21 ch 21

"Treacle Tarts."

I hopped on the gargoyle that spun upwards in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Harry followed and stepped up behind me.

We didn't say anything after that, we really didn't have to. Both of us knew what the other was thinking. I knew that Harry would be pondering the password which also happens to be his favorite treat, he is wondering if that means the meeting is about him or if he is just overthinking it.

Harry also knew that I would be thinking that the meeting is about that night in the healing ward of St. Mungo's, and how I caused property damage to two of Magical Britain's most important buildings.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, how were your holidays?" The Headmaster started the conversation off.

"Underwhelming." I answered sarcastically, thinking about the eventful few weeks. I sat down in one of the seats directly in front of his desk.

Comfortable. My mind supplied.

Harry snorted as he sat beside me before he answered. "Fantastic, Headmaster."

"Good, good. I find myself in possession of a new hand knit sweater, and I couldn't be happier." Dumbledore told us with his eyes somewhere on his ceiling.

"You've got to have at least thirty of those, Headmaster." I told him with a laugh because I knew he was talking about my mother. Harry barked out a laugh beside me.

"And everyone is special to me." Dumbledore answered with a chuckle.

We didn't speak for a moment because we knew he would continue.

"I didn't expect such a happy holiday, I'll admit." Dumbledore started and we both listened intently. "With the events of last summer, I'm sure you understand."

Do you mean Voldemort's resurrection? I snarked to myself. Where is Fawkes?

"We're lucky that…" Harry looked to me when he paused. "...well, we're lucky."

"Hmmmm…" Dumbledore hummed in agreement. "I would argue that it is not luck. You two have been hard at work."

He finally looked down at us, and for the first time in a while, he had a twinkle in his eyes. I never thought the twinkle could convey emotion, but I could have sworn it sung of pride.

"I am afraid that without you two, I wouldn't have been able to juggle all of our enemies this year." The Headmaster commented still looking at us.

Our. My mind caught. That is a good sign.

"That is simply not true, Headmaster." Harry said beside me.

I didn't say anything because I knew Dumbledore was right. If not for us, he would have lost his base of power, and he still might. I thought to myself, considering all the variables that are still at play.

"And we are not in the clear yet." I commented. "Fudge will not be happy with the little progress Umbridge has made, they'll make a move soon."

Dumbledore's twinkling didn't subside, instead it got brighter. "You're absolutely correct, Mr. Weasley. My agent close to the Minister, agree with you."

Wait, agent close to the minister. I thought to myself connecting the dots.

My face twisted into something relating to anger and accusing. "Agents… you can't possibly mean.."

"Yes, young Percy has been in contact with me for some time now. I don't mean to offend, but how else do you think he got his position." The twinkle in his eyes disappeared immediately, the real Dumbledore stood before me and I couldn't help but wonder if Harry had ever seen this side of the old man yet.

I clamped down on my occlumency shields before my anger could get out of hand, my face returned to it's passive state. "You shouldn't have told me that." I calmly told him.

Harry was ignored by his eyes, instead the old man's blue eyes bored into mine, I met his gaze without flinching or wavering.

"Your actions the night of your fathers attack has secured his position by the ministers side. You knowing, won't change that fact." Dumbledore answered me quickly.

He broke eye contact with me then, and sat down. Tension left his body as he sagged into his seat. When he looked back up to us, his eyes were softer. I made a vow never to trust him by his eyes again.

"The real reason I tell you two all of this, is because if you continue the path you walk, these are the things that you will discover. Plots within plots, people you knew you could trust betraying you, death ...it does not get better." He told us with a hand running down his face. "This is the price for the power you two are seeking."

That disarmed me a little, I calmed down, understanding his reasonings for sending Percy into the snake pit, I even agreed with him a little. My respect for my brother rose unimaginably.

"We know already." Surprisingly it was Harry that answered. "That is why we aren't angry about Percy. Neither of us are unfamiliar with the dirty work Headmaster."

