the Dark Lord about Lily's family and he arranges to have them killed while they're outside the Wards. But it also meant that Potter was abused on a daily basis and grew up knowing nothing about magic, leaving him woefully unprepared for his re-entry into the Wizarding World and the current situation." she continued. "Your decision to keep Severus out of jail because he could be useful as a spy, earned you a treasonous spy. The consequences of that, is that Potter was mentally raped, countless of students got a worthless Potion teacher and that men, women and children were killed needlessly." she explained and allowed herself a small smirk. "If you act, you're also responsible for the consequences of that act. You allowed Severus to slaughter innocents, you enabled Severus to mentally rape Potter and you put Potter at his relatives to be abused. You may not have raised your hand against them yourself, but you might just as well have." she finished sternly and this appeared to be the fabled last drop.

Dumbledore pushed away from the table, the chair toppling to the ground as he stared around the room with a wild expression, until his gaze fell upon Harry. He stared in horror at him for a few moments, then he burst out in tears and moved surprisingly quickly across the room for such an old man. He slammed into Harry with such force that both Harry, chair and Dumbledore fell to the ground, where Harry suddenly found himself wrapped in a bear-hug that put every other hug he'd ever had to shame. It felt as if his head was in danger of popping off his neck from the pressure.

Dumbledore was babbling and Harry had problems hearing what he was talking about, but it appeared to be various pleas for forgiveness, mixed with sobbing apologies.

"S'okay!" he managed to grunt out, awkwardly patting the old headmaster on his back. "S'okay! Now lemme go!" he grunted painfully.

/Score.../ Narcissa thought to herself as she retook her seat.

"Pleased with yourself?" Moody muttered under his breath, just barely loud enough for Narcissa to hear him.

"I have no idea what you mean, Mr Moody." she replied in a hushed whisper, which only Moody was able to hear over Dumbledore's frantic babbling.

"Of course not." Moody grunted in what sounded like displeasure, but there was a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. He still didn't trust her and he'd still put her through interrogation hell with Veritaserum, but he had to admit to himself that she'd done the Order more good in this single meeting then most other people in the room ever had throughout their entire membership in the Order. "Good work, none the less." he offered before he settled back to observe Dumbledore's breakdown, while his magical eye kept an eye on Snape and their surroundings.

The End! ( For now... )