Art of War

By: TheGirlWithFarTooManyIdeas

Fandom: harry potter

Summary: OoTP. Harry, Ron and Hermione realize that they're going to have to save their own lives - because no one else will. Turning to their own war plans, they create an inner circle and begin recruiting assassin, spies, ticking time bombs. A group of rag tag students will become an army. Can this give Harry the opening to defeat the Dark Lord? Inspired by Red Dawn.

Status: Completed

Fic type: Books/Harry Potter

Pairings/Main char.: Harry P., Ron W., Hermione G., Flora C.

Published: 2014-03-11

Last updated: 2015-06-27

Words count: 81,050

Chapters count: 20

Converted using www.FF2EBOOK.com
Date: 2017-07-31

1. Chapter 1

The Art of War

Moon: Hello everyone! ...Okay, I know, I know, I know, I have other stories that aren't done yet, but there are some things you just have to do, and this is one of them. Plus, I've been suffering from a complete inability to focus on ANYTHING over the past two weeks, and I do mean anything, which doesn't help because I also had writer's block. Anyway, welcome to Art of War, my single most requested story. Probably the darkest so far, and the second M rating besides Huntress.

Chapter 1: Hard Truths

"I can't remember why I ever let you walk all over me. I won't take your shit forever, now its time for me to leave." -The Cab, Another Me

"Nearly expelled for saving your own life!" Hermione ranted, turning the copy of the Daily Prophet over in her hand as though she'd like no better then to rip it to pieces. Her brown eyes were burning like wildfire. "From a Dementor, no less! And is anyone asking why the bloody hell there were Dementors down at Privet Drive in the first place? No, they don't, because god knows that's not a serious breach of security!"

Angrily she flung the paper down on the seat next to Ron and stomped her foot. "What is wrong with this country? Authority figures are supposed to protect us! Not throw us to the dogs! Well, fie on this Ministry! They can't be bothered to do their bloody jobs anyway!"

Harry Potter sat on the train to Hogwarts with his trunk under his feet, looked at his bushy haired friend in amazement. His other best friend Ron Weasley was looking equally stunned, through he was also angry, scowling at the paper in his hands as though it had personally offended him and his extensive family.

Both his friends had been waiting for him the minute he appeared on the doorstep of Sirius's place, and immediately asked him for full details regarding his trial after they finished greeting each other and he vented his annoyance at them not writing to him. Perhaps it hadn't been fair of him to blow up at them for not writing to him, but being shut up at Privet Drive, completely alone, tormented by memories of Voldemort's resurrection and Cedric's death, wondering every morning and evening if Voldemort was going to storm Privet Drive with an army of Death Eaters behind him, looking to finish what he'd started. The stress had steadily built up and he'd ended up venting on his friends, and he'd felt immediately bad about it afterwards.

He calmed down, apologized for getting sharp when they explained why, instead electing to internalize his anger with Dumbledore when he found out that he had told them not to write to him. He angrily said that the Headmaster was doing him no favors by locking him out of the loop, he was so confused and helpless, and then he told them about Fudge and the Dementors.

Neither had taken the news well – both of them had been fit to fry almost every day since.

Ron had been muttering about 'stupid gits', 'can't possibly be that stupid, they're supposed to be our leaders' and 'too much trouble to think for themselves' at a near constant basis, sending scowls and dark looks at various Order Members when they started talking about politics or the Ministry. He was frequently in trouble with his mother for the language he used whenever someone mentioned Fudge's name. He'd sat with Harry whenever he could and told him whatever amount of information he could scrape by, the twins occasionally helping with their handy extendable ears.

Ron had also picked this time to buckle down and start focusing on his studies, when he had been more careless about them in previous years. The twins were horrified at this, but Ron was bound and determined, to the confused delight of his mother. After many hours Ron eventually figured that he'd be able to raise his grades once he was back at school.

Harry, personally, thought that Ron had a very unique skill that manifested through his chess set. Ron was a planner, a schemer. And a good one, once he had the right opportunity. They had been playing chess almost every day since while Ron had discussed theory and practice with him, usually pointing the more headstrong Harry onto more careful routes.

Hermione...Hermione had been worse, though. Hermione had been threatening to boil over like a teakettle, shooting venomous looks at almost every adult that passed her, excluding only Molly Weasely, Sirius and Remus, more out of affection then anything they were doing. She was often found reading books on politics in wartime, bringing up the words 'corruption' and 'incompetence' as though they were going out of style, and would talk about what she thought people should be doing whenever she was allowed to listen in on something. Even her plans for elfish welfare were taking a backseat to her current 'studies'. Molly had been at a loss to understand, or handle, her change in attitude; she wasn't the only one either. It was as if she'd undergone a complete transformation from the girl they'd used to know.

Firstly, her original glowing respect for Dumbledore had descended into scowls and dark looks. She made a point of being uncooperative whenever the Order Members tried to convince her to do something, even if it was menial, as a way of stating her displeasure with this entire situation. She even went into the Black family's extensive library in the higher levels of the house over Sirius's protests that some of the books there shouldn't be read by a young girl.

Hermione had taken any opportunity available to make a snide or sarcastic comment on the Ministry's apparent lack of common sense, and the next issue of the Prophet that had fallen into her hands had resulted in a particularly impressive explosion, one that Harry and Ron were still waiting out.

He thought he wouldn't have lived to see the day when Hermione Jane Granger cursed authority, after she had staunchly upheld it for as long as he had known her. It was so surreal.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do with Hermione?" He asked her, semi-jokingly.

Hermione sent him a withering look. "Oh,you think this is a joke, Harry? Because this isn't funny! Dementors! Honestly! There are only two people who ever controlled the Dementors, Voldemort and the Ministry! And unless they sent the Dementors, who else would have? If Fudge is determined to insult our intelligence by claiming that there is no base to everything that happened to us since first year he could at least try to be discreet about it!"

Harry leaned back slightly. He knew the dangers of making Hermione too angry, even if he'd never experienced them first hand. Rita Skeeter had proven that quite handily. And right now Hermione was angrier then he had ever seen her.

