Chapter 48 Child's Play

Amelia's POV

Amelia finally made it to a teller, she came up to the goblin and said, "I need to speak to someone who handles 'dark' objects." She made sure to keep her voice low.

"How 'dark'?" the teller asked just as quietly, already putting his finger on the alarm for the bank.

"Soul magic," she leaned over and whispered to him as to not cause a commotion. She got one anyway.

The goblin quickly pushed the alarm and for the second time that month Gringotts closed. Everyone was hurriedly shuffled out, barring Bones. She stood there a bit baffled that they would go to such means at the mere mention of the words. She knew they wouldn't like it, but really. Four goblins suddenly appeared around her with spikes at the ready. She made sure to keep her hands in sight, not wanting an incident.

"You, follow me," Snarlfist demanded as he appeared at her side.

"May I ask why you closed the bank?" she asked politely, letting the goblin lead her further into the bank. "I merely wanted to speak to someone."

"We do not take chances with soul magic. It is too risky, and the rituals involved are dark and always deadly. There are too many things that can go wrong. At your mention of it, it is standard procedure that you undergo an examination to make sure that you are not possessed. We have already been robbed once by a possessed person, this will not happen again," Snarlfist explained to her as he led her to a room with a healer, who was wearing a strange headdress. He was still angry over the fact that a human had started using intent magic to get through the wards of the bank, and he was sure that that human was involved in this as well.

Amelia held up her hand and stated, "I am not possessed; however, I carry with me an object that is a horcrux." She didn't want to leave anything to chance. "I came to ask for your help in locating and destroying them."

The still unnamed healer pointed her to the center of the room, where a ritual circle was carved into the floor. All curse-breakers were required to make use of is when returning to the country.

"Due to the treaties we have with your people, we are limited to the bank. If there is one here. we can confiscate it and eliminate it," was the snarled reply.

"That's more than I had hoped for really, though I was hoping you could find them," she sighed as she moved to the circle. She put her hand in her pocket and handed the ball to Snarlfist.

"There is no magic to uses one to find another, it is inherent in the ritual used to create them," the grumpy goblin explained. They had run into many of these in their explorations of digs around the world. Egypt was full of them. Gringotts had done extensive research on them. They wanted to know how long the soul would last when the wizard who made them was… killed. If said wizard was a wraith, how long would it take until the soul piece died. Their reading on Herpo the Foul, led them nowhere. That vile man only discovered how to make them, but since he wasn't around anymore there must be a time limit. He took the toy and waved his hand over it and snarled, "This is a child's toy."

"That's what I thought as well. However, I am told that it is hidden very well. I would never waste your time or money on a prank."

Snarlfist growled again. More intent magic, he knew that the stupid wizard, whose name they still didn't know, was involved. He had thought adding his signature to the wards would prevent anything he had his hands in from coming into the bank. It was not a nice surprise to see he was wrong. They would have to do something to stop this wizard, their security demanded it.

"Whose soul is it supposed to be?" the goblin in the headdress asked as she too waved her hand over the ball, very impressed at the shields on it.

"Voldemort's," Amelia answered, with a small shiver, not wanting to waste their time.

The two goblins hissed and Snarlfist dropped the ball. It started bouncing in front of him. He had a vague thought that the soul piece was getting slammed around and that brightened his attitude a bit. "I will take this up the chain of command. We will see about searching the vaults. Normally, we don't care what you keep in them, but these are abominations that need to be eliminated," he said, catching the ball on the fourth bounce.

"That's all I ask," she agreed.

"Is this all you can tell us?" Snarlfist asked, hoping that she could name the blasted wizard that was making child's play of their wards.

"Yes, I am under oath to say no more," she answered sadly. She'd loved to be of more help, but her oath to office and her promise to Lupin tied her hands.

"Fine," the surly goblin said as he stormed out of the room. Once more disappointed that he couldn't 'question' anyone… again.

The goblin in the headdress performed a quick ritual to see if Amelia had been possessed or influenced by the soul magic in any way. She hadn't, so she was sent on her way. The bank remained closed for the rest of the day, while the goblins did their search. They did find the cup, and were incensed, and vowed that Voldemort and his followers would not get the drop on the goblin nation. No, they would not be caught unaware. It was with great glee they threw them in the furnace used for smelting. It was equivalent to Fiendfyre, so it did the job. The screams were music to their souls.

A small note was sent to Amelia that both objects had been destroyed, because she was the one who brought this to their attention.

Harry's POV

"To your left!" Harry yelled as a new swarm of doxies attacked Sirius. They had been using the spray and the Knockback Jinx for a while now. The queen had not been in the first room. The army was much bigger than they had thought. It seemed to encompass the entire floor. According to Dobby that's all there was, except a boggart or two. The second and third floor were relatively clean, no creatures, just dark objects that could kill you. They didn't kill the little guys, just knocked them out and put them in TARDIS box, that Harry had magicked up. He made sure that it was able to sustain life. He could see his godfather lagging, they had been battling the whole afternoon. Harry was having a great time. He had no idea what they were going to do with an army of doxies, but there were a few humorous things that came to mind.