That brought out a real reaction from the headmaster and his face fell into his hands. "The things that will come to light about me, about the adults around you, the things we have done ...it will break you." Dumbledore said composing himself and sitting back up, his face stoney.

What the fuck was that about? I said to myself. Why such a reaction to Harry?

"We are set on this path." Harry answered, serious.

Dumbledore just looked at us, his eyes searching our faces over and over again. It continued for at least a few minutes before he spoke again.

"Good. The Minister will kick me out of the school. Before I would have fought this with all my power. But with you two…" He said nodding to us. "...I can leave the school in your hands. Let Umbridge have a little more freedom Ron, she'll need it to build a case against me."

I nodded, wondering why the fuck he wanted out of the school. "Where are you going Headmaster?" I asked getting to the point.

"The freedom will let me oppose Voldemort, more directly. Truly, I have too many responsibilities. Out of necessity, more than anything, but with you two here, to protect the children… I can get real work done." He answered me and I couldn't help but believe him.

Maybe his manipulations really are for good deeds, even if his methods can get a bit dark in nature. I am the same. I realized when he answered me.

"Ok, I'll meet with her soon." I answered.

Harry spoke next. "We are set on this path."

He looked right at Harry then, and nodded. "Then you two must perfect The Mind Arts, legilimency without a wand, only eye contact. Both of you are proficient enough with occlumency to pass the books requirements, it's legilimency that you need, and the ritual will be available."

My mind melted, finally getting confirmation that it was the missing piece of the puzzle. And we're close to being able to do it wandlessly.

"But Harry can't any more rituals, Headmaster. It's too dangerous." I responded trying to get more answers out of him.

"I have done a lot of thinking on the topic, truly I would have never discovered the answer without you, Mr. Weasley. I am convinced that the ritual is the key to Harry's problem."

His 'connection' to Voldemort? I thought with a shock. The ritual is about the mind after all, does he think we can break the connection?

"I have told you too much about it already, that is all I'll say on the ritual." Dumbledore told us, he was standing now in excitement.

"One question, Headmaster?" I asked.

"An answer for a request." He spoke again to both of us.

"Of course." Harry answered him.

I gave him a nod of agreement before speaking. "Have you done the mind ritual?" I asked.

He looked right at me and didn't hesitate before answering. "No. If I may be so bold, I never needed it." He answered.

My mouth dropped. He's this fucking brilliant, without …the ritual… "How…" My mouth opened.

Dumbledore spoke again. "I had a very close friend who performed the ritual, and the book shows me it's contents freely, but the benefits it speaks of and the ones that I have witnessed first hand, I have been capable of since I was sixteen. Now, I have answered your question, time for my request."

We both nodded to him, dumbfounded.

"When everything comes to light, and I am convinced it will, I do not ask for forgiveness, but understanding."

I walked alone, to the one place in the castle that I would rather burn down then visit again, Umbridge's office.

I knew the path well enough and my feet traveled it. My mind was still shocked over the revelations in the meeting with Dumbledore.

No fucking ritual… he's literally the genius among genius'... I came to the conclusion over and over again. That means he defeated a ritually altered Grindelwald, who was said to already be overly talented with magic, who also happened to have the Elder Wand, in single combat?!

Fucking overpowered old men. I thought as I knocked on the door of the pink toad.

"Come in." An overly sweet voice said from inside. I did as I was told and entered to find her alone, hunched over a piece of paper. "Ah, Mr. Weasley…"

"Hello, Professor." I started as I approached her desk.

"How can I ...help you?" She forced out of her mouth, her hatred palpable.

"I will be direct. I realized over the break that my brother is right… Dumbledore is up to something." I told her with a straight forward look on my face. "And I don't want any part of it."

She'll never believe that I am a vulnerable student. I thought as I pondered how best to approach the conversation.

She seemed shocked at first but caught herself quickly. "Yes, he is. But don't you worry about it, the Minister is aware. We have plans for the Headmaster."

"Of course you do, you saw it before anyone else." I told her feeding into her ego. "I also realize that with the photo that I have, I have stopped you from trying to do the right thing."