"And how's that for nonsense?" Ron agreed mutinously, pointing to the cover of the paper. "I mean, really? Harry Potter, a deluded attention-seeker? Why would you act like that? What could you possibly get out of that? You hate the attention you get."

The redhead had learned that first-hand when he and Harry had fallen out during the Tri-Wizard tournament last year. "And I don't care what Umbride-whatistis says, Dementors being over at your house is more than suspicious." He added. "What would they be doing over there, anyway? I mean, nothing happens to you by accident. And that's a total muggle area. Supposedly the Ministry's the only one controlling of all the Dementors, so unless they sent them themselves, who else could have?"

Ron paused and then crossed his arms over his chest, a gesture that made him resemble his sister Ginny. "After you being a danger magnet for four years in a row? Something is up, somebody has it in for Harry even if it isn't Voldemort. Hell, according to what they know Sirius still wants Harry dead, and they can't find him anywhere! He walked right in and out of school in third year! 'Course, he's actually a good bloke but they don't know that! But nooooo, it's much easier to just stick their heads in the sand and pretend there is no problem."

Harry sat quietly in his chair, listening to his best friends rant. It warmed him to know that someone was on his side after a very bad summer, but his farce of a trial was fresh in his mind. He'd been in a dark place ever since he had seen Cedric die; living with the Dursleys immediately afterwards with no real closure hadn't helped. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed with his friends. And in the end, it came back to the man who told them not to contact him.

"The worst part is Dumbledore," Harry muttered. He hadn't said it very loudly, but both Hermione and Ron stopped and looked at him.

"What do you mean, Dumbledore's the worst part?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"After the trial, he couldn't be bothered to stay two words to me." Harry grumbled. "After everything I just went through."

"Why would he do that?" Hermione demanded, turning on her heel to glare out the window. "First he tells us not to write to you this summer. Now he's not saying anything to you while the Ministry is attempting to make you look like you're mentally ill. What, exactly, is Albus Dumbledore's grand plan here?"

Ron fidgeted with a chocolate frog card at the reminder. "I reckon we should have written to you anyway this summer, Harry." He said guiltily. "Must have been really messed up after what happened last year...them Dusleys probably weren't very supportive..."

"It'll be fine, Ron." Harry muttered. It was true, the Dursley's certainly hadn't helped with his issues from his fourth year, but by now he had come to expect that from them. Receiving no helpful words from his godfather and his best friends had been the thing that bothered him most. "Really."

"It's not fine, Harry." Hermione insisted, spinning on her heel to scowl at the boys again. "I mean it. We know that Voldemort is back, even if Fudge won't believe it. We know that it's only a matter of time before he's back."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes tightly. This was undeniable. What was also undeniable was the fact that he had no idea what he was going to do when that happened. He was fifteen, and not a seasoned warrior like Mad-Eye.

"What am I going to do?" He wondered aloud.

"What are we going to do," Ron interjected rather forcefully. He sat up in his seat and looked straight at his best friend, eyes hard with determination. "Whatever you do, we're doing, Harry. We're right behind you even if the entire world is against us."

"You shouldn't," Harry protested, looking between his two friends. His best friends. He tried to imagine them at the mercies of the Death Eaters and a violent shiver went down his spine. "No, guys. Voldemort is a monster. I'd never be able to forgive myself if he killed either of you."

"Maybe," Hermione responded, unmoved, "But we will never forgive ourselves if we just sat back and let him kill you, either. So you might as well accept it; we're staying with you."

Harry was both humbled and abashed by this declaration, so he said nothing, but beamed at his two best friends with the warmth of pure sunlight.

"'Sides, I reckon mum and dad would be out for blood if something bad happened to you, anyway," Ron added. Harry couldn't argue with that. Molly Weasley was very protective of all her children, and he'd hate to be in the shoes of someone with ill intentions towards them. It wouldn't go over well. "Probably the same for Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?" Hermione echoed frigidly, her scowl reappearing on her face so quickly Harry nearly jumped. "We can expect no help from Dumbledore. He doesn't care what happens to us."

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, shocked and scandalized. Harry was hard pressed to disagree with this, just staring at her stunned. It was the very last thing he would have ever expected to hear from Hermione's mouth when she was in her own mind, but the tone in her voice made it clear that she had given this a fair bit of thought.

"What, Ron?" Hermione asked dryly.

"You're talking about Professor Dumbledore," Ron said weakly.

"So what?" Hermione bristled, shoving her hands in her pockets and glaring around the compartment, eyes flashing, looking all in all like a very different girl then the one Harry had known over the past five years. "He completely failed to protect Harry from all this nonsense that the Daily Prophet has been spewing all summer, and the way he's just left Harry to hang – that's completely unacceptable! I would have been more understanding about this if it hadn't become a pattern for him!"

She spun on her heel and walked to one end of the compartment, kicking her bag under the couch while she was at it. "First year! He takes a highly sought after magical item and puts it in a school full of impressionable children, puts highly dangerous monsters around it, and then tells these impressionable children not to go anywhere near it or they'll die. It's amazing that no one else decided to test that bluff, and that's even before you factor in that a mass-murdering psychopath wants this object, and will enter a school full of defenseless children to get it!"

Turning on her toe this time, she stormed to the other end, Harry and Ron pulling their knees back to avoid getting trampled on. "Second year, apparently at no point during a time when students were being threatened with death and turned to stone did it occur to him that he could just evacuate instead of acting like these was no problem and going on about his business as if there wasn't a highly dangerous snake monster moving about as it pleases! And considering the nature of the basilisk, it's a bloody miracle no one was killed. Do you know what a muggle school does when it receives a bomb threat? It sends it into lock down and gets the children out as soon as possible!"

"I had been wondering about that the summer afterwards," Harry admitted. "I guess I felt like it would have been giving in to Voldemort and giving him power to have stepped away and let him escape."