Sirius quick threw the Jinx and more doxies fell. The whole time they had been having this fight, he had been learning to create his own shield. It wasn't golden like Harry's, but it kept the pests from biting him.

"Harry Potter, Harry Potter, yous needs to be looking above you!" Dobby shouted from the doorway, jumping up and down like an excited cheerleader. He had already finished his scouting and was told not to physically help them, so he just followed along and encouraged them in their battles.

Harry looked up and moved. He didn't want to spray above him, it might get in his eyes. The bombing doxies flew off, after dropping what looked like a bomb of some kind of shite, yelling belligerently at him for making them miss. Harry waved his hand and more fell to the floor. He waved his hand again and they joined the others in the TARDIS box.

The room was finally clear, and Harry brought up his map. There were dozens of dark objects in this office. They showed like small beacons of dark light. He had Data make a note of where they all were, and he and Sirius went to the hall. They were going to do the cleansing after they got all the doxies, and the queen.

"Well, this is a good workout if nothing else. Great shield, by the way," he said to his godfather as they made their way to the next room. It was the last room on the floor, and then they would stop for dinner. Winky was already cooking up some fish and chips and they were more than eager to get to it.

"I'm glad you thinks so, because I am dog tired," the dogman complained. "Can't you just do your thing and clear it out?" he whined with mournful eyes. He was a pureblood after all and not used to such physical demands on his body.

"The queen might be in there, but you're right, you need food. Come on, let's go eat," Harry said, turning the opposite direction, instead of making fun of his godfather's lack of stamina, like he had the last three rooms. "We'll search for the queen after."

They made it to the kitchen and sat at the now clean table. The whole room looked like it had been redone. It sparkled so bright they had to squint when they came in. The appliances looked new and the gaslights shone like beacons, reflecting off the shiny surfaces.

"Winky is being making plentys of food, yous sits and eats," the female elf demanded, seeing how tired her master was.

"Thanks, Winky. This looks great," Sirius said as he slumped in his chair and grabbed a plate and started serving himself. He couldn't remember being this hungry, outside of Azkaban. Even on the run, he had always found food. Padfoot was great at tracking things to eat.

It was then that the wards pinged. There was someone at the door.

"Dobby, can you go see who that is? Just tell them we're eating," Harry said, not worried who it was. There were only a few people who knew this house. And according to Sirius they were all friendly. It was under a modified Fidelius Charm, so only those Sirius told knew about it. What he didn't know was that Dumbledore had been one of those people. Right after Harry's third year, the dogman had offered the house for the Order of the Phoenix. They hadn't used it because until Sirius was in residence, they didn't know where it was. That was part of the modification. His being here this afternoon let it be felt. When he left again, it would vanish, if no one was here.

The two men started their dinner and were chowing down. Sirius had used quite a bit of magic, and Harry, well, he was a teenage boy. They were part way through dinner when a frustrated Dobby returned with a smiling Dumbledore.

"Dobby did try to tells Dumblydore that yous is eating, but he is being hard-headed," the little elf pouted.

Harry groaned. "What the fuck, old man? Are you stalking me?" he asked, his alarms blaring, and his shield raised to protect him and Sirius, who continued to eat like a starved man.

"Not at all, dear boy. I simply have something to show you," Albus said, moving his hand towards his pocket.

Harry wasn't taking any chances, and commanded magic to strip the old man of anything magical. Dumbledore's glasses, two wands, a box, three trinkets, and a few candies flew from the brightly colored pockets. They all landed on the table next to his plate. Harry could feel the dark magic coming from the box and cleaned it with a wave of his hand. He didn't want to take any chances with something so vile.

The scream that tore the air, even made Sirius stop eating. They all realize that another horcrux was destroyed.

"Do you see, Harry, you must find these and destroy them. It is your destiny," Dumbledore stated firmly. He always knew that it was the boy's job to see the end of Tom. The prophecy had foretold such.

Harry was looking at the ring box. There was still powerful magic coming from it, like the diadem, which he finally got to simply answer questions. He wanted to open it, but was he was going to be careful about it, because if it was like the diadem, then while not evil it could be harmful. He instead put it in his TARDIS pocket and looked at the man who he felt was responsible for all the bad things that had happened in his life. Especially, since he lost his memory. Sure, Snape was the one who potioned him, but Dumbledore hired the vile man in the first place.

"I'm fucking done with you," he stated, getting up from the table. "You have been hounding my steps from day one. I'm tired of having to look over my shoulder every time I fucking go somewhere. This is the last time we'll bloody well meet," he warned. He took out his tricorder, because he needed precision. Turning it on Dumbledore, he sent a wave of magic towards the old man.

