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Chapter 38: The Good, the Bad, and the Demented

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It took a bit of doing these days to frighten Hermione Granger, but this was definitely doing it. She and Madam Pomfrey stayed close behind Fleur and Harry as they moved through the inky darkness of wherever it was they now were. In front of them they saw a set of lights and they appeared to be quickly moving up on them. Hermione heard a strange sound coming at them through the darkness. It sounded a bit familiar but she couldn’t place it. As it came closer she saw a familiar whoosh of red plumage and then she recognized what was making the sound. It was Professor Dumbledore’s pet Phoenix named Fawkes. The last time she had seen Fawkes was at Professor Dumbledore’s funeral in June. Its whereabouts since then had been a mystery.

Fawkes flew to the levitated Neville and gently landed on his abdomen. As he leaned over where Neville’s scrotum had been ripped he inclined his head and began to weep. The teardrops from Fawkes’ eyes fell onto Neville’s wound and began to make a light white smoke appear. Hermione immediately knew what was happening. One of the most powerful known magical healing agents was the tears of a Phoenix.

Coming into the lighted area, Hermione heard a familiar voice call out to her; it was Luna Lovegood sitting up in a hospital bed.

“Hello, Hermione,” she said with her arms out for a hug which Hermione promptly supplied. “It’s so good of you to come see me. I was getting lonely.”

“Luna, it’s really you,” said an overjoyed Hermione. “We thought the Death Eaters had killed you.”

“One of them tried to kill me, and he raped me too,” Luna said casually as though disconnected from the event. “Harry saved me, he and Professor Lupin killed them, and Fleur brought me here to get well. I woke up in the darkness, just like I had seen in my vision, but I wasn’t dead like I thought I would be. I just saw my daddy. He thinks I’m living in a big house. Who’s that you’ve brought with you?”

“It’s Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom; they’ve been badly hurt and need help.”

“Then you’ve brought then to the right place. Hello Madam Pomfrey. Do you know Madam Desiree Delacour? She is Fleur and Gabrielle’s mum.”

Hermione knew of Desiree from her visits to the Golden Unicorn, but had never really spoken to her. She couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she and her daughters were up close. She felt jealous as Desiree walked over and took her hand.

“Welcome, Hermione,” she said gracefully. “We will try to keep you comfortable during your stay with us. I think you’ll find the accommodations acceptable to your taste.”

It was nearly impossible for Hermione to judge time in this void place that she had been taken into, but she sat and talked with Luna to pass the time while the others worked on Neville and Ginny. After a bit, Desiree came over and said that they believed that the pair had stabilized somewhat and were beyond immediate threat of death. Hermione was relieved, but knew that just because her friends were alive, didn’t mean they would ever be as they once were.

“Hermione,” said Harry as he came over to her. Beside him stood Fleur’s younger sister whom Hermione hadn’t seen in over two years. “Desiree says that they may be able to reattach Neville’s … parts.”

“We can try,” said Desiree with a look over to Madam Pomfrey. “I don’t know if we’ll be successful, and even if the tissue grafting does take place physically there is a high risk that because of the extensive nerve damage that he’ll never be able to function normally.”

“All you can do is try,” said Hermione.

“We need to leave and let them tend to Ginny and Neville,” said Harry. “We would just be in the way, and I know you must have about a million questions running through your mind right now.”

“A million will be a conservative estimate.”

“Well, let’s find a more comfortable place to go over it all then,” said Harry with a short nod to Gabrielle. Then Gabrielle led them a short distance away and began making an exit hole in the void. As Hermione followed Harry out she found herself in the dining room at Grimmauld Place. By the clock on the wall, she could see that it was now approaching mid day. At the table she saw Professor Lupin and Professor Balzhoff eating spaghetti.

“Hello, all,” welcomed Lupin, “come join us if you’re hungry. I threw together some lunch for us, a little Italian cuisine just like mamma used to make.”

“Your mother was Italian?” asked Harry.

“My mother was a Medici,” said Lupin, “a gifted witch of the purest bloodline of Tuscany. Dad met her during the war. The family had a reputation for potions making you know.”

