Chapter 46
EDGAR BONES
The attack at the Hogwarts Express had broken nearly a thousand years of precedent, and even their worst enemies had never dared to attack helpless students in their thirst for power. But Voldemort had broken the taboo, and their entire society had now finally woken up to the threat he and his colleagues had been trying to warn against for years.
Still, identifying the threat was one thing, and dealing with it was another matter entirely. The Dark Lord had attracted to his cause creatures and people that had been marginalised by their society for decades. Werewolves and giants had rallied to his war cry, and their society was still divided on how to deal with such a dilemma.
Prosecuting them as Death Eaters would only further marginalise them, while there was little will within the Ministry to normalise their place within society. To the outside world, the Ministry may seem united and competent, but the truth was many within their ranks harbored sympathy for the Dark Lord and his agendas and were constantly trying to undermine any and all operations being planned against the Dark Lord and his followers.
Still, whatever operation they managed to carry out was all hampered by one major flaw.
Power.
For all his faults, none could defy the powers of the Dark Lord. Voldemort had fought Dumbledore to a draw. Albus Dumbledore was in many ways their trump card. Their fail-safe, and now that fail-safe had failed.
It was thought by many that the threat of Voldemort would be decimated the second the aged Headmaster stepped onto the field, and that was why there was a concerted effort from all parties to make that happen.
And then it had. After the attack, Albus Dumbledore had shown the world just why he was called the strongest wizard of their time, and yet despite his powers, Voldemort had managed to survive their battle.
It was a great blow to their confidence, but the Ministry could not always rely on the Headmaster for their operations. Albus Dumbledore was a busy man, and had become busier since the attack and so the Ministry needed a wonder boy of their own.
"A student," Crouch asked, clearly unimpressed by the proposal, but Edgar had given it much thought.
"He is not even an adult yet," and one could fathom the sheer desperation that he was forced into allying with a man like Crouch, though Bagnold had put him into the spotlight so that she could hang his head for the drastic policies they had enacted once all this was over.
Crouch was a mad dog, but with an attack on the Express, they needed a Mad Dog.
"He will be by the time we put him on the field," Bones answered, and Crouch seemed unimpressed.
"And why exactly are we recruiting someone so young. What exactly are his qualifications to be given such a privilege?" and apart from the generous donation offered to the department by one Arcturus Black, they had a very practical reason for recruiting the boy.
"Because he can do what none of our Aurors can," and many of their young recruits had come out of his so-called Club at Hogwarts. His own sister, who was now a part of the academy, had seen him fight firsthand and swore by his prowess.
"He can stall Voldemort," and Crouch scoffed.
"That has to be a joke," and it was not.
"He did it before. During the attack on the McKinnons," he pointed.
"He lost. Dumbledore had to come and rescue him," and that was true, but he was missing the point.
"We lost as well," and twice now they had tried to repel an attack from the Dark Lord and his followers, but each time they had failed.
"We have to think outside the box, and this," he pointed towards the file.
"This is what we need," and it was not just his powers they needed.
"Alder Evans is exactly the kind of hero we need at the moment. He is young, charismatic. He was born without privilege, and yet he is a once-in-a-century prodigy, and more than that, he is a leader," and that was what they needed.
"We cannot keep losing Aurors all because our men lack the courage and the powers to deal with the likes of Voldemort. Each time we have attacked them, we have lost, and only because we have no one on our side who can even stall him for a few minutes. But he can. He did!" and Edgar Bones had grown tired of losing.
The public wanted reassurance, and they were all looking to him for it.
"And what if he fails? What then?" Crouch questioned as he threw back the file.
"Have you imagined the consequences of that?" and he had.
"Then we have a martyr, and the entire society will rise up to take his revenge," and the decision was his to make.
"Still, the decision is not up to you," and Crouch's nostrils flared at that.
"Bagnold's already signed off on this. The boy is coming," and Crouch had to accept.
"I won't have my missions compromised because of one wayward boy, because you and Bagnold refuse to trust your own men," and Bones shook his head.
"We trust our men, Crouch. We just don't want to lose them," and Crouch was a pariah, and he knew that better than most.
"He will be a part of the squads soon enough, and you need to accept that," and Crouch nodded reluctantly.
"Only if he meets the Auror's standards. You and Bagnold seem so confident over this, then let me put the boy to the test," and that was a reasonable demand.
"Do whatever you want," and they shook their hands at that, as Bones gave him a quick reminder.
"Though maiming him is off limits. We still need him looking prim and proper for that Order of Merlin ceremony...."
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ALDER EVANS
Alder wondered if he had done the right thing. He wondered if Narcissa might still be alive, and sitting in this very room, had he made a few different decisions.
These questions kept him awake at night, though a part of him knew that pondering over such questions was a lost cause. The deed was already done, and death had long taken Narcissa from him.
