Forging-Alliances? (II) [Chapter 182]

~~Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire~~

“Harry, are you okay?” Sirius asked, looking concerned. He slowly sat down on a nearby chair, wondering how Harry was going to react. When Harry didn’t answer him immediately, he glanced toward Andi, who was sitting on one of the couches, gave him a subtle shrug.

“I am alright, Sirius. Thank you for asking” Harry finally answered without looking away from the book he was reading.

“What are you planning to do?” Sirius asked and this time Harry turned to look at him and gave him a questioning look. “To Snivellus, I mean?” Sirius asked, looking somewhat unsure.

“It’s better if you don’t know” Harry answered smoothly and if Sirius was being honest, he didn’t know what to do. He hated Snivellus with passion, so he didn’t care much about his fate, but he was concerned about Harry. He simply didn’t want his Godson to regret his actions at a later date as he had done the same when he was young.

He had tried to get Snivellus killed by goading him into confronting Remus when he was changed, but later, he regretted his actions as he could have gotten Remus killed if something happened to Severus. He didn’t want his Godson to experience that feeling even though it was highly unlikely.

“You know, Dumbledore wouldn’t let this go” Sirius was broken out of his musings when Andi spoke up. Harry turned toward her and she decided to elaborate. “You said that Dumbledore cares a lot about his spy and he had gone to huge lengths to integrate Snape within the Death Eaters…” Andi didn’t even need to finish her words before she was interrupted by Harry.

“I know and I want him to do something” Harry revealed before he leaned back in his chair with a calm look on his face. “Everything was fun and games until I learned that he was protecting that motherfucker like a mother hen” Harry explained coldly as he clenched one of his fists.

Andi and Sirius gave each other a wary look before turning back toward Harry when he stood up and turned the open window. They weren’t sure if Harry noticed their looks or not as Harry was no longer looking at them but there was always a chance that he might have noticed their looks and chose to ignore that.

A smile bloomed on his face when he saw Hedwig approaching the manor… “Looks like he received my gift” Harry said in an amused tone and Hedwig finally flew inside before landing on Harry’s shoulder. She hooted softly before she started to rub herself on his cheek. Harry raised his hand and started to stroke her feathers lovingly.

“Right now, he is either planning to break in on his own, or he might have contacted the Aurors, no matter how silly it sounds” Harry revealed with a chuckle.

“What did you do, Harry?” Sirius asked, looking alarmed.

“I might have sent something to provoke him” Harry admitted, but his words didn’t seem to placate Sirius, in fact, they made him even more concerned. He had no idea what his Godson was planning, but it wasn’t anything good. “Look like our guests are already here” Harry mumbled with a grin before turning toward Hedwig.

“Hedwig, I have something to do, why don’t you go and take a nap?” Harry suggested and Hedwig gently nipped at his ears before flying off. Harry smiled at her before turning around on his heel and leaving the room.

“Who are you talking about? Albus or the Aurors?” Sirius asked as he stood up, with the intention of following Harry.

“Aurors. Look like Albus did the smart thing… I wonder how Amelia is going to react after learning that Albus and Severus are responsible for the death of her brother and her sister-in-law” Harry mused aloud with a smirk dancing on his lips. Though in reality, he wasn’t planning to reveal that fact to Amelia any time soon. The woman was too sure of her Authority, he needed to fix that notion of hers.

“Where the hell do you think you are going?” Harry asked as he stopped and turned to look at Sirius.

“Well, I thought I should be accompanying you… You know as your loyal follower and all that” Sirius answered sheepishly while scratching his cheek.

Harry gave him a caring smile. “I appreciate your thoughts, Godfather, but it won’t be necessary. I can handle myself” Harry said softly and even though Sirius wanted to, he didn’t argue. He realized that Harry probably had a plan and decided to trust his Godson.

“Okay, good luck” Sirius wished him luck, only to receive a nod from Harry.