"A sentiment that should have gone out to professionals investigating the school, not a twelve year old," Hermione said darkly, turning and pacing again. Crookshanks hissed, as though he was sharing his owner's irate emotions.

"It's like he doesn't even care!" Hermione exploded at last, "It's like all these horrible things that keep happening are just minor inconveniences that we should just learn to tolerate instead of threats to our bloody lives! And the bullying that goes on inside this building! They act like it's just a couple of people occasionally being sarcastic!"

"Dumbledore never supported pureblood bigotry," Ron protested, sounding almost confused as to where Hermione was going with this.

Harry, however, having spent the better part of his childhood living in the same house as Dudley Dursley, knew exactly what Hermione was talking about. "It's the whole thing with Malfoy, isn't it Hermione?" He asked. "People see him getting away with calling you nasty names and they decide to follow his example. Snape backs him up too, I don't think I've ever seen the man punish him when he's not blatantly playing favourites."

"Teachers like Snape, students like Malfoy," Ron muttered. "Maybe I should have gone to Drumstrang. Least they're honest about their programs."

Cynically, Harry asked, "I don't suppose they accept transfers this late, do they?"

"Unfortunately? No," Ron responded unhappily, "Cutoff date was last year. They might make an exception for someone like you, but the rest of us are just stuck where we are."

For a moment, the three of them sat in silence, fuming over the injustice of all of this, before Harry turned to his friends and asked, "So, how did the Prefect meeting go?"

This turned out to be the wrong question to ask. Ron's eyes narrowed into slits, and the question was enough to send Hermione back into the red zone she had just spent the better part of two hours in, and she started ranting once again.

"Malfoy made it a bloody nightmare! He was already insinuating that he'd be undermining our authority every step of the way, and that he was going to use his power to give Slytherins the advantage throughout the year. He even called me a mudblood in front of the other Prefects!"

"Daphne did tell him to shut up, but no one else said anything. Padma looked like she wanted to say something, but was too frightened or too jaded to speak up. Don't really blame her at this point, all things considered." Ron agreed gloomily. "I wanted to hex him but we all know that all that would do would be to get me in trouble. Never well mind the bigotry he's throwing around. He's not even trying to be discreet about it anymore."

"Daphne?" Harry echoed. He remembered Padma from the Yule Ball last year, and figured that he should talk to Ron about apologizing to her – he probably owed Parvati an apology of his own for not being an attentive date. But he didn't recognize the name Daphne.

"The girl prefect for Slytherin. Pretty blonde girl, stoic, sarcastic, doesn't talk a lot in class unless she's called on." Ron explained. "She looked disgusted when Malfoy said it. Funny, that. I figured all Slytherins had the same leanings."

"There are exceptions to every rule, I guess," Harry said thoughtfully. "You figure that Malfoy's being serious about trying to undermine you, or if he's just mouthing off, like back in second year?"

"Not sure," Ron said. "Hard to tell with him."

Hermione was still thinking about something else. "Padma did look like she wanted to say something, but she knew as well as we did that it would have been useless – might have gotten her targeted by the miserable brat as well. What the hell was Dumbledore on when he agreed to make Malfoy a prefect?"

She stomped her foot on the ground, causing Hedwig's cage to rattle slightly. "Dumbledore – gah! - Dumbledore made Malfoy of all conceivable people a bloody Prefect for Merlin's sake! Malfoy, who's always throwing around racial slurs like they mean nothing, Malfoy, who's father gave Ginny the diary that almost killed her, me and a bunch of other students, Malfoy, who openly crowed when muggleborn students were getting petrified! Welcome the devil right into our bloody house, why don't you? Give him a shotgun and the keys while your at it too!"

"Hermione?" Harry started cautiously, but Hermione was on a roll by this point.

"Not to bloody well mention he knows that Lucius has been a Death Eater for ages...would have raised Draco to be just as rotten as he was, to do what he did while he had been back in school. And there's no way Dumbledore could possibly NOT know that, seeing as he taught the old fart for seven years AND fought in the first war where Lucius would have been going around killing people!"

Hermione eyes narrowed into slits, and she was completely confident when she spoke what had clearly been a suspicion of hers for some time. "I bet that Draco and his friends have been spreading Voldemort's creed through their classmates ever since they set their feet inside this bloody school."

"Whoa, Mione!" Ron abruptly sat upright. "You think Malfoy's here as a spy?"

"Isn't that a bit much?" Harry asked. "I mean sure, he's a bully, but I don't..."

He trailed off without realizing it. Those words seemed hollow even to him. A swirling sense of dread took hold in his stomach, and he did his level best to assess it. His thoughts were jumping around his head like ping pong balls, it took him a moment to reach out and catch one.

Could that be true? Could Draco be a sleeper agent or a recruiter? Was it wrong of him to think that it could be true this easily? Harry wanted to chalk it up to his personal bad feelings towards the blonde Slytherin, but then he thought about how openly Draco had praised the opening of the chamber, and how badly he treated Hermione...

And how many people did that? There were a lot of Slytherins, sure, but now that he was thinking about it, there were a select number of names that popped to mind whenever pureblood supremecy really came up. Draco and his goons. Millicent Bulstrode. And it wasn't just the Slytherin house, was it? He'd been in the halls when some Ravenclaws had been bullying an odd blonde girl last year, calling her freak, 'Lunatic', and blood traitor. Some of the Hufflepuffs last year, not letting go of their disgust and contempt for him long after people seemed to accept that he hadn't put his own name in the cup. There were even a number of thugs in Gryffindor, as much as he'd rather deny it, that he could remember harassing muggleborns in the hallway.

There were others he had heard using the names, too, though he didn't know their names. Just how many where there? Had they talked to Draco or some of the other kids, and decided to get on the dark lord's bandwagon because they believed in power and oppression? And if Dumbledore made no attempt to reign Draco or the other Slytherin followers in, even though they were considered the 'evil' house, would he be even trying to talk down those in the other houses? Or did they – especially Gryffindor – get a completely free pass because they were on the side of the 'Light'?

