Bellatrix No-Name's trial had gone well. She was declared guilty of all crimes and she was quickly sentenced to death through the Veil. According to various sources, the madwoman went cackeling and swearing her most beloved Master would return to wreck vengance on them all as she fell through the Veil in the department of Mysteries.
Augusta Longbottom had been very unimpressed when recounting the story of Bellatrix's end. Yet she was satisfied, the murderers of her son and daughter-in-law were all gone. All her assets and gold would be shared among her victims. Gran and Neville's part was going to the Long Term Spell-Ward in Saint Mungos for research purposes.
Frank and Alice were still alive even with their shattered minds. Perhaps there was still a chance of healing them. Harry hoped so, for Neville's sake even though the chance of their recovery was so very small, Gran told them with a sad smile.
At least the three Lestrange and Barty were gone now.
Harry had never seen his friend so relieved as when the news spread of Bellatrix's death. The last of his parents attackers were gone, finally. The Longbottom family had their justice and with it, some peace. Even Rita had done quite a nice article about the victims of the Lestranges in which she asked for more donations to the Spell-Ward so they could work more on a cure. It was surprisingly decent of the woman.
Christmas break would start this weekend and Harry was getting worried. He had agreed to celebrate Yule with Andromeda, Tonks and of course Ted, and Christmas with the Longbottoms and the Grangers. Dumbledore had been quiet these last few months and it was disconcerning.
Honestly, he had been hoping for Dumbledore to attack or at least do something a bit sooner. The wait was killing Harry. It would suck if Dumbledore would take over Voldemort's end of the year plans, if he made it so far.
Hermione had done some more research into the curse Dumbledore contracted and the prognosis wasn't good. They were surprised that the old man made it so far already. Most people cursed by this particulair curse didn't make it to day three. But Dumbledore was powerful and very intelligent even with his age and mental faculties going down. Harry was also suspecting something else, Snape was a brilliant potions master who had been in the caste the first few weeks after Dumbledore got cursed.
It wouldn't be unlikely for the man to still be supplying Dumbledore with Potions to manage the dark curse killing him.
His friends agreed. Susan send a note to her aunt with their speculations and from then on it was a waiting game. With the wards healthy and active Dumbledore wouldn't be able to get to Harry himself. Even Snape had a lot less access to Harry this year as he was only allowed to teach the NEWT classes anymore.
Professor McGonagall hadn't been able to fire the man yet since he was a brilliant potions master, but most of all, it wouldn't do to alert Snape to their future plans. Amelia had asked her to keep an eye on the sour man, so she made the best of it.
At least she had been able to make sure that Professor Snape would have no contact with anyone under 17. Snape had no patience for children so this solution was for the best. It suited everyone perfectly both for the teacher and the students. Harry was just glad there would be no more traumatised children after a Potions class.
Harry also got together with Gran and Neville a few times that month to continue to learn about his Houses and the duties that came with them. In one of those conversation they talked about Dumbledore and his parents.
Gran had a lot to say about Dumbledore and his actions, "He's not what anyone would consider a dark wizard in a traditional sense, dear. He's never had your best interest at heart, and your parents didn't have the chance to truly realize the ramifications of that. They never got to grow past the stage of Albus Dumbledore being their all knowing Headmaster. "
Harry had to agree. Dumbledore might have a magical form of Dementia but that didn't make his crimes less bad. He still did them. He still made the decision to self-medicate instead of seeking help. To Harry, that meant he was responsible for all of it.
His parents had trusted Albus Dumbledore, and while he hadn't killed them himself, Dumbledore had made it strangely easy for Voldemort to find them. There had been so many other, much safer options than the cottage in Godric's Hallow. They got talking about the magical sacrifice his parents had made for him and how that memory haunted him.
Then Gran told him something that made his heart break all over again, "Believe me, Lily regretted nothing in the last moments in her life, but the fact that she would not be here anymore to love and protect you. The same counts for James." She took his hand into her wrinkled one and continued, "It's a parents job, Harry, to protect their children and even sacrifice their own if necessary. In that Albus was right, love is the most powerful magic of all."
