Chapter 192: The bait

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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author's notes-

Chapter 192: The bait

"I don't think we should stay here much longer; they may start to think I'm suspicious," Harry suggested.

"They already suspect you... especially Snape," James said.

"To be fair, Snape always suspects me of being guilty of everything," Harry felt the need to point out. "But the real question is... can they prove anything?"

James sat down and thought for a second. "They briefly questioned the boys before being taken to St. Mungo's, and... they were unable to remember the person who attacked them. There were clear signs of Obliviation being used. And the other students present... they were all knocked out before seeing anything useful."

"See? I did a much better job this time." He didn't even use Apparition since now he knew they could detect that. Instead, he used a secret passage to leave the dungeons.

"What about your wand?" his father asked.

"Clean. Since I didn't use it."

"Don't underestimate Miss Bones and Dawlish. They are good at detecting lies, even without magical means."

"Anything else?"

"Yes... I would like to know why you did this. You said they were Death Eater recruits... so was that the reason? Or was it revenge because they attacked your sister?"

"That's part of it, yes," Harry admitted.

"What is the rest then? What other motives could you have?"

Harry grinned. "You should see the results soon enough. Probably in a month or two."

"Just tell me! I already have Dumbledore for keeping secrets," James shouted.

"Sorry, I can't. It's not like I don't want to tell you, but doing so may ruin things. Now... let's stop the questioning here," Harry stood up. "Best not make them wait too long. Snape is probably already fuming..."

"He always is," James sighed.

<><><><><><><><><><>

He was then led into a classroom with Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and Auror Dawlish waiting for him.

For the most part, the Auror conducted the interrogation, with only Snape interrupting a few times to accuse Harry of something. They questioned him for fifteen minutes with his father present and then tested his wand.

With no clear evidence of any wrongdoing, they had no choice but to let him go.

Both Dumbledore and Snape knew it had been him, although for different reasons.

Dumbledore knew he was the only one capable of moving around the castle without his knowledge. And the only one with the magical prowess to fight against a group of seniors alone and win.

Despite tampering with their memories, Marcus Flint and the rest will eventually realize the identity of their attacker, and so will their parents.

With no hard evidence, they could not openly accuse him of anything, so they will have to resort to other means.

At last, that was what he was counting on.

<><><><><><><>

That same afternoon, he was discreetly called to the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore had apparently, not been satisfied with his explanation after all.

As Harry went inside, he was welcomed by a frown face.

"You look grumpy today, Professor," Harry pointed out before taking a seat.

"I expected Professor Snape to be here too."

"He wanted to...It was hard to convince him to leave." Dumbledore admited.

"Harry... you are in a very unique position. Because of this, I have overlooked many things. I never said anything when you destroyed Hogwarts property... but... this time, I have four grievously wounded students in St. Mungo's."

"You do," Harry nodded.

Dumbledore was not amused. "I remained mostly quiet during the morning interrogation because I trusted that you must have a very good reason for this. But I would like to hear it from you."

"I did have a good reason," Harry told him.

The Headmaster frowned again.

"Elaborate a bit more, please."

"I find the approach of your Order of the Phoenix a bit too passive. I'm trying to push things a bit."

"Push things, you say?..." Dumbledore asked. "You need to give me a more clear answer."

Harry chuckled. "You have no idea how funny that is, coming from you."

He leaned onto the desk.

"But I will give you a more clear answer... I'm starting a private war with Lord Parkinson and his followers."

"What?! Harry, that's preposterous. Didn't James tell you to leave things to the Order?"

"He did...and until now, I have left the Order to approach things in your own way. But we are running out of time." 

"What makes you think that?" Dumbledore asked.

"The Order has been keeping an eye on his movements better than me so you must have also noticed things starting to change this year. Just one look at the Slytherin house and you can see it. You have many sons and daughters of Death Eaters members and potential members or allies, and they are all acting...off. "

Dumbledore remained silent for a minute.

"You are right about that. Lord Parkinson has been moving a lot for the past months. He has been creating many new alliances with other members of the Wizengamot and also, his most trusted allies have been taking trips to different parts of the country or even outside."

"They are trying to find reinforcements. Giants, trolls, vampires, werewolves...I would keep an eye on those."

"We already are...so far, we have seen nothing suspicious," Dumbledore answered.

"I believe that Lord Parkinson is preparing to take over the country this year. But he knows he is not Voldemort... without some powerful allies, he doesn't have the military strength to take over by force. This means he will try to do so by political means... do you know how to stop that?" Harry asked.

"Well, unless we find out exactly what he is trying to do... no. But I don't understand. How is crippling those boys going to matter in th... wait..." Dumbledore appeared to finally realize something. 

"You... you are trying to start a Blood Feud with those families?!"

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