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Chapter 82 - CH82

She was playing a waiting game.

Not knowing that was her tactic, Dumbledore was happy in his ignorance of his own self-importance to worry about it. However, even though he'd managed to have his house arrest widened to include the entirety of the school, he was still restricted to only the grounds of Hogwarts - much to his displeasure. While the parents wanted Dumbledore released from the tight confinement of the infirmary at Hogwarts, they still wanted him forced to stay at the school. After all, he couldn't protect their precious children if he was off gallivanting about the countryside and away from Hogwarts.

Immediately after his release from the infirmary, the old man had gone to his office and tried to summon 'young Neville' to him. However, it took the calling of a Hogwarts house elf to deliver a letter for him for the man to learn he was no longer in the castle.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"He is gone home, Headmaster Whiskers," the elf replied. After sending the elf off he was immediately on the floo to Longbottom manor to demand Neville's return.

With his head in the flames and looking into the Longbottom manor welcoming room, he was then forced to wait over a minute and a half before Augusta Longbottom entered the room.

Before she had a chance to say anything, he got in first. "Augusta, I need to speak with your Neville. Please summon him."

"No," she immediately replied.

Surprised by her snapped response, he said, "It is vitallyimportant I speak with him. The security of the wizarding world is at stake."

"Prove it," she snapped back.

Surprised, he was a moment before he stammered, "P-pardon?"

"If the security of the wizarding world is at stake based on whether or not you speak with my grandson, prove it," she replied. "If you won't, this conversation is over."

With a huff, he said, "The nature of what I need to speak with Neville is of such sensitivity I simply cannot speak with anyone else about it, but he."

"In that case, goodbye Albus," she said, raising her wand.

As Dumbledore looked back in shock, she brought her wand swishing down and he suddenly found himself flung from his office floo, as he was forcibly ejected from his office fireplace. She'd force-disconnected the call.

Landing on his butt a good four feet back from the fireplace, he stared at in shock for a moment before his face morphed into one of anger.

Climbing back to his feet and unconsciously dusting himself off, he took the two paces back and tried to reconnect the call. It wouldn't connect. Raising his wand he was about to use the power of the Elder Wand to bull his way through when one of the aurors, still tailing him everywhere including his office, gave a pronounced cough.

"If you're about to attempt what I believe you're about to attempt, Mister Dumbledore," said the auror. "I'm afraid I will have to stop you."

Holding his wand tightly in his hand as he forcibly squashed down on his anger with Occlumency again, it was a moment before he imperiously said, "My conversation with Madam Longbottom was inexplicably disconnected. I merely wish to ensure nothing untoward has happened to her."

"In that case..." the auror began, pulling out his badge. He tapped on it in a few places and returned it. "There. A team of aurors will contact her directly to ensure she's safe. That's what we do, Mister Dumbledore. That's one of our jobs... not yours." Frustrated, Dumbledore simply said, "Very well."

Not able to re-contact Longbottom manor via floo call for the moment, he returned to his desk and turned his attention to the 'Peverell problem'.

Pulling a sheet of parchment before himself and ignoring the presence of the auror, he picked up a quill and began to list what he knew of the Peverell man. Admittedly, he knew it would be a short list. However, he saw it only as a start to learning all he could. His intent was to 'prove' Peverell could not be the Chosen One and, with that information and using the argument of elimination, 'prove' that the Longbottom boy was.

The man could not have come out of nowhere; he had to have a history, no matter how well hidden it may be. He directed his attention to finding out the man's basic information; his age, his birthday, the name of his parents, his friends, that sort of thing.

He would be surprised to learn, if he ever bothered to find out, he was by far not the only one wondering those details.

Sirius was in the library and reading through yet another book on combat magics from out of the Black library at Grimmauld when an owl flew in to drop off a letter for Sirius. He was looking for more curses he could deconstruct to a single syllable to add to the quite extensive repertoire he already had.

He scanned it and its load, then freed it of the letter it was carrying with a simple untying charm to the string holding the letter to its ankle.

With the letter free, the owl flew out again. It didn't even wait for the treat Sirius was already reaching for. With a shrug, Sirius returned his attention to the letter now sitting on the side table next to him.

After another lot of intent-based magic on the letter to see if there was anything harmful, he soon had it open and read. Frowning in a little confusion, he sought out the others currently 'at home' to speak with them about it.

After Harry had read it, he handed it to Luna.

"They're fact-finding," she said. "They want to know who you are. That's why they sent Sirius this letter, asking if he knew who you were."

"They want to know who I am because I spanked the living Hell out of Dumbledore and his minions," Harry qualified. "And they sent it to Sirius because any mail sent by owl to 'Hardwin Peverell' won't find me and thought Sirius might be in contact with me due to the Peverell and Potter fortunes." Sirius nodded in acknowledgement and said, "You should go. I can send her a letter, informing her I've spoken with you."

"Not everyone receives a personal invitation from the Minister, Harry," Luna quietly stated.

"An invit-ation to an interrog-ation," he smiled at her.

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