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Chapter Forty Two: Liberated:

Hailey sat on the Hogwarts grounds, underneath the shade of a tree, deep in thought, reflecting on the events of the last couple of weeks. For a moment, she thought she was going to die when Bellatrix had viciously attacked her or at the very least, tortured into insanity. If her mother did not show up when she did, Hailey shuddered to think what might have happened, especially once Bellatrix got bored. It took her several days to recover from the damage Bellatrix had done to her and the news of the death toll at Hogwarts had made Hailey wish her recovery had lasted a bit longer, so she did not have to face it. So many faces that she had seen in the corridors every day, at the Great Hall for meals, had been killed, the two most jarring were Daphne and Theodore. She was shaken up and knew Harry was blaming himself for their deaths, even though he was weakened by Malfoy’s poisoned dagger. The unfortunate part was that by all indications were that this attack may have just been a preview the preview for a more dangerous time to come for all of the Wizarding World. There was no news of any major attacks, just a few scattered disappearances, but everything just seemed like Voldemort had big plans that he needed to prepare for, so he was scaling back his efforts for the time being.

“Hailey?” voiced a voice and Hailey looked up to see Neville standing there, surveying her. “I just wanted to see how you were holding up after Lestrange…”

“I’m fine Neville, really,” said Hailey calmly before she stopped, with smirk. “And yes I realize exactly how much I sound like Harry when I say that.”

“She’s still out there,” responded Neville darkly.

“Not that Mum didn’t try to finish her off once and for all,” said Hailey. “Bellatrix just escaped with her life and I sure hope she’ll be out of commission for a long time.”

“We can only hope, but until she’s dead, no one will be safe,” said Neville shaking his head. “It’s just, she’s taken so much and only Voldemort may be more dangerous than her.”

Hailey nodded, her eyes far off, that sinister laugh still ringing through her head.

“It’s only begun,” voiced Hailey and Neville nodded grimly.

“Gran told me stories about the last war, about what my parents had to face before…” started Neville before stopped short. “It was bad then but I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like what happened at Hogwarts today.”

“I’m not much for history, but I think you may be right,” responded Hailey and Neville laughed. “Harry, I don’t envy him, he’s now the only person who is powerful enough to face off against Voldemort.”

“Yes, with Dumbledore dead, he is but Hailey, Dumbledore’s death did it seem to be a little too easy to you?” asked Neville and Hailey nodded, now that she thought about it, it did seem to be a bit too easy. “One of the most powerful wizards, defeated by a Killing Curse, I mean, I would think that Dumbledore would at least have a way to avoid being hit.”

“Yes, Dumbledore’s death does seem too easy, because I’m getting the impression that Harry, Ginny, and Mum believe that he isn’t dead,” said Hailey. “Don’t know why, but that’s just what I’m getting from their facial expressions when Dumbledore was mentioned?”

“Dumbledore used to be one of the most unshakable symbols, a beacon of light in the darkness,” said Neville. “His actions have gotten a bit strangest ever since Harry returned to the Wizarding World. Even Gran, who is one of the biggest Dumbledore supporters I’ve ever seen, has commented that maybe he should have found a successor and retired a long time ago. Still faking his death, why would he do that?”

“I don’t know,” said Hailey, who had far more information on the matter than Neville but less than her mother, Harry, and Ginny, so she didn’t want to speculate.

“Well at least we still have Harry,” said Neville.

“Yes, at least,” agreed Hailey. “Truthfully he is our only chance.”

“If anyone can do beat Voldemort, it’s got to be Harry, he seems to be far and above most of the teachers here at Hogwarts, much less us,” said Neville, placing his hand on Hailey’s shoulder in a reassuring manner. “Speaking of teachers, Snape he’s…”

“I know, our favorite teacher died,” remarked Hailey and Neville laughed at this. “All the quality time we spent together in detention, with Snape, scouring all those cauldrons, without magic, but still, a part of me is going to kind of miss him, after what Mum told Harry, Ginny, and I told us.”

Neville’s curiosity was piqued and Hailey decided to fill her friend on what happened.

“Snape basically gave Mum some information, that he was told not to under a penalty of breaking an Unbreakable Vow,” explained Hailey. “Yes, I know, Snape knew he was going to die but he helped us anyway and it brings us or rather Harry, a couple steps closer to ridding the world of Voldemort for good.”

