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Shades of Grey	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 103955 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 21
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money off this dance in the realm of strangeness and smut

Chapter List
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- 39
Chapter 38

Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. You're the best, woman, and thank you!

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues

Just a reminder of what's on my profile; reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

Smoothing down his beard with a trembling hand as he leaned back in his chair and read a copy of an article that was going to hit in one of the weekly papers the next day, Albus was worried. Well, more than worried. Part of this was good and would do plenty to help all of them. When it came to the situation with Sirius, it might actually get him cleared. It might also make the coming school year easier on all of them. All the facts in the article were dead on correct, probably more than some of the information he had on certain topics. That he was going to have to look into, of course. He wasn't sure if he could manage to find anything, but he would try. It also meant he had some leverage again to try to press for certain things. However, there were downsides to this as well.
The biggest of them was that poor Harry was still missing. Nothing, anywhere, could be done to end this nightmare until Harry was found. Oh, they could press on to do all kinds of things and set it up to where Tom could fall, but none of that could come to pass without Harry. Which meant they had to find him and fast. Because once this hit, he was certain that Tom would go off the deep end and the war that was looming would actually finally fully kick off, whether Cornelius liked it or not. And now, because Severus, too, was missing, he had no way to get information from that camp, which left him at a distinct disadvantage. He hadn't realized how much he depended on Severus and the information he could come up with until he vanished. Now he had no way of getting that information and was at a loss as to what Tom might be doing. Oh, he could take guesses with what he knew of the man and had seen in the last war, but he needed something solid. There was no way to get that now. He had no one, anywhere, that was in that camp or had a way to cultivate a contact. The only ones left, as far as he could tell, were the hardcore followers. The other one that he might manage with he couldn't get to; Lucius Malfoy.
Even then, if they could find the man, he couldn’t go back into the fold. He wasn't even sure how much useful information Lucius could give them if he could find the man. There was also the fact that he didn't have any idea where to look. Already he was seeing if he couldn't track Narcissa down to see if she had any information. From that interview she gave, she might be willing to give up something as she appeared mad at him. It wasn't something he was counting on, though. Narcissa was too smart to be easily found. A reporter might have managed, but he would bet it wouldn't be that easy again. He would chance everything on the flier that she moved and hid herself better after that. And Draco? He knew he wouldn't find the Malfoy heir. No, he was sure his mother had sent him to a school that would keep him hidden. Which meant that he didn't think he had a chance of finding Lucius.
Sighing and putting the paper down on the small table, Albus leaned back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs while looking at it. This was a right mess, no doubt. And he had nowhere to turn to get help. Severus had been it for who he could confide in about some areas. Like what was in poor Harry's scar. Even then, it had been a tricky dance. Which meant he lost another perspective that he needed to deal with the mess happening. For him, it now came down to what to do about that. Alastor, though as tough as they came and unshockable, wouldn't react well to what he had set up. Oh, the man would be fine with things like looking for Horcruxes, and might even be able to help find clues as to where they were, but not when it came to what had to happen with Harry. No, he couldn't reveal that.
Shutting his eyes and letting his chin drop to his chest, Albus gave a deep sigh as he tried to muddle through what was going on. None of it was good. He was at a loss for once. This was an operation he had planned for so long and counted on to go just so. Oh sure, there would be minor spanners tossed into it from time to time, but it would be a steady road. Now? It was something he didn't have any idea how to press on with. And he needed to come up with something, fast. He couldn't put everything on hold just because Harry was missing. Oh, the final play couldn't come about until Harry was found, he knew that, but the rest of it needed to press on just as he planned. And he didn't know how to do that. He would have to figure it out, though, and fast. If this went how he expected and the full war came, he had to. He couldn't afford to wait for Harry to turn back up.
Taking a deep drink of his sweet tea then tossing a lemon sherbert into his mouth, Albus slumped. What to do—shutting his eyes, he tried to think. Normally, with as smart as he was, this wasn't hard. He could come up with something. Now he couldn't. He needed to, though. And fast.
