The search for the escaped prisoners lasted almost thirty-six hours straight. The aurors' found the Dursleys as they tried to make their way towards the nearest muggle town. Vernon was still complaining about his unfair treatment and demanding that he and his family be released do to the fact that they were in no way magical. No one listened as they were escorted back to Azkaban. The party of the former Ministry employees were captured almost a day after the jailbreak, as they attempted to gain entrance into Gringotts for money to escape with. No one ever said that they were intelligent. Now that there had been an attempt on the prison, security was now beefed up. Now the only ones left to capture were Dumbledore and the Weasleys.
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Bill and Charlie left Hogwarts almost immediately after Harry had told Bill what had happened. They approached the Burrow with caution. The several spells cast, revealed that there was no one there. However the house had been used within the last twenty-four hours by a Weasley, meaning that their escaped family members had come to collect supplies and ran for it. Not wanting them to return and have access to the place, Bill placed several new wards and charms on the house. Then he and Charlie returned to Hogwarts. They hoped that they weren't the ones that would find their running family. It would cause several problems for all of them.
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Albus Dumbledore and the Weasleys were currently hiding in a concealed back room in the Hogs' Head, the pub that his brother owned. The former headmaster thanked whatever deity that had convinced Harry to allow his brother to keep the pub. It made for the perfect hiding place. True, Aberforth didn't want them there, but an Imperiusspell cast by Molly, had changed that. Albus found that he could use his brother to gather information and buy the necessary supplies needed for him to continue. He already knew that Harry had an illegitimate child with a muggle woman. Vernon Dursley spoke often in prison about his nephew's 'freakish' ways and that his son would probably have the same type of 'freakishness'. It didn't take much persuasion to have Dursley tell him everything that had happened during the summer. He had been rather shocked when he found out, but looking back at Harry's behavior it made sense. Harry had been protecting the babe and Dumbledore couldn't fault him for that. That didn't mean that he wasn't above using the babe to get Harry back under his control. The child could prove most useful. He might even let it live. Now if Aberforth could get a hold of the books that he wanted, he could get his magic back and maybe more.
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Harry met Bill and Charlie at the main gate. He could tell by the looks on their faces that they had found evidence that someone had been at the Burrow. He had hoped that the place would be left alone but that ha been a pipe dream apparently. As they walked towards the castle, Bill gave him a quick run down of what they found and what he had done to the property for protection. Harry had to wonder when, not if, Dumbledore would strike.
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Aberforth Dumbledore was an unhappy man. The only problem was he couldn't express that emotion. His unholy brother had control of his body and was using it for his own means. This was not how brothers treated each other. Albus had him searching for old tombs of long forgotten magic, things that Aberforth had never even heard of. He had finally found one of the old tomb's that his brother wanted and hoped that this one was the one that he needed for whatever he had planned. Whatever was going on in the hidden room of his pub he didn't want to know about it.
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One week later Albus Dumbledore had his magic back thanks to Arthur and Molly Weasley. However the Weasley's had become a liability to him. He had to silence them permanently. By using a very ancient spell that drained their magical cores and transfer that power to himself, killing them in the process. Of course he couldn't leave the youngest two Weasley's without their parents so he drained them as well. Percy was a walking liability and had to be silenced permanently. He hadn't felt this good in years. Amazing what six extra sets of magical cores could do for the body. He might even live for another two hundred years. The only guilt that he felt was the fact that Ron and Ginny were so young. They would never know what it was like to have a normal life, but they were better off with their parents. Albus felt that they were happy knowing that their meager lives were going to help him gain control of Harry again and live life to the fullest after Voldemort's death. Harry would fade into the back ground, a broken man after he finished with the younger man's family. It should teach him and those that follow, whatever Albus Dumbledore wants you to do, you do it.
Albus left the bodies in the hidden room and after disillusioning himself, snuck out of the pub. He sent a vague, untraceable, message to the Ministry. The message stating that the aurors could find the Weasleys in the Hog's Head pub, in the secret room, murdered. He had even used Aberforth's wand to kill them, so that they would think that he had done it then committed suicide. He watched with a smirk of satisfaction as the aurors arrived and surrounded the pub. Several villagers gathered round in hopes of finding out first hand what had happened. Several hours went by as Albus watched the aurors search for clues that weren't there and remove the bodies. He couldn't hear the conversations between the aurors but assumed that they thought it to be a case of murder/ suicide. He gave up his vigil to focus on the next part of his plan. All he needed to do was to get inside Hogwarts and find Harry's family. Simple really.