“Snape really did that, if anyone knew the consequences of breaking an Unbreakable Vow, it would be him,” said Neville in an awed voice. “To be under that kind of agreement, it kind of explains the way he was.”

“That and I still think he really was hard on the one’s he expected so much out of,” added Hailey. “I mean Mum was perhaps one of the top marks in her year at Potions and your parents were fairly good, in Potions right?”

“Yeah they were,” responded Neville vaguely. “I can see where your coming from with that, but I spent far too much time in that dungeon than I would have liked to, in detention.”

“Yes, I did too but at least one good thing came out of all the time I spent in detention,” replied Hailey and Neville looked out at her curiously. “I wouldn’t have scored such a wonderful date to the Yule Ball, only as a first year as well.”

“Now Hailey, you’re just being nice, I spent most of the night stepping all over your feet,” protested Neville, who was slightly blushing.

“Why did you ask me anyway?” questioned Hailey. “I’ve been wondering this for two years, you’re a nice enough guy, and I’m just the annoying little sister of the Boy-Who-Lived…”

“No, you’re more than that,” said Neville quickly. “After all the time we spent in detention, I thought you were nice enough, I didn’t think you would laugh at me for asking you, and we did become friends, I guess, after that.”

“Of course we’re friends, I need someone to talk to when Harry and Ginny are off doing things that I really don’t want to think about,” replied Hailey and Neville laughed at that. “Sure, I get along with Hermione and Luna fine, but Hermione’s too studious for my liking and there’s just some times that a couple of Luna’s theories are a bit…well out there.”

“Can’t argue with that,” remarked Neville. “Still I wonder if I would have been able to ask you to the Yule Ball if it was held now…”

“I would still would have gone with you in a heart beat if you had asked me now,” said Hailey. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well there are a lot of guys who seem to like you and might have asked you out if they weren’t so terrified of your brother,” said Neville carefully and Hailey raised her eyebrow. “A few of them liked the fact you’ve had a sense of humor to begin with, but the fact you’ve became extremely pretty during this year has really turned a few more heads.”

“Yes, but exactly how much can they like me if they can’t summon the nerve to talk to me, without fearing what Harry might do to them,” responded Hailey, who turned so Neville couldn’t really see the smile on her face at the inadvertent complement . “True, he might be one of the most powerful wizards that ever lived, the only person alive who could hold his own against Voldemort, but still, that’s really no reason at all to be afraid of him.”

Neville and Hailey laughed at this before Neville grew suddenly serious and looked at Hailey thoughtfully.

“I’d be a liar if I told you that I didn’t feel a bit intimidated by your brother, I’ve seen him a couple of times when he was mad,” responded Neville shuddering slightly. “Not exactly all that pleasant, rather scary when you think of it.”

“Harry can keep his temper in check most times, but when he loses it, you better steer clear, I think he gets that from Mum,” said Hailey seriously. “Still, you did ask me to the Yule Ball, no matter what Harry might have thought of and honestly I did have a wonderful time, no matter how many times you stepped on my toes when we tried to dance.”

“Still, you more then made up for my shortcomings I think,” said Neville.

“Hailey, are you out here?” asked Hermione, breaking the moment of uncomfortable silence between Hailey and Neville, as the seventeen year old girl made her way out, looking at Neville and Hailey for few seconds, before she caught herself. “Oh, hi Neville.”

“Hi Hermione,” replied Neville. “What brings you out here?”

“Yeah, I’m curious to know that as well,” said Hailey.

“Sirius is going to finally get his trial today, Lily managed to force the Ministry’s hand when they were given evidence of Pettigrew being alive,” informed Hermione.

“Really, that’s great, so Sirius will get his name cleared,” said Hailey in a please voice but Hermione shook her head.

“As Harry told me, we can’t assume that will happen, the Ministry doesn’t like admitting their wrong dongs in any case, so despite the fact that Peter was found and even if he proves that he framed Sirius for the murders, doesn’t mean that Sirius will have his name cleared, even though he should,” said Hermione with a frown. “Knowing the Ministry, they might clear Sirius of all charges, but they throw him back into Azkaban for breaking out in the first place.”

“Surely they wouldn’t do that!” exclaimed Hailey but Hermione grimly nodded her head. “Then again, giving the Ministry’s reputation, I can see them doing precisely that but I’m sure Mum has a plan.”

“I’d imagine so too,” agreed Hermione.

