NO MERCY

J K Rowling owns all the rights to the books and the amazing characters she created. I write only to satisfy my imagination and use my creativity and make no money from my writings.

Chapter 1 – Ungrateful

"That ungrateful %*#&$#&$#&^" Ron Weasley snapped out about his former "best mate" Harry Potter. "Here we were ready to forgive him for lying and cheating his way into the Tournament and what does the %#*$&*#$& ^ do – he cusses us out."

"Well you can't blame him" Poppy Pomfrey snapped back at him. "Considering the way all of the school but most especially you lot his so-called best friends have treated him and you expect him to jump for joy when you decide to forgive him and take him back" the angry witch said to the obnoxious boy.

Harry Potter had been illegally entered into a very dangerous Tournament probably by person(s) who wished him harm and perhaps even death yet Albus Dumbledore said the boy had to compete or lose his magic. He had said there was no way to get Harry out of the Tournament and then to make matters worse allowed and even encouraged the boy to become a pariah not only in the school but in the entire Magical World. He said it would help them find the real culprit and test Harry's character and endurance. Even the surly Potter-hating Severus Snape thought it was a bad idea but, what the heck, anything that caused damage, humiliation and pain to the spawn of James Potter was fine in his book.

So a pariah Harry had become. His best (and only allowed) friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had abandoned him, called him a liar and a cheat and Ron especially had slandered his name and character all over the school. He even demanded and arranged that Harry be ostracized from Gryffindor House as well as anyone who defended Harry.

Only Neville Longbottom had stood up for Harry and both he and Harry were cast out of Gryffindor House while most of their possessions were destroyed. Neville had just barely saved his beloved toad Trevor and it was the same with Harry's familiar Hedwig. Harry only escaped with his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders' Map because he had been carrying them on his person. He then hid them in the quarters he and Neville had found refuge in.

Unfortunately Harry's Firebolt broom had been confiscated (stolen) by Ron Weasley as well as his photo album. Dobby the faithful house elf had confiscated (stolen) them back but Dumbledore had Fawkes the Phoenix "liberate" them because Harry had to be punished. He knew he was obliged to play along and "take everything like a man or a true Gryffindor" so that Dumbledore could catch the culprit yet he was acting like a big baby and acting like a coward hence the need for punishment.

It was all encouraged and allowed by Dumbledore and even the Head of Gryffindor House Minerva McGonagall did what she always did and "followed Dumbledore's orders" although as always she told her oldest friend Poppy Pomfrey that "it broke my heart." Poppy's reply had been "Well your heart has been broken so many times regarding Harry Potter that you don't have much, if any left" and had then muttered under her breath "not that you ever really had a heart to begin with." Minerva heard that but then she was meant to as Poppy had said the same thing before. The Head of House had learned to ignore it but she did have to admit in her heart of hearts that…well that she had hardened her heart long ago when it came to the welfare of her students as when Albus Dumbledore ordered something it would be done.

Harry Potter was the last champion to participate and when he got his egg (due to using some truly spectacular magic) he walked in the front of the medical tent and directly out the back flap and disappeared. He hadn't waited to hear his score or be checked over by the medi-witch as he hadn't been injured. Besides he wanted to avoid talking to anybody especially his "best mates" because his sources reported back that they would be allowed to "magnanimously take him back" if he survived the first task.

Oh yes Harry Potter knew a lot about what went on at Hogwarts concerning him – he always had. However, he also knew that he had to play along with everything done to him as he had no other choice. Dumbledore had had him in his clutches ever since October 31, 1981 and wouldn't let him go because the Great Albus Dumbledore had plans for the orphaned boy which would not be altered. He was ruining his life much like he had controlled and ruined the lives of so many others and would continue to do so as long as he had breath in his body and could still scheme, manipulate and "play the game" as he called his agenda.

