Dreams of Home Chapter 77 (Patreon)

Chapter 77LORD AVERY FOUND DEAD IN KNOCKTURN ALLEY!  AVERY MANOR BURNS!Readers I come to you today with more startling news this time from the economic heart of our country.  At approximately 3:21am, Aurors responded to reports of a body suspended in midair outside of Borgin and Burkes.  First responders arrived and discovered a large figure adorned in black robes, wearing a silver mask floating ten feet in the air.  The lead Auror, Alastor Moody, was tasked with identifying the individual, and upon removing the silver mask determined the man to be none other than Lord Thomas Avery Sr.Lord Avery has been a vocal figure recently in denying the movement to allow Aurors lethal force to combat the terrorist organization known as the Death Eaters.  Finding the man in Diagon Alley with the robes of these terrorists has cast more than a few auspicious questions.  The Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartimeus Crouch Sr, had this to say to the press this morning, “We are investigating every avenue of circumstance that led to Lord Avery’s body ending up in Knockturn Alley this morning.  The investigation is early in its stages, but we have confirmed through Lord Avery’s wand that he had used very destructive spells within a few hours of his body being found.  Whether this implicates him in the attack on the muggle population of Birmingham late last night is unknown at this time.”When asked if Director Crouch believed that this murder was related to the other Pureblood Lords being killed the man looked vastly uninterested in the inquiry, “As I previously said, we are investigating all avenues.  The fact that Avery Manor was burnt down earlier this morning certainly highlights the possibility, but we do not wish to speculate beyond the facts this early in the investigative stages.”Director Crouch refused all other questions, but it is clear the Lords of the Wizengamot are becoming nervous.  Lord Avery marks the fifth death of a Wizengamot member in the last four months, six in the last year including the late Lord Longbottom, seven including the mysterious disappearance of Lord Bones.  This officially surpasses the number of Lords killed in the entirety of the Great War.Following the extinction of the Malfoy line, Yaxley, Rowle, Carrow, and Avery have followed in their footsteps, while other members of the Bones and Longbottom family have assumed control of the Lordship positions.  With whispers of revolution in certain circles the death toll continues to rise in the muggle and wizarding world while more and more wizarding families have decided to flee to the continent to avoid the violence.  Will there be anything left of our government by the time a winner is clear, or is our great country doomed to go up and flames like the Pureblood families homes.  Stay tuned for more.More on the Pureblood murders, Page 4-6More on the attacks on the Muggle world, Page 7The paper on the desk of the Dark Lord burned as his eyes stared holes into the offending piece of journalism.  His most prominent followers were dropping like flies, and the only real success he had to show for it was the murder of Jon Bones and Harfang Longbottom.  Of course many muggles, and Aurors had been killed in his path, but with the death of Avery it could hardly feel like a victory.It was true between himself and his followers they had likely killed 10 for everyone 1 they had lost, but if Lord Voldemort had his way it would be 100 to 1.  He knew these murders were the work of Harry and Charlus Potter, likely with the assistance of Arcturus Black, but there had not been a single survivor to tell the tale.  Not one had escaped, and none could explain how they were getting through the wards of some of his most powerful followers.  They came in the night, and didn’t spare any man or woman.  They were waging war against him, and the time to strike back was coming, the Dark Lord knew it.  As the paper burned on his desk a knock on the door made him growl out, “Enter.”The arrival of Augustus Rookwood didn’t draw his eyes away from the burning piece of rubbish on his desk, and Voldemort spoke silkily as if he didn't have a care for anything in the world, “Speak my slippery friend.”“The Unspeakables are flummoxed my lord.  I just came from Avery’s house.  It is the same as the others.  No breach of the wards.  No signs of forced entry.”“Your theory?” The Dark Lord questioned.Shaking his head the man looked at the burning paper with a frown, “All as unlikely as the next.  Skeleton keys are said to have existed at some point in history, an artifact that could bypass any ward, but none have ever been confirmed by any reliable source.  If they did ever exist both the Potter and Black family would be old enough to have had one in their family vault.  Rumors have gone around about both families, and most pureblood children are taught not to cross them, perhaps this is where those rumors began.”“Perhaps.” Voldemort said not quite believing the fairy tale, “I trust you have other, more plausible theories.”“The others are so unfeasible they are not even worth mentioning, my lord.” The man said clearly trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.The Dark Lord knew that Augustus Rookwood was a brilliant man, and that this puzzle was truly thwarting him, and causing him to lapse into bouts of rage.  Just last week Goyle had been raging in his office over the fact that Augustus had struck the man with cruciatas curse for being an imbecile.  Voldemort had done everything in his power not to chuckle at Goyle’s misfortune, and had promised to speak with Augustus, but the topic had never been broached.