Harry barely understood love for most of his life and even now he knew he reacted differently to some things his peers found normal. He had a loveless childhood and if it wasn't for the friends he made here at Hogwarts, Harry was pretty sure he'd never have known anything good. Ron and later Hermione taught him about friendship and later, thanks to Hermione, a sweet kind of love. Befriending Neville gave him a brother he didn't know he needed and with him, a grandmother. Harry was grateful for them all, but he still felt like his missed something.
Harry didn't have parents, people who could teach and guide him, for the longest time. Harry didn't have people in who he could recognise parts of himself in. Sirius had been the closest to that but even he had not quite filled the void. If only Sirius had gotten enough time to offer the Blood-Adoption himself. Now Harry just saw his parents when he looked in the mirror, which was a cold comfort yet better than nothing.
Sirius taught him about family but he died so quickly. Sirius's death almost destroyed Harry and sometimes he wondered if Dumbledore planned for something like that. Why else pick that exact moment to tell Harry the Prophecy? Not to mention how Dumbledore handled Sirius whole situation. He could have done so much more than he did with all his fame and his jobs. Sirius could have been free if only Dumbledore did more than the bare minimum. Harry was furious about that.
Harry was furious about a lot of things if he was honest. But he didn't want to be. He didn't want to be a bad person. Harry didn't want to be someone like uncle Vernon, Tom Riddle or Snape. Harry could think of nothing worse, yet it wouldn't have taken much. He just felt deep inside of him like he owned it to his parents to be the best man he could be.
Remembering what Gran told him that first lesson, "One of the first things I will teach you, Harry Potter, is what it means to be a good man, a thing that has nothing to do with light or dark magic."
And she did. She taught him and Neville everything she knew, everything they needed to become good men, good Lords in the magical and muggle world. Harry never had good rolemodels in his life, but Gran really was that. She was strong, honest and intelligent. Everything Harry could aspire to be.
Gran had also been very proud to see their Animagus forms. Harry was now capable to turn at will, all at once. Neville too was turning into his bear, though not as quickly or all at once as Harry was. He still had to transform part by part but that too was going better every time.
Hermione was almost there too, her leopard was a powerful and beautiful cat who liked to play. Harry loved to play with her in her cat form though she did tend to cheat when chasing each other. Hermione was a very good climber in her Animagus form and liked to use that to win.
They also sometimes slept together in their forms. It was very reassuring to sleep like Grim, to smell Hermione next to him as they lay curled up together. It made the nightmares he still had sometimes go away.
Susan was still stuck on her German Shephard form. She was able to turn her arms and legs into paws and she got the tail but nothing else as of yet. Though that wasn't surprising. The Animagus Transformation was a NEWT-level technique.
Hannah, Luna and Ginny had all managed to find their own inner animal. Luna, to no ones surprise, was indeed an owl. Snowy like Hedwig with big blue eyes.
Ginny was a fierce looking horse, black as night with brown eyes and Hannah was a pretty little doe of some kind. It took some research to find her breed, a Northern Pudu. They are the smallest kind of deer in the world and are most commonly found in South America.
All three of them were trying to transform their limbs into their animal version but it was slow going. It was a very difficult progress and Harry was still surprised he had managed it in such a short time.
On one of the other Hogsmeade weekend Harry met there with Amelia, Gran, Moody, Andromeda and Ted. They needed to come up with a plan to trap Dumbledore in a way he couldn't escape. Moody had a lot to tell them about his old friend. Things no one had known and Dumbledore would surely be furious to find out they now knew.
Moody confessed what he knew.
"I believe him a deeply flawed man with delusions of a future of his own design," Moody said roughly. "A vision so grand that he turned Gellert Grindelwald's head with it. Albus only backed away from his lover when his younger sister Arianna was killed. I've long feared that Dumbledore saw an opportunity to get rid of Arianna that day, and he used Gellert as a chance to do it. His sister was holding him back, and Albus had dreams of his own. Though I do think he regretted it, after it was done. He has carried that guilt for as long as I have known him. "
It was shocking to hear but Moody wasn't done yet. This was clearly a secret that the old Auror was glad to finally tell.
