The Gemini Ruse

Summary: When the Order’s spy is discovered, Dumbledore places him ‘safely’ with a personal enemy. Now both have gone missing and Dumbledore hasn’t the faintest idea where, why, or how. AU of HBP, no TDH spoilers, warning for foul language

Disclaimer: I don’t own the HP universe.

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Harry woke as his uncle’s rough shaking pulled him away from his vision of a smirking Malfoy informing Voldemort that he had discovered the spy in the Inner Circle.

“BOY! I’ve told you about that bloody screaming. If I hear it one more time, it’ll be my belt on your back waking you up!” Uncle Vernon shouted at him.

Harry was too frantic to care about promised beatings. He hurried to get himself under control then got out of bed and rummaged hastily through his trunk for parchment and quill. He wrote a hurried letter to Remus and sighed in relief as he saw Hedwig soaring towards his window; that owl was wonderful. He opened the window, ignoring the sounds of Uncle Vernon complaining about being ignored as he gave up and shuffled back to bed.

Harry tied the note to Hedwig’s leg and told her, “Take this to Remus as fast as you possibly can, Hedwig. It’s really important.”

The beautiful white owl hooted softly and took off, flying the fastest Harry had ever seen her go. Headquarters was just on the other side of London. She could probably get their within the hour at that pace. Harry sighed and sat down on his bed. He wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, he knew.

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Dumbledore was seated at his desk in his office at 5:30 am. The students had gone home two days ago and most of the teachers had left on their own vacations. The clock on the wall opposite showed that those who had stayed were still abed. Suddenly, there was a great racket caused as a pigeon carrying a wand in its claws and a note strapped to its back tapped repeatedly on one of the windows. Recognizing the animagus form of Hestia Jones, Dumbledore hurriedly stood and opened the window. The bird soared in and Albus untied the note. She landed on the floor before quickly transforming.

The short, usually cheerful witch was still in a dressing gown and slippers. “Albus, most urgent message from Headquarters,” she puffed. “Potter had a vision that Snape’s been discovered.”

Dumbledore glanced at his clock and saw Snape still “In Bed.” As a precaution, he went to a portrait that hung beneath the clock, opened it to reveal the map of Hogwarts behind it, and used his wand to reset a ward so that it would not allow Severus to leave the grounds. Turning back to the winded Order witch, he said, “He’s fine for now. Tell me the full story, then.”

They both sat and Albus poured Hestia a cup of tea.

“Remus says that Harry Potter has some sort of vision of You-Know-Who every so often. Apparently, the boy had one again and sent his owl to Remus as soon as he woke up saying that You-Know-Who found out that Snape is our spy and is putting together a trap. The poor owl flew herself ragged but she’ll be alright. Once Remus read the note, he woke me and sent me as quick as I could manage. I just put on my dressing gown and slippers and grabbed my wand and ran outside to apparate to Hogsmeade, then I stepped through the wards and changed into my animagus form and flew the length of the grounds to give you the message,” Hestia babbled while Dumbledore scratched out orders on scraps of parchment for her to take back to Headquarters so the Order could handle this situation as needed.

“Thank you, Hestia. That was well done. You can return to Grimmauld Place whenever you’re ready. Take these notes and let Remus know that I’ll take care of things and he can send an owl back to Harry thanking him for the timely information and make sure Remus sends a few of the potions Poppy left for Harry along as well.”

Hestia nodded, changed back into a pigeon, picked up her wand in her feet and the letters in her beak, and flew off again. Meanwhile, Dumbledore summoned his Ancient Runes professor, Kyran Tabriz and read Harry’s note once more for good measure.

Remus,

SNAPE HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! I had a vision where Lucius Malfoy offered some sort of proof and Voldemort said that this wasn’t the first time Snape’s loyalty was in question and they just couldn’t trust him anymore so Malfoy and Wormtail were sent to prepare a trap to kill Snape the next time he’s summoned.

HP

It wasn’t long before the man was shuffling into Albus’ office, wiping sleep from his eyes and buttoning the last of the buttons on his robe.