“Especially the deadly kind,” added Balzhoff. “I wish you had told me you were part Medici before I drank the wine.” Remus only grinned back with a knowing look.

“I’m definitely hungry,” said Gabrielle, “but I don’t eat red meat, is there any in the spaghetti?”

Remus made a mock baring of fangs and growled, “I’m a bloody werewolf, guess!”

“Pass the salad bowl,” said Gabrielle in mock disgust as everyone laughed. Harry and Hermione immediately followed her to the table and found that the spaghetti was excellent, as were the breadsticks and salad.

After the meal, Gabrielle returned to the void to help with Ginny and Neville, before going she whispered to Harry that when she was done she would return to the apartment. Harry called a now very pregnant Winky back to Grimmauld Place to help serve those staying there.

“Have you come up with a name for the baby yet?” he asked Winky.

“Yes, Master, we’s will calls it Dinky for Dobby and Winky.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” said Harry to Winky’s delight, “when is it due?”

“Sometime next week, Master,” said the little elf. “But Winky promises Master that she will not allow it to interfere with the performances of her duties.”

“Nonsense, Winky,” said Harry. “You are to take time off and rest, and care for your baby. Those are my orders.” This brought on another complete breakdown in Winky of how good a Master she was blessed to have, complete with crying and noseblowing.

Harry got away from her as quickly as possible, he checked with Balzhoff and Lupin that accommodations were acceptable, and that Balzhoff had received her first salary payment. After leaving her and Hermione to do a bit of cleaning up witch style, Harry spoke alone to Lupin.

“Thanks for trying to cover my arse with Moody, but he didn’t buy it,” said Harry.

“He wasn’t supposed to, I was simply suggesting a common cover story we could use for the Ministry to buy," replied Lupin. “Also, thank you for allowing me to uncover my arse last night at the Unicorn. You have no idea how badly I needed a go.”

“That’s all right, hopefully you...eh… got it out of your system,” Harry said grinning at his little pun while Remus made a groan at the bad joke. “It could be a regular part of your compensation, you know, a company fringe benefit.”

“How’s that?”

“I’ve put Balzhoff on salary as a troubleshooter, two thousand a month. I’m offering you the same.”

“What would I do to earn that kind of money?”

“You could be the cook, if nothing else,” Harry laughed. “But seriously, the Order of the Phoenix is gutted, only a handful are left, there are no resources to support it. I’m thinking about starting my own order for the business of destroying Voldemort once and for all. I need recruits I can trust.”

“I’m in even if you didn’t pay me a Knut. However, a company pass to the second floor would be welcome. Any ideas for a name for the order.”

“The Order of the Unicorn might be a good one if it doesn’t give too much away. Plus I can afford to see my friends are taken care of, you’ll have salary, room and board … and access to company facilities for private usage.”

“Access to my old room in the basement would be a plus,” said Remus. “I’ll soon change again, and I don’t have a place to go and do it safely right now. McGonagall was letting me change in a place she constructed in the Hogwarts basement.”

“So that’s why she had us clean out those old storerooms. It makes sense; nobody would hear you down there. I remember you saying that my mum had a place made for you, where you could change and not harm anyone?”

“Yes, the room is sound proofed so I won’t disturb anyone. Plus she came upon the idea of having a couple of elves change into she-werewolves and babysit me.”

“My elves can change into werewolves?” asked Harry incredulously.

“They can change into whatever you want them to look like. They changed into she-wolves and stayed with me, they kept me in check.”

“There is one question I just have to ask …,” said Harry with a grin.

“You might as well go ahead, your dad asked it, Sirius asked, even your mum asked it.”

“… do werewolves do it doggy-style?”

“Blow me …,” said Remus over his shoulder as he took the stairs up to his bedroom for a nap as Harry laughed out loud after him.