“Humor me.” The Dark Lord commanded.Sighing, the man asked, “May I sit, my lord?”Voldemort nodded his head and watched as his follower took a heavy seat in the chair across from him.  The man seemed to consider his words before saying, “This theory is not my own, in fact, it comes from a ridiculous article written in a local magazine that most of the population considers crazy, but there is something about it that has made me ponder the possibilities.”Giving the man time to formulate his thoughts Voldemort asked, “What is the name of the publication?”“The Quibbler, my Lord.”Nodding in understanding the Dark Lord knew now why his most intelligent follower was hesitant to mention the theory, but Augustus was a brilliant wizard, and if he was pondering possibilities, it may be a stone worth turning over, particularly because he himself was puzzled as to how the Potters were doing it.“My lord, are you familiar with the tales of the Deathly Hallows?” Augustus asked much quieter than before.Frowning now Voldemort’s eyes finally left the paper that was now little more than embers on his desk, “I am familiar with the story.”Nodding Augustus sighed, “There are many in our country, and the Wizarding World as a whole, that believe in the objects.  Rumors have circulated about each of the Deathly Hallows, mostly the Death Stick, but with what has been happening, this publication, the Quibbler, has suggested that perhaps Death's cloak is involved.”The Dark Lord immediately scoffed at this and Augustus shook his head, “Forgive me my lord, I am tired, and I speak out of turn.  This is merely the murmurs of a barely educated plebeian.”Voldemort was about to agree, but something stopped him.  The story about the Master of Death was one that had always entertained him in his early years of Hogwarts, but it was quickly dismissed as fantasy, but then enters this Harry Potter.  A boy that he knew he would kill twenty years in the future.  A time-traveler that defied death, to come and be a massive thorn in his side.  He had not seen such an object in his memories, but was it possible the boy had assembled the three artifacts?  Was that how he had traveled through time, defied death, and given himself another chance at beating the most powerful wizard of all time?“Is there any chance it is true?” The Dark Lord whispered.Augustus' head shot up looking at his liege lord in surprise, “My Lord?”“You are likely one of the most intelligent and well learned men I know, Augustus.  In all your travels, in all your studies, have you ever come across anything that suggests these items are real?”The man paused for a long time, and the longer the silence went on, a sense of unease began to cross through the Dark Lord's stomach.  A feeling he had not felt in many years.  A cold sense seemed to fill the room, and he dreaded the answer that followed.“I have heard rumors about the Death Stick, my Lord.  It was something that greatly interested me as a boy.  It was even one of the reasons I sought out the career path of the Unspeakables.  I had hoped to find out more about the Hallows.  My father was a believer in the tales, and told me fantastical stories about them growing up.  By the time I was an adult of course I dismissed them, but in my research the Wand of Destiny seemed to carve a path through history.  I always believed if any of them were real it would be the wand.  Now, with everything that has happened, with everything I can’t explain around the Potter family, I have to wonder if there is more to the others as well.” Augustus explained softly.Voldemort considered his words, and the tension in the room seemed to rise with the cold feeling in his chest, “In all these fantastical tales, did your father ever mention a cloak that could pass through any wards?”Shaking his head, Augustus merely said, “No.  He merely continuously stated that the cloak was something truly invisible.  It seems to be the one thing all believers in the Hallows acknowledge.  If it were real though, and the legends are true, then the fact is the item may be truly invisible, to even magic.”Voldemort could feel his breathing had even increased at the words of his follower, and he knew this was a stone that he could not leave unturned.  No matter how unlikely the legend was.  Rookwood had looked pale as he explained his theory, and something in the Dark Lord's mind screamed that there was more to it than what he was told.  Something that had kept him as King Snake through his year at Hogwarts, told him to investigate this further, “I do not wish you to waste any more of your efforts on this theory, I will look into it personally.  How close are you to working out our other project?”Rookwood’s entire demeanor changed at the question and a smirk crossed his face, “On that front, my lord, I do have good news.”.o.Things had changed around Potter Manor over the last few months.  After Frank, Sirius, James, and Alice, had all been accepted into the Auror Academy, the group training had become a lot less frequent on the homefront.  Particularly with Lily at Hogwarts, and Remus being on the continent at the request of Dumbledore.  Of course Harry was over the moon for his friends about their varying degrees of success, but it had become lonely at times at Potter Manor.Despite the feelings of occasional loneliness Harry and his family had not been idle.  Five successful attacks, thus far, had meant they had put a serious damper on Voldemort's political and financial power.  The man had to have been set back years, and despite the loss of Lord Bones, the light was fighting back.Of course with each death of a Pureblood family James seemed to become more and more suspicious of Harry and Charlus.  It had quickly become clear that the teen did not believe what was happening was right, but he had hardly voiced those opinions.  