But this time things were definitely going to be different. The moment his name had come out of the Goblet had signaled the fact that this was all another dangerous set up as well as being "No. 1" on the list. When he had been dragged into the Champions' room and told "the facts" that he was forced to compete and there was nothing even Dumbledore could do about it that had been "No. 2" and then when all of the slander, abuse, humiliation, emotional, mental and physical pain had been allowed and encouraged to start that had been "No. 3" and the final nail in the coffin containing what was left of Harry Potter's patience.

The Muggleborns and some of the Half-bloods would know the saying "Three strikes and you are out" and what it basically meant. Being firmly ensconced in their new world they would never use it and kept it in the back of their minds as it was a "Muggle thing" and not of relevance or welcomed in this world. However, they and most Magicals – or at least the wizards/witches who lived in Magical Britain – didn't know that its origination was magical.

You see words and numbers are magically powerful. The Arithmancy which was now being taught at Hogwarts was a very watered down version of the once important magic known as Numerology. Numerology is any belief in divine, mystical or other special relationship between a number and some coinciding events. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs. Numerology and numerological divination by systems such as isopsephy were popular among early mathematicians, but are no longer considered part of mathematics in the Muggle World but is still very much used in the Magical World unless you live in Magical Britain. Albus Dumbledore saw to that. It was one of the first (of many important) courses eliminated from the Hogwarts curriculum when Dumbledore became Headmaster.

In many rituals the use of three fortifies the magic. It can create a specific spell or in the present case, destroy a magic used to bind, control or harm a victim such as Harry Potter. The "almost infallible" Albus Dumbledore had inadvertently made a mistake which would cost him dear. Magic herself had been waiting for such a mistake as had Lady Hogwarts and most especially those who truly loved and/or protected Harry Potter. It had been a long time coming but it had arrived.

In his hubris and belief in his own invincibility Albus Dumbledore didn't notice. In fact it simply didn't occur to him what had happened or how it had happened. He'd get an inkling but not until it was too late. Simply put Harry Potter and a few others were free whereas Albus Dumbledore and his faithful followers and trapped minions were doomed and would pay for their crimes.

There would be no mercy for them. They had shown no mercy to Harry Potter and the other victims so why should they expected any? They never expected to fail or be defeated and some wouldn't refuse to believe such a thing could befall them - until it did and they paid a price so costly it could not be paid in this life. It would however be paid in full and with interest in the next world and so much sooner than any could comprehend.

J K Rowling owns all the rights to the books and the amazing characters she created. I write only to satisfy my imagination and use my creativity and make no money from my writings.

Chapter 2 – Thefts

Harry Potter could not be found, not even by Fawkes the Phoenix. The great bird had been sent by Dumbledore to drag back Harry Potter from wherever it was he was hiding. Dumbledore – who knew absolutely everything that went on at Hogwarts – knew that Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom had been hiding in the Room of Requirement because Dobby the house elf had told him so. That room was one of the few places not on the Marauders' Map because the Marauders hadn't known about it.

Yes poor Dobby the house elf who Harry Potter had freed from the tyranny of the Malfoys at the end of Harry's second year was betraying the beloved Harry Potter. Well everyone else was so why not the faithful and adoring elf? He hadn't wanted to but he was desperate and Dumbledore had taken advantage of his desperation to trap yet another entity Harry trusted into working for Dumbledore.

Despite what the almost all-knowing Hermione Granger would tell you (considering you hadn't asked) house elves were slaves, poor, unfortunate, simple, powerless creatures who didn't know there was an alternative to the centuries of enslavement they were born, lived and died in. They just didn't know it and if Hermione Granger had to tell each and every house elf on a one-to-one basis then she would. In fact it would be the first of her many planned crusades to change the Magical World to her liking or in other words make it into what it should be.

She would never ever believe she was wrong, even though she was. You see she had heard about house elves and just decided they were slaves and they were all like Dobby and wanted to be free. She would never dream of asking one – not even Dobby – what the real situation was. She had looked for information in the Hogwarts Library but found very little only to be told by Madam Pince "it's one of those things you've just known about from birth' and which Muggleborns have to find out by asking" but Hermione wouldn't ask any of those wicked Purebloods.

