IngloriousMe
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The-Aftermath-Most-Unique (I) [Chapter 105]
🕑 Added 2023-03-15 23:09:27 +0000 UTC~~Luton, London~~
“That was foolish beyond proportions!! You shouldn’t have taken such a huge risk!” Sirius exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air and started to pace angrily. “You could have been hurt!” Sirius exclaimed, looking extremely angry, frustrated, and worried at the same time… Harry would have found that impressive if he wasn’t being chewed out by Sirius, Andi, Ted, Richard, and Olivia. Tonks had to sit this one out as Andi threatened her with embarrassing stories.
Brittany would have loved to support him, but unfortunately, her parents were doing the chewing out and she couldn’t exactly reveal his secrets, so she had to sit alongside her parents, and Harry believed that it was better this way, at least for the time being… Unsurprisingly, Jacklyn was the only one who was on his side even though there wasn’t much she could say or reveal as that would be counter-productive for the image Harry was trying to portray.
“Well, what was I supposed to do, huh?! I couldn’t have stood there and watched her lose her mind!” Harry exclaimed back. “I know it could have gone badly… I could have been hurt, or I could have been killed too, but I needed to do something… It was the right thing to do…” Harry whispered in a low tone, making all the adults, except for Jacklyn, look uncomfortable.
“Oh, well… If you put it like that…” Andi muttered before shifting uncomfortably on the couch. There wasn’t much left to say if Harry put it like that.
“Ah… I think emotions are too high. What’s done is done. There is no changing that past… I think we should sleep it off and talk tomorrow” Ted suggested as he slowly turned toward Sirius, who was staring at the window with a conflicted look on his face. “Sirius?” The man asked softly, making Sirius turn toward him and after a few seconds of silence, Sirius finally gave Ted a reluctant nod.
“Fine” The man nodded his head hesitantly before turning toward Harry… “Look, Harry… I was simply worried. I don’t want to lose you… I can’t lose you” Sirius mumbled before he finally started to leave and for the third time, Harry felt a bit of guilt bubble inside of him, but this time, he quickly squashed the feeling… He knew where the man was coming from and he would love to come clean, but not yet. He wasn’t ready to reveal himself yet.
“Harry, he really cares about you… You should have seen him when he couldn’t find you back at the campsite. Just give him some time to get it out of his system… Your father was like his brother and the death of your parents hit him really hard” Andi said solemnly while patting his shoulder.
“I know” Harry mumbled while nodding his head.
“Richard, Olivia, please follow me, I will show you guys your room” Andi said as she started to lead Richard and Olivia upstairs and the two of them started to follow the former Black woman after giving Harry a last look.
“Don’t worry, kiddo… What you did was commendable… They are simply adults” Tonks shrugged with a grin before ruffling his hair.
“That hurt” Ted placed his hands over his chest with a mock hurt look on his face. “We aren’t that bad, but Harry, you did good” Ted gave a respectful nod before he also started to make his way toward the stairs, but before he could start climbing the stairs, Tonks started to speak.
“Uh, dad. I need to go. With what happened tonight, Madam Bones wants everyone to pull an all-nighter” Tonks explained sheepishly, making Ted simply nod his head.
“Alright. I will pass that on to your mom…” Ted cocked his head as he decided to pass over the news to his wife and then he turned toward Harry, Brittany, and Jacklyn. “So, are the three of you going to stay up? If you ask me, the three of you should sleep too” The man suggested, making the three of them exchange glances with each other.
“I think I am going to call this a day…” Harry answered after a small pause.
“Yeah. It has been a long day and everyone is really tired” Jacklyn nodded her head in agreement.
“Well, good night, guys… I should get going now” Tonks waved at the four of them as she started to make her way toward the Floo. Meanwhile, Harry and the others started to climb the stairs.
“Goodnight, guys” Harry waved at them when they finally arrived on the first floor. He parted away from the group and started to make his way toward his room. The others also wished him goodnight before they started to make their way toward their own rooms…
<Line Break>
~~Director’s Office, DMLE, Ministry of Magic~~
The Floo flared up and Tonks clumsily stepped through the fireplace… At least, she didn’t end up planting her face on the floor. She looked around the room only to find that the others were already there. “Ah… Sorry, I had to deal with a lot of family drama” Tonks apologized sheepishly. Her rank was the lowest among everyone present inside the room so she wanted to be as polite as she could be.