Starting to twiddle his thumbs again, toe tapping on the floor, he began to get the first niggling of what might work. It wasn't the greatest plan in the world, that he knew, but it might work. He just had to do a delicate dance was all. Maybe, just maybe, he needed to reveal to some of the more high ranking and trustworthy members of the Order bits of this mess. He wouldn't mention Harry being a Horcrux and what had to come of that, of course, as it wouldn't help anything. No one that he knew, aside from poor Severus, could see beyond their emotions enough to know what had to be done. Which meant he had to do some fast dancing around several areas, but he needed to press on to find the other Horcruxes. In order to end this mess, they needed those gone. Which meant, they had to find them. That was something he thought they could pull off. He had some hints and ideas of where to look. So, it was time to do that. The more they could find and destroy, the weaker Tom would be when Harry was found. That they needed. He had wanted to have Harry hunt for them, of course, to help hone some skills he would need for the final confrontation. It was something he couldn't do now. No, he was just going to have to let poor Harry go with what he knew to end this, well, once they found him that was.
If he played this right, he could divide the Order to have them work on the two areas. One would be the Horcrux hunt. He could easily give up almost all the information he had on that area to help. Some he would hold back, of course, but there was enough there that he was sure they could find the things. The other half he would set to the task of tracking Harry down. That was easy enough to assign. Though Sirius and Remus would be too emotionally involved to be as effective as they could be at the Horcrux hunt, he would put them on that anyway. Especially Sirius. His skills as an Auror and what he did there coupled with Remus' ability to search meant that he needed them on that end. The Weasleys he would assign to the hunt for Harry. The same with Minerva. He thought to have Minerva spearhead and run the hunt for Harry while having Alastor run the hunt for the Horcruxes. They would both answer to him, of course, and he would run the whole thing, dictating who did what, but it could work. If his calculations were right when it came to the number of the nasty objects out there containing a part of Voldemort, he would later have to divide it up more.
Bill Weasley was one he thought he might have to shift to the Horcrux part when they started turning them up. After all, there was bound to be some nasty curses on the objects to protect them. Yes, he needed to keep that in mind. It had been Severus he was counting on to handle that end of the mess when the time came. With him gone, he needed someone else. That would have to be Bill. Alastor would also probably have to be brought in to assist as well. He knew plenty about that area. Sirius would as well, if he had to. When it came to Sirius and Remus, he would have to be cautious in dealing with them so he didn't expose too much. If he did, he feared they might put some parts together as they had more interaction with Harry about some of it. It would be a last resort to bring them into that part. No, he would do that only in extreme circumstances.
Summoning a quill and parchment, he began to jot down notes about what he wanted to do, who to assign to what and how to go about this. It would take a couple of days to figure out this shift, of course, but he'd manage while keeping the worst of it a secret. He also made a note to get with some steadfast contacts he had in the media to see what else might be ready to pop up. After all, he didn't need any more surprises than he already had to deal with when it came to this mess. He couldn't keep shifting plans if things kept changing on him. With that, he made a note to see what spin he could put on it as well. Maybe, just maybe, he should go talk to some members of the media and give up some of what he knew. Not all of course, but enough to get things moving in the direction he needed them. That could only help them at this point. He also needed the media to focus on poor Harry. Finding him was paramount at this point. Oh, he could make it seem like he was only concerned about what might have happened to him, not what he had planned, that's for sure. With what was going on, that would be easy enough and no one would think twice about portraying it that way. After all, it was well known that Harry was special to him, so this would be normal. Maybe, just maybe, if he let his name get involved, it might push things faster. He could even bring Ron and Hermione in to push it even further. That might help at this juncture. Not sure about that, it was something he needed to ponder before he did it.
Looking at the list so far, he added more then began to focus. He needed this in place, fast, so he had to concentrate. The rest he would worry about after getting his Order in—well, order. Then he would push on with the other parts. There was so little time before the term started that he needed this part in place as he couldn't fully focus on it once school was in session again.

“How are you feeling?” Remus asked Harry, looking in the mirror. They were holed up in Sirius' room to talk to Harry for a while. Part of it was he had some information to pass along. The other part was to check to make sure everything was fine since the Horcrux removal and to just talk to him. It had been a couple of days since the removal and, though they checked in at least once a day, they wanted to make sure.
“I'm good,” Harry told him with a nod. “The headaches I got for the first day are gone and things are back to normal. It's mostly healed, though it’s still scabbed over,” he explained lifting his fringe so they could see the scar. “Everything else is good and there doesn't appear to be any other after effects, at least that we can detect.”
“Good,” Sirius said with a pleased grin. “We were worried, of course, but figured it was good. Everything went like clockwork, thankfully, so we didn't expect problems. We just want to make damned sure because of where it was.”