No Hermione "the Saint" Granger saw a situation and declared it to be a problem, decided it needed to be corrected and she would be the one to do it. It would be the first of her many accomplishments which would see her go down in history as the greatest and most benevolent benefactor after the Great Albus Dumbledore.

Had she bothered to ask one, like Dobby the only elf of her acquaintance, he would have told her that he only wanted to be free of the Malfoys because…well…they were Malfoys and oh the stories he could tell her about them and all the terrible things they had been doing throughout the centuries would curl her hair. Well she didn't need her hair curled (quite the opposite) but she didn't and wouldn't ask because what did Dobby know – about anything – as he was just a poor, simple, enslaved creature who she was going to help whether he wanted help or not. He didn't want help or at least her help but a little thing like that wouldn't stop Hermione Granger!

But back to the reason Dobby came to Hogwarts looking for work. You see house elves NEEDED a wizard/witch to help them survive. Their Magic and lives depend on a symbiotic relationship with a wizard/witch/or living in a magically charged environment which they need to survive. It is just in their physical and magical makeup to have such a relationship or their Magic lessens bit by bit until it fades completely and they die. Usually before that happens they start losing their sanity. Such a thing was happening to an old elf named Kreacher but Hermione didn't know about him and if she did she would happily tell him he was now free and to enjoy his freedom.

Poor Dobby had been free for a year and had sought employment. As he told the Headmaster, since gaining his freedom he didn't want to bind himself with any family. He wanted to be free and maybe earn some money. Unfortunately no one would hire him, it was binding to a business, an individual, a family or nothing. The only person he would even consider binding himself to would be the great Harry Potter but Dobby knew he wasn't worthy and was too afraid to ask. However, he had heard that Hogwarts was the one place in Britain where an elf could find refuge, have lots of work to do and maybe get paid as much as a sickle a week.

The gracious Headmaster told Dobby that it was all true but most especially the part about Harry Potter never wanting to bind with a house elf as like his friend Miss Granger he believed owing a house elf was nothing but slavery something which Harry was totally against. Therefore Dumbledore would hire Dobby because he could sense that the elf had already lost much of his Magic and because Hogwarts could always use another hardworking elf.

Of course, there were two conditions for Dobby's employment. The first one was that Dobby had to swear not to ever bind with Harry Potter even if the boy asked and two, Dumbledore needed Dobby to "watch over Harry Potter" and report back to Dumbledore. He carefully explained to the elf that he wouldn't be spying on Harry merely "Helping me help Harry by protecting him and keeping him out of danger and away from bad influences and people who would seek to harm the boy. I must watch over him and be aware of anything which could hurt him. In fact this year I…sense…that the dear boy will be in need of all of the help he can get. You can do that for me…and for Harry…can't you Dobby?" he had innocently asked.

Dobby agreed to the terms and conditions and would even be paid a galleon for his services. His Magic would be saved and he would be doing very important work to help Harry Potter. The arrangements were made and the now very happy elf was hired and given over to the chief house elf of Hogwarts to begin his extensive training.

Dumbledore had smiled after the foolish elf had left. A house elf made a much better spy than the portraits, ghosts, Peeves, suits of armor, teachers, students and most especially the foolish Granger girl and greedy Weasleys. He hadn't "sensed" anything because he had helped arranged for this year's "test" for the boy and if all went according to plan, Dumbledore would have another crack at capturing Voldemort or, even better, seeing to his resurrection. Then the "game" could begin in earnest and the "fun" (in Dumbledore's mind at least) could commence.

Everything was going better than expected. Dumbledore recognized the fake Moody, stunned him, dosed him with Veritaserum, questioned him thoroughly then just to be safe legitimized him unmercifully. Severus (who had provided the Veritaserum and witnessed the questioning) had had to brew him a special pain potion since Barty Crouch, Jr.'s mind had been so injured. But he had been healed, obliviated and more plans were made. He and thus Voldemort would suspect nothing.

