Chapter 111: The meddler

Harry was not surprised when he got a summons to Dumbledore's office. He expected the Headmaster to do it immediately after Malfoy was hauled off from Hogsmeade. He supposed the man was busy trying his luck to get Malfoy out of the DMLE's clutches. But the front page Daily Prophet article about the arrest of Draco Malfoy with the standard Death Eater brand proudly displayed on his forearm put all the confusion to rest. The ministry had immediately cashed in on capturing the hired wand of the Dark Lord charged with assassinating Albus Dumbledore.

He particularly liked the fact that Malfoy was charged with attempted murder, being a member of a listed rebel organisation, casting an Unforgivable curse, possession of an object enchanted with dark magic, purposefully endangering underage wizards and breaching the Statute of Secrecy. The last charge was a common charge applied to all Death Eaters regardless of any of their individual actions. The organisation as a whole was responsible for exposing the wizarding world to the muggles because of their actions.

Harry doubted Draco Malfoy would get the Dementor's Kiss, but he doubted the Ponce would get a reprove from Azkaban. Of course, Minister Bones was no longer trying to hold Death Eaters in Azkaban, considering the fickle nature of Dementors.

If Harry was satisfied with the results of Draco Malfoy's capture and subsequent incarceration, Ron was over the moon upon hearing the news. Once Ron read the Daily Prophet in the Great Hall, the redhead jumped over the Gryffindor table, shouted out his support for the aurors, and fist-pumped for good measure. Ron's reaction, while dramatic, attracted quite a few shouts and whistles of approval from the student body.

Draco Malloy, over the course of five years, had painstakingly carved a reputation of a schoolyard bully. That reputation had soared to new heights since the Dark Lord's return, and the mini Death Eater got the prefect badge. Ever since that idiot got a taste of power, he had been lording it over everyone, heightening the dislike of the Malloy brand across the four houses.

It was pretty natural for those who exercised policing power to get disliked. So, most prefects tend to get a lot of blowback because they use the power against those they dislike or even enforce their authority enough to piss off everyone. Adding Snape's standard dose of daily abuse and Malfoy's ego into the mix, anyone at the end of Malfoy's shenanigans was teeming with outright hatred.

It was one of the reasons why he never took points from anyone or assigned detentions. It was an easy way to get disliked, especially by the students who thought house points and house cup were worth a damn.

Ron's over-the-top celebration did not go unnoticed. Professor McGonagall put Ron on a month of detention, but that never put any damper on the wide, satisfied grin on the redhead's face throughout the day. The classes went on almost smoothly even though the rumour mill of Hogwarts was churning a lot of theories about Draco Malfoy's current condition and incarceration. Most students believed Malfoy would get the Dementor's Kiss, missing the fact that most of the Dementors had rebelled and left Azkaban. Some thought Malfoy would be subject to torture to find Death Eaters and the Dark Lord's lair.

But out of the many such rumours, Harry loved the one Luna unwittingly started. According to the latest edition of the Quibbler, Draco Malfoy would be sent to work in the mines of Gringotts under a secret pact between the Ministry and the Goblin Nation. Though many students were aware of the Quibbler's reputation, they forgot that in favour of their shared dislike of Draco Malfoy. According to Luna, the Quibbler had become highly sought out by the students, and she had to write to her father to send more of the print to Hogwarts.

Harry had his print of the Quibbler safely tucked away in his trunk. He hoped to keep it in a frame and preserve the article for the sheer comedic value. He had taken Luna's autograph and hoped to get her father's autograph in due time. Luna even managed to extract a promise from him to give an interview about Draco Malfoy. He was just debating himself about the pros and cons of such an enterprise when Professor McGonagall swooped in with a summons from Dumbledore.

That was how he found himself stepping into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was in his seat with a grave look plastered on his face.

Harry's eyes searched for the phoenix, but Fawkes was nowhere to be found. The phoenix tended to leave the headmaster's offices whenever there was a severe contentious issue to discuss that could devolve into a fight. He didn't think Fawkes was a coward but more of a drama queen. He suspected Fawkes liked to make dramatic entrances at an emotionally volatile moment to diffuse it with a distraction or even a Phoenix song.

