The Son of Lord Voldemort

Chapter 133

"Well?" Moody barked.

Dumbledore looked over at one of his oldest friends and released a sigh. The events that had transpired on New Years Eve were still fresh on the forefront of his mind. When he had been informed of the attack he had hoped he had heard wrong. Unfortunately, he had gone to the Ministry morgue and had seen for himself the mangled bodies of those that had been killed.

He had trouble containing his shock when he saw that several children of men he knew were Death Eaters had been killed. His shock had turned into confusion when he had been informed that several bodies were found to have suffered prolonged torture up until the moment of death. He knew that meant they couldn't have been killed in Hogsmeade. That those bodies were all men he suspected to be Death Eaters had confounded him.

Dumbledore didn't know what was going on amongst the Death Eaters, but he knew Voldemort well enough to know that the attack on New Years Eve didn't seem like something he would have authorized. He had theorized that the attack had been performed against Voldemort's wishes, and that the strange bodies from the morgue were those who had taken part in the attack. Voldemort must have assumed no one would look closely at the bodies that had been recovered. Moody had come to the same conclusion, and had spent the better part of an hour telling him that now was the time to strike.

"They're fighting each other," Moody continued. "They'll be less prepared."

"What if that's what Voldemort wants us to think?" Kingsley asked rationally.

Moody's fake eye spun around wildly before landing on Kingsley.

"Kingsley makes an excellent point," Dumbledore said. "That is what I myself fear."

"Does it matter?" Moody growled. "We must act now! The longer we do nothing, the more time Voldemort has to plan and carry out an even worse attack."

Dumbledore feared that Kingsley was right, but he also knew that Moody was too. The Ministry adding more aurors to their ranks wasn't doing enough, and neither were the new laws in regard to allowing aurors to use the killing curse in battle. Those two things did nothing unless the Death Eaters actually attacked.

"What is it you supposed we do, Alastor?" Kingsley asked patiently. "We aren't Death Eaters, we have to do things by the book. Unless we are attacked, we can't attack them."

"We arrest the bastards!" Moody snarled. "Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and the rest of that horrid lot. We know they're Death Eaters."

"Not according to the Ministry of Magic," Kingsley said. "You know that in the eyes of the law they're nothing more than upstanding citizens who donate millions of galleons a year to various charities."

"It's time the world saw them for what they really are," Moody said, "scum."

"These people have carefully constructed their images over decades," Kingsley sighed. "It would be their word verse ours, and we all know who everyone would believe."

"So we just wait for them to strike out against us?" Moody growled. "Great plan!"

"There's no need for that, Alastor," Kingsley said, his voice taking on a stern edge. "I want Voldemort and his Death Eaters to pay for what they've done, but we aren't them. The last time we went around the laws, a Death Eater was arrested then released for obtaining an illegal search warrant. The entire auror department was made to look like fools. All it did was make our job more difficult."

"The Wizengamot," Dumbledore interrupted the two men's arguing.

"What about the Wizengamot?" Kingsley asked.

"The Wizengamot is meeting tomorrow," Dumbledore answered. "If an idea to identify and capture Death Eaters is presented it will, without doubt, pass."

"Because those who vote against the idea would risk incriminating themselves," Kingsley surmised. "Although, you'd have to make sure that what you propose is one hundred percent above board. If not you'll risk it's acceptance being postponed until the next meeting."

"Amelia," Moody grunted, as he leaned against his staff. "Have her propose the idea. As the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, no one will suggest that she's going against the laws. She'll know how to word it."

"You're right," Dumbledore said. "It appears as if I'll be visiting the Ministry this afternoon."