“Nope, it didn't give the brains a stir,” Harry laughed. “I'm fine. Relieved actually. At least that mess is handled. One less nightmare to worry about with this.”
“It is,” Remus conceded with a nod. “Alright, what information do you have for us? You said there was something.”
Summoning a parchment that was on the bedside table, Harry looked it over as Kaliya wrapped around him. “Right. We talked to Nagini and got some information. It's not a lot, honestly, but bits. We're going to keep trying to work with her to see if she might be able to remember more. What we have is this; she knew there were seven of them. However, if we figured it right, there were actually eight. He didn't know he made me one. If he did, he wouldn't have tried to kill me as that would lose one. We also figured that four of them we don't have to worry about. Me, obviously, that diary, Nagini and Quirrell, though Quirrell was actually the evil git himself so the chunk went with him when the idiot disintegrated. Which means there are four we need to worry about.”
Pleased that half the operation was over, Remus asked, “Any clues as to what the others might be? Or didn't she know?”
“Clues are all we have. She doesn't have specifics. We're still working and she wants to help because of what we're trying to accomplish, so we might still come up with something. Just give us time. She gets a bit frustrated because some areas are foggy when it comes to her remembering. We think that's because of the Horcrux. Not sure there, honestly, but it's the theory,” Harry explained. “Severus and Lucius are also going to try to put some clues together from what they know about certain things to see what they can manage. Again, that's not a sure thing as we aren't positive if they have anything useful.”
“Whatever they have, pass it along. Maybe Remus and I can see something they can't,” Sirius interjected. Seeing Harry nod, he asked, “Alright, what do you have from Nagini?”
“A theme,” Harry said, looking between the two. “Right now, that's all. It has to do with the founders of Hogwarts. She said he was all but obsessed because he considered Hogwarts his home. So, what we think is maybe he used something from the founders to create them. And what those might be we have no idea about. Lucius said there just isn't much left out there that anyone can confirm belonged to the founders because it was so long ago. Oh, sure, things turn up that purport to belong to them, but they are usually fake. Which means it's a mess.”
Smoothing down his mustache as he looked at Harry in the mirror, Remus thought it over then said, “Let's see what Sirius and I can work on with this. We'll at least start looking. If we find something we might have a tangible link to, we may be able to trace it. It's at least a start to see what might be out there.”
“We have one maybe lead, though we don't know what the object might be,” Harry said. Sighing, he then shook his head and added, “It's not something that's going to help much, though, because of where it might be.”
“Give it to us and we'll see what we can manage,” Sirius told him firmly, hoping it was something they could work with.
“I don't think so, Sirius,” Harry told him softly. “It might be in Gringotts. Lucius said he was given the diary to keep safe. What he thinks is that, maybe, because of the way Bella was, she might have gotten something to keep as well. As all her stuff is stored in Gringotts, it's a sure bet that whatever it might be, and we have no clue or what founder it might be from or what the object would be, is probably there.”
“Fuck,” Sirius muttered, scrubbing a hand through his hair and slouching. “Yeah, Gringotts is out for that. No shot in hell of getting in there to even look. The only one that might manage is Narcissa. Even then, it's no guarantee, what with how the goblins are.”
“We know and talked about that,” Harry admitted. “Lucius isn't even willing to chance trying because of the spells the goblins use. With him and Narcissa divorced, he wouldn't manage anyway, from what he said.”
Growling softly, Sirius shook his head. “Alright, let's keep that in mind and see what pops up with it, but we aren't going to even try there. Bella is in Azkaban, but that means nothing to the goblins. Until she dies, that vault is hers. The only shot we would have is if both her, her husband and his brother go. Then, maybe, once I am cleared, I might be able to lay claim to it as head of the house of Black. I don't see any of those things happening any time soon.”
“They might,” Harry said softly, looking at Sirius.
“What do you mean by that?” Remus asked, intrigued.
“It's another theory,” Harry shrugged. “We were talking about what could come of this mess when it kicks off. Lucius and Severus, both, think that Dumbledore isn't the only one backed into a tight spot now. The other idiot is too. And it's not going to help things, something we all know. With all that's bound to come of this mess we set off, they think that he might do something drastic and try breaking out the followers he has in Azkaban. They both told me that if anyone can manage, he can because he had something or other with the Dementors last war. From what they said, they're both sure he can manage that again. And as angry as he has to be right now, they both think he may try just to get some in place he knows he can trust. Lucius said what's left in the ranks are some he won't trust like he did others. With the perceived betrayal, it has to be worse. So, he needs the ones he can. All those are in Azkaban.”