How much was growing inside this building, because people weren't paying good enough attention to it? How much had they themselves missed over the years?

Could Draco prove to be more dangerous then a schoolyard bully, just given more time, and the right opportunity?

"...you think it's possible?" Harry asked.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, looking shaken. "C'mon, that's going a bit far, isn't it? I mean, sure Draco's a nasty piece of work, no mistaking it, but he's only as old as we are! There's no way he's spying for the Dark Lord. Right?"

He looked uneasily between Harry and Hermione.

"You're right," Hermione said slowly, "We are his age. Remember what we did in year one? We were willing to risk our lives to keep the stone out of Voldemort's hands. You nearly sacrificed yourself, Ron. What was Draco doing that time? Trying to get Harry expelled, and bullying Neville almost as bad as Snape. Remember what you two did in second year? You risked your lives to find what was petrifying students, so you could fight and kill it. Him? He was strutting around, bragging about what the Heir of Slytherin was doing, and hoped that he would manage to kill someone soon."

"She's right," Harry said, realizing that these ideas had been rummaging around the darker parts of his mind for quite some time. He had pushed them back, or hadn't really realized that he was thinking them, but hearing Hermione put all this out in the air made it seem all so clear. Like a fog had been lifted from around him. "Age doesn't mean anything about morality. I don't know if you've read Lord of the Flies Ron, but it proves that even kids our age can be dangerous. Are capable of bad things."

"But condoning murder? Working for V-Voldemort?" Ron pressed, sounding disbelieving, "I thought we agreed that Draco was just blowing hot air. He can't be that bad. Can he?"

"Well, he hasn't really had the legroom to do anything more then he already has," Harry pointed out. "He's been getting more and more confident over the years, haven't you noticed? And all this time, it's like the rules are making accommodations for him."

Harry looked at Hermione, hoping for more of her input. The bushy haired witch opened her mouth like she was going to say something, before abruptly sat down as though something had just occurred to her. Then she rummaged through her bag. Ron and Harry watched her, unsure, Ron looking nervous bordering on sickened while Harry bit his lip, wondering what new logic Hermione was going to present them with that could make their situation any worse.

A second later, she pulled out a thick book with the words "History of the World Wars, tactics, important battles, and generals" written on it. Harry felt his shoulders instinctively tense at the names of the wars that could have destroyed the world not many years before. Why had Hermione felt the need to check this out?

Hermione opened the cover and looked at the table of contents, deep concentration on her face. Ron looked at Harry in confusion, while Hedwig chirped as though she could sense the level of distress and anxiety in the room.

She vehemently spun through the pages and, with a noise of satisfaction, dropped it on Harry and Ron's knees. "Look at that." She said.

Harry dropped his eyes to the page.

It was about the Hitler Youth.

Of course. He should have known.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut and began muttering all sorts of words that he had picked up from Dudley over the summer, words that would have gotten him into a heap of trouble of Mrs. Weasley had overheard them.

Of course there would be death eaters inside the castle. In the media. Maybe even inside the Ministry, encouraging this entire slander campaign against him for saying that Voldemort was back, for being the one who defeated him all those years ago, and again at the cemetery. It had been an act of utter optimism to think otherwise, and you'd think he would have grown out of that by now. Wouldn't he have known to accept and expect the worst? Hadn't he already survived Voldemort twice, to know what the monster was capable of?

Hermione stood with her arms crossed. "Ron, I don't know what it's like in the magical world, but in the muggle world the very first thing a dictator does is sway and corrupt the minds of children. Because when they grow up, they'll be his soldiers! Children are brainwashed from before they can walk to accept the words of their leader as if he were God. They will spy on the grown ups around them and report them to him, because no one suspects that children are spying on them. They'll do what he asks them to without question. When he says jump, they say 'how high'? When he tells them to kill the person standing next to them – even if that person is their friend! - they'll ask him what the preferred method of execution would be."

She paused for breath and watched as Ron read further, turning slightly green as he did. Harry didn't blame him. Out of all the non magical monsters out there, there weren't many – any – quite as nightmarishly evil as the Nazis.

"Lucius was one of Voldemort's supporters even before he came back," Hermione said firmly, looking grimly pleased at the effect it was having on their non muggle friend. Ron turned the page and whitened further. "He will have filled Draco's head with pureblood dogma and Voldemort's ideals before he could understand them. Draco is already brainwashed, Ron! He's a lost cause. He's been so ever since he entered school."

Hermione let out her breath. She sounded as though she had been waiting a long time to say this.

The voice of one of Harry's previous teachers, talking during a lesson on World War II, echoed through his mind like an old, unwanted tape. Lost cause. Completely brainwashed. Can't be salvaged in any way...people like him are incapable of rejoining society without causing chaos and violence. They won't give up their ideals, even in the face of loosing. They figure it will just make martyrs out of them, and they might just be right.

Harry swallowed. It had been frightening to hear that during one of his history lessons back in grade school. The fact that they were in that situation was infinitely more so now, and the more he thought about it, the darker his mood turned.

Another thought slithered into his head, slowly putting pieces together. Taking this information and playing it against every soothing thing Dumbledore had said about the school, to its supposed vaunted safety, to everything, everything he had come to know as the truth over the last few years. And found it wanting.

"When you say it that way..." He said uneasily, "It kind of makes sense, doesn't it? I mean...the way Draco acts around people, it isn't rational, it's lost him Quidditch games and house points. And he's hated me from almost ever since he knew my name-"

Harry stopped as something occurred to him. "Wait. If Lucius wanted Draco to grow up and serve the Dark Lord, why did he try to befriend me back before I knew who I was?"

"Huh? Oh yeah – he came into our compartment back in first year." Ron contemplated that for a minute. "Maybe he wanted your alliance? Or your vaults?"

"Oh, honestly Ron, what would the Malfoy's want with Harry's vaults?" Hermione snapped, rolling her eyes. "They have plenty of money on their own."

"You're right, Hermione." Harry said. "The more I think about it...I think Malfoy was supposed to recruit me."

