The floo powder landed in the fire, “DMLE Director’s Office!”
Amelia’s PA answered back, ”Director’s Personal Assistant here. How can I help you?”
The Azkaban Prison Governor said tensely, “Please ask Director Bones to call me as soon as she can. We have a problem.”
-ooOOoo-
Amelia Bones hurried to Dirk Cresswell’s office. Cresswell was the head of the Goblin Liason Office.
“Dirk, this is an emergency. We need help from the goblins.”
Creswell stood up and closed the office door with a hand wave. His job was one of the least respected in the Ministry. Years ago, the Goblin Liason Office had a higher place in the hierarchy. However, Fudge and the pink toad had cut the office back, and now the janitorial staff had a higher priority than the Goblin Liason Office. Creswell’s office was tiny, and with two people in it, he couldn’t move past his desk to get to the door to close it.
“What is the emergency, Amelia? It must be catastrophic for the Ministry to ask for help from the goblins.” Dirk Creswell replied in a particularly slow manner.
Amelia growled at the laconic tone of Creswell’s question. “Azkaban is falling down, and we need to move the prisoners somewhere else.”
Dirk stared at the DMLE Director. “Falling down! How could it possibly fall down? It’s a fortress.”
“I’ve just come back from there. The north and east walls are tilting out. Cracks are opening in the dungeon walls and floor. The middle of the tower and the south and west walls are sinking. Once the tilting walls detach from the building, the whole place will fall in a heap.”
There was significant silence. Then, Dirk finally responded. “The goblins have their prison system, but that is for criminals convicted by the goblin courts. The treaties only permit goblins to imprison wizards caught stealing from the goblins.”
“Right!” Amelia paused. “Let’s try this. We will lease an empty prison from the goblins. The prison will be managed and run by the DMLE. The prison warders will be the same staff from Azkaban. Will that work?”
Dirk waited as long as he could before Amelia got annoyed with him. “That should work. I know the goblins have just moved prisoners from an old prison in Scotland to a newer one. That old prison will hold a hundred and fifty prisoners. It was built in an old silver mine. The prisoners will never see the sun, but that was what Azkaban was like anyway.”
Amelia asked, “Do you see any problems?”
“The goblins will not allow any dementors into the place, and no creatures other than wizards as prisoners.”
Amelia nodded, “That will be good. The dementors will not leave Azkaban. They will stay there and gradually weaken when they don’t get any souls to consume. They don’t appear to die of old age or any disease. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures will be disappointed, and Fudge must find another way to punish his enemies. There will be no dementors.”
“Isn’t that a risk with the more powerful prisoners? What about the Death Eaters?”
Amelia shook her head, “The Death Eaters are not that much of a problem anymore. All of them have turned into squibs. That started a few days after that drama at Hogwarts. The rumour that I heard was that the unspeakables are sure that Voldemort put poison into his dark mark. He might have wanted all the Death Eaters to die if he died. The poison was released when the dark mark no longer had any contact with Voldemort after he finally died. The latest rumour says the poison was not deadly enough. It made them sick for a while and then killed off the Death Eaters' magic.”
Creswell considered his response. Eventually, he said, “I will see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Dirk. I must get to another meeting.” Amelia rushed out.
Dirk wrote a letter to his best contact in the goblin hierarchy. The negotiations would not extend for months or years as they usually would. The Ministry needed a place to confine the Azkaban inmates. That gave the goblins the negotiating advantage, and they would demand a lot of gold and any other bonus they could get.
-ooOOoo-
It was the last night at home before the Hogwarts Express would take them back to school. Hermione had enjoyed the days at Greengrass Manor. That was despite the weight of the situation with Harry. Harry had not approached Hermione. He had appeared happy to stay in a group with the others.
Sometime in the early morning, Hermione awoke. There was someone in her room. It was a girl, not much older than her, dressed in flowing robes typical of the ancient Greeks. She carried two flaming torches.
Hermione recognised her. It was Hecate. The torches were burning low and gave a gentle light.
Hermione tried to shout and get out of bed, but she couldn’t move.
“Relax, Hermione! I can’t pin you down in your dreams, so I had to make a special effort to get your attention. You can’t run away.”
Hermione was crying and gibbering in her mind, but nothing came out of her. Hecate waited until Hermione’s terrified screaming in her thoughts subsided.
“Good! There are a few things about the gift you have been given which need some explaining.”
Hermione stared at Hecate. Now, the terror was being replaced with anger.
“Yes! It is a gift, not a curse.”
The anger was dominating Hermione’s thoughts now.
Hecate waited until the silent raging from Hermione finished.
“Hermione, how many deaths have you died in your time on earth?”
Hecate waited.