Due to the severity of the censure and abuse Harry had been receiving Dumbledore had allowed both him and Neville Longbottom to hide out in the Room of Requirement to not only protect them but to save their lives. As usual things got bit – no a lot – out of hand because the two other schools were present and Rita Skeeter had free range of the school. Since Potter was in the Tournament he really didn't have to attend classes and after the weighing of the wands fiasco and the subsequent outrageous newspaper article Skeeter had written, the abuse had gotten so bad the boy stopped attending classes.

Neville still went to classes but took his meals in the Room and only ventured out to the greenhouses. Some people, like Ron Weasley vent his spleen on the helpless boy since he couldn't publically torture Potter, but Dumbledore allowed it as long as things didn't get too bad. He still needed Neville to use as an alternate or Plan B if things went bad with Potter. There was a very real possibility Potter could be killed before the resurrection and then Longbottom would have to be sacrificed after Dumbledore announced that he and not Potter had been "the real Boy-Who-Lived" and Potter was just the decoy.

But now Dobby had reported that Harry Potter was not in the "Come and Go Room" as the elves called it nor was Neville Longbottom. "Theys both bees gone and so is Trevor Toad and Hedwig Owl. Dobby knows not where they bees and cannot sense them" he had wailed and then broke into tears after relaying the news. Dumbledore had dismissed him and ordered that a massive search be done for both boys.

It didn't work. Nothing did so he sent out Fawkes but then…well Fawkes didn't return no matter how many times Dumbledore called out to his familiar. Dumbledore checked his trackers and the other monitors he kept on the boy and had since he had been dumped with his unloving relatives. They seemed to be working but as he looked closer – DAMN, DOUBLE DAMN AND A BLOODY HELL THROWN IN! They were all fakes!

Not to worry, not to worry. He could make new ones he just needed some of the boy's blood which was always on hand in the Infirmary. He went there to find that not only was there no blood of Harry Potter (or even Neville Longbottom) but their medical records were also missing. And most disturbing of all so was POPPY POMFREY!

It couldn't be possible as HE OWNED POPPY POMFREY. Only her death could release her from his grasp. He'd worry about her later but now he sent for Severus and ordered him to start brewing. He then sent his personal elf to gather bits of Potter's blood, a hair, skin flecks – anything – as the essences of Potter was around the school, especially his blood.

But there was nothing, nothing at all. It was if Harry Potter and even Neville Longbottom had never walked the halls of Hogwarts. So he sent elves to the Burrow. A frantic Molly Weasley had floo called him to say that the elf had arrived, explained the situation but…but…it seems as if somebody had broken in and…stolen her dirt!

Now that was something nobody would report unless you were Molly Weasley and this was Albus Dumbledore asking – no demanding – for certain things. Molly had been saving samples of Harry since the first time he had stayed at the Burrow so that she could brew certain "special" potions for use in the future. Apparently after the children had left for school she tidied up the rooms and thought they looked cleaner but since it was probably her imagination and/or wishful thinking on her part, she ignored it. But the day before the first task she had awakened to see her house SPARKLING. You could eat off the floors. It was the same with the grounds outbuildings as everything (including the garden gnomes) had been sanitized.

Most disturbing of all somebody had broken into her potions cabinet and wiped her out even going so far as to take ingredients and her trusty cauldrons, stirrers – well everything.

Much to his great fear the same had been done with the home of Arabella Figg where Harry spent some of his childhood when the Dursleys dumped him off when they went to enjoy themselves. It wasn't as bad as what had happened to the Burrow and Mrs. Figg hadn't reported it because she thought someone had magically cleaned it as a reward because she wasn't as good a housekeeper as she once was due to age and infirmities. She thought Dumbledore had arranged for it because even her Kneazles had been given very thorough baths and been gifted with new collars.

