Disclaimer! I do not own these characters. They are the property of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 16. Flash Point.

In 12 Grimmauld Place the very atmosphere was rigid with tension. Bill Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Rubeas Hagrid, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones, Dora Tonks, Mundungus Fletcher, Augsta Longbottom, David Greengrass and Poppy Pomfrey were all present at this special Order meeting. The situation must be grave if Albus had called upon Order reservists who'd been inactive after the war against The Dark Lord back in the early 80's, Augusta mused as she settled into her seat at the table.

As he saw everyone he'd requested to be present was indeed seated around him, Albus made his announcement. "I am going to for once, get straight to the point with no formalities. The situation has taken a turn for the worse, in addition to the intel we have gained regarding Voldemort's campaign to gain followers from abroad, he has been largely successful in recruiting death eaters in Bulgaria, Germany, and Italy. - Several worried looks passed between the Order members as Dumbledore continued.

"Additionally there is something even more concerning, I shall let Severus elaborate on the matter at hand." Several order members looked intrigued towards Snape whose face remained unreadable as he began. "The Dark Lord has in fact making attempts to find the Elder Wand. A number of gasps arose from those present. David Greengrass looked deeply troubled, as he was an active Auror and tough as they came it took a lot to shake him yet Snape's announcement did just that.

David knew all too well the stories of the Elder wand throughout history and of its bloody reputation. He shuddered inwardly as Agusta Longbottom spoke up voicing her disbelief. "This cannot be, Elder Wand is supposed to be a mere myth." A few murmurs of agreement were heard, before smirking slightly Snape explained. "Oh no the Elder Wand is no mere myth, it is quite easily traced through history. Emeric The Evil had taken a powerful wand dubbed the Deathstick from a wizard known as Fulburt The Fearful, before in turn the Deathstick was taken by Egbert The Egregious. Surely your familiar with those stories?"

A number of hushed agreements with Severus were heard. Dumbledore spoke again, "At any rate this does not bode well, should Voldemort manage to gain control over the Elder Wand it would certainly lead to a disastrous turn of events. We must be sure to obtain it before Voldemort can do so." Everyone present nodded their agreement with the old wizard. But some among them had doubts, strongest of which was Bill Weasley. As the Order Meeting concluded after deciding a course of action Bill found himself thinking back to two separate events that had sprung forth in his mind for a reason he could not understand.

Bill had been present at Gringotts when his family had attended Sirius' will reading. The last thing Sirius had said, was directed to Harry but now Bill found himself questioning those words "Do not trust Dumbledore... He is not as Saint like a man as the books make him out to be..." On top of this, Bill also contemplated something Harry had told him a few days prior to Christmas last year.

- Harry approached Bill who was presently sitting in an armchair in the burrows sittingroom. Bill sensed his presence and turned to Harry, "Hey Harry whats on your mind? you seem troubled." Harry looked interestedly at Bill, "I was thinking... Sirius had told me, the world isn't just made up of Black and White, there's shades of grey in between..." He began, Bill nodded in agreement. "And just because a wizard is dark doesn't make him evil, magic is magic there is no "light magic" and "dark magic" just magic. The only thing that makes a difference is the intentions behind the spells that are cast." Bill seemed to understand what Harry was saying.

"Sirius also freed Bellatrix from that horrible marriage contract she was forced into. He said that he did it, because even as feared as she was. With the reputation she has, she deserved to find real love." Bill now regarded Harry with great curiosity. "You will think I've lost my mind. But I have decided that I am going to find a way to get her out of Azkaban." At this revelation Bill remained silent for a long while. Finally Bill spoke up quietly, "I understand your point Harry, and I will respect your decision in this, though I can't see why you are doing this."

Harry nodded as the Eldest Weasley son continued. "The family has been slowly becoming distant from one another. Mum has Ginny and Ron swayed into sharing her view of Dumbledore, Percy as well. The twins, Charlie and I seem more of a like mind with Dad. He cant explain why, but he has a feeling that Dumbledore is hiding something big." Harry contemplated this but held his silence as Bill went on, "I will advise you with what Dad told me, Don't let others shape your view on the world, go with what your instincts tell you.

Suddenly Bill snapped back to the present, and for some reason decided to speak with Snape about his take on things. Bill headed off into the side sitting room that he'd seen Snape enter after the Order meeting ended. Snape looked up as the eldest Weasley boy entered the room and watched him with a blank expression.

Bill studied Snape's face seeing it was unreadable he began quietly, "I need your opinion on something." Snape did not reply but waited for Bill to continue. "I have a feeling that Dumbledore may not be as white as his beard. and I think maybe, Harry had a reason for turning to the dark. It doesn't make sense for him to leave us just because he was angry for not understanding why Dumbledore did something." Snape listened intently to Bill digesting the meaning of his words before speaking up himself, "I believe you are correct in your thinking. Harry was and likely is angry about many things Dumbledore has done. I won't lie some of the things he has done even I did not know of, I do not agree with what Dumbledore has done."

Bill listened with interest trying hard to see any deception in Snape's eyes but found none. "I cannot tell you much, but I can say the Dark Lord is not as evil as Dumbledore and the wizarding world believe. He has seen things and understands certain things that must be done to prevent the destruction of our kind. Though the Dark Lord does not always have the luxury of playing by the rules. Should you feel so inclined to have a better perspective of things from the other side, I would tell you to listen to your own instincts as an open mind will give you the insight you seek."

Bill nodded his understanding remembering that his father had said the same thing, and rose from his seat on the old leather sofa, and turned to walk away as he did, Snape gave him a parting thought, "Should you make the decision to find out for yourself as to who is right in this war, I can aide you in getting there. but of course there can be no self-doubt should you choose to go." Bill nodded once more realizing what Snape had hinted at, and then left the sitting room.

Harry and Bellatrix had arrived at Hogsmeade in disguise, and paid for an overnight stay at the Hogs Head Inn. It was decided that Bella would use Harry's Invisibility cloak and wait for Rosemerta to enter the ladies room in the Three Broomsticks shortly before she would close the pub for the night, this is when she would place Rosemerta under the Imperious Curse.

Harry would keep Rita on standby and distracted until the right time before joining Bella in the Three Broomsticks under the cover of disillusionment charms Rita of course in her animagus form (a ladybug.) The plan from there was that Rosmerta would get Dumbledore to try a few samples of drink that Rosmerta had mixed before she added them to the pub menu.

Bella and Harry had agreed this would be the best way to get some dirt on Dumbledore should they need to blackmail the old fool. After Albus had a few drinks Bella would slip the amulet into Dumbledore's cloak pocket while still under the disillusionment charm to avoid detection. Rita would be there to witness the incident first hand. Harry had charmed a large marble with audio and visual recording spells to capture the evidence, which would then be handed off to Rita along with her payment.

Harry and Bellatrix settled down in their room at the Hogs Head Inn for the night deciding to put their plans in motion the very next night. Harry shrunk the book he'd been studying and placed it back into his shrunken trunk in his cloak pocket and kissed Bella goodnight before they went to bed.

(Note)

I must apologize for the long delay in posting this chapter. Many things have come up nothing serious, but I've been rather distracted from my writing for a while. I will try to post as regularly as possible from now on bear with me here my life gets kind of crazy from time to time. I will continue editing the chapters getting them properly formated with paragraph breaks and I have decided to begin titling my chapters as well, soon I'll be adding titles to all of my current chapters too.