Harry was only able to determine that from the look on his cousin's face when he read each article detailing the deaths, each as gruesome as the last.Harry knew James didn’t like what was happening, but he had to believe that they had damaged Voldemort’s recruitment drive.  Charlus and Arcturus both had noted the nervous state of the known Death Eaters in the Wizengamot, and Harry hoped they had kept the on the fence families out of the conflict.The only person who had really made their opinions known on what was happening was Dumbledore, during the first few meetings of the Order of the Phoenix.Harry sat in the Headmasters office with nearly three dozen other witches and wizards of varying ages and walks of life.  Sitting next to him was Remus who looked pale from his final night under the full moon the night before, and scattered around them were his friends from the training group.  He also recognized a few professors, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Alphard Black, while noting that Kingsley, Arthur Weasley, and other familiar faces sat closer to the Headmaster’s desk.  The teen recognized a lot of the members of the Order from the photo that Alastor Moody had shared with him in the future, but still a few were unknown to him.  Dumbledore looked pleased at the gathering as he stood from his desk to address the group, silence following his rise, “I want to thank each of you for coming.  I appreciate the risk each of you take by being here, and choosing to stand against the Heir and his followers.  I could not be more proud of the group assembled, and I want you to know I would trust a few others outside this room more than I trust each one of you.”The Headmaster’s eyes took time to brush past each person in the room as he spoke, before finally continuing, “Our main goal for now is to assist the Aurors and Muggles by arriving on scene to mitigate the damage done to the infrastructure of our country.  This does not mean we will be combatting the Death Eaters at every turn, but it also means having violent conflicts with them is inevitable.”Moody, who was closest to the Headmaster’s desk, thumped his hand on it hard, “Ha!  Bleeding bastards will deserve what they get if we ever actually catch up with them.”Many murmurs of agreement followed the Aurors' proclamation, and Dumbledore sighed, “Yes, I fear many of the Dark Lord's followers are beyond reproach, and would not surrender peacefully under any circumstance.  I believe we are a good match for many of his followers, but I must urge supreme caution against confronting Voldemort.”Most of the room seemed to freeze at his name, but Harry just stared at Dumbledore as the man spoke, “I have faced the man on the battlefield before.  With the help of Charlus Potter, and our own Harry Potter, who is perhaps the most gifted duelist to pass through these halls in decades.  Even all three of us were hardly a match for Voldemort in his rage.”Harry shook his head standing, “Those were very unique circumstances however.  My father, and Dumbledore had just put a tremendous effort into breaking through the Heirs' wards, and I had been fighting for half an hour against his followers, while he entered the fight fresh.  Put us back in that situation while all of us are at 100% and we would make it go a different way.”“I’d pay to see that fight.” Moody grumbled, making the others mumble in agreement.Dumbledore bowed his head in acknowledgement to Harry, and spoke again, “Mr. Potter is of course correct, but that does not change the fact that Voldemort is an exceptional wizard.  I doubt any one of us would be capable of besting him.”“Surely you could defeat him, Headmaster?” Arthur Weasley asked near the front, and all the eyes went on Dumbledore.“Your faith in me, Mr. Weasley, is flattering.  I am not suggesting I am not capable, but I would say that it would be a very long fight, and one that I would not enter lightly.” Dumbledore confessed.More mumbles followed and Harry could tell many were disheartened by the words of his old headmaster, while another older wizard, Harry didn’t recognize in the front asked, “Do we have any idea who is behind the Malfoy and Yaxley murders?”Dumbledore frowned openly at the question, and all attention returned to the Headmaster, “I do not have many leads thus far.  Part of me suspects that the Dark Lord himself is behind it.  He has shown us an aptitude for cursed fire in the past, and may be punishing the failure of his followers on tasks as of now that are unknown to us.”Harry felt his insides squirm, but he forced his occlumency to be on lockdown, as Dumbledore’s eyes swept over him. In that moment Harry knew he was a suspect in Dumbledore’s mind, and he only hoped that the man never questioned him on it.“What I do know,” Dumbledore continued, “Is that whoever is doing it, must be stopped.  While it is likely that Lord Yaxley was involved with the Death Eater movement, his wife, Romilda Yaxley Nee Greengrass, was likely an innocent bystander in the fire.”Flitwick chimed in at this, “It’s true, I taught Romilda.  She hardly had a mean bone in her body.  I always pitied the woman for marrying Yaxley, and my heart sank the morning I learned of her demise.”Harry’s stomach dropped at the little professor's words, while Professor McGonagall had nodded her head in agreement, while Dumbledore looked sorrowful as he said, “I know we have our enemies out there, but we must do everything we can to ensure no innocents are caught in our crossfires.  Every one of our enemies must be given a chance to surrender, and come peacefully.  Not all are beyond reproach.  We must remember what separates us from them.”Most of the room nodded in agreement, but Harry could tell there were some who disagreed.  