But the very worst was yet to come as Dumbledore trudged down to 4 Privet Drive. He didn't bother knocking but just magically opened the door, walked in and fell into a very big hole. The house was completely empty. In fact, upon further investigation, it wasn't really a house but more of a shell – a magical shell of some sort which showed a house from the outside but was missing furnishings, walls and floors and he had fallen into where the basement had been.

Yep "dirt" was still to be found at 4 Privet Drive but just the remnants of the foundation where the basement had been built and the front and back yards. As he lay in the hole recovering from his shock he had to admit that a very good bit of magic had been used but he cursed whoever had done it to the seven circles of Hell. It was the same with the garage and the garden sheds – nothing but shells. The yards and all of the flower beds and bushes had been "sanitized" like the Weasley grounds had been but at least the Weasleys and their possession had been left. The Dursleys were apparently missing.

He rushed back to Mrs. Figg's house and told her what happened. When she got over her initial shock she told him that Dudley was at his school but Vernon had been away for four days on a business trip or something according to the local gossip. "I don't recall seeing Petunia since he left and her car is gone but I just thought she was out shopping."

Dumbledore couldn't waste any more time. Things were serious. He had to find Petunia and Dudley as they were Potter's blood relatives and he could probably use some of their blood to make some sort of tracker and find Potter. He contacted Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt (one of his faithful followers) and ordered him to fetch Dudley Dursley from his school and look for Vernon Dudley. If nothing else someone should prepare Vernon for the shock of his life.

Meanwhile the hunt for Potter and Longbottom at Hogwarts was still on but without success. Looking closer it seemed the same thing regarding blood and any essences for both boys and Poppy Pomfrey were gone. The Quidditch pitch and locker rooms, all classes rooms, the usual spots on the table in the Great Hall and most definitely all of Gryffindor Tower were cleaned very, very thoroughly. Pomfrey's private room and every inch of the Infirmary were sterilized and to add insult to injury all of the potions were now missing meaning emergency supplies had to be bought.

Just when Dumbledore thought things couldn't get any worse, naturally they did. Kingsley had flooed directly to Dumbledore's office to report that Dudley Dursley and all of his possessions had gone missing roughly two days before the first task and two days after Vernon Dursley had left the country on business. Petunia had called his workplace desperately needing to contact him but Grunnings only knew that a representative of a Middle East oil refinery was looking to order a specially made drill and had been given Vernon's name. It was all hush-hush and had to remain anonymous and even the owners of Grunnings didn't know who only that they had to let him go and pay all expenses. The government had made all of the travel arrangements although Grunnings would be billed for it after the trip. Vernon was eight days into the trip and nothing had been heard by anyone.

"No one knows where Petunia is as Smelting – Dudley's school – told the police it might still be a kidnapping despite all of his things being taken. She was told to go home and wait for a call or until the police contacted her. One strange thing was noticed by the police however…."

"Was the school cleaner than usual?" Dumbledore asked although already knowing the answer.

"Well…yes – but just in areas where Dudley went to class or spent most of his time."

Dumbledore sighed heavily before saying "This will sound odd but I need you to find the names and addresses of Dudley's friends. Then you will escort some of the elves to their homes to check for any essences of Dudley Dursley. Also check the primary school, playgrounds and probably the local hospitals. I need any and all medical records for Dudley and Harry – anything that could help find them.

Dumbledore was NOT going to give up trying to track down Harry Potter. If need be he'd - well he'd dig up James and Lily to get "samples" if he had to.

Then another bit of bad news came via floo call into the life of Albus Dumbledore. Cornelius Fudge asked to step through, was granted permission and told the latest in Dumbledore would refer to as the "Cleaning Terror."

"Albus I just received a frantic call from Algie Croaker. Apparently his nephew Frank Longbottom and his wife Alice are missing from St. Mungo's. They disappeared last night along with all of their medical records and…."

"Were their rooms cleaner than usual?"