“Hailey, Hermione, I just remembered, I need to pack some things before I leave tomorrow, don’t want to forget anyway after all,” said Neville as he walked off, leaving the two girls alone, as he didn’t really feel all that comfortable being in the middle of the conversation about something that he had little to no knowledge on.

“So Hailey, what’s going on?” inquired Hermione.

“I’ve been doing fine, Bellatrix put me out of commission for a while, but I’m well on the road to recovery,” answered Hailey promptly.

“As much as I’m glad to see you’re okay Hailey, that wasn’t exactly what I was talking about,” said Hermione in a patient voice. “I mean what’s going on with you and Neville.”

“You mean besides the fact we’re friends,” replied Hailey. “That’s pretty much all that there is to it, I did have a new time at the Yule Ball, but that was two years ago, one date, even if you could call it that, and we’re nothing but friends.”

“Kind of like how Harry and Ginny were friends for several years before they started dating,” said Hermione shrewdly.

“That’s Harry and Ginny,” countered Hailey. “Really you’re looking at something that isn’t quite there, Hermione. Neville is a great friend don’t get me wrong, but even if I did like him that which, which I don’t, he does deserve better.”

“Yes, better than one of the most desired girls in Hogwarts,” responded Hermione calmly.

“That’s just because I’m Harry’s sister and you know it,” said Hailey.

“Actually, it’s in spite of the fact your Harry’s sister, but some it may be, true,” admitted Hermione. “Mostly it has to do with your looks, Quidditch success, and just overall personality, since you did become less abrasive this year.”

“Exactly who are the other most desired girls in Hogwarts, anyway Hermione?” asked Hailey curiously, who also was wondering exactly how Hermione knew this.

“The Patil twins, Cho Chang, that pretty much makes up the top five, I doubt this is an any particular order either” remarked Hermione calmly. “Ginny might have been on the list too but she’s firmly with Harry, no matter what, so she’s obviously not going to be considered regardless.”

“Wait, there should be another girl in the top five, if Ginny isn’t in there, I only count four including me,” said Hailey suddenly and Hermione turned away, to conceal a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

“I forgot, but I’m sure it really isn’t anyone important,” said Hermione, who was now smiling. Years ago, she didn’t smile because of her overly large teeth which she had been extremely self conscious of during constant years of taunting in primary school but once she found a potion to shrink them, she jumped on the opportunity.

“I’m certain,” replied Hailey with a calculating look through her emerald green eyes. “I just wonder exactly what brought us from Sirius getting a trial to my sudden surge of popularity. Perhaps then we can pinpoint the exact time where my life turned into a teen drama.”

“That’s a mystery, isn’t it?” asked Hermione. “I just hope your sudden surge of popularity doesn’t give you an over inflated head.”

“Of course not, it’s not like it really matters all that much, I’ve learned from Harry’s experience that popularity can be here one minute and gone the next,” said Hailey. “In the end, only your friends and your family remains.”

“Friends like Neville, right?” asked Hermione.

“Hey, you don’t spend countless nights scouring tube worm guts from a cauldron together in detention and not become friends,” said Hailey, waving her hand. “It’s a shame that I other than Harry, you really don’t have a close male friend and since he’s with Ginny, I can’t very well tease you about him, don’t want to start any rumors. Although, you and Ron do bicker from time to time like a married couple on prefect rounds…”

“Please don’t go there, if Ronald overhears, he might get his hopes up,” responded Hermione in an irritated voice. “Luna likes him, why I don’t know, and besides, Ron and I would spend most of our lives arguing. It just wouldn’t work out.”

“Yeah, I can see that, so I’m going to have to find some other guy to tease you about to get revenge on you, right, sis?” asked Hailey and Hermione just smiled.

“Maybe, Hailey, just maybe,” concluded Hermione.

Inside the Wizengamot Court Room, Lily and Sirius were going over some things before Sirius would finally get his trial that he should have received almost sixteen years ago.

“Realistically, Sirius, there should be no way you won’t get freed, but it would be foolish enough to assume that the Ministry is going to give you a fair and just chance to prove yourself,” said Lily. “Fortunately, I worked with Madam Bones, making sure that Wormtail was secured, so he couldn’t just mysteriously disappear before the trial, so that is all tied up.”

“Good, the traitor’s pulled that disappearing act twice before, and I wouldn’t want him to do it a third time with my soul on the line,” remarked Sirius.

