Lord and Ladies

Robbery

The next Wizengamot meeting had only one item on the agenda – replacing the incompetent and corrupt Fudge with somebody who could really lead to a better future. The Prophet had already exposed all the bribes he had been getting for years, his questionable relations with known Death-Eaters and the way he had acted within the ministry, as if he was above all laws and regulations. Once removed from office, he was sure to be interrogated by the DMLE and put on trial, probably gaining himself a long stay at Hotel Azkaban.

The Potters maintained low profile. Harry arrived with Susan, while Hermione and Daphne came in together, a few minutes later. They said nothing throughout the debate, only casting their votes as needed. Once Fudge was removed, they needed to nominate a new minister. Somebody suggested "Madam Bones," and soon enough she was elected by the majority of the Wizengamot, with only a few dark families abstaining.

Harry met her after the vote. "As much as I'm glad to have you in this position, I'm also worried. Voldemort may target you even more than before. I'd like to add another layer of wards to your home, if you allow."

Amelia Bones was touched by his concern. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking about Goblin wards. Voldemort despises anyone who isn't a pureblood, and disregards the Goblins just as he disregards the house elves. This also means that he has probably not studied their magic and may not know how to overcome their wards. If I understand correctly, they cannot be overwhelmed by excessive magic – it only strengthens them further."

"So, you want me to augment my wards with Goblin wards?"

"Precisely. I'm willing to cover the cost as well."

Amelia waved that offer away. "The Bones family can easily cover the cost of some more wards, and if it would make Suzy happier, it's not too much of a cost."

A bit later, when Harry accompanied Susan to Gringotts to discuss the additional wards, one noticed his scar. "How long do you have that scar?"

"Since I was about one year old – more than thirteen years."

The goblin shook his head. "A normal scar, even one caused by dark magic, should have healed by now. There must be something there that prevents it from healing. Do you mind if we check it?"

"What do you expect to find there?"

"I don't know, and I'm not one of those who can check it, but our healers are quite good at healing curse scars, no matter how bad they seem. It may interest them."

Harry agreed quite reluctantly. He first finished the business of setting new wards for Amelia and then followed that goblin to the healers.

It only took them a few minutes to diagnose his scar. "There's some dark entity in there. It can't go into your head, as you're protected from it by some ancient magic, yet it can and does steal some of your magic to survive. Once we remove it, you'll feel more powerful and the scar will heal nicely."

Harry was eager to get rid of it. "When can you do it?"

"Right now, if you like."

The ritual to remove that dark entity took almost an hour, but when finished, Harry felt much cleaner, and the healers promised that his scar would heal completely in a matter of days. He only needed to smear some Essence of Dittany on it twice a day, until the scar disappeared.

"What was there in my scar?" he asked.

"A fragment of a soul, probably of the one who cast the curse on you. If a soul is fragmented so badly, it becomes unstable. We have some means to find the other parts of that soul and either unite them or destroy them, as we find most appropriate."

Harry thanked them and returned to Susan, who was waiting anxiously. "What took you so long?"

"They did some ritual, removing a dark entity from my scar. It should now heal nicely. Have you finished all the arrangements for the warders to come tomorrow?"

She smiled. "Aunty still thinks we may be overreacting, but she agreed to stay at home for the duration and to pay for the new wards."

This turned to be just in time. Voldemort appeared near the outer wards two days later, trying unsuccessfully to dismantle them, only leaving when a group of aurors approached. When Madam Bones checked the wards, she found them much stronger than before.

Harry was invited to Gringotts a few days later.

"We've found several more fractions of that soul. One was in a vault here, against our explicit regulations of not allowing any dark magic in the vaults. It was disposed of and the cleansed object was moved to your vault. We found the second fragment in a ring, hidden in the remains of the Gaunt house. It was also cleansed and moved to your vault. Another one was found in the Black home in London, and Lord Black was happy to have it cleansed, while his house-elf seemed enthusiastic about it. There's still one at Hogwarts, and we can only handle it if you permit us entry there. The other two fragments are in Voldemort's snake and Voldemort himself. We believe that once we get access to the fragment at Hogwarts, we shall have no problem with the snake. This will make Voldemort easier to defeat."

Harry didn't hesitate. "Well, you have my permission, and the house-elves will also help you, if needed."

The Goblins came to Hogwarts the next night. When they finished their job, about an hour later, they left Harry a very nice tiara, that had supposedly belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. Harry gave it to Hermione, as she was Lady Ravenclaw.

Voldemort didn't know what to do. He had depleted all the money he managed to steal from Malfoy and Macnair, yet he didn't feel powerful enough to rob some other magical families. He was actually feeling less powerful each day. Damn Wormtail! If only that wizard was a bit more competent he could send him to rob some money, yet he could barely count on the rat to do the grocery shopping correctly.

Voldemort knew he was in a greater trouble than he had ever encountered. With that damned vow, he could no longer count on his old followers, nor on anybody near the ministry. With no money, he didn't even have ways to entice new recruits. He could use Imperius for a while, only he wasn't sure how long he could keep it. People were known to have resisted that curse. It seemed like the only way to change his fate was to get some money. But how?