“You’re right. That was entirely unfair and not in any way something that you had any influence over. You know your life and Mister Potter’s can’t be compared.”
Hecate started pacing at the foot of Hermione’s bed.
“Mister Potter has walked through the valley of the shadow of death more than twenty times. He is not even thirteen. He met Death at the entrance to Death’s country, and Death had to send him back each time.”
Hecate stopped and looked at Hermione. Hermione stared back.
“What has been the impact of that life on him?”
Hermione blinked.
Hecate nodded, “You don’t know because you have never even dreamt of having to do something like that. If Mister Potter had never been sent to Azkaban, would he have had a similar experience?”
Hecate waited. “The answer, Hermione, is that he would have. The people Dumbledore dumped Harry on would have given him dreadful treatment. He would have been starved and denied any hint of affection. The deaths that he would have died would be emotional rather than physical. The Death Eaters in Azkaban treated him better than the Dursleys would have.”
The pacing resumed as Hecate lectured on.
“Harry being sent to Azkaban ensured that people with a shred of humanity about them gave Harry the support and care he needed. If he had lived those years with the Dursleys, he would have turned up at Hogwarts looking like a small, timid, but well-balanced child who didn’t need any special care. But, he would have been severely damaged. He would easily come under Dumbledore’s influence and stumble through his years at Hogwarts, leading to the untimely end that Dumbledore planned for him.”
Hermione stopped her hostility binge and blinked at Hecate.
“You heard me. Dumbledore planned for Harry to die. The truth is being uncovered at Hogwarts and will soon be revealed, to Harry at least. The battle is over, and the danger from Voldemort and Dumbledore has ended, but the damage to Harry is still a problem. The Harry you can see is made up of pieces held together by magical glue and gaffer tape.”
Hecate stopped pacing and looked at Hermione.
“Why did the Gods of Olympus allow such a mess to develop? The answer is that the whole of human existence is an opportunity for people to prove themselves. How can people prove themselves when the Gods interfere with every problem? The Gods made rules for themselves. We are only to interfere when the mess that humans make can only end in disaster for humanity. Dumbledore’s plan for Harry was a disaster waiting to happen. So we stuck Harry together, allowed Tom to assist him, and gave Harry power that a child should never have. Zeus gave him atmospheric elemental magic. I gave him off-the-scale magical power to keep scum like Malfoy off his back. By the way, those gifts are Harry’s to keep.”
A comfortable chair appeared beside the bed, and Hecate flopped into it.
“The pressure is off, and Harry isn’t going to die until his life has run its course. Harry doesn’t feel that. He knows that the cracks in his life are opening, and the paper covering the cracks is coming apart. Harry will need help. We let Tom help him, but Tom had to leave so Voldemort could be dealt with. That left a gap in Harry’s support system. Harry is slowly getting better, but that will still take time. Eventually, he will function without a secret voice prompting him when his thoughts stop. There are gaps in his mind which shouldn’t be there. He will catch up as he grows up, and the gaps will close. Until then, he will need help.”
Hecate stopped talking and looked at Hermione.
“Now you are horrified. That’s right. We needed someone to step in and take Tom’s place for a while, and you are the person. Did you have a choice? No, you didn’t. Look at Harry. Did he get a choice? That stinking prophecy marked him before he was born. You might guess that the prophecy wasn’t my idea. Harry had no choice, but it never occurred to him to throw a tantrum and refuse to work it out.”
Hermione shut her eyes.
“Still doing the tantrum thing, are you, Miss Granger? Your magic is strong enough to do the job. No other student in Hogwarts has what it will take. Harry could not support his mindscape and Tom’s Hogwarts mindscape. You can support your mindscape and Hogwarts. Tom put information that Harry needs in the Hogwarts mindscape library. If you wish, you can get it out and feed it to Harry when he can cope. That will help him find ways to survive.”
There was silence for a few minutes. Hermione kept her eyes shut.
“Miss Granger, you do not have to use the gift. You can shut it down and deliberately not talk to Harry. You do not have to listen to his calls to you. You can ignore the Hogwarts mindscape and let it fade away. There will be no penalty or retribution. You don’t have to take any notice of Harry other than what any other friend would do. It is entirely your choice.”
Then the chair, the torches, and Hecate were gone.
Hermione sat up and glared around the room. The room smelled of incense. The torches had incense in them, and the distinct odour lingered.
“Hecate was here. I’m not telling anyone.”
-ooOOoo-
That morning at breakfast, Jean Granger spoke to Hermione.
“Have you been burning incense in your room? I don’t object, but it would be nice to know that the place isn’t going to catch fire.”
“Mum! It wasn’t me. Early this morning, I had a visit from the Goddess of Magic. That is Hecate. She carries two burning torches that might have incense in them. If she visits me again, I will ask her to be careful with them.”
