Time Keeps on Slipping - Chapter 18

Sirius stared at the floating papers in front of him. Each one was a report of the various attacks he had been investigating. The addition of the combination of the creatures of Kings Cross had been added to the mix. Surviving witnesses mentioned a floating crystal. It would have been a curiosity if not for the attacks on the Curse Breakers and Quidditch Assembly. Now, he could see the connection. This wasn't an isolated incident. The creature attacks were test runs for their big debut.

There were a few survivors of the attack at Kings Cross. They had been outside of the circle of ash, but close enough to get hit by a shockwave. There was a well-defined line where the explosion had ended so how they were effected wasn't easily understood. They had been taken to a secure ward at St Mungo's until they woke up. Any magical diagnostics came up blank. Not even a Muggle came up completely empty. There should have been a health report at the minimum.

A second look at the previous attacks showed small details he had missed. The circle of ash was overlooked in the mess of whatever creature appeared. At the train station the mephits that were summoned were associated with the location, which was another pattern with all of the attacks.

Sirius was still confused even with the new details. This Neferteri attacked the Curse Breakers and a publicized event to spread the word. Investigators were pretty sure that the name was a persona, not an actual reborn ancient Egyptian Queen. Then she used the compressed magic to detonate the crystal among a crowd of Muggles in a populated area. It followed the pattern of threatening the Statute of Secrecy with the arrival of summoned hostile creatures. The only difference this time was the survivors. Hopefully, there would be some new information once they regain consciousness.

His previous theory had been that someone was trying to expose the magical world. Neferteri claimed it was revenge for years of plundering tombs. What did attacking Muggles with a Magical Bomb and summoning creatures have to do with it? There was something he was missing.

Sirius let out a tired sigh. He needed to blow something up. Thankfully, there was always some rookie that wanted to challenge him in the dueling ring. That would work.

~§~

Harry didn't have access to the case notes that Sirius was privy to. Instead, he had to work with what he knew and compare that with everything he had experienced in the past. He wasn't sure if putting the techniques from various Death Eaters and Voldemort would work. Unfortunately, it was the only thing he had at his disposal.

As much as he wanted to leave everything to the DMLE old habits die hard. He didn't doubt that Hermione had made some serious changes. The Aurors seemed to be more competent, as was the rest of the Ministry. Somehow she had even managed to get the Goblins work with them as well. They were smart enough to see that these attacks were from normal wizards. There was too much gold to be made in exploring the tombs. Not even wizards would willingly endanger a source of income. The Purebloods had proved that by not ousting the Muggle Minister as their vaults continued to grow.

"Harry." Hermione's tired voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I'm here." He hurried over to her side.

Hugo and Rose had left at some point to get some food. The bunker was relatively well furnished with a six bedrooms, two kitchens, and even an enchanted green house. It was a safe room specifically designed for the Minister and their family. All of them could stay in the bunker for two months before they would even need to start using the greenhouse.

"Please, let my people handle this." Hermione patted the seat beside her.

"Sure." Harry nodded as he sat.

"I'm not kidding, Harry." A hint at the former steel in her voice came through. "We can take care of this." Her voice dropped. "I need to ask you a favor."

He paused for a moment to study her. It was still hard to differentiate the Hermione he knew a few weeks ago to the woman next to him. He had heard the earlier request from a dozen different times through his life. Variations of 'leave it to the grownups' would then come down to doing it himself.

"What do you want me to do?" Harry tried to keep the wariness out of his voice.

"Look after the kids." Hermione whispered. "They haven't faced things like we did. Attacks like these, the murders, these don't happen anymore. We've squashed any sign of a new Dark Lord the moment they pop up. They haven't had to fight monsters and creatures. I'm worried about them."

Harry ran a hand along his face.

"Fine." He let out a long sigh.

"This isn't Voldemort and his minions trying to kill you." Hermione started to sound like her usual self. "Neferteri has declared the entire Magical Community as her enemy. She won't be ignored, and I will make sure my people hunt her down as fast as we can."

Harry nodded. He wasn't going to trust the Ministry, but he was going to put his faith in Hermione, Tonks, and Sirius.