I kept my straight serious face on. "So I want to say that I will not hold you back anymore. But I still don't want you administering detentions with students, what you did was just wrong." I added with a bit of steel in my voice.

"It was a lapse of judgement on my part, it won't happen again." She lied to me with a smile on her face.

I know it won't, you fucking idiot.

"And the Defense Association will continue." I told her without room for argument.

"Of course, I have already discovered that the group has no ties to Dumbledore." Umbridge lied to me once again.

"Good, then so long as you don't torture students, or break up my association, you can do what you want."

I turned around and walked out.

I laughed as I read the latest copy of The Daily Prophet, and the article that Rita Skeeter wrote that painted Harry in a better light.

Hermione outdid herself with this one. My mind supplied as I skimmed the article. I honestly forgot about the animagus. I thought to myself about Rita Skeeter and the secret to her fantastically dramatic articles.

I was on my way up to the seventh floor to get some more legilimency training done with Harry. I dropped the newspaper and cast a disillusionment charm at the same time as I turned a corner on the sixth floor, then I doubled back and got back on the staircase that would lead me up and on the final floor. Everyday I took a new route.

I didn't bother walking slowly, since my disillusionment was perfected by now and barely left any distortions at all. It would fail if I sprinted, but anything short of that would hold.

I approached the blank wall and a door materialized out of thin air without me having to walk back and forth three times. I approached it and something fluttered on the edge of my consciousness, I stopped.

I turned to my right and raised a shield. A red light splashed against it as a body appeared out of thin air further down the hallway.

Nott. I recognized as his wand cut a path in the air in the same pattern that rested on Harry's forehead.

My own wand whipped up as I moved to my right. A silver shield appeared before he spoke the incantation.

"Avada Kedavra." Theodore Nott intoned and a green jet of light raced down the hallway. His wand was already moving after the killing curse left his wand, moving into another spell that would undoubtedly break through the silver shield.

He's picked up on my tricks. I realized as the killing curse landed on my shield with a loud gong. I was already moving and a blue jet of light folded my shield of pure silver and went through it, passing over my left shoulder to crashed into the wall behind me.

I retaliated with a basic chain of spells to distract him. His shield rose and absorbed the spells as I cast an elemental spell at his feet. A hand of stone reached up and grabbed his leg.

He tried to move out of the way but he had to deflect another spell that would have hit him if he moved away. His left leg got caught in the vice grip of the hand of stone. His face showed panic as more hands rose and grabbed his body all over. I kept sending him basic chains that would also incapacitate him if he took his focus off of me for a moment.

It took another thirty seconds for his wand arm to be grabbed by a hand of stone and force him to his knees with his wand behind his back.

I closed the distance between us quickly, with my wand up and ready to defend, or attack. I reached down and took the wand out of his hand as he kneed there looking up at me. The stone arms slowly melted into an outer shell all around his body, leaving his head and neck free to move about, but cutting off any other movement.

"Kill me." Nott said, his eyes were pleading. "Why won't you kill me? Just kill me."

That took me by surprise, and it showed on my face.

"What does Voldemort demand of you?" I asked curiously.

"As if I could tell you!" Theodore exclaimed. "You're smarter than that!"

Magical oath. I deduced. My wand moved once again and his body raised into the air. I turned and walked into the doorway leading into the Room of Requirement.

"What the hell, mate?" Harry said after he saw my extra passenger.

"Attacked me outside in the hallway. Even used the killing curse." I explained to him. Instantly his eyes turned murderous and his wand leapt into his hand.

"Is that right?" Harry answered me but looked right at him.

"He's under oath by Voldemort, to complete a task. Only problem is that we don't know what task it is." I spoke aloud, condensing my thoughts.

I turned to Nott, who hadn't said a word, instead he just looked around the room, fascinated by the bookshelves and the dueling area.

"Nott!" I cried out to get his attention. His eyes snapped to mine, focusing. "The oath says you can not tell us, right?"

He didn't speak but neither did he say no, which gave me my answer. "Good, I will take the information. I need you to fight me the whole way, or the oath will kick in, you understand?"