"He was a powerful and arrogant youth and now he is a deeply disturbed adult. The disease seems to make much of the lessons he's learned in the the years after Arianna's death to disappear. It's like all his empathy is gone. So now we have a powerful, intelligent and sociopathic Albus Dumbledore out for Harry's life."
Andromeda put in her own two cents, "Magical Dementia is different from the muggle version. It can be different from everyone. Dumbledore seems to be suffering on a emotional level yes, but also like all his reason has disappeared. We basically have a young and in love with Grindelwald version of Albus Dumbledore here."
That was exacly it. It was like all Dumbledore's emotions, his empathy was gone. All what was left were his own goals and ambitions no matter the cost. An up coming dark lord.
"But the fact remains," Amelia said gravely, "is that he never sought treatment even thought he knew about his disease. This means he is culpable for the crimes he committed. We need to stop him before he does something even worse."
They also discussed some more about the Prophecy. Harry still wondered often why the man had never checked up on him while he lived with the Dursleys, why he had involved himself in Algie's Longbottom madness. Sometimes he thought Albus Dumbledore wanted them weak, easily led by the one who saved them and brought them to Hogwarts. Sharing his thoughts with his people, Harry wasn't even surprised anymore to see them agreeing with him.
"To make one or both of the boys equal to Voldemort," Amelia Bones said flatly. "That's the cruelest thing I've heard in some time and it's foolish as hell! Like Fate needs his help!" She huffed and shoved a whole biscuit in her mouth which she chewed on furiously.
Gran nodded, "Albus always had some strange and often arrogant ideas but this takes the cake! He purposly tried to make the childhoods of my grandchildren as bad as possible."
Ted took ahold of his wife's hand, "Enough is enough. Surely you have enough evidence by now to arrest him, Amelia?"
Amelia looked chagarined, "Arresting him isn't the problem, Ted. While Harry has done a good job on making sure Dumbledore has as little allies left as possible, he's still very powerful. Catching him and holding him will be difficult."
Harry nodded, "We need to trap him."
They decided that they would try to lure Dumbledore out using Snape. Amelia was sure that Snape was supplying Dumbledore with the potions to manage his curse and as so far he was the only one they found who had a way contacting Dumbledore. The original plan had been to catch Snape in the act but the sour man had been careful with his communications with the former Headmaster.
Harry and his friends had been the ones to come up with the lure. They would be 'accidentely' be overheard talking about a ritual by Snape. A ritual to summon all the Horcruxes to them in a way to defeat Voldemort for ever.
Not that such a thing existed. But Dumbledore was still in the belief that Voldemort wasn't really gone. That Harry was still a Horcrux and thus needed to die.
Harry found it strangely fitting to use Snape this way. The man had saved his life yes, but he was also a horrible bully and a seriously bad teacher. Harry would always feel ashamed of how his father treated Snape in their Hogwarts years but that was no excuse of how Snape treated children in his care.
Andromeda had only this to say about Professor Snape when they got to that subject, "Snape prefers to life a solitary life. He'd rather invest himself in mourning a woman that was never going to be his than actually work to repent for his terrible decisions. He has no family, no friends. He's somehow in debt to Albus Dumbledore and will do anything he can to survive. Even if that meant playing both sides."
Andromeda had told him about Snape's obsession with his mother some time ago and it wasn't any less horrifying now then it was then. It was sickening to know that Andromeda meant his own mother by that. The dour Professor Severus Snape, who liked to bully his own students had once been best friends with Lily Evans. Apparently, the man had wanted to become even more than that. Ugh.
So they would do a bad job of hiding themselves when talking about the supposed ritual they were planning on doing. They had found a abandoned field outside of the wards where Amelia, Gran, Andromeda, Ted and Moody would be hidden, waiting for the moment Albus Dumbledore would appear. The adults would trap him together and then Amelia would arrest him.