“I’m sorry for waking you Kyran, but, as we feared, the knife you discovered is necessary now. I need you to retrieve it and bring it back here right away,” Dumbledore said gravely.

“Albus is your spy alright?” he asked as he bent to tie his bootlaces in preparation for a run to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds.

“For the moment, but his recent discovery means every minute until his bond is severed, he is in more danger.”

Professor Tabriz finished tying his laces and stood, nodded to Dumbledore, and left the office quickly, drawing his wand while he ran through the corridors and across the grounds.

He had not yet returned when the clock Albus had been nervously watching registered that Severus had gotten out of bed. Within five minutes, with Tabriz still not back, the clock registered Snape leaving his rooms under the heading “Traveling.” Dumbledore stood and crossed his office. Fawkes woke and flew to his shoulder but he shook his head and the phoenix returned to its perch.

Dumbledore met Snape at the sealed doors of the Hogwarts Entrance Hall.

“Severus, come with me,” Albus said quietly.

“I’m being Called, Albus. Make the bloody doors open!” Snape growled.

“You won’t be answering that call anymore.”

“I have to go, now,” Snape said, still trying to muscle the doors open.

“Severus, come with me.”

Snape winced as the pain in his arm increased. “Albus,” he hissed.

“Severus, you’ve been discovered and this time Voldemort isn’t taking any chances.”

“How can you be sure?” Severus asked distractedly.

“Harry saw it in one of his visions.”

Snape scoffed. “And you believe the brat?”

“Yes, I do. I won’t let you return.”

Snape turned on him. “You need the information I can get. You can’t afford to be blind to the Dark Lord’s plans.”

“We will manage.”

“Yes, because I am going to answer this bloody summons and convince the Dark Lord of my loyalty.”

“It’s too late for that Severus.” Albus’ voice was still calm and gentle even as Snape was violent and raging.

“I will prove my loyalty or die trying. This is my redemption, Albus, and you can’t take it away from me.” Snape tried the door again manually before drawing his wand and aiming. He didn’t get a word out before Dumbledore put a powerful body-bind and sleep spell on him and levitated his stiff body back to the Head’s Office.

Ten minutes later, Professor Tabriz returned, huffing and puffing from his sprints. He paused for the briefest moment, a look of horror on his face, when he saw Snape body-bound and laying on the office floor.

“The knife, Kyran?” Albus reminded him.

“Oh, yes,” he said, pulling a bundle from his pocket and passing it to the Headmaster.

Albus carefully removed the heavily enchanted silk that protected the magical knife. Wrapping his wand hand firmly around the hilt, he stood and knelt beside Snape. Kyran followed suit. Albus held the blade out between himself and the Ancient Runes professor and both men began a chant that called to the power in the knife. The power made the blade glow with magic. The men ended the first chant and began a second. This one made Snape glow with his own magic, the magic bound to an enchanted ring he wore, and the magic in the potion stains on his fingers. There was also a sickening black that was the Dark Mark. That chant ended and Tabriz began a spell to put Snape into a deeper sleep for the duration of the painful procedure. That finished, Albus began the spell and knife movements that literally scraped the Dark Mark off of Severus’ own power. Tabriz drew an enchanted bowl from his pocket and held it for Dumbledore to put the dark magic scraps into.

For an hour, the two men worked on the unconscious Snape until they had removed all of the Mark’s magic. The bowl was then offered to Fawkes. The bird took one look at it, and another look at Snape lying unconscious on the floor, and began crying. Tabriz caught seven tears in the bowl and watched as they joined together at the base in a ball of blue magic glowing stronger and stronger until they burst into magical flames and burnt the black magic away. During that time, Fawkes began to sing but when the dark magic was gone, his song ended.

Tabriz tucked the now empty bowl back into his pocket while Dumbledore rewrapped the knife. Once finished, he handed it to Tabriz who set off once more for the secure hiding place from which he had retrieved the knife. Dumbledore waited for the office door to close before waking Snape.