Moody seemed to dismiss the words outright, while the look on Frank’s face seemed to indicate he was less than sympathetic to any that wore the robes of their enemies.  It disturbed Harry to see James and Lily agree with the Headmaster though, and only hoped they would forgive him if the truth ever came out.It had been Harry’s hope that along the way as they burned down each house they would discover a Horcrux was destroyed by the cursed flames.  Needless to say, so far that had not been the case.  Their next target would be the Nott’s however, and Harry had hopes that the old man, Lord Nott, might just be one of the lucky contestants holding a piece of the Dark Lord's soul.Of course Harry knew it was a possibility that the Dark Lord had not entrusted any of his followers with a piece of his soul after seeing what he had seen in Harry’s mind.  With each house they destroyed this became an ever increasing likelihood, something that caked Harry’s stomach with dread.  Regardless they would carry on and hope they crippled the Dark Lords forces along the way.Since Harry’s birthday, there had been no word from his wayward girlfriend.  If she could even be called that anymore.  The only bright side to this was that there was no trace or rumors of Grindelwald across the continent either.  The man had simply vanished, and outside of an occasional article speculating on his whereabouts the man was practically a ghost.Despite this, Harry had feelers out all across Europe.  In his spare time he had visited dodgy pubs in disguise, and even paid a young Mundungus Fletcher a small amount of gold to keep his ear to the ground on any word about the old Dark Lord.  While nothing had come up in the last four months, he held hope that would change at some point.In the meantime Harry would continue responding to calls with the Order of the Phoenix in attempts to foil the Death Eaters' attacks.  Unfortunately their hit and run tactics were as effective as ever, and with some of their heaviest hitters gone they were running away faster than ever before, leaving death and destruction in their wake.Harry knew this at the very least was a boon.  From what Sirius had told him in his previous times, things were very different.  When the Order used to arrive the most powerful Death Eaters would usually stay behind to engage.  The likes of Bellatrix and the other Lestranges were quite the force, and of course Lucius was no reject.  With some of the Dark Lord's most talented followers out of the equation, Harry felt more members of the Order were coming home from foiling the Death Eaters' hit and runs.  Something that would change when Voldemort re-entered the fray.There was no certainty from the Order or Charlus on why Voldemort was sitting out the attacks.  Harry knew in his original time the Dark Lord had spearheaded more than his fair share of raids, but  perhaps the threat of Charlus, Dumbledore, and Harry kept him thinking a little more tactically than before.Judging by the damage done at Bones Manor Harry fully suspected that Voldemort himself had gone after the Lord of the ancient light family, but there had been no witnesses to tell the tale.  It was a wonder if that would continue to be the Dark Lord’s tactics.  Eradicate each family one by one, until he had successfully done what Charlus and Harry were attempting.  At which point he could take the fight into open combat completely unopposed.  It was an unsettling line of thought, but Harry knew his foe was no fool.As the holidays approached Harry was feeling down with each day that approached Christmas.  It was such a far cry from the year before when he had been looking forward to his first family Holiday.  Looking onto the grounds of Potter Manor he could almost see himself standing outside by the creek with Elaina telling her the truth about his past.  It had been such a big step in their relationship, and a move forward that had been the first promise that illuminated the bright future ahead of them.Now he wasn’t even sure if the girl was alive.  It was a thought that made his chest hurt with anxiety, but he knew the thought was no good to be dwelled upon.  An owl in the distance pulled him from his thoughts as it flew straight towards his window.  A familiar brown owl, with a beautiful white face was circling above, and with no effort Harry pushed the windows open allowing the little creature to land on the window seal with a small envelope attached to its talons.  Harry gratefully took the letter from the little creature, and recognized a vaguely familiar sprawl that addressed him directly.  Opening the letter Harry ate up the contents.Harry, as requested, I have been keeping my ear to the ground on the dueling circuits going around across Europe, and I think I have finally found something.  A young woman, claiming to be 24 years old, with a power and speed that seems to match everything my old friends used to rave about has popped up in Eastern Europe.I just received word from an old student of mine that the young woman is a marvel, and that she is going by the name, Esmeralda Robards.  This Ms. Robards is going to be competing at the European Open the weekend before Yule, at the Palais Des Championes.  I plan to attend the duels to investigate the talent of this duelist, and determine if she has any relation to our wayward companion.  I will report back an update in the coming weeks.Love,Alexandra DupontHarry stared at the letter and read it multiple times before deciding on a course of action.  Penning a quick response to his mothers best friend, his stomach somersaulted at the first lead on his girlfriend in months.  It was something he would have to see to himself, personally.