There was a silence in the compartment, broken only by Crookshank's disgruntled mew as Ron jerked in his seat, staring at Harry.

"Recruit you?" Ron repeated incredulously. "But you're Harry Potter! The boy-" He broke off, eyes widening in a sickened understanding, before weakly finishing, "-who lived."

"And the only one who ever survived when Voldemort wanted me dead," Harry finished, a trace of bitterness in his voice when he remembered why he was ever in this mess to begin with. How he wished he had been born to different parents, or even that he had simply died that day alongside his mother and father. It almost wasn't worth it, raised to fight against this all but hopeless cause for people who wouldn't support him.

Continuing one, his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands, "Makes sense, doesn't it? At first, he tried to kill me – but when that didn't work...he thought that maybe he couldn't. So he waited for me to turn up in magical society again. His followers probably had all their children scouting for me. The fact that I grew up in a non-magical household meant that I knew nothing. They were supposed to take advantage of that. But you two got there first."

He nodded at Ron and Hermione when he said this. "So when that didn't work, they decided to go back to trying to kill me again."

They took a moment, and let the words just hang there like a death sentence. The silence was prevailing, and Harry felt something slowly falling down inside him, leaving him forever. Perhaps it was his innocence, or any hope for support or an easy ending to this conflict that might have remained even after Cedric's death and Voldemort's return.

Hermione gave a dry sob, and roughly brushed some stray hair out of her face. Harry wondered if it would have been better for her if she had failed to convince her parents to let her go back to Hogwarts after her second year, if only so she could stay out of the line of fire of these madmen. He would have given anything to keep her someplace safer.

A huge ball of resentment swelled up inside Harry's chest. Why hadn't any of the Order or the Ministry listened to him? He hated the fact that they were just ignoring his words as the actions of a child who didn't understand the full circumstances of the war they were in. No, he had understood the circumstances from the very first day that Vernon had flung him into a cupboard for one little showing of accidental magic, to the time when Cedric had been murdered in front of him just because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He knew these people, these fights, these patterns. This was his war; he'd been fighting it ever sine he was eleven, no thanks to Dumbledore because no one else had managed to prevent him from being involved because of things beyond his power.

He had saved the school and everyone in it four times and had a record to anyone who cared to look that proved that he was on the side of justice and rightness ever since he stepped into Hogwarts itself. You'd think that might be taken into consideration when evaluating the fact that there was a psychopathic wizard Nazi after him, and him alone, but nope.

Apparently Harry Potter was observed by a different set of rules then the rest of the student body, including by the government itself. And apparently his school headmaster was also allowed to direct his every movement in life. Even when he's outside of school.

Brooding on all this information around his life wasn't putting Harry in a very good mood, but it was all to prevalent for him to just ignore anymore, and even his ingrained mentality of trusting someone else to take care of the big things was rebelling against everything that was happening to him.

And he wasn't alone anymore, was he? His two best friends believed him. Ron didn't ignore his words like he had initially during the Tri Wizard Tournament fiasco, and Hermione wasn't letting hero worship of Dumbledore cloud her judgement like it had many times before, including when she had thought that Sirius's gift to him had been bought and jinxed because the adults said so.

No, this time they were choosing to believe in him.

That alone would have been enough for Harry. What he was being told by the adults was the thing that wasn't enough.

Why, exactly, did Dumbledore have any say in whether or not he stayed with the Dursleys? Or what he did during Summer Vacation? He wasn't Harry's guardian. The Dursleys were, much to their continued resentment.

If Grimmauld place was so safe, why didn't he stay there all summer? If it was absolutely imperative that he remain behind the blood wards, why was he ever allowed to leave Privet Drive at all? The fact that he could leave without getting killed implied that alternative accommodations were, in fact, possible.

The more Harry thought about that, the angrier he got.

Hadn't he proven himself by now? Hadn't he proven that his word, about how the Dursleys treated him, about everything, had at least a grain of truth to it?

And yet they acted like none of that had ever happened, that none of his words held any weight, that he was just an insane and dangerous boy who had to be pointed in the right direction before he did anything. They were all just content to sit there and wait for the big bad wolf and his psycho supporters to creep up on them and devour them, because Merlin knew that if you just pretended a problem didn't exist, it would just go away by itself!

Ron unconsciously reached down and petted Crookshanks, which he only did when his nerves were well and truly fried. Hermione was starting her pacing again, but it wasn't simple fury that was driving her at this moment. It was anxiety, too.

"They've been trying to do you in this entire time," He said bluntly. Slowly, he shook his head and ran a hand through his flaming red hair. "How...how could no one notice this? How could Dumbledore not notice this? He's supposed to be one of the greatest wizards who's lived in centuries. How could Draco be flying under his radar?"

"Someone else's war," Harry muttered under his breath.

"It almost worked last year," Hermione muttered. "It almost worked...if you weren't as strong or as smart as you are, Harry...oh, dear Merlin."

At this, Hermione seemed to loose her nerve. She quickly hurried over to Harry's seat and hugged him tightly. Awkwardly, Harry returned her hug, trying to be as comforting as he could while his own inner turmoil whirled around inside him.

"What about the diary? Or Quirrel?" Ron added, now clearly on the same page as his two friends. His earlier uneasiness had been shed, and no longer did he share his parents loyalty to Dumbledore, a man he now perceived as one who had let his best friend, practically a brother, down over the years, in incidents that could have killed him.

His eyes were narrowed with thought. "Those were also attempts from Voldemort to get at Harry. Nearly snapped up Ginny too, but that's a good thing for him, right? Us Weasleys...you couldn't find a more prolific family of blood traitors. Malfoy's dad must have picked her deliberately."

"He sure did," Harry said darkly, remembering with a fresh wave of anger Lucius's candid words as he dropped the cursed object into Ginny's caldron, practically crowing over the fact that it could have sentenced her to a fate worse then death, hoping that would be the result. Hoping that Ginny could have been expelled, tried, or worse...

Just thinking about it made him see red.