The effort made little difference because the former spy promptly fainted, the magical healing far too much for his body to take at the moment. Dumbledore sighed and cast Mobilicorpus on the man and levitated him to the infirmary. He knew Poppy was still asleep, having long ago set the Hospital Wing’s alarm not to go off for Snape, who delivered potions frequently, and the alarms had never in recent memory worked on any headmaster (with the exception of Donovan Prince in the 1780s, who was so accident-prone that he had to visit the Hospital Wing at least twice a week). Snape was simply drained and needed sleep so Dumbledore left Poppy alone; she would be up in another hour or so anyway.

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Meanwhile, Harry Potter had just finished cooking his relatives’ breakfast when Hedwig returned with a letter from Remus saying that he had passed the earlier letter on to Dumbledore. Harry scowled at the complete lack of information contained in this note. He tossed it angrily into the waste bin, fed Hedwig a piece of bacon, and carried her upstairs to her perch for a drink of water and a rest. He had not yet returned downstairs to receive his list of chores when an unfamiliar owl with a vaguely familiar official emblem on its mail pouch flew in through his open window. Harry retrieved the letter and the bird flew off again.

Dear Mr. H. Potter,

I have arranged for this letter to be sent to you via Gringotts immediately following my death. I am the Secret Keeper for Brossier Manor (located on Augurey Island near Cape Wrath) but once I die, you, as the Brossier family heir through your paternal grandmother’s family, will need to have the Fidelius Charm recast within a week of my death in order to maintain the continuity of protections on your estate. At your earliest convenience, you should make use of the Gringotts office that handles these matters. Don’t forget to take this letter with you as it is stained with the blood, willingly-given, that is required for the spell transfer.

I have never actually been to the estate, though I inherited it upon Emily’s death, but I hear it is quite impressive. With this letter, you should also know that you will be expected to take over the Brossier family business management no later than your eighteenth birthday. Our investments are currently managed by a Gringotts goblin but it truly is in your best interest to take over as soon as possible. I hope you are prepared for the role you will play in society. As the head of the British Brossiers, you have few social equals. Use your power well or do not be surprised to have a visit from the ghost of our ancestor Baron Rowen Brossier.

Best Wishes,

Guy Brossier

The letter was not his OWL scores. This was surprising post, though. No one had ever mentioned a manor before. He wondered what it was like, and if there were any of his dad’s things there. He immediately penned a letter to Remus Lupin and the Order to arrange an escort to Gringotts within the week. As long as Dumbledore, who Harry figured must not want him to know that there was somewhere to live besides the Dursleys, didn’t read the letter, there shouldn’t be any problems. With an apology to Hedwig, he sent her with the letter on her second visit to Grimmauld Place.

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Hedwig returned within the hour, not flying, but on the shoulder of Bill Weasley as he and Fleur Delacour appeared just outside the wards on Number 4. To say the least, Petunia was not pleased. Bill, as usual, would not have looked out of place at a muggle rock concert but the Dursleys were not the type of people to appreciate that. Fleur, on the other hand, was dressed in embroidered lavender robes. Petunia would have sent them away the moment she saw them but she decided that getting them inside her house before any neighbors saw them was better than turning them away and hoping that they left quickly and inconspicuously.

“What do you want?” Petunia demanded rudely.

“We’re sorry to bother you madam,” Fleur said politely, only a remnant of her French accent remaining, “but we are here to take Harry Potter for some business arrangements. We only need him for the afternoon.”

Petunia looked disappointed. “Are you sure you can’t just take him and keep him?”

Bill shook his head firmly. “Just the day, Ma’am.”

Petunia pursed her lips unhappily. If freaks were going to show up in her house she should at least get rid of the boy. “What sort of business does the brat have?”

Fleur opened her mouth to reply but Bill cut her off. “Well, to start, I believe he has stock in a magical joke shop. You’ve already seen the sort of merchandise they sell: Ton-Tongue Toffees.” Petunia blanched and fled the room as Dudley’s encounter with that particular sweet came to mind.

Bill smirked and called Harry’s name loudly.

“Wow, that was fast,” Harry said upon seeing Bill and Fleur with Hedwig. He happily ran down the stairs.

Bill smiled. “We were at Headquarters when Remus got your letter. Fleur’s friend Nathalie works in the Inheritance Office so this shouldn’t take long. We’ll have you back in time for supper.”