Returning to the kitchen Harry found Hermione all alone. She explained that Professor Balzhoff had gone to St. Mungo’s to check on Madam Hooch’s condition, and would return shortly. Harry could see that she was busting with questions so he led her into the adjoining sitting room. Hermione then sat down on the couch. Harry noted immediately that exactly where Hermione now sat was the spot where Tonks had been sitting when Harry asked her to have sex with him on his birthday. It seemed like a hundred years had passed since that day, and it had only been three months.

“All right, Harry, what have the Delacour’s got to do with all this, and why is Fawkes in this void thing we passed through?”

“The Delacour’s are in this because they are allies with us in the destruction of Voldemort. Fawkes is in the void because Fleur is inside the void, other than that he stays in her room as her pet. Fleur and Gabrielle’s true name is not Delacour, it’s Dumbledore. Professor Dumbledore was their father.”

“Don’t be silly, Harry,” said Hermione. “Everybody knew Professor Dumbledore was a homosexual. All you had to do was look at how he dressed. I mean really.”

“No, Hermione, Dumbledore was straight, he only pretended to be queer so people wouldn’t bug him all the time. He had a secret life with a family, dressed normal and all that. It was just an act.”

“Well it was a pretty good act.”

“It fooled me too. Anyway, Dumbledore was able to travel the void, that’s how he got in and out of Hogwarts with no one seeing him. When Snape killed Dumbledore then Fawkes went to his eldest daughter, Fleur, as his new Master.”

“So they are in this because they want revenge for their father’s death?”

“Yes, we’ve been working together on a way to destroy Voldemort, we’ve been working two plans actually, one is a contingency if the other fails," said Harry trying to conceal the more delicate details of his dalliances with Fleur and Gabrielle from Hermione.

“So you really were leaving Hogwarts like McGonagall suspected?”

“I had to, I know she wanted to protect me from harm, but I was safe staying in Godric’s Hollow too. It was really an elf from the Golden Unicorn that Voldemort killed, the Delacour’s are the managers of the place and the elves there obey them. The elves can take on the shape of other persons. The elf made itself look exactly like me and let itself be seen around. When the attack began at Hogwarts I was perfectly safe. I was in the cemetery at Godric’s Hollow with Professor Lupin putting flowers on my Mum and Dad’s graves, and Tonks’ too. Fleur got us and carried us inside the Head Boy’s room, we put the dead elf into the void, and then the three of us counter attacked the Death Eaters. That’s how we found Luna. Fleur carried her inside the void because curses from this world don’t persist in there as strongly as they do here.”

Harry explained the rest in detail to Hermione of what he and Lupin had done while attacking the Death Eaters. Hermione then told Harry what had happened in the Gryffindor commons with her and Ron. Near the end of her explanation, Professor Balzhoff returned with news that Madam Hooch was all right and would be released the next day and given light duty assignments, including supervising the care of the three students.

After a light supper, everyone was thoroughly exhausted and ready for bed. The two ladies went up to bed after checking the security spells around the house. Harry went up to his master bedroom and closed the door. He had no intention of sleeping here tonight; calling Dobby to him, Harry had the elf disapparate him to Godric’s Hollow. From there Harry took the portal back to his flat at the Unicorn. He took a shower, dressed in his robe and flip-flops, and went into the dining room realizing he was hungry for a midnight snack. A quick call to Poonanni resulted in a sandwich and a glass of milk.

As he finished his sandwich, Harry decided to work on the other hunger he had tonight. Harry had thought several times about the elf he met his first night in the Unicorn, she was a busty, larger sized girl with shoulder length blonde hair. She was the one who had tried to throw Harry out of the witches only club on the first floor where she usually worked. Harry had wondered from time to time what it would be like with her, and this seemed like a good time to find out. Harry told Poonanni to send her to him. The elf soon appeared looking as she did in the clubs, she was sexily dressed in thigh-high leather boots and jeans, and a low cut white blouse that was quite revealing of her generous bosom. Harry asked what her name was.

“I am known as Sugartits, Master. I have never been able to tell you that I was sorry about causing you to be injured on you first visit here. Please forgive me.”