"Not to mention the other muggleborns and half bloods who were hurt when the Basilisk was rolling around. And both times you had to fight him completely alone." Ron added. "I mean, we tried to help but both times we got incapacitated before the real fight happened."

"God!" Hermione shrieked when Ron said this, causing everyone – including Crookshanks – to jump. Ron yelped when the large orange cat clawed his legs.

"Alone!" Hermione shouted. "Why should Harry have to have done any of this alone? Where were the teachers? Where was Dumbledore? Where was the Ministry when you were fighting for your life? Or when we were being very deliberately attacked by a monster? Why wasn't the school closed down? Why were we left to find for ourselves? Have you ever been Petrified, Cornelius Fudge? Let me tell you – NOT PLEASANT!"

"Hermione! You're going to get the attention of the whole train," Harry said urgently. The last thing he wanted was for the other students to think Hermione was crazy, too. And for some reason, he felt very strongly that this conversation shouldn't be overheard.

He didn't want it getting back to Malfoy and his cronies...or the teachers. They couldn't know that Harry was onto them now. They couldn't know that he was better prepared.

Sure enough, the door opened. Harry sighed in relief.

It was just Ginny...and a tall, light skinned, blue eyed girl he'd never met before. He tensed for a second, but the girl's eyes were friendly, unlike some of the other students he had passed while he was boarding the train. Besides, Ginny looked comfortable standing next to her, and she had never been the freely trusting type ever since Harry had rescued her from the Chamber of Secrets.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Ginny asked worriedly, stepping across the compartment and hugging Hermione comfortingly around the middle. "We heard you yelling."

"Sorry Ginny," Hermione said, taking a calming breath. She smiled gratefully and put her hands on Ginny's shoulders. "I'm just rather stressed."

Ginny gave a slightly dry smile. "Just a bit. I could hear you yelling and cursing Dumbledore from a few compartments down."

Hermione blushed a bit, though she didn't look particularly repentant. "Sorry about that. I found I needed to vent a bit, Draco being a prefect and everything..."

"I'd be more surprised if you weren't." The girl remarked. "Draco Malfoy, a prefect? Is Dumbledore high when he makes these executive decisions? How is Draco wait-until-I-tell-my-father Malfoy in any way qualified to be a prefect?"

"My sentiments exactly," Hermione grumbled resentfully.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the everyone working for the bloody Ministry was high off their asses, with all the stuff they're saying." The girl added.

Ginny nodded in mutinous agreement, to Harry's surprise. The only Weasley girl rarely voiced her personal opinions out in the open, preferring to keep them inside her own rooms, almost as though she didn't trust anyone to hear them.

"Finally," Ron said happily, "Someone who speaks English, instead of stupid."

The girl responded with a grim smile. She had a surprisingly muscled body, like one who had taken a liking to doing sports and other such workouts on a regular basis. She was tall for her age, and looked quite strong. "Thank you, Weasley."

She glanced at Harry and said, "Good to see you're coming here after all, Harry. With everything going around in the air out there, some of the other girls thought you wouldn't show up to get away from it all."

Harry stiffened for a second, but there was no bite to her words. They sounded sincere. "I wasn't about to let the Daily Prophet drive me out of house and home," He answered. "With all the garbage the prophet is spewing out, it's fairing little better then a celebrity tabloid."

"Except everyone believes it," Ginny muttered resentfully. The girl nodded sagely. Evidently she and this stranger had been talking about this at length before they reached the compartment.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me your name?" Ron asked, naturally suspicious of the fact that a stranger was accompanying his sister.

"Oh, guys this is Morag." Ginny indicated the girl next to her, smiling for the first time since the start of the conversation. "I ran into her on the platform, and we hit it off."

"First thing I should say;" Morag said seriously. "I believe your story, Harry. Voldemort is back, no matter what Fudge says."

Harry stared at Morag; he'd met so much resistance and denial he was sure that only the Order of the Phoenix accepted the truth. Being flat out told that someone believed him without first asking Dumbledore or the newspaper was a novel experience.

"Uh ge beh," He stammered in shock before collecting himself. "Thank you," He said warmly. "that means a lot to me."

Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement. "Think nothing of it," Morag responded, "The moment you decide to believe everything the media tells you is the minute that you loose all your common sense and ability to make rational decisions."

"Hear, hear," Ginny and Ron said in vehement agreement. Harry didn't say anything, his grateful smile widened ever so slightly.

Hermione studied the other girl for a second before snapping her fingers, as though recalling a thought. "I thought I recognized you. Morag, you're the new Beater for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. You joined up back in Third year."

Morag nodded. "I know I didn't interact with you much," She said. Her voice had a nice accent Harry couldn't identify; it sounded vaguely southern. "Considering all the trouble that happens around you three, I wasn't sure it would do you many favours."

"Don't blame you for it," Ron responded awkwardly. "Kind of danger magnets, the three of us,"

Morag chuckled at that, her expression relaxing. "Understatement of the century, Ron, but accurate. I was watching you all of second year, and I thought you were kind of crazy. A good crazy, but still crazy. When Black broke out and the Dementors rolled around two years ago I seriously thought you were going to get yourselves killed."

"Hey, that's not fair." Harry complained, "I might be impulsive sometimes but even I'm not stupid enough to do too much running around with Dementors around."

Ginny giggled, then blushed, "Sorry Harry, that was a really awful year for you I shouldn't be laughing. But the thought of you not getting into trouble was a bit much for me."

Harry gave a theatrical groan. "Great. Now the papers are going to be right about one thing, Harry Potter really is a danger-seeker! Just what the Prophet needs to hear, they're actually right about something. It would just encourage them!"

At this, Morag's expression became serious again. She seemed to contemplate saying something for a moment before shaking her head.

She gestured for Ginny to enter the compartment. "I have some friends waiting for me. And, Harry." she turned her bright blue eyes on Harry in a way that unnerved the younger boy to a certain degree. "I'm not the only one who believes you. But you're going to have to do something soon, or something will happen worse then the last time."