A few seconds later, Harry arrived at the stairs, only to find Narcissa and Lucius talking with a couple of Aurors while some more were standing behind the Senior Aurors. Apparently, Amelia had sent Rufus Scrimgeour and Alastor Moody to handle the situation even though he knew for sure that Alastor was no longer on the active roster.

The Aurors noticed his arrival, which also led the Malfoys to know of his arrival. “What is happening?” Harry asked, no longer acting like a child or innocent as he started to climb down the stairs. His attitude made both Narcissa and Lucius wonder what he was really up to.

Rufus didn’t seem to consider him a threat, but Alastor was obviously on guard, especially with what happened to him during the second last time they met. It made Harry smirk internally… At least one of the Senior Aurors seemed to have a good head on top of their shoulders.

“Severus Snape has gone missing. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?” Alastor asked gruffly as his grip on his staff, which contacted his Wand seemed to tighten. Rufus shot his fellow senior Auror a bewildered look while the junior Aurors looked at Alastor unsurely, which led Harry to realize that only Alastor was a part of Amelia’s Faction.

Harry finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs and inclined his head with an amused look on his face. “I might have something to do with that” Harry admitted with a nod of his head, surprising Alastor while the rest of the Aurors reached out for their Wands, but they didn’t pull them out, disappointing Harry.

Meanwhile, Alastor was surprised that Harry admitted to something like that, which immediately raised several red flags in his mind. The Malfoys smartly stepped away, creating a gap, as neither of them wanted to get hit by a stray Spell. The Aurors were no longer paying them any mind as all of their attention was focused on Harry, who was looking completely relaxed.

“You are saying that you might know something about his disappearance?” Rufus asked as he wasn’t sure if the boy was admitting to have kidnapped Severus Snape without understanding their question.

Harry immediately shook his head in denial. “No, I was admitting that I might have kidnapped him and then mutilated him” Harry revealed honestly and this time, the Aurors did pull out their Wands and leveled them at Harry.

“Is someone forcing you to say that?” Rufus asked while he glanced toward Lucius Malfoy from the corner of his eyes, as he still couldn’t fathom the situation.

“Come on, Rufus?!” Alastor snapped at Rufus. “Are you really that stupid? The boy is a lot more powerful than he looks and the Malfoys aren’t strong enough to force him to do anything” Alastor snarled gruffly as his Magical eye continued to spin erratically. Rufus wanted to argue, but before he could, he was interrupted by Harry while the Junior Aurors weren’t sure what was going on.

“Bravo!!” Harry exclaimed while clapping his hands. “Finally someone with a working brain, but I did give you a lot of clues during our last meeting, so no cookie for you” Harry explained childishly and once again, the Aurors besides Alastor didn’t know what to believe or what to do.

Alastor snarled at Harry before glaring at Harry. “Where is he?” Alastor demanded angrily.

“Right now, he is in the dungeon… Still alive, but not completely whole as you have already seen” Harry revealed nonchalantly, surprising Alastor once again. He was certain that the boy had something planned in his mind, but he couldn’t fathom what… The boy was powerful, but not that powerful, so he couldn’t understand why the boy was digging his own grave.

Rufus didn’t know what was happening or if he should believe the boy in the first place or not, so he simply decided to follow the protocol. Thanks to the boy’s admission, they could search the house even though the boy was a minor. They could always catch the culprit after they saved Severus and with the boy confessing to his crimes, they at least knew where to start from.

“Then lead us to the dungeons” Rufus ordered Harry, who seemed to shrug his shoulders dismissively at his demand.

“No can do, Auror… I might have revealed where I am keeping him and what I have done to him, but I never said I will hand him over to you” Harry said with a condescending look on his face. “Now the question is… Are you strong enough to save him from me?” Harry asked challengingly and moments later, he had to bat away a Stunning Charm with his bare hand, which surprised all the Aurors.

Harry turned toward Alastor, who was staring at Harry with wide eyes… “I will score that 3 out of 10. Now show me what you truly got” Harry challenged and all hell broke loose…