Forging-Alliances? (I) [Chapter 181]

~~Headmaster’s Office, Hogwarts~~ (One day later)

Albus continued to pace in his office with a deep frown on his face… It has already been a day, but he has yet to hear anything from Severus. Since yesterday, he has been suspecting the worst and now he was certain that something horrible must have happened to his spy. That is why he found himself in a conundrum… Severus was an extremely important piece, and he couldn’t lose him.

That was why he was somewhat reluctant to allow Severus to visit the Malfoys, but at the same time, he needed to know what was going on in the Malfoy Manor, which led him to reluctantly agree with Severus, but now, he was certain that it was a huge mistake. Now, he was trying to decide if he should inform the Aurors about his missing Potion Professor and point him in the right direction or if should cut his losses.

Now, he was completely certain that the Malfoys were under Hadrian’s thumb, though what could he do with that information? Nobody was going to believe him either way and then there was the fact that right now, his position within the Ministry wasn’t good… There was a very good chance that Amelia might try to undermine his authority and she would most certainly interfere in his plans. He had tried to find the man on his own, but even Fawkes couldn’t find him.

No… He could not give her any more power than she already has…

Albus heard a flap of wings and turned toward the window only to find an owl flying in with a package tied to its legs. It was a snowy owl, not an owl he had seen before. The owl landed on his table and hooted at him… Albus moved to untie the package from the owl’s legs and as soon as he was done, the owl flapped its wings and flew out of his office, leaving Albus with the package.

He curiously inspected the package before pulling out his Wand. After casting quite a few Diagnostic Spells, Albus was certain that there was nothing Magical inside the package. So, he opened the package and found a small note lying on top…

‘May he rest in pieces’ The words were neatly scribbled on the paper and the words seemed to confuse Albus quite a bit as he wasn’t sure what to think of the words. Absentmindedly he picked up the note and reeled back in horror when he discovered two severed thumbs under the package and his horror only intensified when he recognized the fingers.

Those were Severus’ fingers. There was no mistaking it… For the next few seconds, he simply kept staring at the fingers with a blank look on his face before reality finally dawned on him and it also made him realize the horrible fate that has befallen poor Severus… Now, Albus could try to save Severus on his own, but if he tried and failed, then he would become a wanted man, so there was only one option for him, no matter how much he hated it…

Severus was simply way too valuable to lose…

With that in mind, he closed the box and made his way toward the Floo with a determined look on his face. Right now, he was no longer the caring grandfather, but the man who fought and defeated Grindelwald… He was happy to play it safe with the boy, but the boy had overplayed his hand. Hadrian shouldn’t have attacked Severus and Albus was determined to make him regret his actions…

~~Director’s Office, DMLE~~

Amelia was currently fighting the bane of her existence, paperwork when all of a sudden, the Floo flared up and she internally thanked her lucky stars. She would be finally getting a break from blasted paperwork. She rolled her shoulders and looked up to see who it was and she immediately started to curse her unlucky stars inside her mind.

It was Albus Bloody Dumbledore and she realized that she was in for a massive headache…

“What do you want, Albus?” Amelia asked without beating around the bush. They didn’t part on good terms the last time they met and she was hoping that it wasn’t anything about his vaunted Greater Good.

“It is an emergency, Amelia. May I step through?” Albus asked and with no other choice, Amelia flicked her Wand in the air, to open the Floo for him. Moments later, Albus stepped through the fireplace and he truly looked distraught and something grave, which was quite usual for the man. The man arrived in front of her table and placed a small package on the table.

“I received this in the mail only a few minutes ago” After saying that, he opened the package to reveal a couple of severed thumbs. “This note was with the package” Albus added as he placed the note on the table too. To be honest, Amelia was too shocked to say anything as whatever she was expecting, it wasn’t something like this.

“Do you know…” Amelia began to ask, but Albus interrupted her impatiently.

“They belonged to Severus” Albus revealed and Amelia internally nodded her head in understanding. She finally understood why Albus was acting in such a way, Albus was quite protective of his spy. “We need to find him and save him right away, or we might lose the War” Albus revealed, not intending to play any games of cloak or dagger as Severus was more important to him.

Amelia was shocked by his admission… She never imagined that the old man would ever reveal any information willingly, but here he was… Willingly giving away information, which only proved just how desperate he was.

While Amelia never liked the man… He was way too arrogant for her liking, but she could see how he could play an important role in the upcoming War. It was true that their Factions weren’t on friendly terms, but if Severus was truly a spy, then he could prove himself to be a vital asset in the War. Then there was the fact that she was the Director of the DMLE, which meant it was her duty to save the man regardless of her personal feelings.

So, with a no-nonsense look on her face, Amelia pulled out a notebook and a quill from her drawer…

“When was the last time you saw him?” Amelia asked. He was the Headmaster of the school, so he better be keeping track of his staff.

“I talked with him the day before yesterday before he went to visit the Malfoys and I haven’t heard anything from him after that” Albus revealed and Amelia, who was taking notes, froze when she heard that he went to visit the Malfoys. She was certain that Harry did something to the Malfoys to keep them under his control, but she never bothered to investigate that since she didn’t like the Malfoys and nobody lodged a complaint, but now she had a chance to investigate.

“When did he leave?” Amelia asked, moving on to the next question.

“I am not sure about the exact time, but probably an hour before supper” Albus said unsurely. He really wasn’t sure about the time as he had other things to worry about.

“Alright! I will be sending my best to visit the Malfoys, but I can’t promise anything. If we find something amiss, only then we will be able to get a warrant to search their property” Amelia said with a sigh and Albus nodded his head in understanding.

“Don’t worry about the warrant, I will get you one” Albus declared confidently.

“Okay” Amelia knew that as the Chief Warlock, he could easily get her a warrant. “By the way, why did you decide to work with me? I would have expected you to save him on your own” Amelia asked curiously. To be honest, she never expected him to come to her in the first place with something like this.

“I wanted to, but Severus is much more important than our little games. You have no idea how important he is for our side” Albus revealed gravely. “Then there is the fact that I don’t want to become a wanted man at this moment as the school would become vulnerable if that happened” Albus added warily before stepping through the Floo. Amelia leaned back in her chair before rubbing her forehead.

Albus might be a right bastard but he was a deterrent… The only reason Hogwarts was never attacked during the last War was because of Albus’ presence. Yes, there were some incidents within the school but the War never spilled inside the school, which was always a good thing. With a sigh, she picked up the note and read it… She had to admit if Harry was responsible for this, then he had guts, but at the same time, he was a fool for doing this.

Amelia pressed the button on her desk to summon her secretary… She decided to send Rufus and Moody even though Moody was no longer on the active roster while she started to wonder if Tonks would know something or not…