A/N: I apologize for taking so long, been busy with home/family stuff. But finally finished this chapter. Heart is up next. As always, thanks for the R/Rs.
Chapter 24: Profile of a Dark Lord (Interlude IV)
Harry and Ginny looked up from the table as Prue sat down with an uncomfortable expression as she looked between them and Sirius. Sandi came over to the table with the last of the pancakes she had been making with a raised eyebrow at Prue. Ginny could feel Prue's discomfort as Sandi sat beside Sirius. Harry continued to look at Prue as he took a bit of his breakfast. Prue started squirming in her chair under his gaze.
"Stop, Harry, please," Prue pleaded as she closed her eyes. "You two know that look of yours drives a person barmy."
"What's on your mind, Aunt Prue?" Ginny asked calmly, adding her gaze to Harry's.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Prue sighed. "Fine. I wanted to invite one more person to the meeting this afternoon."
"Professor Burke?" Harry asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Well…" Prue trailed off, biting her lip.
"Is that a 'yes'?" Ginny smirked with a knowing look.
"I…uh…" Prue continued to stammer as she looked away quickly.
"Prudence Emily Smythe!" Sandi grinned. "Out with it! We already know you two are a couple. That was evident at the wedding when Siri and I saw you two dancing and the kisses you shared."
Prue swung her head to look at her sister with wide eyes. "You know?" she breathed weakly. "You…saw…"
"Yes, we did," smirked Sirius.
"You weren't as sneaky as you thought you were at the wedding, Aunt Prue," Harry added.
"The looks, the dancing, the kisses, the hugs," Ginny listed.
"Slytherin snot," Prue groaned as she dropped her head.
"Out with it, Prue," Sandi insisted.
"Fine," sighed Prue. "Randy and I have been dating since the middle of their first year. Happy now?"
"It's a start," grinned Sandi.
"Why do you want to invite him?" Harry asked, the intense look returning to his gaze.
"Godric, I hate that look!" Prue looked down. She huffed before looking back up. "He wants to earn your trust so he cleared me to tell you a few things about him."
"Like what?" Ginny asked turning her intense look on Prue.
"Bloody Morgana's sagging teats, would you stop with that look?" Prue complained. "I'm going to tell you, just stop with the look."
"Well?" Harry blinked, making the intensity subside.
"Randy isn't just a professor," Prue started.
"Figured that out on our own," Ginny retorted.
"He was assigned to investigate Quirrell by the ICW, because…" Prue trailed off with a heavy sigh.
"Why?" Sirius asked. "Who does he work for?"
"He is a…" Prue inhaled a breath. She exhaled slowly as she looked at Harry and Ginny. "A DFDL agent."
"DFDL?" Sandi hollered with wide eyes as she dropped her fork.
"He's…a real…Dark Force…" Harry began looking astonished.
"Defense League…agent…?" Ginny swallowed.
"Yes," Prue sighed. "He was placed at Hogwarts to track Quirrell, but given what happened at the end of the year his assignment changed."
"To what?" Sirius asked with narrowed eyes.
"One of his higher-ups knows a bit about these two," Prue gestured to Harry and Ginny. She raised her hand to stop any questions or anger. "Let me finish. He is there to help protect you two and give us any help he can. He has contacts everywhere and…"
"And?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"And he has a message from his superiors at the DFDL for us," Prue stated.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked with narrowed eyes.
"I don't know what it is or what it's about. That's all he told me," Prue raised her hands. "The only thing he would say when I asked the same question is that it would be of help with lost things."
Harry and Ginny shared a look, then turned to Sirius and Sandi with a nod.
"We need to know either way, what they know and what they can offer," Harry nodded. Sirius and Sandi nodded.
"Tell him where and when," Ginny nodded at Prue.
"Thank you," Prue smiled before hurrying out of the kitchen.
"You two stay under the Cloak until we tell you to come out, got it?" Sirius told Harry and Ginny as they sat wrapped around each other in a corner of the new conference room in Grimmauld Place.
"We know, Pads," Harry frowned as he stroked a hand through Ginny's hair.
"Aunt Sandi went over this with us three times before we left the house," Ginny added with a pointed look at Sirius. "Do you really want to irritate me?"
"Uh…no. Sorry, just…"
"Making sure," Harry finished for him with an eye roll. "We know."
"Bloody bond maturity," Sirius grumped as he nodded before leaving the room.
"Thought he'd never leave," Harry smirked as he dropped the Cloak around them before kissing Ginny's neck.