Jean Granger was becoming accustomed to conversations like this with Hermione.
“Thank you, dear. When you say Hecate, do you mean the Goddess of Mount Olympus Hecate?”
“Yes, Mum! Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, she serves Persephone, the wife of Hades, the Ruler of the Underworld. I’m hoping that the visit won’t be repeated. I have to talk to Harry about that.”
“Ah! How is your romance with the boy going? You have mentioned him in every letter and conversation.”
Hermione glared at her mother. Then she stopped and mentally slapped herself. In her secret thoughts, she asked, “When did I become such an angry ant? Also, my resolve to not tell anyone didn’t survive one question: what an idiot!”
Platform Nine and Three Quarters was freezing as usual. Everyone got on the train as soon as they arrived at the station. At least the carriage compartments were heated.
The Alliance claimed a compartment, and the Escort quickly found them. Susan and Harry arrived and greeted everyone. Harry sensed that the feeling coming from Hermione had changed again. Harry called to Hermione in his mind as he used to call to Tom. Hermione did not answer but gave Harry a quick look and took out a heavy magic reference book to study.
The compartment door opened, and Ronald Weasley stepped in.
“Um! Can I ask you guys something?”
Neville responded, “Ask away, Ron.”
“Ah! If you guys are going to do any quidditch training, can I join you? I want to practice goalkeeping.”
Harry answered, “There will be Slytherins in the group, Ronald. Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s not,” Ron almost mumbled. Then he said, “The Weasley boys at Hogwarts agreed not to wear the Weasley House charm. We sort of worked out that it was causing the bad feelings.”
Harry looked around. There didn’t seem to be any negative vibes coming from the group. Harry nodded to Neville.
Neville said, “That will be OK, Ron. We like to keep practice friendly. It’s not like we are all on house teams.”
Ron mumbled, “Thanks,” and left the compartment.
-ooOOoo-
“Harry!”
“Hermione, has something happened?”
“Why should anything have happened?”
“You don’t seem happy about our telepathy or whatever it is.”
“My attitude has changed. I’m still not happy, but I will work at what this gift was intended to do.”
“What gift?”
“Our connection is a gift from the Gods of Mount Olympus. I had a visit from Hecate the other night. She put me in a body bind to stop me from screaming and trying to run away. Then she explained why she and the others did this to us. She explained some of it, anyway.”
“Is there anything you can tell me? It sounds like you know more than me.”
“About the Hogwarts mindscape, Hecate said you could not keep it. It would be too much for you in addition to what you must do now. That’s why they gave it to me. Tom put information that you will need in the future in his version of the Hogwarts library. It is my job to find the answers you need from my Hogwarts library and send them to you as you need them.”
“Is that all?”
“There is more, but we need to practice. I have to listen out for you. You sometimes get stuck. Your mind stops working, and you need a kick-along to get going again. I have no experience with that. We will have to wing it when it happens.”
“Can’t you write out the information and give it all to me?”
“I thought about doing that, and the library stopped me. I can access one document at a time. Also, I can’t remember what was in the document to write it out. The Hogwarts mindscape is loaded with memory charms. I think that is to stop anyone other than you seeing it. Nothing gets put on paper. I must read each document to you, one at a time.”
“I also can’t get overloaded with everything at once. Tom used to do that. He never told me everything in one session.”
“I want to be able to put up a ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign. I don’t want you yelling at me when I’m trying to sleep or when I want to concentrate on finishing an essay. I want you to do the same, within reason.”
“Ha! That never bothered Tom. When he wanted to get my attention, he just nagged me until I answered.”
“I get accused of nagging, mainly by people like Ronald. I want you to stop me if I look like I’m doing it. I accept that I can’t tell the difference between helpful advice and nagging.”
“I promise to try to interrupt you if you are doing it despite the risk of personal injury to me.”
“Watch it, Mister!”
-ooOOoo-
Tracey nudged Daphne and whispered, “They’re doing it again.”
Daphne whispered back, “Harry is looking out the window, and Hermione is looking at that book. They have not looked at each other once, and it is obvious that they are talking. They are weird.”
Susan leaned in to whisper, “I want to start the sisterhood again. This time, we will focus on keeping Hermione from being pressured by this, whatever it is.”
Tracey and Daphne nodded and continued to observe Harry and Hermione surreptitiously.
The compartment door opened, and another visitor stepped in. Draco Malfoy shut the door behind him.
“Harry, Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, may I speak to you when we get to the common room today.”
Daphne looked at the others and turned back to Malfoy. “Any hints of what this is about, Draco?”
Draco looked like he was chewing on a lemon.