"Well…yes, yes they were. It's as if any trace of their essences and even magical signature were wiped from the face of the earth. And Algie can't get in touch with his sister Augusta. He was called in because St. Mungo's couldn't report it to Longbottom Lodge as nobody could remember where it was not even Algie."

"Then it's under a Fidelius?"

"No one knows. Very few people can cast a true Fidelius except for a few Unspeakables, your own good self and employees of Gringotts and all have sworn that they didn't cast one. I need to speak to the Longbottom heir – Nigel or Niven…."

"Neville" Dumbledore added. He was going to have to tell Fudge of all people that Neville was missing and no doubt it would soon be known that Potter was also gone. He had a headache of huge proportions and would have to call Severus to brew him a potion because all of the Infirmary supplies were missing!

So Dumbledore offered Cornelius a drink of firewhiskey instead of tea because Dumbledore needed a good stiff drink. He carefully gave a version of what had happened as well as opining that he thought both boys had been kidnapped. Fudge was horrified as what would this do to his career? It would seriously harm the Tournament. Would the Boy-Who-Lived lose his Magic if he was prevented from participating?

Fudge knocked back three whiskeys and would have drunk more if Dumbledore hadn't sent him on his way with strict instructions not to tell anybody. To make sure he didn't tell Lucius Malfoy, Dumbledore spelled him as he pushed him through the fireplace back to the Ministry.

Dumbledore had only slightly wondered if the boy had really been kidnapped. After finding out his monitors were faked he discounted that idea but that left another burning question – who? Who knew so much about Harry Potter to know about the monitors, what they were and how to fake them?

The only real answer to that question was – him! Only Dumbledore knew the extent to which he had gone to control the boy. Some people knew certain things but nothing close to even half. Even the Goblins knew only a limited amount of the things he had done. The Weasleys knew how they would benefit if they did certain things regarding the boy and they were well-paid (or at least Molly, Ronald and Ginerva were) to do their jobs. There would also great benefits promised to them if all things went according to plan.

The teachers were told only what they needed to know concerning the boy, how he was to be treated, etc. They could not ask why because it was none of their business. They were just teachers and he was the Headmaster as well as being Albus Dumbledore the Leader of the Light, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, etc. They could only obey his every command or suffer the consequences.

Apparently somehow certain things had been found out and the question now was who, and how was the boy taken and the cleanup done without anybody – like him - noticing. In Hogwarts it had to be an inside job, meaning house elves had to have done it because only they had such skill and the access to all areas. But they were all loyal to and answered only to him. Dobby couldn't have done the work not even if he worked night and day. He had sworn to Dumbledore not to really help Harry Potter just to see to certain needs, like hiding him, protecting him from the worse of the physical abuse and, he had been really surprised to find out that both boys were gone.

Dobby had also been under supervision by the head house elf. Dobby had certain work he had to perform during the course of a day and night and there was always another elf watching him. There had even been trackers placed on the elf to see if he left Hogwarts. He had not.

Also the boy KNEW NOTHING of that Dumbledore had made absolutely certain. He couldn't save himself if he tried. Also HE HAD NOBODY capable of helping him especially on the scale he needed help. He had no money and no place to go and neither did Neville Longbottom. Dumbledore had checked and neither boy had accessed their trust vaults.

Dobby had told Dumbledore he managed to find some school books and old clothes for the boys to use for studying and to wear in the Room. What money Neville had (as Harry's had been "confiscated" by Ron) was used to purchase underwear and shoes for them both. These had been owl ordered and now Neville had exactly one sickle and eight knuts to his name as he didn't dare ask his Gran for help or new underwear. He had heard she was very displeased with him siding with the lying, cheating Harry Potter and had cut off his pocket money for the rest of the year.

No, they HAD TO BE SOMEWHERE IN HOGWARTS and Dumbledore would just have to somehow find them, Petunia and Dudley and the treacherous elves that had done the illegal cleaning.

NOBODY BEAT OR THWARTED THE PLANS OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE – NOBODY!