“That’s all right, it was a misunderstanding, and I completely forgive you,” said Harry as he felt his new hunger gnawing at him, only lower down than his stomach. This hunger didn’t involve filling something that was empty, just the opposite. Taking her hand and leading her into the bedroom Harry slowly undressed her. He had to admit that for a house elf she was really quite sexy and attractive. Feeling his own lust swelling in his trousers Harry undressed and had Sugartits kneel and take him in her mouth to near ejaculation before he had her stop so he could regain control of himself. Harry had her take him to the edge orally twice more, and then he mounted her and carried himself to orgasm inside her. The troubles of the day were forgotten in the afterglow as Harry lay with his head between her ample breasts and quietly drifted off to sleep. Sugartits, however, remained wide-awake to guard her Master through the rest of the night, as did a ring of elves stationed around the master suite. Master was well protected.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“My Ginny is alive!” shouted Molly Weasley in the kitchen of the burrow. “Where is she? I must see her; I have to care for her. Why didn’t you bring her here?”

“There is a problem, Molly,” said Kingsley Shacklebolt. “The Death Eaters hurt her, they tortured her and left her for dead, they think she is dead. The Longbottom boy also. However, agents rescued them in the nick of time, but we can’t have the Death Eaters know that we’ve found their lair. So Ginny is under the Ministry’s protection, and tomorrow’s Daily Prophet will announce that the two students were found dead.”

“NOOO, no, no, Kingsley,” screamed Molly. “I’ve got to see my baby, I have to see her.”

“Kingsley, she is a minor, we are her lawful guardians, you can’t deny us access to our girl,” said Arthur Weasley. “You can’t do that to us, not after…after, you know.”

“Lawfully I can under the Patriotic Wizards Act; she is a ward of the Ministry as her life is now a state secret. You both know me; I had to fight some people in the Ministry just to tell you the truth. A transfigured double will be made of Ginny’s body, Longbottom too. These will be buried at their funeral. Once the eyes of the community are off of you then we’ll arrange a time and place for you to see her. We’ll say that you are leaving to go away and grieve over your loss. You have to accept this and submit to a binding charm that prevents you from revealing what I’ve just told you, or I’ll have to use the Obliviate charm to erase your memory now. Please don’t fight us on this. Ginny is receiving the best care possible, you could do nothing to help other than get in the healers way.”

“One thing I have to know, Kingsley,” said Arthur. “Did the bastards violate her?”

Arthur and Molly both knew from the long pause and the look on Kingsley’s face that they had, but it still hit like a hammer when he finally nodded his head. “Yes,” he said.

“Have you seen her, what state is she in?” asked a sobbing Molly.

“No, I haven’t been allowed to see her. She’s in a catatonic state like Frank and Alice Longbottom, but remember that they weren’t found for nearly two whole days after they were tortured. Ginny was found and healing started within an hour of her ordeal. I’m told she is still in a reversible condition. Moreover, she is young and healthy. She may respond to the treatment within a day or two. The Lovegood girl was tortured by the Death Eaters too during the attack on Hogwarts; and she’s made a remarkable recovery under the same treatment.”

“I guess we have no option but to trust you, Kingsley,” said Arthur.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“REDUCTO!” came a chorus of voices and a number of beams of energy sprang from the wands of the Auror assault team. The smallish house in Spinner’s End exploded in a crash of timber and masonry. The protective spells that had surrounded it were neutralized by the force of the disruption spells. The Aurors quickly entered the remains of the house and searched it from top to bottom for its owner, or any sort of occupant. None were found, but a number of suspicious items were seized. A glamour spell was then put on the house to make it appear as it once had, but it was actually now a trap. Anyone who entered the house normally by door, or apparated into it, was immediately sucked into an oubliette where they were stunned and bound.

Locating this house was an especially valuable coup to the Ministry. It was the property of the notorious Death Eater Severus Snape. The house had previously been unassailable because it had been made unplottable by Snape. No one could find it without being told where it was by the secret keeper. However, one of the captured Death Eaters held by the Ministry had once been told the location so as to carry out a routine delivery. Replaying that memory from a Pensieve had allowed Aurors to be there as he had been told, letting them know also.