Harry and Ginny were in the middle a heated kiss when they heard a nervous-looking Prue walk into the room. She wrung her hands as she paced a few times in front of the fireplace as she waited for someone to come through. Harry raised a smirking eyebrow to Ginny as she turned to him with an evil grin. Each having the same thought as they watched Prue's nervousness, silently.
Green flames burst into the grate just before Professor Randle Burke stepped out. Prue greeted him with a relieved smile as she walked over to him.
"Hey there, handsome," Prue smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey there, yourself, gorgeous," Burke smiled before pulling Prue closer, kissing her rather passionately.
"Now we know for sure," Harry chuckled from under the Cloak.
"Definitely!" giggled Ginny.
Prue and Burke sprang apart, looking around for them in shock. They couldn't see anyone else in the room, but they could hear Harry and Ginny's giggling laughter echoing off the walls around the room. Prue's eyes grew wide as she realized why she couldn't see them.
"Bloody Potter Invisibility Cloak," Prue groaned as she started feeling around. After a few blind swipes of her hand, Prue frowned as the giggling grew louder. "You better hope to Merlin, I don't find you."
"Find who?" asked Sirius with a grin as he came in.
Harry and Ginny silently moved behind Prue before dropping the Cloak and shouting, "Us!"
Prue and Burke both jumped in startlement. Harry, Ginny, and Sirius laughed as they paled then reddened.
"You see what I have to deal with?" Prue complained to Burke.
"Oh, James was worse," chuckled Sirius as he walked over to Burke, extending his hand. Burke took his hand warily as Sirius grinned at him devilishly.
"I don't know about that," Prue frowned at a still giggling Harry and Ginny.
"Just be glad it was us and not the twins," Ginny wiggled her eyebrows.
"They would have used a Sticking Charm to prove it to everybody," Harry laughed. Prue sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You'll have to excuse them, Randle," Sirius grinned. "They have a mischievous streak as bad as Harry's father did."
"Oh, that's rich coming from you," Sandi smirked sarcastically at Sirius as she walked in. "You were, and still are, just as bad as James ever was! Or do I need to remind you of Charlie's last visit with the ink exploding apple?"
"Well…" Sirius cleared his throat. "We were just product testing. In my defense, it wasn't my invention."
"No," Sandi agreed. "But you and the twins were the ones who duped him into eating it."
"Word of advice, Randy," Prue looked at him seriously. "Don't except food from the Weasley twins. Or these three."
"Understood," Burke nodded with wide eyes and pale.
"Aw, why?" Harry smiled with mock offense.
"I think he would have made a great little yellow canary!" Ginny giggled. Burke paled more as Prue sighed, shaking her head.
"Now you know why I didn't want to make us public knowledge," Prue told Burke.
"I'm beginning to see why," Burke nodded.
"Well, I hate to interrupt the teasing session, but," Sandi announced as she looked at her watch, "we have other guests coming. You two, get back under the Clock and no…"
"No, what?" Ginny raised a challenging eyebrow.
"Never mind," Sandi sighed. "Just hide."
"What was she talking about?" Burke whispered to Prue as Harry and Ginny disappeared again.
"You'd rather not know," Prue shook her head. "It's a bond thing, and they're almost married anyway."
"Uh…" Burke blinked.
"Trust me, don't ask," Prue reiterated.
"No worse than you, Aunt Prue," they heard Harry snicker. Prue and Burke blushed as Sandi raised a questioning eyebrow.
No other comments could be made as the Floo flared green again. Remus, Dora, Molly, and Arthur stepped through in close succession. A minute later, while the adults were still greeting each other, Andi and Narcissa stepped out of the grate. They were followed by Amelia Bones, Alastor Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. After another short minute Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout arrived.
"Please, have a seat," Sirius called after the greetings were complete. "Kreacher, please bring in the refreshments."
"Here youse are, sir," Kreacher bowed. "Enjoy, please."
"Thank you, Kreacher," Narcissa smiled at the old elf. Kreacher gave her a small bow and smile before disappearing.
"First, Sandi and I would like to welcome all of you to my London offices," Sirius began. "Second, this is meeting to discuss some very important topics that a few of you are very aware of, but don't know the entire story. Lastly, I may be a Lord, a Board member, an Auror, but this is a very intimate and informal group. Think of it as…an Inner Circle of sorts."
"Just what is this all about, Black?" Moody grumbled.
"Sandi? Why don't you start?" Sirius nodded to her.