“I’ll be your legal representation in there, so let me do most of the talking,” added Lily and Sirius looked at her with a puzzled look. “We pretty much studied every aspect of the Ministry when I was an Unspeakable, including Ministry law but I’ve also been in contact with several experts to make sure I brush up on recent developments. Fortunately, there weren’t all that many, the Ministry hardly ever chances.”

“I really hope you have a plan in there, Lily,” said Sirius.

“Oh I do, as by judging by their own blood purity laws, the Ministry of Magic committed a huge crime against you when throwing you into Azkaban without a trial, even if you were guilty,” said Lily, as she watched the members of the Wizengamot file in an hour earlier than they were scheduled to.

“We’ll show that Mudblood, Thicknesse was smart to move the Black trial to an hour earlier and he won’t be here, not having a chance to defend himself,” muttered a member of the court.

“Well, it’s a good thing that Mudblood managed to be smart enough to think you might pull something like that and came here two hours before the trial was supposed to begin,” said Lily coolly.

“Oh, Lady Potter, I trust you’ve gotten the message that the trial was to begin an hour sooner,” interjected one of the court members in a falsely cheerful voice.

“No, but I know exactly how this court tends to shift things around at a moment’s notice,” said Lily, her eyes narrowing dangerously, as Madam Bones rushed into the room, she looked absolutely irritated beyond belief.

“Moving the trial around, this is the kind of thing that gives the Wizengamot the reputation it does!” snapped Madam Bones.

“Madam Bones, with all do respect, we wish to get this matter out of the way, there are more pressing matters than a trial where the person is guilty,” responded one of the court members.

“Do not assume until the evidence has been given,” replied Madam Bones.

“Yes, Peter Pettigrew coming back to life, supposedly turned over to the Ministry, but I’ve never seen him,” muttered one of the court members under his breath, so Madam Bones could not hear him.

“Since we are all here, we should begin,” said the voice of Pius Thicknesse, as he walked into the courtroom.

“No, not quite yet, we need to bring the key witness for this trial in,” said Madam Bones and the doors opened, with two Aurors bringing Peter Pettigrew in, his hands and legs shackled. Lily smirked, as Peter screwed his eyes shut, attempting to transform into a rat, but before she turned him over to the Ministry, Lily had put an anti-animagus spell on him. Only three people had the power to break it and Peter definitely wasn’t one of them.

“Peter Pettigrew!” exclaimed Thicknesse in surprise before he turned to Madam Bones. “Why wasn’t I informed of this?”

“The less people who knew we had Pettigrew secured, the better, Thicknesse, we did not want You-Know-Who’s followers to come here, and break him out, putting the entire integrity of this trial and the Ministry in jeopardy,” replied Madam Bones.

“Oh, of course,” replied Thicknesse, who turned to the Wizengamot before he grew suddenly serious. “Now, we must begin this trial, sixteen years ago, Sirius Orion Black, was found guilty for murdering twelve Muggles inside a street with a powerful shockwave curse that leveled the entire street. Four years previous, Black escaped Azkaban prison, where no one else has done previously, indicating extremely powerful dark magic, a trait that the Black family has had over the years. That is the official stance of the Ministry of Magic, Black is guilty and I recommend the court to uphold this decision, by giving Black the Dementor’s Kiss for his crimes, to remove this dangerous threat from the landscape of the Wizarding world.”

“The defense may give their response now,” replied Madam Bones calmly, as she turned to Lily, who cleared her throat before beginning to speak.

“Three years previous, I have given you evidence that the Secret Keeper has been switched from Sirius Black to Peter Pettigrew,” said Lily. “As you can see, Peter Pettigrew is sitting before you and in a few moments I will ask him a few questions to verify his guilt.”

“Pettigrew has been given a truth potion,” added Madam Bones. “While it won’t force him to tell the truth like Veritaserum, his eyes will glow yellow if he should tell a lie.”

“Who was the person who murdered the twelve Muggles and injured countless others with the Shockwave curse?” asked Lily as she turned to Peter.

“I did,” said Peter, who knew there was no way out. “I sent the curse behind my back before I managed to escape. I never intended to frame Sirius, just kill him, but it did work out well in the end.”

Several members of the court gasped, but others looked still skeptical.

“How exactly did you fake your death?” prompted Lily, even though she already knew.