"Alright." There wasn't any resistance in his voice this time. "I'll stay out of it."

"Thank you." Hermione gave him a teary smile. "There's more."

"Oh?" Harry waited.

"I need you to protect the kids." Hermione seemed to age a few years as she spoke. "They have grown up on stories of our adventures. They are going to want one of their own. You, of course, are going to be their leader."

"And you want me to agree?" Harry asked slowly.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "Train them like you did with us. Prepare them for something that I won't allow to happen. They've had basic defense training and can all cast a strong shield. Push physical training, target practice, and all that."

"Who is the Defense Professor?" Harry asked. "Do they last the year yet?"

"Yes, we found the curse and had it removed." Hermione shook her head. "Took all of three hours. Not sure why Dumbledore never had it solved. You might remember the Defense Professor."

Harry raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Susan Bones." She answered.

"Susie?" Harry asked. "I thought she wanted to go into the DMLE like her aunt?"

"She approached me after you vanished." Hermione explained. "She took over teaching the DA. We continued to meet until we graduated. The curse was broken after seventh year. Everyone thought it was from Voldemort since he had one of his horcruxes stashed in the Room of Requirement."

"It wasn't?" Harry asked.

"Nope." Hermione let out a dry chuckle. "The professor that placed the curse was the one before Voldemort placed the horcrux. Multiple accidents during their tenure left them blind in one eye and untreatable muscle spasms. He blamed the students and put the curse in place to protect any future professors."

"Huh." Harry stared into the distance as the information settled into his gray matter.

"Do you remember the little dragon skeleton?" Hermione asked. "It was called a pseudo-dragon. Extinct species related to dragons but grow no bigger than a house cat. It was also what caused his injuries."

"He had the creatures' skeleton on display for revenge?" Harry asked his own question in reply.

"No." Hermione answered. "A stray spell hit the display and sent a shard of bone into his eye."

"Wizards are weird." Harry mumbled.

"I'm coming with you to drop the kids off." Hermione stood and led him back to the group. "I've increased the Aurors stationed in Hogsmeade. Headmistress McGonagall agreed to having a squad stationed in the castle as well."

Harry nodded.

"Harry." Fleur called him over.

Harry tried not to wince as he crossed over to her. She wrapped him in a tight hug. He felt her relax a little under his touch.

"How are you doing?" Harry asked, his voice instinctively going soft so only she could hear.

"I don't know." Fleur slipped into French unconsciously. "Our relationship was strained at best. He spent more time on a job than with us. I can't remember the last time we were intimate. True intimacy. A touch, a hug, a kiss. I don't even remember his scent."

Harry had spent some time learning French after he had met her. He told himself it was a simple curiosity, but a hidden part knew it was to try to get closer to her. Unfortunately, while he could understand it, speaking it was still beyond him.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Harry asked.

"This." Fleur tightened her arms around him.

Harry rubbed her back softly as he held her.

"Dominique told me about what happened." Fleur said after a moment, this time in English.

"Oh?" His voice cracked slightly.

"I'm impressed." Fleur gave a tired smile. "I didn't expect her to make such a drastic move." She trailed a finger along where Dominique had bit him. "You know what this means?"

"Mating bite." Harry nodded. "Not active until she reaches her full maturity."

"Victoire is jealous." Fleur tried to lighten the mood. "As am I."

Harry blushed. He couldn't get his brain to supply words for him to say.

"It looks like we're ready to go." Fleur motioned to the others.

Harry followed her motion to see the Weasley family starting to pull themselves together. He hated seeing his friends harden to their loss, especially the younger generation. Hermione was right, this threat wasn't focused on him. He would try to stay out of it. Trouble wasn't something he went looking for, it was attracted to him. If Harry and the others were unfortunate enough to be caught in an attack then he wouldn't hesitate to act.

Hogwarts, while a tempting target, was a suicide mission. Not only were there wards and protective magic, but there was the entire staff plus the Aurors stationed there. Not to overlook the students who would step up to protect others if a crisis arose.

Things would be different this time. He was sure of it.