"We're here to discuss four interconnected topics," Sandi began as she stood. With a wave of her wand, Harry's Penceive floated over to the table from the far corner. "We have several memories to view, but we'll get to those in a moment. Just so you all know; we have two additional people in this room. It is actually because of them that we are here."
"What're you talkin' about?" Moody scowled. "My eye ain't seein' nobody else here."
"That's because we warded the room against your eye," Sirius smirked.
"And who might that be?" Shacklebolt asked as he crossed his arms.
"You can come out now," Sandi call over her shoulder.
Harry and Ginny appeared in an armchair behind Sandi. Ginny looked quite comfortable sitting on Harry's lap. They both had a somewhat glazed look to their eyes and goofy smiles. Molly frowned at them slightly with a shake of her head. Sirius and Remus tried to hide their grins. Prue and Sandi just rolled their eyes.
"Not even going to ask," Dora shook her head.
"Probably safest," Remus chuckled.
"Why're they here?" growled Moody.
"Because like it or not, Alastor, they have the biggest stake in this," Sandi answered. She held up a hand. "And before anyone asks, there were two Prophecies given about them and Voldemort before they were born."
"What?" Narcissa breathed with wide eyes and a look of horror on her face.
"They say, in short, Harry and Ginny are the only ones who can destroy Voldemort for good," Sirius answered.
"What rubbish is this?" Moody grumbled as he stood.
Harry and Ginny narrowed their eyes at that. With a deep breath, they let their power build then radiate out. They remained still as the pulse knocked Moody back into his seat as well as shaking the rest of the table. Moody turned with an astonished look on his grizzled face to the young couple. Harry and Ginny hadn't moved from the corner but were now bathed in a goldish glow that hummed as the energy sparked off of them. Their faces remained calm, but the look in their eyes was fierce and hard. Moody visibly gulped as they stared at him.
"Any more questions about them?" Sandi asked smugly. Moody schooled his features into a scowl with a curt nod for Sandi to continue. "And I'll warn all of you now, don't make them angry. It's not a pretty sight. I still have a scorch mark on the wall of my house from three years ago."
"How are you alright with them sitting like that, Molly?" Shacklebolt asked with a narrowed gaze.
"They've been bonded since birth," Molly shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Shacklebolt asked confused.
"They're Birth Soul Bonded," Molly shrugged again. "When Ginny turns fourteen, they will legally married and considered adults. And I'd advise you to not try to get between them if that's what you're thinking. They're very protective of each other."
"Ron learned that one the hard way," Ginny chuckled as she stood.
"More than once," Harry added as he stretched and stood.
"From several concussions," they giggled as they wrapped an arm around the other.
"Wait," Professor Sprout raised her hand, turning to Sandi. "Did you say destroy You-Know-Who? Is he not dead already?"
"No, Pomona," McGonagall sighed, "he is not."
"Oh, dear Merlin," Sprout gasped, covering her mouth in terror.
"He doesn't have a body right now, Professor," Ginny tried to reassure her as she and Harry moved to the table.
"But he will try, at some point, to make a new one," Harry went on. "Do you and Professor Flitwick remember the end of our first year?"
"Yes, I do," Flitwick nodded. Sprout stared at them with wide eyes as she realized where this was going.
"That was Voldemort's wraith that attacked us," Harry told him with a frown.
"But how?" breathed Sprout. "How is he…?"
"Who here has ever heard of a Horcrux?" Sirius asked. Those that already knew raised a hand. "Those of you who don't shall learn as go through the memories."
"Minerva?" Sprout asked. "You knew about this?"
"Since the end of their first year," McGonagall indicated Harry and Ginny with a sigh. "I've known what most of this is about since Harry's first birthday. I was with Albus when the second Prophecy was Given."
"And you've said nothing?" Flitwick asked looking offended.
"I was sworn to secrecy, Filius," McGonagall replied. "First by Albus, then by Sirius."
"Now it's time to share what we know about Tom Marvolo Riddle with all of you," Harry nodded. Most of the adults looked blankly at him.
"You know him better as Lord Voldemort," Ginny added with a frown as the majority of the table flinched, but looked astonished.
"I think it's time we viewed these memories," Sandi spoke into the silent, shocked audience. "They will answer a lot of your questions. Prue, Sirius, Harry, Ginny, and I have been through these several times, but that doesn't mean we haven't missed something. That's where you lot come in. Each of you is free to comment or focus on something inside the memory. If you find something of significance let us know. We can pause the memory from the inside."