“My animagus form was a rat, and I escaped harm from the shockwave curse, except for one of my fingers which was sliced off from the impact,” explained Peter. “I managed to make it to the sewers, where I could blend in with the thousands of other rats out of there. As I was now a face in the crowd, Sirius or anyone else for that matter could locate me.”

“So you were guilty of all the crimes that Sirius Black were accused of,” said Lily.

“Yes,” answered Peter slowly.

“That is good, but Black is still guilty from escaping from Azkaban,” said Thicknesse.

“Could you show any proof of the Wizengamot approved warrant for Sirius Black’s arrest?” asked Lily.

“He was caught in the act, we didn’t need a warrant!” yelled a member of the court.

“But, I was under the assumption that the Wizengamot had to approve the arrest of any fifth generation or higher pureblood, with no exceptions,” replied Lily.

“It’s true,” confirmed Madam Bones, who absolutely despised that law, but a small part of her was amused that a muggleborn was taking the laws of the purist’s and throwing it back in their faces.

“Furthermore, Sirius did not receive a trial to begin with, an even larger crime,” continued Lily. “When Bartemius Crouch agreed to imprison Sirius without a trial, just on Albus Dumbledore’s word, according to Ministry law, he committed an even bigger crime against the Wizarding World, by denying a pureblood a right to defend himself. A right that I might add was not denied to many other accused, who were once again caught and placed back into Azkaban, after previously claiming they were under the pull of the Imperius Curse by Lord Voldemort.”

Several of the members of the court flinched at hearing Voldemort’s name and Thicknesse could not even formulate a response. There was no counter, a Mudblood had used the laws that the Dark Lord’s supporters within the Ministry had pushed through, to help free someone who had been a thorn in the side of the Dark Lord.

“The court will now make its decision,” prompted Madam Bones. “All of those in favor of giving Sirius Black a full pardon.”

A good portion of hands rose into the air.

“Very well, all of those in favor of giving Black the Dementor’s Kiss,” said Madam Bones and a decent amount of the members of the Wizengamot still rose their hands, obviously they had already made up their minds before the trial even started, but those who had voted to free Sirius had just managed to outnumber those people. “Very well, Sirius Black has been cleared of all charges.”

“Free,” said Sirius in a surprised voice as they exited the court room.

“Yes, Sirius, I was worried for a few seconds that despite what I had said, they still might have still judged you guilty,” replied Lily in a relieved voice.

“For the first time in sixteen years, I feel alive,” responded Sirius. “Yes, I don’t have to go back to that wretched house ever again.”

“I knew you’d be pleased about that, Sirius,” said Lily, as Sirius walked from the Ministry of Magic, a free man.

Back in New York the next day, Harry had just returned, with Hailey and his mother already inside and he would have loved to join them, to just relax after the year, but Harry had one thing that was stopping him from joining the rest of his biological family inside. Namely yet another assassin, the seventh over a year, jumping him just before he got in the protections of his home.

Harry duck a swing from his opponent and attempted to make his way inside, but the assassin gripped Harry by the shirt, before he flung him into the face and leapt up. For a larger man, Harry saw that his opponent had quite the amount of agility and when combined with his strength, it was a rather potent combination. The fist that just smashed from an angle high in the air just proved that, as Harry skidded backwards to the ground.

His opponent sprung up, in an attempt to put both of his feet into Harry, but Harry managed to roll out of the way and the attacker crashed down, his feet hitting pavement. The nearest weapon Harry could find zoomed towards him, namely a brick, as he sprung up but his large opponent did a cartwheel, catching Harry completely off guard, before he drilled both of his feet in Harry’s chest and picked up Harry, before the Boy-Who-Lived became airborne, crashing down to the ground.

“I was lead to believe this would be a challenge,” grunted the attacker, as he pulled out a large staff, with a Kusari-Gama sticking from the end, as Harry pulled himself up, removing his favorite weapon, and preparing to fight. The mercenary gave a mighty bellow and went towards Harry, but Harry deflected a pair of shots, before he back flipped over his opponent and gracefully impacted both knees into the back of his opponent.