Dumbledore weighed his options and decided to use the one secret tunnel that he personally knew about and made his way towards the Shrieking Shack.
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Harry suddenly woke up. Hogwarts was trying to get his attention.
"Headmaster, the old one is trying to break through the wards!"
"Where is he?"
"In the tunnel leading to the werewolf's lair. He was stopped by the ward that you put up. The amount of power that he is using could collapse the tunnel."
"I'll go there now. Thanks."
"You're welcome, Headmaster."
Harry quickly but silently dressed and left his rooms, heading for the Whomping Willow. As he walked across the grounds, he could feel the vibrations of Dumbledore's magic trying to break through the wards. Harry had no idea how he got his magic back. It felt like he had gained some extra magic as well. Just as Harry was about to hit the knot that stilled the tree, the ground underneath surged up. A deafening boom, followed by a crash, told Harry that something had just happened down below.
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Albus Dumbledore went inside the Shrieking Shack. He easily found the underground tunnel that led to Hogwarts. Smirking to himself he started walking, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier.
"A special ward, Harry? You seem to be full of surprises" Dumbledore said outloud. He started chanting spells to bring the wards down, using more and more magical power. He was surprised on how strong the wards were. Not wanting to admit defeat he pushed with everything he had inside him at the wards. The tunnel's ceiling surged upwards. He was making progress. Then a loud boom caused him to fall over. The last thing he saw was the tunnel's ceiling rushing towards him. This didn't look good.
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The collapse of the Shrieking Shack, after the discovery of the Weasleys bodies had everyone in the village jumpy. Word had been sent to the castle for one of the Weasley men to come to the village. The head of the aurors felt that such news should be given in person. Bill had just arrived when the crash was heard. He joined the others as they raced towards where the sound had come from. No one could believe that the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted building in wizarding Britain, had simply collapsed, but the evidence was staring each of them in the face. No one wanted to go near the wreckage, not that Bill blamed them. It was a little eerie. The head auror ordered half of his men to investigate the wreckage while the others were to return to the village and continue there.
The head auror pulled Bill aside on the walk back. "I don't quite know how to tell you this but straight out. The Ministry received an anonymous tip that your escaped family members were in a hidden room within the Hog's Head, murdered. That part unfortunately was true. But we also found Aberforth Dumbledore in there as well. It was made to look like a suicide, but I'm having a hard time believing that. For one thing, all the bodies have had their magic removed. How, I don't know, but the best guess is that Albus Dumbledore killed them all, stole their magic and tried to have his dead brother take the fall. A search for him is being conducted as we speak."
Bill was on an emotional rollercoaster. "Thank you for taking the time to tell me. I know how busy you are. Let me know when I can have the bodies for burial."
"It probably won't be for a couple of days. But I will personally let you know when you can. And Bill, let me know if there is anything that I can do."
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Harry heard the tremendous crash that came from the direction of the Shrieking Shack. The surge of earth around the Whomping Willow had stopped and receded back into the ground. Knowing that Dumbledore couldn't get through on this end he made his way towards Hogsmeade.
He was shocked to find the destruction of the Shrieking Shack. Acting Minister Shacklebolt saw Harry arrive and briefed him on what had happened in the village. Harry was shocked to hear of the Weasleys' deaths but secretly glad that they were no longer a threat.
"I need to inform you, Minister, that Hogwarts told me that Dumbledore was trying to break through the wards around the castle. I know that he was in the secret tunnel that leads from the Shack to the grounds of Hogwarts. How he got his magical power back and stronger I don't know. He seemed to be pouring everything he had into breaking them and it backfired on him, collapsing the tunnel and bring down the Shack. I have a feeling that he's buried in the rubble down there."
"If what you say is true, then I think we can call off the man hunt for him. This won't be made public knowledge, but it is thought that Albus drained the Weasleys and his own brother of their magical cores. Then made it look like his brother killed them and then killed himself."
"That explains the magic then."
"Indeed it does."