With a tap of her wand, the Penceive projected the first memory.
The group watched as a Bob Ogden visited the Gaunt family shack. They noticed Merope Gaunt staring at the Muggle Tom Riddle as he rode by on his horse. Moody huffed as his Auror skills picked up on the fact Voldemort was only a half-blood just from the look on Merope's face. Andi looked disgusted at the treatment Merope received from her father and brother before they were taken to Azkaban. Sirius gave her a knowing smile.
"That ring and locket on Marvolo Gaunt are two of the Horcruxes," Sandi told them as the scene changed.
They watched Merope brew the Love Potion she used to seduce Tom Riddle. Shacklebolt grunted as they witnessed Tom Riddle walk out on a pregnant Merope Gaunt. They viewed how Merope started to fall ill. Shacklebolt had Sandi play a part of Merope selling her father's locket for money three times before he gave her a satisfied nod.
"This next one is about ten years later," Sirius told them as the new memory began.
"That's Albus," Sprout gasped.
"He knew all this time?" Flitwick growled.
"Yes," nodded Sandi. "He was the one to make the first contact with the young Tom Marvolo Riddle."
As the memory progressed, Amelia walked around the room with a scrutinizing eye. Her attention fell on the window sill and the desk.
"Wait!" she called. Sandi paused the memory. "Look here. Seven stones on the window sill."
"Looks like he was already slightly aware of Magic," Narcissa commented.
"These postcards? Places he visited?" Amelia asked as she turned to Sirius.
"Some," Sirius answered. "That photo of the coast is one of the hiding places he used. My brother, Regulus found his secret and retrieved that one at the cost of his own life."
"These stolen objects," Shacklebolt pointed to them on the bed. "A ring, a necklace, a tiara, a book. Let me guess; another clue Albus missed?"
"Very perceptive," Prue nodded. "Sandi and I viewed these several times before we caught that."
"The next memory is from Horace Slughorn," Sirius announced. "When we contacted him for the real memory, he was not very forthcoming, at first."
"Real memory?" frowned Moody.
"He lied to Albus," Sandi answered. "He asks that after we see what had done, that we don't think less of him for it."
"Why is that?" squeaked Flitwick confused.
"You'll see," frowned Sirius.
The group watched as a slightly older Tom Marvolo Riddle spoke with Horace Slughorn after a Slug Club party. They were shocked to learn Slughorn had fallen to the manipulations of Riddle so easily.
"Dunce," huffed Moody. "Never liked the windbag ta begin with. Now, I got a reason ta dislike him more."
"Wait!" Amelia called as she stepped closer to the young man in the memory. "Replay Riddle at the fireplace."
Sandi reversed the memory to the appropriate point. Amelia stepped even closer to the memory Riddle, watching him closely. She counted silently as Riddle turned his ring seven times. The same ring his grandfather had worn.
"Seven turns," Amelia nodded. "Sevens and threes. Common thread throughout these memories. He has the ring."
"That's something we missed," admitted Sirius. "Any other thoughts before we continue?"
"Manipulative little punk," grumped Moody.
"Yeah, we noticed that one," Prue nodded with a frown.
The next memory began with an older Riddle visiting an elderly woman wearing the same locket Riddle's grandfather and mother had worn. Sprout walked over to the trophy case, looking a little dazed.
"Tha…that's…" she swallowed heavily, "that's the lost Cup of Hufflepuff!"
"Yes, it is, Professor," Harry confirmed.
"And Tom took it to make a Horcrux," Ginny added.
"He what?" Sprout spun with wide, shocked eyes.
"Afraid so, Pomona," Sandi sighed. "Sirius found that one."
"Oh, dear Helga," Sprout sobbed into her hand.
"He also found and defiled Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem," Prue added with a look of sadness at her old Head of House. Flitwick gasped, then looked angry.
"And Albus knew all this?" he ground out through gritted teeth.
"Yes," Sirius sighed. Flitwick let out a series of Goblin curse that no one understood, but each knew the sentiment behind them. "We have two more."
The scene changed to the Headmaster's Office in Hogwarts.
"Regulus Black," Dumbledore nodded as the man stepped out of the fireplace.
"Dumbledore," Regulus nodded. "I have information for you."
"At what price?" asked Dumbledore, his hand on his wand.
"The freedom of the Wizarding world," answered Regulus. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "The so-called Dark Lord is a fraud. His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"I know this already, Mr. Black."
"But do know the lengths he has gone to become immortal?" Regulus asked.