Unfortunately, they hadn't counted on Snape himself.
Harry was walking together with Hermione around the Black lake when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a soft voice in his ear just before he felt the squeeze of apparation saying, "I'm sorry Potter, but I need you to come with me."
"Harry!" Hermione's desperate scream of his name was the last thing he heard.
They appeared in a familiar building. Deep scrathes and old furniture surrounded them and Harry immediately knew where he was, the Shrieking Shack. Snape disarmed him from his holly wand and told him with a bit of a sneer, "Just do as you are told, Potter, however difficult that will be for you and everything will be alright."
Deciding to keep the second wand hidden and just wait for a moment, Harry carefully moved his hand towards his pocket where he felt his DA coin. When Snape's attention was off him for a moment, Harry quickly sent his location to the others their own coin. Sending a message was easy with Hermione's brilliant spellwork. Now he just had to wait for the calvary to arrive.
A pop sounded and there he was, Albus Dumbledore. He looked seriously bad. His whole arm was now black and wrinkled like a piece of thoroughly burned meat and his eyes had lost their merry twinkle. Albus Dumbledore looked like he was on death's door.
"Ah Harry, my dear boy, how nice of you to join us." Harry fought the urge to curse the insane old man. Nodding towards Snape, Dumbledore asked as if Harry was just visiting, "Severus, my boy, if you would secure our guest?"
Ropes shot around him and Harry started to get nervous. Just what was Dumbledore planning on doing to him? Hopefully Amelia and the others would get here soon because Harry got the feeling Dumbledore was going to try his very best to kill Harry.
Dumbledore took out his own wand and levitated Harry to the middle of the room. Setting him none to gently down he made a unfamiliar movement with his wand which caused a ritual circle to appear.
"Dumbledore! What are you doing?!" Harry shouted angrily. Snape walked around the circle, inspecting if everything was ready. Harry had really hoped his Professor wasn't willing to kill one of his own students but it seemed like he was wrong.
"My dear boy, this is clearly your own fault. If you just had done what I wanted you to do then none of this would have been necessary. Really, you've only got yourself to blame." Shaking his head in disappointment Dumbledore was the picture of a disappointed grandfather.
"It's my fault you've gone crazy and kidnapped me? Dumbledore, you need to seek help. Go to Saint Mungos, please. Professor Snape, surely you see this is wrong?" Harry had to be truly desperate to ask Snape of all people for help but here he was.
Snape looked like he had little patience left when he told Harry, "Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore is doing this for your own good. You ignorant boy have been carrying something truly horrifying for most of your life. Albus can get it safely out with a ritual, you just have to do what he says."
The Horcrux. Snape seemed to be under the impression that Dumbledore was able to get it out and keep Harry alive but Harry knew that wasn't true. The goblins told him that there wasn't anything a wizard could have done to help him, only the goblins could have.
"Yes, I certainly can. It's for the greater good, Harry. This ritual will free you." Oh Merlin, Dumbledore was going to kill him, wasn't he?
Then multiple loud pops sounded as Amelia, Andromeda, Gran, Moody and Ted apparated into the Shrieking Shack. Ropes and stunners shot out and soon both kidnappers were bound in ropes, unable to move.
Shocked at how quickly they turned the situation around, Harry tried to escape his bounds. Unfortunately, he couldn't reach the knife Mr. Granger had given him. Harry was still stuck with in the ritual circle but that too was quickly taken care of. Ted broke the circle with his foot and freed him from the ropes binding him.
"You okay, kid?"
Standing up with the help from Ted, Harry responded, "Yeah, I guess so. They were mostly just talking."
Dumbledore sighted in disappointment, "You don't know what your messing with Mr. Tonks, Madam Bones. I was doing this for the greater good! The boy is dangerous!"
Amelia snorted, "Dangerous? The only one dangerous here to the wellbeing of others is you, Albus Dumbledore."
"Amelia please, I did what was necessary, don't you see?" Dumbledore managed to look pitful in his bound and half dead state. Snape was staying quiet, perhaps feeling that there was more going on here.