Now, the only thing left in his grasp was revenge and how he could exact it. Telling Dumbledore about the Horcruxes was a decision he had made as a contingency. The old man bore some of the blame for Narcissa's death, yet Alder had never truly tried to change his mind himself.
He could have tried to convince the Headmaster to act sooner. He could have given him hints. Yet he had done nothing of the sort, and he was far too tired of playing games and ploys.
He wanted to kill. He wanted to rage. He wanted to destroy.
And now he was going to do just that. After leaving Hogwarts, he had come to stay with Ted and Andy, and bask in what little remained of Narcissa's presence, but he knew better than most that he was not much welcome in this home.
He was in the process of packing up his stuff when a knock at the door interrupted him.
"Come in," he said without looking up, as Ted walked in looking much troubled. He had come to treat Narcissa like a sister he had never had, and her death had caused much pain to him and Andy as well.
Ted glanced at the packed bags and luggage and immediately understood his plans.
"You don't have to leave, you know," Ted began, and Alder shook his head.
"I will be fine," and Andromeda may not have uttered anything, but she blamed him for Narcissa's fate. She was not the only one, for he blamed himself as well.
Still, she did not wish to see his face, and though he was part-owner of the house, he did not wish to hurt her any more than he had.
"I know that things have been complicated between you and Andy, but she has lost her sister. She is angry and frustrated. She will be fine in a few days," and she might be, and he zipped up the bag and stood tall to face Ted.
"She is wrong to blame you," Ted added, and he shook his head.
"No, she is not. I was the one who convinced her to go to Hogwarts. She did not want to go," and now she was dead.
All because he wanted to spend the school year with her.
"She made that decision on her own," and that was a lie. A consolation he did not need.
"Regardless. I don't want to cause you two any more trouble than I already have," and he appreciated Ted's concern, but he was on a warpath.
"Where will you even stay?" Ted asked.
"The Auror Academy has dorms. I will stay there until I get the award money for the Order of Merlin," and after much deliberation, the Ministry had decided to award him an Order of Merlin Third Class for the efforts he had shown in defending the McKinnon House.
The awards' main purpose was to raise morale, and later to announce my apprenticeship in the Auror department.
"Once I get the money, I will have enough to buy a place of my own," but that all could happen only after he had turned seventeen, in January.
"Then stay here until then at least," Ted offered, and Alder shook his head as he slapped him on the shoulder.
"I will be fine," he assured him, but Ted was not convinced.
"This place. It is as much yours as it is mine," and he scoffed.
"Please, it was always meant to be a gift for you two. You forced me to put my name on the deed, and I plan to change that very soon," and Ted knew that his mind was made, and that there was little that he could do to change it.
Still, he looked him in the eye before he wrapped his arms around him.
"Be safe, Alder," and Alder nodded as he slapped his back, yet he did not make the promise.
"If you ever need anything, just say the word," Ted assured him, as they shook hands.
"Of course," and who else was he going to call?
"And I want you here on Sundays. Dinner. Every week, or I am going to drag the entire DMLE through the courts and whip their asses," and he chuckled.
"And make Ogden regret having you as his associate?" and Ted shrugged.
"If that is what it takes to have you here," and he nodded.
"Sundays. Dinner. But every other week," Alder negotiated, and Ted nodded after some thinking.
"Deal," and so he picked up his luggage and began to walk towards the door, and much like before, Andy did not come to see him off, and at the door, he turned to Ted, who seemed apologetic over her behavior.
"Tell Andy that I am sorry," he said, and he nodded.
"Tell her that I won't rest until I have avenged her," and with that, he turned away and closed his eyes, and in a disorienting pop, he appeared right in front of the Ministry of Magic building.
The tension in the air was palpable, and the security was extremely strict, and as he walked up the stairs, he spotted a familiar face waiting for him up there.
"So, you are finally here," the blonde girl who had helped him start this whole thing added as she walked up to him.
"What are you doing here, Bones?" Amelia no longer wore the school uniform and was wearing what seemed to be Auror robes, or more specifically, trainee Auror robes.
"I am here to get you," and those blue eyes of hers had a strange expression, as she bit her lip and led him through the security checks and into the elevator.
"They have already allotted you a room at the dorms. You have caused quite a stir," and that was expected.
"Well, I intend to," he answered, as she glanced back slightly as the elevator took them to the DMLE floor, before she finally sighed and spoke in a whisper.
"I am sorry. We both are," Amelia added, and it was too late for that.
"We didn't want any of this. We never expected that he would go after...."
"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" Alder cut in, and he was tired of all these excuses.
"She is dead," and his face and body were littered with scars that would never heal. A collection of masks had been added to his wardrobe, for such was the nature of the scars that without a mask, he was hideous to look at.
"And now I intend to pay them back..." and the elevator stopped, as they came upon the DMLE floor.
"...a hundred fold!"
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