"No," Dumbledore answered as he sat forward in his chair slightly. "That I do not know."
"Horcruxes. Seven Horcruxes is what he wants," Regulus blurted out. He started pacing in front of the desk. He buried his hands in his hair, pulling slightly. "I know of three. A book, the Cup of Hufflepuff, and Slytherin's Locket. I found out where the locket is, and I'm going after it. I'm telling you this so you know how to stop this madman."
Without waiting for a reply, the memory of Regulus Black walked back to the fireplace and left.
"If I had any respect left for Albus Dumbledore, that just ended it," declared Andi with a scowl.
"I couldn't agree more, mum," Dora huffed.
"All these years, he knew and did nothing?" raged Amelia. "If I had known this, I would've sent him through the Veil!"
"That was Augusta's reaction, as well," grinned Sandi.
"I was wondering why she wasn't here," nodded Amelia.
"She's watching Draco, Ron, and Neville," Harry replied.
"And Xeno Lovegood is watching Luna, Susan, and Hermione," added Ginny, looking at Andi as she was about to ask about the Minister's niece.
"But if you both are here, Arthur, Molly, what about the other three boys you have at home still?" asked Shacklebolt.
"Percy is at the Burrow, studying for his N.E.W.T.s," Arthur answered. "The twins went to a friend's house for the weekend."
"Prue, do you want to leave?" Sandi asked her quietly.
"Yeah," Prue sighed. "Don't want any nightmares tonight."
"You alright?" Burke asked placing a hand on Prue's arm before she could leave the memory.
"I'm fine, Randy," Prue smiled. "The next memory is mine, and I'd rather not see it again."
"Do you want…?" he started.
"No, you need to see it," Prue told him as she patted his hand. Burke nodded before Prue looked up and faded away.
"You'll understand after you see it, Randle," Sandi give him a small nod.
White mist swirled as the next memory began.
"Crucio!" Bellatrix cackled as Prue screamed.
Prue was on the floor of her cell in Lestrange Manor. Her Auror uniform was torn in several places. Bruises and cuts covered her body as Bellatrix laughed. She had been in the "care" of Bellatrix Lestrange for five days. Finally, the curse was lifted, but she heard Bellatrix growl in aggravation.
"What is it, Barty?" Bellatrix grumbled.
"The Dark Lord is here to see you, Bella," he answered.
"Yes, I am," a high-pitched voice hissed from the stairs. Despite the pain of the curse, Prue stared with wide eyes as the shadow on the stairs glided to the floor.
Bella and Barty fell to their knees. "My Lord."
"He has the Cup," breathed Sprout as she pointed to the gold chalice with the badger engraved on the side.
"My dear Bellatrix, my loyal Barty," Riddle intoned. "Rise. I have a special favor to ask of you, Bella."
"You have, but to ask, My Lord," Bellatrix simpered.
"Protect this Cup," Riddle handed it to her. "It is…precious to me."
"Of course, Master," breathed Bellatrix running her hands over the Cup reverently.
"Come, we have plans to discuss," Riddle turned back to the stairs, his Death Eaters following.
"Three sides. Seven cells each," Amelia mused. "Even his followers have the threes and sevens."
"Yes, they do," agreed Sirius. He turned to Burke, who was staring at the memory Prue in the cell. "You alright?"
"Yes and no," Burke swallowed. "This is where you found her?"
"Yes, but," Sirius stopped Burke's next question with a raised hand. "By the time I found her, the house-elf was caring for her as a guest, not a prisoner."
"Professor Burke?" Harry called. Burke turned. "You have to understand, she doesn't like talking about this."
"She still has nightmares about this place," Ginny went on. "Part of my bond abilities is empathy. Trust me, Aunt Prue wanted you to understand her by seeing this. It's why she won't talk about it to you or almost anyone else."
"I understand," he nodded with a thick voice.
"Shall we?" Sandi gestured to the ceiling.
As they reemerged in the conference room, Harry and Ginny noticed Prue standing by the window looking out. They immediately went over to her, wrapping her in a hug on either side. They both noticed the tear streaks on her cheeks but said nothing. Sandi and Sirius each laid a hand on Prue's shoulders as they joined them. Molly, however, squeezed in front of her, capturing her in one of her infamous hugs.
Arthur placed a hand on Randle Burke's arm as he was about to join them. "Give them a moment."
Burke turned to Arthur with a questioning look. "Ginny is an empath, as she said. Both, Sirius and Harry have seen trauma that neither will talk openly about. Sandi is her sister, and they have always been very close. And my Molly is like a mother to all of them. That's just her way. Trust me, when she's ready, Prue will let you in."