Feeling chills dance down his spine, Sirius looked at Remus, eyes wide, seeing a similar look there. “That's not good,” he muttered finally.
“It might not be, but I can almost guarantee it will help everything in setting this on fire,” Remus told him, glancing back at the mirror to Harry.
“Lucius and Severus said the same thing,” Harry told them. “They just said to make sure to watch your backs. And if it comes before you're cleared, Sirius, to be careful as some may try to lay it on you. Lucius thinks, maybe, that will get held off if this mess hits the papers and they run with it before it happens. We can at least hope.”
Blowing out a breath, Sirius nodded. “Understood. I'll make damned sure to keep a closer eye on everything if I have to go out until we see which way the wind blows with this. Get with those two and see if they have any suggestions on how we can set this on fire faster, before the maniac can pull that one off, or something else that can help.”
“I will,” Harry told him firmly, planning to do just that.
Focusing back on the original topic, Remus asked, though planning to cover that chunk more fully with Sirius when they were alone, “About the Horcruxes—any other hints from Nagini? Anything? Or anywhere that we might be able to get some?”
“Nothing with Nagini,” Harry told him softly, shaking his head. “Give us time to see what we can manage. She was just not around when he made the others. What he might have talked about with her is going to take us time to get. Let's see what we can manage. The only other hint isn't going to help anymore than the vault. Severus said he would bet his wand that Dumbledore knows something. And what that might be he doesn't have a clue about.”
“Yeah, we'd have a better shot getting it out of You-Know-Who than we would Albus,” Sirius snorted, looking disgusted. “We'll see what we can wiggle. He might be in a tight enough spot now that he'll let something go or do something that can help. I don't know. Let's see what happens. With what that reporter is doing, it might start prying things loose and we can work with it. At the very least, we can pass it your lot's direction and let you bat it around to see what you can find. I don't know. Give it a few days to see the fallout from that article.”
Thinking all of that over, Remus then said, “If we had You-Know-Who's real name, we might be able to start tracing him. That might, maybe, give us some clues where to look. We know some of what he did in the past, especially after this kicked up again, and that Albus calls him Tom, but his full name isn't something I think we've ever heard.”
“It's Tom Marvolo Riddle,” Harry told him softly. Before they could ask, he said, “Not only is it listed on a plaque at school, Hagrid knows it as he's the reason he was expelled and the git told me in the chambers, showing me the anagram for it as it's how he came up with his Lord Loony name.”
“Good!” Remus said with a pleased nod. “I'm sure Albus has plenty of information on him, of course, but this way we might be able to do something to circumnavigate around him to find bits of it. That might, maybe, lead us to some answers. We'll see. It can't hurt anyway. Something might come up when we do that.”
“Any little bit helps,” Sirius said, pleased with that. “Let's see what we can manage. Set the two on your end on it as well. They might be able to come up with something we can't. I don't know there. If he was a Pureblood, Lucius might.”
Grinning, Harry chuckled then said, “He wasn't. His father was a Muggle. He made it clear in the Chamber about not keeping his filthy father’s name. The mum—don't know there. He's no Pureblood, though!”
“Oh, that's fucking rich!” Sirius laughed, shaking his head. “All this hating on Half-Bloods and Muggle-borns and he was no damned Pureblood! Pass that on to the two as well. It might give them something to work with we can't. Because I bet they don't know either.”
“I will!” Harry grinned.
“Oh, the irony,” Remus snorted, shaking his head. “All those Purebloods thinking they were following one of their own and the best case scenario is he's a Half-Blood.”
“That made my damned day!” Sirius laughed.
“Rather ironic, isn't it?” Harry grinned. Tossing the parchment aside, as he had covered everything on it, he relaxed back, petting Kaliya. He wasn't sure what all he passed along could help, but he had hopes it would some. At the very least, places to start looking. That was good. Changing topics, he began to ask about what was going on with that end to see if there was anything then planned just to talk to the two for a while. After all, he liked doing that and learned plenty about them he hadn't known over the years.
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Shades of Grey