Andromeda puffed up in anger, "Necessary? It was necessary to leave a magical child in an abusive home? It was nessecary to put him in so much danger time and time again? To do nothing to help my cousin get free? I think not!" She had never before looked so much like a furious Black. Like a lioness defending her cub she voiced her objections in a dangerously calm voice, her magic swirling around her.
"Andromeda, my dear girl, it was for the greater good, please believe me. The boy needed to be tempered for what he was carrying. He needed to be weak and unable to give anything up to the leech in his head." He shook his head, "But you've healed him and now the boy is going dark, becoming more like Tom, because of it. It wasn't necessary to heal him, don't you see? It was better if you all just left it alone."
"All of it is necessary," Augusta hissed, and Dumbledore hobbled back as best as he could. "I'm not one of your little fans, Dumbledore. I don't care what you think or what you believe. Every child deserves love, a good home. Every child deserves to get the best care possible. Only a monster, a dark wizard would believe otherwise."
"I am not a dark wizard. I am the Leader of the Light!" Spittle flew out of Dumbledore's mouth as he shouted. Harry felt like he was watching a child throwing a tantrum, or an eleven year old Dudley when he didn't get enough presents. A dangerous one though.
Then Moody joined the conversation, his magical eye whirling, "Albus, my old friend, don't you see what you are doing? James and Lily would be horrified. This is not what they wanted for their only child. You've meddled enough."
"James and Lily were young, and they made foolish choices," Dumbledore said gravely. "Look at the man they choose to be their child's godfather, a thoughtless, dangerous boy who sought revenge over the safety of his godson and recklessly entered fights which eventually led to his death."
"Sirius Black was ten times the man you are! He was a good man and he would have been a wonderful dad, if you had let him be. But that wasn't what you wanted now was it, Dumbledore? You needed me weak, grateful for being saved from my horrible relatives. You, Albus Dumbledore are just as bad as Voldemort was. A monster."
Harry saw at the corner of his eye Snape snap to attention. Did he notice the past tense? Harry hoped so.
"I was acting on behalf of the greater good," Dumbledore protested.
"No, you were not. You were doing what you thought best, without any thought spared to others." Harry said quietly. Dumbledore opened his mouth to protest.
"No, Albus, Potter is right." Snape finally spoke up interrupting the former Headmaster, "Even if only half of this is true, then it was not for the greater good. This is madness, Albus. You told me you were going to help the boy. You know my vow."
"What vow?" Harry asked the dour man bound in ropes in the corner.
Snape looked at Harry, hesitating.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled maliciously as he told Harry with far to much glee, "Do you know which Death Eater overheard the Prophecy, Harry? Severus here heard the first few lines and immediately ran to tell his master."
Sound stopped. Everything stopped. Harry could hear his heart beating in his ears as he turned towards his Potions Professor.
"What?" He croaked.
"It was the biggest mistake of my life." Snape said quietly, pale faced. "Lily was my best friend and I loved her more than anyone. She was everything I wanted in life. When I heard that the Dark Lord thought it was her baby..."
Dumbledore continued gleefully, "He came to me and begged for her life. Only her life and no one else. Not her husband and not her child. Only Lily. Unfortunately, he was to late. James and Lily Potter got killed and you survived."
Blood roared in his ears, "My parents are dead because of you. Both of you."
"I am sorry, Potter."
Was he? Or was he just sorry Harry had survived where Lily didn't?
Albus just shrugged as the ropes fell away with a wave of magic, "It was for the Greater Good."
With a casual wave of his hand everyone but Harry went stiff, petrified. Amelia, who had Dumbledore's wand in her pocket was moving her eyes frantically. Unfortunately, Dumbledore got there first.
"Ah Harry, you should just have done as I wanted you to. Now I need to get the Horcrux out with force and who knows what will happen then? It was supposed to be Tom, you know my boy. Then it was the way Fate intended it, but you ruined it all with your foolishness!"