"I…" Burke swallowed. "I understand."
"Believe me, Randle, Prue's in good hands right now," Andi nodded from his other side.
After a few minutes, Molly pulled back from Prue. She whispered something to her that no one else could hear, but they saw the slight nod from Prue and the smile that creased Molly's lips. Sandi was the first to turn away from Prue, walking over to stand in front of Burke.
"Just remember what she's been through," Sandi stated quietly giving him a nod.
Burke returned her nod before approaching Prue from behind. Sirius gave him a look of warning not to upset Prue more than she already was. Burke nodded in understanding. Harry and Ginny turned away from Prue at the same time. They circled Burke and Sirius, joining hands as they returned to the table. Sirius gave Burke one last nod before following the young couple.
Burke wrapped his arms around Prue's waist. The warning look from Sirius was nothing compared to the look Molly Weasley gave him before she left them alone.
"Welcome to my overprotective family," Prue chuckled.
"They have every right to feel that way," Burke told her softly. "They don't want to see you get hurt like that again in any fashion. I understand. And I feel the same way they do."
"Thanks," Prue chuckled sarcastically. "Just don't overdo it like they do at times."
"I'll try," Burke promised. Prue turned, hugging him.
"Ready?" she asked after a deep breath.
"As I'll ever be," Burke stated as she guided her back to the table.
"I presume you are ready to go public with the exact nature of your relationship?" McGonagall raised an eyebrow as they approached the table.
"Yes," sighed Prue. "At least to the people here."
"And?" Flitwick asked expectantly.
"We've been together since Harry and Ginny's first year," Prue admitted.
"Ha!" Flitwick jumped up. "Pay up, Pomona."
"Huffle skin," Sprout frowned as she handed Flitwick a bag of coins.
"A betting pool?" asked an astonished Prue. "Really?"
"Yes," Flitwick smiled. "And you just made me fifty Galleons richer!"
Prue groaned as she shook her head. "And I thought my family was bad."
"Now," Sirius stood again as Prue and Burke returned to their seats. "In short review, Riddle made Horcruxes to become immortal. Harry and Ginny are Prophesized to end him. We have already found his Horcruxes, two have been destroyed. However, the others were stolen from the Ministry."
Gasps sounded around the table.
"Actually," Amelia raised her hand. "That is part of the information I wished to share with you."
"Amelia," Sirius gestured for her to take the floor.
"We had an Unspeakable, loyal to us," she motioned to the gathered people around the table, "that came to me with information on who had access to the storage area they were in. We have him in custody. And, yes, the Aurors that arrested him can be trusted. I wanted to give you the opportunity to do the interrogation."
"Thank you," Sirius nodded. "We have one other order of business. Randle?"
"Thank you," Burke spoke as he stood. "As a representative of the ICW and the DFDL…"
"DFDL?" half the table shouted.
"Yes," Burke sighed. "I am a DFDL agent. I've been assigned to Hogwarts as an extra layer of protection for these two," he gestured to Harry and Ginny. "I also have a message from my superiors. One of which knew James and Lily Potter."
"Go on then," Sandi nodded.
"To the Potters and Family," Burke began, turning to Harry and Ginny. "The Inspector General of the DFDL sends his regards and early congratulations. His message is that I am your protection and your liaison between this body and the DFDL. We are at your disposal. And as a show of good faith, our information states that the Horcruxes have been hidden internationally, but the DFDL is tracking them for you. When each is found, it will be returned to your possession for disposal."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry nodded, extending his hand.
"Linus Purewater," Sirius stated as he walked into the holding cell.
"Auror and Lord Sirius Black," sneered the thin man with greying hair. "Brother of a traitor. Blood-traitor yourself."
"That's both fact and opinion," Sirius stated lazily as he glanced at the file he was holding. "You know why you're here?"
"I retrieved property of the Dark Lord," Linus sneered more.
"Where are they?" Sirius asked calmly.
Linus laughed. "You'll never find them again. My Master has already claimed them! He has already hidden them where you will never find them!"
"Like Albania," Sirius commented offhandedly, looking up with a straight face. Linus stopped laughing. "Yeah, we know more about 'your lord and master', then you do."
Sirius turned back for the door. He stopped, half turning to Linus again. "Have fun in Azkaban. You can say 'hello' to my cousin Bellatrix."
Linus paled as Sirius walked out.