All across Britain, the Auror teams were destroying Death Eater safe houses and replacing them with traps. For several months the Death Eaters had simply played musical chairs with the Ministry, jumping from location to location. Now they were paralyzed with fear after three Death Eaters apparated into a boobytrapped house, two were immediately sucked into a stun cell. The third barely clung to a stair rail long enough to disapparate out of the trap and sound the warning. Then came reports that two other Death Eaters who had been moving to separate locations were now missing. The noose was tightening, but the principle characters sought after by the Ministry remained at large.

For their part, the Inquisition had learned the identities of a number of Death Eaters and associates. They were now busy rounding them up. In a number of homes there were terrified shrieks as the Aurors appeared to arrest family members, or whole families. Others were questioned about their involvement and association with Death Eaters. Some were detained, some were released, and others were released and followed.

At her desk in the Ministry building Madam Bartleby was interrupted by Angelina Johnson who said she had something important to tell her. Bartleby knew that Angelina was one of her best at digging out hard to get to memories, if she said it was important, then it was.

“Ma’am, I found out that one of the prisoners was primarily a courier and messenger for Voldemort, he didn’t know what he carried, but knew who he was working for. Anyway I found something very odd.”

“What is it?”

“He had a memory that had been altered by someone else, partially Obliviated. I worked on it a bit and think I have it. He was sent to pick up a package from a contact two days before the Azkaban attack occurred. He hand delivered it to Voldemort, the entire memory was then altered, probably by Voldemort, to try and show that he had gone for a walk.”

“Did he know what was in the package?” Madam Bartleby asked.

“No, Ma’am, but he partially held onto the memory despite the obliviation because of curiosity. It seems he recognized the person who handed him the package even though the person tried to disguise himself, it was Percy Weasley.”

“So,” said Madam Bartleby, “two days before the attack on Azkaban, Cornelius Fudge’s trusted suckarse lackey handed a package to a Death Eater who carried it straight to the boss, who then tried to make the memory go away. Question, would Fudge have had access to the security passwords and spells protecting entry to Azkaban then?”

“I’ve already checked on that,” answered Angelina, “since his new office handles interagency cooperation matters under the PWA he would have been on the list to receive copies of everything needed to have broken in. In fact, the codes for the day the attack occurred would have arrived in Fudge’s office only hours before the handoff occurred.”

“I think you’ve just found our traitor who betrayed Azkaban, and his courier. The only bad thing is if Percy Weasley knew that what he was doing was passing information to Voldemort then poor Molly Weasley will lose another child. This one to a Dementor.”

“Ma’am,” said Angelina, “I knew Percy at Hogwarts, he acted a great git with everyone, all full of his own self-importance, but he wasn’t evil. I don’t think he consciously enlisted in the Death Eaters. My money would be on Fudge having drug him into this. The memory is very fuzzy, and it’s only a passing thought that the figure with the papers was Percy. The memory is distorted and doesn’t actually show the face, just a shadow.”

“So it isn’t good enough to justify making an arrest of an official who can invoke article 19? Especially with a boss who is probably involved and won’t authorize a release.”

“No, Ma’am,” said Angelina, “But I believe we can use Percy’s guilt over his brother’s death. I saw Percy at Bill’s funeral and he cried like a baby. With what we have at this time if we faced him down I think he would crack and provide evidence on Fudge, especially if Percy were promised some leniency.”

“That’s a good idea, the funeral for Ron and Ginny Weasley is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. He’ll surely be there; his emotions will be stretched to the limit. If he feels guilty then he’ll be quite vulnerable. Give me the full report from what you’ve gathered. I’ll arrange for us to have a little chat with Percy in private.”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Death Eaters, HA!” thought Lord Voldemort, “We should have named them shit eaters.”

The attack had proved a Pyrrhic victory. True, Merlin was destroyed, along with Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. But at a dear price. His ranks were now combed thin by the Ministry, safe havens were being destroyed, and survivors were distancing themselves from the cause. Worst of all, that little bastard, Potter, still lived. He had watched him die; he had seen it in his eyes, the fear and the pain. Only to see him reappear and taunt him in front of his servants.