He contemplated robbing Gringotts. That place surely had enough gold to sustain him for centuries, yet it was very well guarded. He remembered trying to reach that vault where Dumbledore had kept the Philosopher's Stone. It was a nightmare, and it was eventually for naught – the vault was empty. The goblins had updated their security measures since, of that he was sure.

Well, there were also Muggle banks. They didn't hold much gold in there, but with some luck, he could buy gold with those phony paper notes. Besides, no muggle could stand the Dark Lord. He only needed to check some of their bank branches and decide on the best way of action. He wondered where his snake was hunting. That beast had recently become quite scarce. As a matter of fact, he hadn't seen it for more than a week. If only he could use the snake for the robbery...

Voldemort might have been patient as a young man, when he was still called Tom Riddle. As he grew more powerful, adopting the name Voldemort, he lost whatever patience he had before. Watching a bank for several days, learning the habits and the rules by which it functioned, was not something he was inclined to do himself. He sent Wormtail to check for him. That was still within that wizard's abilities. Barely so.

Based on those observations, he selected the branch to rob and made his plan. Unfortunately, a wand would not intimidate the muggles, although it could be a much deadlier weapon than a gun. He could transform his wand into a gun, but he disliked the idea. He would just transfigure something into a gun. He didn't intend to use it, really, so he didn't need to know about its innards. As long as it looked like a real gun, that was good enough. Wormtail had told him that there were very few clients at that branch during the morning. Voldemort liked striking at night, but he could do it during daytime as well. His program seemed full-proof.

Mr. Granger liked to read the evening paper after returning from the clinic. It was kind of refreshing to read about whatever was there, after spending most of the day looking into peoples' mouths. He normally started his reading with the back page, where the most bizarre stories were printed. He was usually fascinated by the stupidity of some people or their weirdness. This was one of these days.

"Look what a stupid robbery," he told his wife, showing her the paper.

Today, at 09:12, a bank in Leeds was robbed. The robber, wearing black robes and what seemed to be a horrible face mask, came to the cashier, pointing a handgun and demanding to be given all the money in the vault. According to the bank's regulations, the cashier didn't argue. He took the large sac handed to him by the robber and moved to fill it. Pressing the alarm switch on passing. This new alarm system doesn't make any sound within the bank; it only sounds outside and alerts the police. It is intended to minimize the risk of unexpected actions by the robbers. The cashier filled the sac with the lowest value banknotes found in the vault and handed it to the robber, who demanded that a second sac be filled.

The police arrived well before the cashier could fill that second sac. Using the new, soundless rifles, they shot the robber on both knees and on his right arm. To their surprise, the robber didn't bleed. He just seemed to disintegrate. Some black smoke seemed to leave his robes as they collapsed to the floor. When checked, there was only an old bone, a rotten hand, evidently not connected to an arm or a body, and a small puddle of blood. The gun used for the robbery was found to be fake, and a polished stick of wood was found in the robes. The police also captured a fat rat that had a metal front paw. The cats at the police station took care of it.

None of the money was eventually taken. It is still unclear who or what that robber was.

"I think we should send this to Harry," Mrs. Granger said.

"Why?" her husband frowned, before giving it some more thought. He then smiled. "Of course, dear. Do you think that his owl would come, if we call it? What was its name?"

"I don't remember. It could have been Hagrid, or Dobby or..."

"What can Dobby do for the parents of The Great Harry Potter's Lady?" the small house-elf seemed enthusiastic to do something.

"Can you make a copy of the last page of this paper and take it to Harry?"

"Sure, Dobby can do!" Dobby clicked his fingers, making an exact copy of the whole paper. He then ripped the last page apart and put it in a small shoulder-bag he was carrying. "Don't you want anything else? Dobby can cook your meal and clean the dishes, if you like."

Both Granger adults laughed. "We really appreciate your offer, but it wouldn't seem right to have a house elf in a non-magical house, Dobby. Just take this to Harry, if you please."

"Dobby will do. Don't hesitate to call Dobby whenever you want some help," the little house elf exclaimed and vanished.

The Potter family was just returning to their apartment after dinner, when Dobby popped in front of them. "Harry Potter Sir, the parents of Lady Potter asked me to bring this." He handed the folded paper and vanished.

"I didn't know he was still here," Harry noted.

"And he was evidently attentive to my parents as well. I wonder how they even thought of calling him."

"I think they wanted to call Hedwig, but mixed up the names in my story. He's still a funny little chap..."

The four teens sat down at the table to read that page. It was Harry who noticed the remains: "Bone of the father, blood of the enemy and flesh of the servant – I believe it was Voldemort who tried to rob that bank."

"And Wormtail was with him, ending as some cat food, as he deserved," Hermione said fiercely.

"Yes, Voldemort gave him a metal hand to repay for his sacrifice. It probably turned into a paw, when in his animal form."

"So, do you think it's over?"

"It does looks like that way. Maybe we should show this to Dumbledore, to make sure."

All three wives wanted to come along. Dumbledore seemed quite surprised at seeing the whole group. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Harry handed him the paper. "I believe this is the appropriate end," he said, pointing at the short report.

Dumbledore read it attentively, also checking the attached photograph. He then smiled. "Well, eventually you got rid of him, just as the prophecy said, although in a very different way than what I thought would happen."

"A prophecy?" all teens asked.