He hadn't wanted to do this, it was to close to mind rape for comfort, but the guy wouldn't leave him alone. The spell he just cast would make the old man think of something else, whenever he thought of Harry. If someone mentioned our hero in a sentence, then Dumbledore would change the subject. Sure, people would get suspicious, but Albus would tell them he had it all under control and then talk about something else. He then added the memory of Albus coming to talk to Sirius and blocking the memory of what just happened.

Harry then thought the old man's glasses back on his face, the two wands into his pockets, and the candies and trinkets as well. Or so he thought.

A blank look came over the old man's face, he looked at Sirius and smiled. "I came to tell you that we will not be needing your house, thank you for the offer. The Order of the Phoenix will be disbanded, as I feel that Tom is not a threat at the moment. Again, thank you, my boy, for your generous offer." With that he turned and left the room. Harry made sure to lock the door behind him.

"Harry, whose wand are you holding?" Sirius asked, peering at the crooked wand in the boy's hand. There was something strange about that wand, it niggled in the back of his mind, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"What? Well, shite, it must be Dumbledore's," Harry said as he too examined the wand. "Weird, I thought I gave that back."

"That wand looks familiar, and I mean more than the old man's wand. Like it's very important," the glamour man stated, squinting at it, trying to remember where else he'd seen it before. This was the first time he had seen it up close.

"Sirius, it's just a wand," Harry said, putting it in his pocket and sitting down to finish his dinner.

"Fine, I'll drop it for now, if you tell me what you did to Albus," the older man grumbled. He just knew this wand changed things. He just didn't know how.

"I just made it so he wouldn't think about me anymore. He'll remember who I am, but now I'm— unimportant," the teen said with a shrug.

"That's actually pretty brilliant," his godfather praise.

"Yup," the boy said, finishing off the last of his dinner. "Let's go find the queen. I want to see if she's as smart as her kids."

Sirius groaned and followed his godson out of the room. He didn't want to know what Harry was going to do with the doxy army.

Dumbledore's POV

Albus made it back to his hiding place and tried to remember why the Potter boy was so important. He knew there was a prophecy, but every time he thought about it, he would think about dinner. He searched his pockets to find his wand, so he could prepare said dinner, but the Elder Wand was gone. His backup wand was there, so were his portkeys. He frantically looked for the box, but it was nowhere to be found. Two things missing, and he had no idea why. He went over his steps for the evening and could remember everything that happened. Nothing he could remember was telling him where the missing items were. This was not good.

Amelia's POV

Bones was sitting in her office getting ready to go home. She was just putting the last of her paperwork in her safe, when Alastor came storming it.

"Well, I found Fudge and his toad," he said as he slumped into a chair.

"Really? In the tunnels? How did they survive in there?" she asked intrigued.

"They didn't, they're dead. Looks like someone got the drop on them when they handed off the Potter boy," Moody grumped, folding his arms over his chest. They were two more people who would never see justice.

"Do you know what killed them?" Amelia asked, pulling out some parchment and ink.

"Killing Curse," was the succinct answer.

"Did you find anything that could point the finger at them?" she questioned.

"There was a vial of something in Fudge's pocket. The toad's wand showed a levitation spell. But other than that, nothing."

"Damn, I was hoping for more," she huffed. Like Moody she had been hoping that Potter would sue Fudge or at least press charges. Perhaps his lawyer could make a case against the dead man's house. The Minister had been a very rich man, thanks to his nefarious dealings. He had been married, but with no children. If the Potter kid played it right, he could get everything. She never liked his wife. "What did you do with the bodies?"

"Handed them over to some rookie Aurors. I figured they could use the work," he smirked. He knew the department was stretched to its limits, but there were always slackers. It them he handed the case. They'd have to report to Bones, but how she handled it was up to her.

"Did you find anything else?" she asked, hoping for good news.

"This place is riddled with tunnels. There's one going to every departments. Even the DoM," he reported, handing her the map. "I wouldn't tell them though. I heard some fishy things lurking in the walls. There's Death Eaters in the Ministry," he finished ominously. He then pulled out a notebook with penciled in conversations that he had heard.

She lifted a brow at his use of muggle items, but he ignored it. She skimmed a few of them and her face contorted to anger. According to this there was a Death Eater in almost every department, at least the important ones. If they found out about the tunnels the Ministry would fall— fast. She just didn't have the manpower to have them patrolled. Maybe there was a way to seal them with a password only she and select few knew. They could be used for escape. It was something she was going to have to think on.

"I want to come back tomorrow and see what else I can find," Alastor stated, getting up from the chair.

"I would like that. You are an invaluable ally, Alastor. Anything you can to do help, would be Merlin sent," she said, putting the map and notes in her safe, and following him to the Floo.

"I'll be here a seven sharp," he said, taking the Floo powder and using it to go home.

"I'll be here," she sighed, wishing for an easier day tomorrow.