Even Tom Riddle had to admit quietly to himself that he was frightened. Had he really completed the prophesy by killing Merlin? Was he really doomed now? Was Potter lying to him about having true immortality? There had to be an answer, it was only a matter of thinking the problem through. He had to retake the initiative.

The wizard who had once been known as Tom Riddle was feeling the stress mount, the old fears of childhood were returning. He needed some comfort, something to ease the burden. Tom hated to admit his biological weakness because it reminded him of his own feared mortality, but Tom needed to get laid. He had seen that girl in Hogwarts, Pansy. The memory of her naked body splayed before him had touched a nerve that he thought long dead, he needed her. Bella was too old, ugly, and jaded. Her affections for him were not real any longer, but this young one might be a loyal servant to fulfill her Master’s needs.

Touching his wand to the mark on his arm he said, “Pansy, come to Master.”

Seconds later Pansy appeared before him. She was as fresh and beautiful as he had remembered. The old feeling low down inside his robes became even stronger; he was actually forming an erection for the first time in nearly twenty years.

“How may I serve you, my Lord?” asked Pansy as she knelt before him. Voldemort could only respond by opening his robes and exposing his hardness to her.

“Pleasure us,” he hissed.

Pansy knelt before him and had her first look at the great Dark Lord. His cock was smaller than average, not particularly well washed, it smelled a bit grungy. She had to fight back the urge to gag. There was even a wart on the damn thing that had a couple of hairs sticking out of it. She had wanted the dangerous assignment, and now she had it. She closed her mind and just thought of the job.

Voldemort’s red eyes rolled back in their sockets as he felt the warm moist lips surround the head of his penis and gently begin to rhythmically move up and down the shaft. Tom Riddle sighed as the memories of the old pleasures of the flesh he had once scorned now flooded back into his mind briefly.

“My Lord, you are so tired looking from the burden of your great duties, please lie down upon your bed and let me finish calming you there, then you will be relaxed and ready for your rest,” said Pansy.

“We will follow your counsel and take our rest,” said a smiling Voldemort as he removed his robes and lay back upon his bed with his legs apart. “Complete your fine work, my child.”

Pansy took Voldemort’s cock back into her mouth, and lightly began to massage his testicles. She wanted to get him to shoot his wad as soon as possible so he would go to sleep and she could leave. Before long she heard Voldemort grunt and felt his testicles move inside the scrotum, a second later she felt the warm discharge of his semen in her mouth. She continued the oral stimulation and the testicle massage through the ejaculation. With an intense effort she looked into Voldemort’s eyes and swallowed his cum, with a smile of proper gratitude.

“Shall I stay with you the night, my Lord, to comfort you?” she asked.

“No, Pansy, that will do for now, you may go,” said Voldemort, who appeared already half asleep in the afterglow of his orgasm.

Pansy bowed low and left the room quickly. Once far enough away to dare opening her mind she ducked into an empty alcove and spit out the foul semen she had held under her tongue while making it appear she had swallowed. Going back to little alcove quarters she wished desperately for some mouthwash, but all she had was brackish water. It would have to do. She wondered if she could really do this. But she was in it now; the alternative was a painful death.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“So where have you been, you slinking little turd?” Severus Snape asked of Peter Pettigrew as he returned to their hidden quarters that night.

“I got trapped in the castle and had to change into a rat. I hid in the wreckage of the castle while the Aurors and Inquisitors went over it. They have no clue as to how we entered the castle. Moody is handling the investigation at the Minister’s direct command. I saw Remus Lupin there; he was with the Potter boy the other night as they went through the castle. When it was safe I made my way out and came back here.”

“Did you find out how Potter managed to make it appear to come back to life?”

“No, the boy left as soon as he could, Remus with him. I think they were going to Grimmauld Place to sleep. I did hear that the story told to Moody was that the Dark Lord’s curse missed him in the dark and he simply lay there and played dead.”