He couldn't be sure, but he'd bet on it. In some ways, it was an effective rapport Dumbledore and Fawkes were having.

"Harry. Please take a seat."

"Thank you. I take it this is not another one of your lessons, professor." Harry commented as he gracefully sat on the chair across from Dumbledore.

"I'm afraid you're right. Lemon drops?" Dumbledore offered, pointing to a bowl of sweets on the man's table.

"No, thank you."

"Harry, I'm very disappointed in you." Dumbledore started with a grave tone, looking mighty disappointed.

"Okay." Harry nodded genially.

It was not as if he cared one whit what anyone thought of him. Their opinions meant nothing to him, least of all Dumbledore. So, Harry merely raised an eyebrow and looked expectantly at Dumbledore while folding his hands against his chest.

"Do you not have to say anything?"

"Of course. I feel quite happy to have done a splendid job in service of the British wizarding community to ensure a dangerous criminal has been pulled off the street." Harry said with an easy shrug.

"A criminal? Draco Malfoy was a fellow student in this school." Dumbledore looked like someone punched him in the nuts as he said that.

"Oh, right! I forgot there is a law that claims any wizard or witch can use the Imperius Curse on a sentient being and get away with it so long as they're a Hogwarts student." Harry drawled as he stared at Dumbledore unimpressed.

"I did not say that, Harry." Dumbledore said disappointedly.

"Then please…by all means. Say what should be done with someone who uses the Unforgivable curse on a barmaid who serves butterbeer and engages in small talk with her daily customers." Harry pinned Dumbledore with a hard stare.

As usual, there was silence and more attempts at guilt-tripping from Dumbledore.

"Why didn't you come to me, Harry? I could've…"

"Are you an Auror?" Harry cut off the headmaster.

"That is not important."

"Oh, I think it is. You believe only you know what is best, and everyone must follow your wishes, right?"

"No, Harry. I only want…"

"Then sit back and relax and for once let the law enforcement do their job instead of imposing your will on the world Headmaster. It's time for you to remember that you are Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. That's it and nothing more." Harry said, talking over Dumbledore once again.

"I know my limits, Harry." Dumbledore frowned.

"I really don't think you do headmaster." Harry shook his head. "You get constantly reminded by the tragedies that happen around you that you're not infallible, and yet you insist on meddling in affairs that have nothing to do with you."

"Are you any different, Harry? You were only too happy to interfere in matters that didn't concern you." Dumbledore said.

Harry felt a sliver of rage crop into his mind as he temporarily lost his hold on his mental faculties. But he managed to beat down that rage with cold, hard logic that, in the end, Dumbledore didn't matter. The man was inconsequential for the future.

"I'm not going to be a part of giving second chances to Death Eaters when they are running around doing the bidding of Voldemort without any remorse and with the intent to kill and maim people around them." Harry said firmly.

"Do you not see anything redeemable in Draco Malfoy? Do you not find it in your heart to give a chance to a fellow student to make the right choice?" Dumbledore asked in a desperate yet soft tone.

"No, not when I'm fighting a war to destroy Voldemort and all his supporters." Harry answered without any hesitation.

Dumbledore now looked like someone crushed the man's soul.

"I'm so sorry Harry. I have burdened you with such a tall task of battling Voldemort, which has robbed your childhood and made you into who you are." Dumbledore's blue eyes shined with tears.

Just seeing that made Harry develop an urge to punch the man in the face, consequences be damned.

"May I be excused? I have better things to do than waste my time in pointless banter." Harry said as he felt the tolerance level dropping with the more time he spent in the presence of Dumbledore.

"How dare you, boy! In my time, no student would dare to talk back to the headmaster of Hogwarts in such a disrespectful manner." One of the portraits of the past headmasters piqued up with a scowl on his portly face.

"In that case, you must've lived in an era where the headmaster of Hogwarts was not a meddlesome old man who minded the running of Hogwarts instead of micromanaging the lives of everyone around him." Harry retaliated sharply.

"Why you…" the old man in the portrait growled.