With those words, Morag disappeared into the hallway.

Ginny frowned. "What does that mean? 'Worse then last time'?"

"I don't know." Harry said, rubbing his fingers together. A shiver went down his spine. The warning certainly wasn't helping his current frame of mind. "Come sit down, Ginny."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

"So we're alone?" Ginny asked faintly. She was studying Harry's face, as though pleading for it not to be true. "Are we going to die, Harry?"

Harry sucked in a breath. It had been one thing to think it. It was another thing to have someone say it out loud, much less his best friend's younger sister. Who had already just barely managed to escape Voldemort's claws in her very first year at school. Faced with her, his decision was easy. But even then he hadn't really realized just how far his decision would go.

You never do.

He reached out with one hand and brushed stray strands of hair away from her face. "No," he said firmly, voice hard with certainty. "We are not."

"But you said the teachers-"

"The teachers can fry," Harry said flatly, "I'm talking about me, and Ron and Hermione. We'll do something if no one else will. It's what I've had to do before and I see no reason to stop now. We'll keep you safe, you and everyone else. I promise."

Harry knew that it was best not to make rash promises, but the way Ginny smiled gratefully at him blew away any questions he might have had about what he just said.

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Ron asked.

When everyone else scowled at him, he raised his hands defensively. "I'm not bashing anyone, that's a legitimate question. The teachers will probably be watching Harry closely, and there's a Ministry representative that'll be at Hogwarts trying to be as obstructive as possible. Whoever that is will be watching him too. How are we supposed to do anything without them noticing?"

Hermione frowned and bit her bottom lip, "Maybe there's someplace inside the school where we can meet up discreetly? When we have to talk about something that the adults aren't going to approve of?"

"The Shrieking Shack?" Ron suggested. "No one goes near that place anymore, and Crookshanks knows how to immobilize the Whomping Willow."

"That's a possibility, though Professor Lupin knew about it he's not at school this year. It's not particularly spacious, though," Harry said thoughtfully.

There was a knock on the door of the compartment. Surprised, Harry looked up and said, "Come in." A young boy and girl slid the compartment door open and looked at Harry with a nervous sort of hopefulness that definitely wasn't the usual oh-my-goodness-that's-the-boy-who-lived look. "Hello."

"I'm Natalie," The girl said, sounding shy but determined. "And this is my friend Graham. We wanted to say that the Prophet's rubbish, and that if there are going to be sides taken, we'll be on yours, Harry."

Harry looked between Natalie and Graham. They couldn't have been more then twelve, but there was something in their expressions and this declaration that told him everything he needed to know. "Thank you," He said gently. "But sides? Are you being bullied?"

Natalie turned and looked expectantly at Graham. "Malfoy is our generation death eater," The boy said tersely, "And between the supposed Light side's inaction and the Ministry's denial, sitting and waiting for the inevitable is going to get us killed."

"You've always protected us," Natalie burst out, "Like last year and the year with the great big snake. Certainly you've never abandoned us like those horrible people who are talking trash about you."

"You were saying something about needing a place to meet," Graham added, "Well, I stumbled on something last year when I felt I needed some space. It's called the Room of Requirement, and I don't think anyone else knows about it."

Harry felt something drop out of the pit of his stomach as Natalie and Graham talked. If second years had guessed the vice they were trapped in, then the gravity of the situation was possibly worse then he thought. "The Room of Requirement?"

Graham rocked on his heels a bit, "How to explain it...it's this room that appears from the wall on the third floor of Hogwarts. Whatever's inside of it suits whatever you need it to be when you enter. I used it a number of times last year and no one ever caught me."

Harry nodded slowly, "Thank you. I'll look for it."

Natalie shot a look down the train. "Malfoy's coming!" She said hurriedly. "We have to go Graham."

Graham nodded, turned his head back towards Harry just long enough to say, "Tell us when to meet you there," before disappearing down the hall.

Hermione quickly shut the door and, muttering something, cast a number of spells. There was a pause, and then a rattling and yanking noise. Draco was trying to access the compartment, and everyone inside waited tensely until he stopped, and they could hear footsteps moving away.

"That git," Hermione fumed, releasing the spells. "Coming to gloat more, wasn't he? As if the prefect meeting hadn't been enough for him. Oh, I hope Natalie finds a compartment before he can start bullying her."

Ron expelled a breath. "That was close," He muttered. Ginny let out a sigh and released her knuckle-white grip on her wand. Ginny had a near homicidal hatred of Draco which was not surprising considering what his father put her through. She'd gotten in trouble for hexing the older student before, mostly being detentions with (surprise, surprise ) Professor Snape. Harry was fairly certain that if Draco had come into the room, the diminutive redhead would have hexed him bloody, damn the consequences.

He didn't blame her for feeling that way. If that smirking little brat approached him one more time these days, and he would do so himself. Draco had been allowed to get away with far too much because his father, a rich pureblood, had an ear in with the Minister. Harry would have been a liar if he hadn't had a few fantasies involving freezing Draco to the spot and punching him in the face until his pretty angular features were all but unrecognizable.

He would have earned it by now.

Then Ron turned his head towards Harry, Hermione and Ginny and spoke again, effectively snapping Harry out of his darker thoughts and addressing what had just happened. "So there really are other kids who believe you," He said to Harry. "That's good to know. But they're second years, aren't they?"

"The poor things," Hermione said sympathetically. "This must be so frightening for them."

"Do you think that Graham kid was telling the truth? I mean, a secret room on the third floor...shouldn't that have turned up on the Maurader's Map?" Ron asked. "It's a bit too convenient, I mean...wouldn't the teachers have known it existed?"

"Not necessarily," Ginny said, "After all, they didn't know about the secret passageways Fred and George have been using for years, even the old teachers like Professor McGonagal and Dumbledore. And they've been teaching at this school for decades. Maybe there's more to this school then just walls. It's a thousand years old, after all. It might just be hiding a few secrets."

"I don't know..." Harry said, shrugging, "He has no real reason to lie about it, but why wouldn't it have appeared on the Map? That map shows everything at Hogwarts, but it doesn't mention a Room of Requirement."