“My mother has instructed me to ask you for protection in Slytherin House. You know my father has been reduced to a squib and can no longer hold official positions. My mother is now the regent of the House of Malfoy.”
Daphne pursed her lips and asked, “Who are you sitting with on the train?”
“I’m sitting with Pansy, Gregory, and Vincent. They are in the same situation as me. They are going to ask the Selwyns for protection.”
Tracey muttered, “I never thought I would feel sorry for them. The Selwyns will be tough.”
Daphne looked at Draco, “We will discuss terms when we get to the common room. Goodbye, Draco.”
Draco nodded and walked out. He shut the door as he left.
“No invitation to sit with us?” Neville asked.
Daphne shook her head, “Draco Malfoy is now on the bottom rung in Slytherin. He knows that he has to earn some respect. I’m not going to make it easy for him.”
Ginny said, “I thought the Selwyns were Death Eaters?”
Tracey answered, “One of them was. The current head of Selwyn was never marked.”
Harry said, “Lord Greengrass said that the political and social situation will be messy for the traditionalists for a long time. The Slytherin common room will be the same.”
-ooOOoo-
The headmistress’ office had a different entrance. It was an imposing decorated door with a simple knocker. Harry touched the knocker and the door swung open. The rotating stairs were the same.
When he reached the top of the stairs Harry knocked again. Professor McGonagall’s voice answered.
“Enter!”
The door swung open. The office was now bare. The tables of magical trinkets were gone. Some paintings of highland scenes hung on the walls. The former headmaster’s portraits were in the same places. There were no bookcases.
“Harry, please come and sit with me.”
Professor McGonagall stood and walked to an armchair next to the fireplace. She directed Harry to sit in the facing chair.
“How was your break, Harry?”
“Very good, Professor. Aunt Amelia was busy and so were all the adults, so the kids were left to ourselves.”
“Did anyone tell you about Azkaban?”
Harry smiled. “I am very satisfied with what happened there. My Death Eater tutors always wanted me to be one of them, so that I could break them out of there. The earth decided to do the job, and got them away from the dementors. They are all squibs now, so the Death Eater thing is over for them. Aunt Amelia and Sirius don’t want me to meet them again until I am much older. I might go and see them after I graduate.”
Professor McGonagall shook her head. “I’m happy that the dementors are isolated, but I don’t understand how Azkaban could fall down like that.”
“Hermione’s father has friends who understand geology. He says that the original builders are at fault. The island was always unstable and had a record of rapid changes. Mundane scientists knew that the sea floor around Azkaban was moving up and down and away all the time. Azkaban has been there for a thousand years but that isn’t very long as far as geology is concerned.”
“I still don’t understand, but let’s move on.” Professor McGonagall looked uncomfortable. “Please keep this to yourself. Dumbledore was writing to a person outside of Hogwarts to get advice on how to deal with a problem that he had. The problem was you.”
Harry smiled. “I always knew that the former headmaster had a problem with me. Am I allowed to know what it was?”
Professor McGonagall sighed and said, “When Voldemort was defeated, and you were rescued from your parents' house, something happened to you. The lightning-shaped scar on your forehead was evidence of a spell Voldemort was casting to make a Horcrux. Dumbledore was convinced you were a Horcrux, like the others displayed in this office. He knew you were a Horcrux when he placed you at the Dursleys. Dumbledore asked an expert for advice on what to do about you. The advice that he got back was that Voldemort had to be allowed to regain a body, and then Voldemort had to murder you. Apparently, the Horcrux in you could not be destroyed in any other way.”
Harry smiled. “The problem is that events have proved that Dumbledore and his advisor were wrong. I got advice from other sources. One of my advisors wears a long black cloak and carries a scythe. Death told me that my scar was not a Horcrux. The ritual of making a Horcrux was never completed. The power of the protective runes that my mother set about me and the sacrifice of her life for me destroyed Voldemort before he could finish the Horcrux. I was not the vessel that he was planning to use. My scar did contain a fragment of a soul, which Death removed before finally dealing with Voldemort’s wraith. My death was not required.”
“Harry, how can you so calmly talk about this?”
“Oh! It is obvious, isn’t it? I’m not normal. The Gods from Mount Olympus have taken an interest in me and given me helpers. Someday, they might tell you about what they have done for me. I don’t expect that day to be soon.”
Professor McGonagall stared at Harry.
“By the way, Professor, who was Mister Dumbledore’s advisor?”
“Oh! Dumbledore wrote letters to this man almost every week and got replies. Copies of the letters were in Dumbledore’s things.”
Professor McGonagall looked ill. “The person Dumbledore relied on for a lot of advice was Gellert Grindelwald.”
137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgP9L99FoFb