Harry got in a battle ready position, "I ruined it? As if Fate needs your help! They way I see it, you ruined everything with your meddeling. Shame on the both of you, making war on a child." He swiftly took out his second wand and watched Dumbledore's look of surprise.
With a look of disapproval he asked, "Where did you get that wand?"
"Sirius left me a lot of stuff, old man. He wanted to take care of me even after his death, like the good man, good father he is!" Harry was done with people bad-mouthing his father. He was done with everything. It was time to get on the offensive.
"Diffendo! Stupify! Expelliarmus!" Harry's spell chain was perfect but Dumbledore easily deflected it.
"Very well, if you want to do it the hard way, the hard way it is. You will never defeat me, child. I am the owner of the Elder Wand!" Dumbledore grandstanded.
The what? Wasn't that some all powerful wand from a children's story? No matter, Harry would try his best as always. The fight began and it was thrilling. Fighting all out was amazing. If only Harry wasn't fighting for his life. Dumbledore was truly brilliant even with his dimished mind and health. But to Harry's surprise, he could keep up.
Diving and ducking around the spells his former Headmaster cast, Harry found he was doing well. He could win this if he just timed it right. Brilliant lights flashed and Harry felt a cutting curse hit his leg.
He fell down on one knee with a slightly exaggarated grunt and saw the triumph enter in Dumbledore's eyes. He lowered his wand. Dumbledore approached him, looking ready to start gloating. The duel could have lasted anything between a minute or a hour but it ended with a seemingly simple spell as the older man was distracted by his fake win.
Subtly and silently casting, "Expelliarmus!"
Dumbledore's wand flew from his hand into Harry's. Taking advantage of his shock, Harry quickly bound, stunned and disarmed the man of any potential weapons or portkeys.
It was over.
Harry stunned the Headmaster once more for good measure and went to un-petrify everyone. Andromeda held back a very unlike her sob as she hugged the life out of him.
Saying over Andromeda shoulder, "Amelia? Do you have the magic suppression cuffs? I think we need them."
She nodded and Harry turned his attention back to his aunt.
"Oh Merlin, Harry, you were so brave, honey. Here, let me look at your leg. That looked like a nasty cutting curse." She quickly healed the deep cut and went back to hugging him. Ted gave up on waiting and just gave him a hug around his wife and patted him manly on his back. Was this what family felt like? He loved it.
"Good job, Harry. You really kicked his arse!" Ted said in a very Tonks-like way. Harry had to laugh. He did, didn't he? He actually beat Albus Dumbledore in a one on one fight.
Escaping the hug he turned towards Gran, who was staring at him with tears in her eyes. She approached him shakingly and straightend out his hair and clothes before she gave up and just hugged him, hard.
"I am so very proud of you. You did it, Harry."
"Well done, lad." Moody piped up from behind Gran. Amelia to clapped him on his back and went over to Dumbledore to, this time, truly secure him. She explained that she would have used the cuffs before but that they could be dangerous to use on elderly people. Amelia learned her lesson, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Dumbledore woke up from the stunners and flushed in fury when he noticed his predictment.
"Give me back the wand," Dumbledore demanded.
"Try and take it," Harry taunted. "Oh wait, you can't. You, the great Albus Dumbledore, the Leader of the Light, got beaten by a sixteen year old Hogwarts student."
Snape rolled his eyes at Harry's words and seemed to hold back some comment about Harry's arrogance. Smart man. Harry didn't care anymore. Both Snape and Dumbledore would be taken into custody and Harry would finally be free to live his life. All he wanted now was go to Hermione. He was so glad she hadn't come here with the rest of them. Dumbledore and Snape would have used her against him. They knew what she meant to him.
Dumbledore's cheeks flushed with fury. "I'm not afraid of you."
"That's because you're an arrogant twat with an inflated sense of personal prowess," Amelia declared as she clasped the magic surpressing cuffs aroud his wrists. Due to his age and health, as Amelia already predicted, Albus Dumbledore finally fell unconscious as his magic was blocked.
It was done. Harry was safe.