Unfortunately, this rudimentary move had only stunned his opponent for a second and the assassin gracefully swung around, before he scrapped his sickle off Harry’s arm. Harry winced his arm slightly cut but the assassin was not about to let up. Leaping up into the air, the assassin swung his leg slightly. Harry managed to block the brunt of the attack, but his knees buckled out from underneath him. The assassin spun the staff, and the sickle slashed the ground, just narrowly missing Harry as he slid out of the way. Shakily pulling himself back to his feet, Harry sprung up, gracefully somersaulting over his opponent, before throwing four shuriken in rapid fire at his opponent. The mercenary deflected them, but Harry stood back, with his arms folded and nodded, just as the explosive potion encased within each shuriken, triggered. A loud bang and the mercenary found himself flung up into the air, his weapon skidding to the ground.

Harry did not give his foe a chance to recover, and he sprung, landing over his opponent, with both of his wand and his weapon inches away from the mercenary’s throat.

“Okay, I’m getting sick and tired of this, so you will take me to the person who is sending all of these bloody mercenaries after me!” yelled Harry, who had his ideas, but since they weren’t confirmed, he wanted to know for certain but he was impacted in the stomach by the attacker, before the attacker flung Harry right on top of a parked car in the center of the street. The mercenary sprung up but Harry rolled off, before the mercenary punched right through the windshield. Blood sprayed everywhere as a chain shot from mid air, cracking the mercenary in the face.

Harry leapt down, but the mercenary grabbed onto Harry’s leg, hoisting him up and throwing him down. Quickly moving around, the attacker grabbed Harry by the head and flung him backwards. Harry awkwardly landed, a loud crack was heard and at that time, Harry found that he had a bit of trouble breathing, the sure sign of a cracked rib. The mercenary nursed his cut up hand, before he reached down and picked up his weapon, with a grimace up his face. He whipped the chain at the speed of light. Harry, slowed down by the cracked rib, reached for his wand, but the mercenary pulled up Harry, before he swung him around in the air. Quickly, before he became too dizzied, Harry wandlessly sliced himself free, landing on the ground with a thud, before he pulled himself back up as the assassin charged him but was stopped in mid air.

“Your time is up, you have lasted the fifteen minutes,” hissed a voice inside the ear of the mercenary.

“No, I have this brat on the ropes, I’ll finish him off, you can’t do this to me,” protested the mercenary and the next thing Harry knew, his opponent had vanished into mid air as suddenly as he arrived. Harry collapsed to the ground in frustration, before he dragged himself home to get patched up. It was foolish to think that he would have a quiet summer but getting attacked the minute he left Hogwarts really irritated Harry but he supposed there was not all that much he could do about it.

Nearly an hour later, the seven mercenaries that had attacked Harry during various points over the last year had crowded around, as Lord Voldemort approached them and stared at them calmly through his eyes.

“You have all proven yourself worthy and you will receive your reward for assisting me,” remarked Voldemort, cutting through the silence like a knife.

“It better be a lot of gold,” muttered one of the mercenaries.

“I can assure you, that your reward is much more valuable than any gold,” said Voldemort calmly as he reached into the pocket of his robe, before he removed a large chunk of crystal, that glinted brightly, as Voldemort swiftly waved it back and forth. “Your skills and knowledge are better served for one who has the power to utilize them to his fullest extent.”

The mercenaries began glowing and Voldemort’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, as he began chanting in a language that none of them had recognized, and they found themselves weakened, as long silvery stands shot from the top of their hand, guided by the crystal, as they met Voldemort, as he absorbed their knowledge, their abilities, and their strength. The seven mercenaries began to age at a super accelerated rate, as Voldemort absorbed more and more of their strength. This process only ended once the seven mercenaries crumbled into dust, and the crystal stopped glowing.

Voldemort staggered back, floored for a few brief seconds as his mind assimilated all of the knowledge. The scrolls had warned that this process was dangerous, even more dangerous than creating multiple Horcruxes, and there was a chance that he could be driven to madness. However, Voldemort’s mind was much stronger than most, he could have handled the rush of new information. Hundreds of Muggle fighting techniques, with and without weapons, flowed through Voldemort’s mind at once, as the information settled. The seven mercenaries had offered a great variety of information and Voldemort planned to use it to its fullest extent, as now he had the potential to surpass the only equal opponent in every way whatsoever.

The plan was beginning to fall into place, Voldemort would seize control of the center of the entire Wizarding World, Britain. With Dumbledore out of the way, Harry Potter was the only one who could challenge Voldemort and soon Potter would fall. With the final threat to his power eliminated, Lord Voldemort felt he could not be stopped.