“Don’t worry! We only started a few minutes ago” Amelia quickly waved her hand dismissively as she gestured Tonks to take a seat. Tonks mumbled a thanks as she plopped down in the empty seat. “Alastor was telling us about the bodies he found inside the forest” Amelia explained briefly for Tonks’ sake.
“As I was saying, it was the work of a cold-hearted bastard. Whoever it was or whoever they were, they didn’t hesitate even for a moment… It was like another Thursday for them” Alastor growled gruffly. “Even I am impressed by the way they were killed. Extremely systematic and well-thought-out” Alastor sniffed.
“So, we have a murder hobo or a group of murder hobos walking around” Amelia groaned in frustration as she rubbed her temples. “What can you tell me about the people who were murdered?” Amelia asked tiredly.
“My best guess, they were mercenaries… Wands for hire. I will have to ask some of my contacts to be sure, but I am almost certain that they were mercenaries” Alastor explained thoughtfully. “I think the Death Eaters hired them to kill someone while everyone was busy with the distraction, but they either severely underestimated their target or someone else interfered” Alastor added slowly, making Amelia nod her head as she was also thinking along the same lines.
“Um…” Tonks meekly raised her hand and Amelia simply gestured her to continue as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “How many bodies did we find?” Tonks asked.
“Ten. I believe they were divided into groups of three, which means two bodies went missing” Alastor finished with a shrug before taking a small sip from his hip flask.
“Wait! You might be reading too much into this… They could have been a group of ten, to begin with?” Gawain Robards suggested, making Moody frantically shake his head.
“That doesn’t add up… I know how mercenary groups work. They severely underestimated their target or they would have gone with bigger groups” Alastor snarked. “I already have an idea about who their target was” Alastor added as he gave Amelia a pointed and meaningful look.
“Harry Potter?” Amelia asked, but it was mostly a rhetorical question.
“You seriously can’t be thinking that Harry could kill all of them, right? I know that you already believe that he is a killer and all that, but even if we go with that, the Dursleys were Muggles and these people were adult Wizards and Witches… They weren’t untrained, in fact, they must be quite experienced when it came to combat” Tonks blurted out hurriedly. To be honest, she didn’t want to believe that Harry could kill so many cold-bloodedly.
“I agree with Tonks on this, Alastor… I also don’t believe that Harry Potter could have killed them. First of all, Connie had inspected his Wand and it was clean, and you said it yourself, it was a systematic and ruthless slaughter” Amelia sighed as she leaned back in her chair.
Alastor simply scoffed at the two of them, but before he could say anything, Gawain started to speak. “I think he was the target, but someone else intervened” Gawain said as he scratched his chin before he turned toward the Witch known as Connie. “If the Death Eaters had hired them to kill the boy, then Avery should have known that, right? Did you find something?” He asked and Connie simply scowled.
“So, what did you find, Connie?” Amelia also repeated the question as her gaze focused on one of her most trusted Aurors, Connie Hammer. She was also interested to know what Connie found.
“Nothing! The bastard refused to say anything without his lawyer and Yaxley is taking care of him. You know how much of bitch she is” Connie growled as her body slumped down inside the chair.
“Yes. Yes, I do know… I also have to deal with that bitch from time to time” Amelia scowled as she nodded her head in agreement. “So, we won’t be getting anything from him” Amelia rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Amelia, please don’t tell me that you are still planning to do everything by the books?” Alastor asked with a look of horror on his face.
“Of course, I am not!” Amelia snapped before her gaze focused on the hooded figure, who was yet to say anything. “That is why Saul will take care of it” Amelia smirked smugly, making the said man perk up.
“I will?” Saul asked unsurely as he never agreed to anything.
“Yes, you will. If that snake-faced bastard is coming back then you and your department are fucked too” Amelia retorted smugly.
Saul scowled unhappily under his hood… That bastard Rockwood!! If he ever got his hands on Rockwood then he would skin that bastard alive. “Fine! I will take care of it!” Saul agreed as he stood up from his chair…