“That’s a lie!” said Snape. “I saw the body, or a body, and it was dead.”

“No disagreement from me,” said Wormtail, “but he’s alive now.”

“Yes,” replied Snape. “We’ll have to do something about that or it’s all our arses.”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

It was about 2 AM when Euripita Balzhoff got up and went down to the basement where Moody had set up his little workshop. During their training at Hogwarts, Harry had told Euripita about the basement area and what was down there inside all those expertly constructed shield charms. It seemed like the perfect place for a little experiment of her own to take place.

Using her wand, Ripa made a spherical containment field that only she could enter and exit at will. Nothing released inside could leave without her permission. In the field she placed a bench and a hammer. On the bench she placed the two spirit crystals containing the Dementors she had captured earlier. Ripa always sought an edge in any fight she went into, it was stupid not to. She had committed herself to this fight against Voldemort, and she knew that a lot more would die before this fight ended. She just wanted to make sure she and Roe, weren’t among the dead if it could be helped. She had an idea now that just might give her an edge.

She tapped the crystal containing the two Dementors she had captured last; the crystal released them into the sphere. The two immediately tried to flee but the containment sphere charm was too powerful. Then they tried to turn on Ripa, but she quickly picked up the hammer and shattered the other crystal containing the other Dementors she had captured. The two Dementors froze in place as they heard the death screams of their brethren trapped inside. Ripa then picked up the other crystal and pointed her wand at the two.

“Behave yourselves, or it’s back inside you go, and then you get the same treatment as that lot did,” Ripa said harshly. “Now, tell me your real names, I’ll know if you lie.”

The two Dementors stopped in place and just hovered for a moment. “I am Baalgrog,” said one with a deep masculine sounding croaking voice.

“I am Beershebhat,” said the second smaller Dementor in a higher feminine croak.

“Why did you try to save that one when you could have escaped?”

“She is my mate, we are bonded,” answered Baalgrog.

Ripa hadn’t really ever heard that Dementors mated, but she guessed that little Dementors had to come from somewhere. “Would you like for me to spare her life?”

“Yes,” said Baalgrog.

“I don’t want to continue without you,” said Beershebhat.

“I am willing to offer you both a chance to continue, if you wish to take it,” said Ripa.

“What must we do?” asked Baalgrog.

“Voldemort has failed. He cannot win, but that does not mean he will stop trying. When the Ministry wins this fight, all the Dementors and other creatures who supported him will be destroyed. Those Dementors who supported the Ministry will feast on the souls of those wizards who will be punished as well. I was once an Auror, and I have friends highly placed in the Ministry. If you will swear allegiance to the Ministry and serve it now I will see to it you are spared.”

“What service do you require of us?” asked Beershebhat.

“Are you two able to communicate to each other?” asked Ripa.

“We know when one needs the other and can come to them.”

“I shall release Baalgrog to return to the company of Voldemort’s forces as my spy. Beershebhat shall remain in the crystal as my hostage to ensure your good behavior. I shall place a destruction spell upon the crystal tied to your oath. If you betray your oath at any time, or any place, the crystal shall shatter and Beershebhat will be destroyed. Baalgrog will keep me informed of Voldemort’s movements and plans. He will warn me if there is to be an attack. When Voldemort is defeated, Beershebhat will be released and the Ministry will be told of your service to its cause. You will both be free. Do you accept this?”

They both agreed to the terms as they little choice not to, and Ripa took their bonded oaths of fidelity. Returning them to the crystal Ripa apparated them well away from the city in the woodlands. There she called Baalgrog from the crystal now that she knew his name. She told Baalgrog that if she needed him she would have Beershebhat call out to him, and for him to come as quickly as he could to this place. Likewise, if Baalgrog had information to pass then he was to call to Beershebhat. She would notify Balzhoff come to the rendezvous point. Baalgrog was then sent on his way to return to the other Dementors loyal to Voldemort before his absence became suspicious.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” thought Ripa as she returned to Grimmauld Place.