Harry paid no mind to the opinions of dead men.

He stood up and stared at Dumbledore, imparting a last bit of thought before he left the office.

"To repeatedly defend oneself and never retaliate against an enemy determined to kill you is suicide. You made that mistake with Voldemort and his Death Eaters when they waged war on the wizarding world. I don't intend to make that mistake."

*****

The whirlwind of excitement and chatter surrounding Draco Malfoy's arrest by the aurors continued despite the professors giving everyone a pile of assignments and stepping up their game in the classroom. It was hard to let go, especially when Rita Skeeter took a particular amount of glee to drag the Malfoy name through the mud. Skeeter's peculiar style of digging up dirt from the past and blowing it out of proportion works wonders.

By the time she was done with Draco Malfoy, everyone had the perception of a disturbed teenager who was unredeemable and stuck in the ways of his murderous father and grandfather. Of course, the final nail in the coffin came from the Quibbler. Luna had gone around the school interviewing students from different houses and years to make a long-running feature out of the schoolyard bully that was Draco Malfoy.

The only people who were disappointed or sad in Hogwarts about Draco Malfoy's fate were Dumbledore and Snape. Both men were reserved in the following week, and Dumbledore was usually absent most of the days from Hogwarts. Even Slytherin House was not bothered by Malfoy's absence because they immediately replaced the guy with William Harper as their Seeker. According to the rumour mill, the Slytherin Captain replaced Malfoy the very next day while loudly complaining about Malfoy's refusal to participate in practice sessions.

While the classes and the usual Hogwarts drama were going on, Harry was also engaged in sifting through all the finds the Flamels dumped on him. Unlike in the past, he now had Daphne's help to go through the piles of information. The All-speak charm took care of the language barrier for Daphne, even though she could handle Latin.

"This language is strange, and I think I have seen some of these symbols in some ancient rune texts." Daphne muttered as she sifted through piles of copies of transcripts taken from stone tablets and cave paintings. 

"I wouldn't be surprised. If Merlin lived 10,000 years back, as the Flamels claimed, then it's only natural for the written script to have survived hidden within the known scripts of our time. I mean, just look at the symbols for numbers in the script. They're quite sophisticated and useful for crafting runes." Harry pointed out.

"I have noticed. The runic representation of numerals has always been difficult, but this language has the flow patterns necessary for flawless uninterrupted carvings." Daphne mused aloud.

"Indeed. These numerical symbols have better synergy with alphabets, which is unheard of in old runic languages. It's a departure from the commonality of all runic languages, which use a combination of alphabets to represent numbers." Harry muttered as he carved a simple rune matrix on a stone pebble.

"Do you think they were speaking the truth about Merlin being the progenitor of all magical beings?" Daphne asked after some time, looking up from some of the records in her hand.

"I do not know. Some of these texts mention Atlantis, where Merlin and 'his people' supposedly lived. The city of Atlantis is an old muggle legend, and I suspect by the look on your face there are legends of the mythical city in the wizarding world as well."

"There are tales just like there are tales about Avalon. But they are just children's stories and old songs. There is nothing substantial in such stories." Daphne said with a shrug.

"Every story has some information embedded in it. Maybe there is something in it that could connect with any of the information we currently have before us." Harry said, rubbing his eyes and leaning away from the number of parchments and scrolls laid out on the table.

"I suppose I could ask for some of my old books from home and look for some common tales connected to any of this." Daphne murmured, nodding at the scrolls sprawled before her.

"Let's call it a day." Harry sighed, setting the scroll he was reading.

They had combed through a lot of stuff in an hour they managed to find after the classes were over for the evening in the Chamber. It became apparent that Daphne was also bored out of her mind by the speed with which she stood up from her seat, ready to leave the Chamber.

"You want to bet who'd win the quidditch match?" Harry asked.

"I bet Gryffindor will win with a hundred points lead over Slytherin. Interested to take the bet?" Daphne raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Touche. You seem to have no confidence in the Slytherin team. What would Salazar think about his snakes betting against his house?" Harry smirked at his girlfriend.