This time he did nod.

I didn't waste any time raising my wand and pointing it directly between his eyes. I cast legilimency without the incantation or wand movements. He had surprisingly good shields, nowhere near my own, or Harry's, mastery, but good.

I sent him probing images to draw out the correct memory, I focused on that day in the train to see if it would be easy. The memory came easily and I latched onto it, watching the altercation. It told me nothing. I dove deeper, focusing on the sound of Voldemort's voice, from my memory in the graveyard.

No images were projected, but the Dark Lord's voice did come through our connection. "Test his competency, and report it to me. If you succeed, then I will allow you in my ranks and you will have a far greater task." Voldemort's voice said.

I broke the connection. "That doesn't make sense, why would you try to kill me if all he wanted was to test me?"

Nott said nothing again, but I noticed he was sweating and more visibly tired than earlier. That was only the first task he was given.

"You completed that task already didn't you? That day you asked me for help with the shielding charm?" I pieced together. "What was the other task?!"

He didn't answer and my wand rose again.

I used brute force to get him to talk this time.

"Companionship, or death. You choose." Voldemort's voice rang through our minds again.

Kill me, or befriend me, so that he can spy on me. I realized.

"No more, not again, please." Nott whimpered with his head down. "Just kill me."

"Bloody hell, Ron." I heard Harry say beside me.

"I will not kill you. Not today." I told him and I thought it would reassure him, instead his head hung lower.

"I gave you a way out already, I told you to come to me, I can protect you!" I yelled, not understanding why he wouldn't take the easy way out.

"No you can't! No one can! He's already marked me!" Nott yelled back.

His left arm shot forward, in conjunction with my will and my spell. The stone fell off of it up to the elbow, to reveal his robes. I pushed his robe back with my hand and sure enough, Voldemort's dark mark was tattooed to his skin, wriggling over it.

"You would never trust me, never befriend me." Nott expanded.

"You were forced, Theodore." I said using his first name for the first time. "I wouldn't hold that against anyone!"

Then I thought a little. "We could work out a mutually beneficial friendship." I told him, throwing him the bait. "Why do you think I approached you that day on the train?"

He looked at me then, then his eyes flickered to Harry's and back. "You're serious? You want me to spy on the Dark Lord!? Just kill me right now!"

"I would never jeopardize your cover, and we could train your occlumency up, good enough to resist him." I retorted.

"Resist?! Resist?! You're bloody mad, there is no resisting!" Nott screamed.

I wanted to tell him about Snape, tell him that he wouldn't be the only one, but then I would put Snape in danger.

"We'll give you all the protections you need." Harry spoke up from beside me then. "You underestimate us and our resources. Portkeys to get you out of any situation, enchantments to boost your occlumency, dragonhide, extra wands, training. And, whether we lose or win, you win. If Voldemort succeeds, you'll be a high ranking Death Eater. If we win, you don't go to Azkaban."

I looked at Harry and realized that he was right, about all of it. Nott just sat there and listened. "What's the worst that can happen? You get tortured and die? You just survived some of the worst torture, and if you don't take this deal, then you will die…" Harry continued and ended with a threat.

Wow, great motivation Harry. I thought to myself. "Or Azkaban for casting an unforgivable in a school full of children." I told him knowing that he would prefer death.

"We're literally giving you a way out, Nott." I finished.

He looked back and forth to us like he just now seeing us for the first time. Then he looked around the room.

"You two have been training?" He realized.

"With the full library of Hogwarts, the Black Library, and Albus Dumbledore at our fingertips. We are real players in the game, Theodore." I answered him.

"So that's why he wanted information on you." Nott pieced together.

"Who do you think captured Peter Pettigrew right out from under his nose?" I asked him.

Theodore reacted instantly. "Bullshit."

I shook my head. "It's true, and Barty Crouch Jr." I added. "That's the real reason why, he sees our potential."

"What the bloody fuck! It all makes sense." Nott spoke to himself.

"So? What do you say?" I asked.

"Fuck it."