Harry sighed inwardly. ‘Back in time to cook supper, you mean,’ he thought to himself. Instead, he smiled and nodded. “Let me go upstairs and put on a robe.”

Bill nodded. “Wear something nice, if you have anything.”

Fleur smiled. “The robe from the Ball would be best, I think. If it doesn’t fit, I can adjust it for you.”

Harry smiled back at her and nodded before turning to run up the stairs. He sifted through his trunk and found the green dress robe he had worn to the ball in fourth year folded cleanly at the bottom where Mrs. Weasley had put them at the beginning of the previous school year when she’d retrieved Harry’s key so she could get his school supplies on that last day before term. He tried it on and found that it really didn’t fit. It was too short and too narrow in the shoulders. He buttoned it as best he could and hoped Fleur could fix it. He pocketed his wand, his Gringotts key, and the letter. He then returned downstairs.

He didn’t even have a chance to say anything before Fleur had her wand out, bewitching the cloth to rearrange and resize itself. The pleats in the front disappeared as the shoulders broadened to fit Harry’s. The hemline lowered and re-stitched itself and Fleur pocketed her wand with a smile. Unlike Hogwarts, Beauxbatons taught a class in household spells.

“Thanks,” Harry said. “I really need to get some new robes.”

“I’ll say. Even Ron hasn’t grown that much,” Bill teased him.

“Don’t be silly Bill. Your little brother has grown. You just see him more often,” Fleur pointed out.

Bill smiled and ignored her. “Do you have your wand, Harry?”

Harry nodded and showed them.

“Excellent. Don’t use it if you don’t have to, but keep it at hand just in case. Now then, let’s be on our way,” Bill said.

“We have a portkey,” Fleur said, holding out a wilted daisy.

Bill and Harry touched the daisy and Fleur said “Goutte de citron.” A moment later, Harry felt the portkey activate and they were all spun through space, landing tidily in a small, plain room without furniture.

Fleur led the way quickly through the only door and Harry saw that they were in an office where goblins and people worked. Bill followed closely behind Harry as Fleur led them through a finer wooden door and into a corridor that looked much like the atrium of Gringotts.

Along the corridor, there were several open doors that allowed glimpses of people and goblins working at desks or helping customers. Around a corner, and down a second corridor, Fleur turned into one such office and to a reception desk. She spoke briefly with the young female goblin and then led the way down a small corridor to a door which was open only a little bit. She knocked and pushed it open.

“Oi, Nathalie...” she called, “Tu es la?”

“Oui. Salut, Fleur,” a short, slim younger woman said, rising from her chair behind a desk laden with papers and leaning across it to kiss both Fleur’s cheeks.

The two women and Bill and Harry took seats around the desk and the two witches conversed rapidly in French for several minutes, some of which was obviously about Harry, before switching to English.

“Meester Potter,” Nathalie began, her accent much thicker than Fleur’s, “you ‘ave ze letter of ze Secret Keeper?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Harry said, reaching into his pocket and retrieving the letter. He passed it over and waited while she read and then returned it to him.

“You ‘ave 17 years?”

Fleur answered for him as she corrected her friend’s English. “He is 15, Nathalie.”

“Zhen ‘e needs...” she paused, searching for the right word. After a moment, she seemed to give up and began speaking to Fleur in French again.

Bill leaned over and whispered to Harry, “It’s only her first week here. She just finished at Beauxbatons.”

Harry nodded slightly, watching the witches converse though he understood next to nothing. Fleur seemed hassled and Nathalie was apologetic.

Finally Fleur sighed and turned to Harry. “We need to visit the Ministry before the transfer can take place. You have to be an adult so we will have to have you legally become an adult.” She stood and Bill and Harry followed suit. Fleur spoke briefly to Nathalie in French and then led Bill and Harry out of the office, turning to the opposite direction they had entered from and leading them into a small conference room with a fireplace and a pot of floo powder on the mantel.

“To the Ministry?” Fleur asked Bill.

Bill nodded. “You go first, then Harry, then I’ll come last.”

Fleur nodded and tossed powder into the fire, stepped in, and said, “Ministry of Magic.”