"I'm sure Salazar will approve. I have the sense to win instead of being blindly loyal to his house, unlike an unthinking Gryffindor." Daphne said with a snort and flick of her hair over her shoulder as she sauntered away.

"Hey!"

*****

An excerpt from The Continental War 1660-1670 by Marcus Slytherin

The Christmas of 1661 was a pivotal moment in the history of two powerful polities of Europe. The Scottish Empire launched a war of conquest without much provocation against the rest of Europe in 1660 under the reign of Titus Targaryen. When one year passed, the Dutch Republic had fallen under the relentless assault of the Scottish army and navy. The Scottish fleet had cut off Dutch shores from the rest of the world before they landed troops in Dutch lands. The Scottish army, led by Henry Targaryen, took complete control of Danish territory. The Dutch royal house Nassau capitulated to the Scottish crown on 3rd June 1661. But it was on 1st December 1661 that a formal proclamation came from the Scottish crown. The Dutch Republic was officially dissolved by the order of King Titus, and in its place, the Dutch Principality was established with Prince Henry Targaryen as its first reigning prince.

The six months that led to the official crowning of Henry Targaryen was not a period of peace because, outside the borders of the principality, an ugly war was being waged. While France and the Holy Roman Empire were initially trying to take over the lands of the Dutch Republic, it devolved into a direct war between the two great European powers. The war, however, was only exacerbated when King Titus enforced muggle-repelling wards across the captured territory of the defeated Dutch Republic.

A portion of the muggle armies of France and the Holy Roman Empire were trapped inside the ward, and those outside found themselves cut off from their battleground. While this should've given pause to any reasonable polities, the two empires, spurred on by regional ambitions and bloodshed of the past, continued the conflict.

The six-month period was not wasted by the Scottish Empire. Under the orders of King Titus, the Scottish Empire underwent a massive military build-up, expanding its army and navy. Three new invasion forces were created by King Titus under princes Henry, Jason and Hector.

Prince Henry was ordered to pacify the Dutch and use the fallen republic as a stable base for further invasion into the heart of central Europe. Prince Jason Targaryen, the king's second cousin, was charged with the invasion of Spain, while Prince Hector was tasked with subjugating France. Seventeen dragon riders were under the Scottish crown at the time of this invasion. Nine of these seventeen dragon riders landed on mainland Europe with a massive armada under their command.

The port of Le Havre was the first place to feel the scorching heat of dragon fire, where Prince Hector Targaryen, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and Prince Edward Targaryen landed on their dragons. The assault on Le Havre was led by the three dragons Stormcloud, Deathwind, and Redburn. The dragons unleashed their potent flames on the port city, turning it into a living hell on the planet. Unlike the Scottish cities that were enchanted to stop the spread of flames, the muggle port city on the banks of the Seine had no such protections. The dragonfire of the three dragons burned so hot the river boiled for an entire day, and the flames consumed the entire port within the hour of the attack. As Le Havre was a strategic port city, the official plan of the Scottish crown was to capture the city intact but destroy the French fleet moored at the port.

But contrary to their plans, the entire city was consumed in towering tongues of red, gold and green flames that lit the night sky. The port city burned for three days, and the Scottish fleet found itself in a difficult position by being forced to land their troops on the mouth of La Morelle. The Scottish sorcerers had to overwork and transfigure the difficult terrain of the shores of La Morelle to anchor their ships.

Despite the strategic setback in terms of achieving their primary military goal of securing the port city of Le Havre, their army managed to land on French soil. The Scottish army was now at the western banks of the Seine instead of the east, but this was only a temporary setback. Whether their landing changed or not, the blow on Le Havre was felt all the way in Paris. The capital city of France shook when the news filtered in that half their fleet was gutted in the Battle of Seine, and their port city was now nothing more than ash. 

The complete destruction of Le Havre with a death toll in the thousands while grotesque started the long and bloody tale of Prince Henry the Annihilator. From court sources in France, the name was assigned by none other than King Antoine II of House Bourbon. 

AN:

To read ahead of the update schedule;pat(r) eon. C (O) M/Dragonspectre

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