Ginny tapped her fingers against her knee, before saying, "Maybe it isn't on the map because your dad and his friends didn't know it was there either," She suggested. "I mean, they couldn't have put it on the map if they didn't know it was there."

Harry felt himself beginning to smile. A room the teachers didn't know about. It was a perfect meeting spot. "I think your right, Ginny. Well, that settles our problem of finding a place to meet."

The door opened a third time. Harry looked up and his heart jumped into his throat.

Standing in the doorway was Cho Chang, her fingers clenched slightly, but her pretty face was creased with a wild variety of emotions, dark brown eyes stormy. She was in her school robes, and there was a sleepless look to her, as though she was just recovering from a flu virus.

"Hello, Harry," She said softly. "Do you mind if I sit in here for a little?"

"No, not at all, it's fine," Harry said faintly. He was sure he was blushing, but there was something in the tone of Cho's voice that was keeping him grounded. Something was very different from the last time he remembered hearing her.

Ginny and Hermione scooted over to give the Chinese girl room on the couch. Cho sat down and folded her hands in her lap, closing her eyes. Her cheeks were slightly pink, and after a moment Harry realized it was because she had been crying before she found his compartment. The tears had run dry, but it only made him even more at loss for words then he had been before, so he just sat there in paralysed, rather pathetic silence.

Hermione looked awkward, like she wasn't sure what to say. Ginny had an odd look on her face, while Ron was wearing a rather familiar Merlin-it's-a-crying-girl-I-better- keep-my-mouth-shut expression that Harry had come to recognize.

For a long moment, no one said anything, and a slightly awkward silence hung in the air.

"They're lying to me," Cho said softly.

"I'm sorry?" Hermione ventured cautiously.

Cho opened her eyes again, and they were a bit teary around the edges, but there was a hardness to them that resembled deep mountain stone. "The Prophet, the Ministry. That...that rag, and that self-interested pack of bureaucrats is lying to be about why C-Cedric died."

Harry fought the urge to wince as he was reminded of the friendly and genuinely kind Hufflepuff who he had become friends with, only to die at Voldemort's wand in a pointless and horrible death. He looked at Cho, who rubbed at the edges of her eyes to keep more tears from coming, and a surge of anger rose up in his chest fast enough to choke him.

The Ministry was choosing to spit on Cedric's memory by denying that he had been murdered, like his life was worth less then the price people paid for a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Yes," He agreed quietly. "They are lying."

Cho looked at Harry for a moment, not sobbing, just looking. "You were there, weren't you Harry?" She said softly.

Harry valiantly resisted the urge to flinch, again, and nodded without saying a word. Cho swallowed hard, clearly refusing to cry anymore.

"I know you would tell me the truth. You always do. You're one of the gentlest, most noble p-people in this school. Won't you tell me how he died? Why he died?" She asked, her voice growing unsteady as though she might burst into tears again.

"It's not good, Cho," Harry started, wanting to spare her the story, but Cho shook her head.

"Of course it isn't...but I want to know. I need to know. Please."

Reluctantly, Harry nodded, and slowly told Cho everything that had happened, from Krum being put under a spell in the maze, to him and Cedric grabbing the cup together, to everything that had happened in the graveyard, and to Crouch, because he felt that she deserved the whole story for what she had lost. He was worried that Cho would start crying again, but she sat as still as if she had been carved in sandstone until the story was done.

Slowly, Cho nodded, sniffing. Hermione shyly offered the other girl her arm, and Cho seemed to draw in some strength from the support before saying, "Why did they lie?"

She paused and then looked around the room, beseeching for an explanation for this cruelty, the injustice. "Why wouldn't they tell us why Cedric died?"

"Because they're afraid," Harry responded bitterly.

"Why should they be?" Cho asked. Her voice grew hard. "You faced V-Voldemort. You fought him. You got away and you brought Cedric back with you. There was one of you. There's an entire government full of them, with the law at their backs. Why are they afraid?"

Silence followed, because no one in the compartment could think of an answer to that. This made Cho angry, and her fingers clenched into fists. "What – what right to they have to be afraid?" She spat out, voice trembling.

"They're afraid for their own hides, mostly." Harry said. It wasn't the kindest story, but he wasn't going to tell her a sugarcoated lie like Dumbledore might have. She deserved better then that. "Fudge would rather not want to deal with Voldemort because he's been getting money from the man's supporters, and the pressure of dealing with him after the last war is the last thing Fudge wants to accept. Dumbledore...Dumbledore has his own unique set of priorities, and I'm not sure if our safety actually factors into them. Year by year, it's just the same. Like everyone else who's supposed to be teaching us, looking after us. It's a pattern with every adult that runs this little world."

"When I saw that paper," Cho said, swallowing, but speaking with purpose, "I wanted to rip it up. Shred it. I hate them. I hate them for doing this. I hate them for – for being such cowards."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Hermione said, her tone supportive.

Ginny bobbled her head in agreement. "It's not fair," She agreed. "But they're making all the decisions because they're the adults. Because being an adult and a coward is apparently the better word then being a brave and a minor."

Cho's eyes narrowed into slits at this, and it changed her beautiful face into something almost dangerous. "More then anything, I just want to make them pay for doing this." She told Harry. "All of them."

"They will pay," Ron agreed. "How is anyone's guess right now. But they're not going to walk away this time."

Cho looked around again. "If...if they won't do anything, can we do something?"

"I've been thinking about that," Harry said honestly. "There are a few ideas that I have but we haven't come up with anything concrete yet. And the scope is something we don't quite understand yet. We have to figure out a few things before we can plan anything. But once we do, we'll tell you about it. I promise."

Cho nodded, sniffling silenced. "Be careful around the Ministry employee, Harry." She said quietly.

"The woman who's going to be the Defence teacher this year?" Ron guessed.

Cho's eyes narrowed. "Yes. My mother looked her up when she heard about her, and she told me to stay out of her way and pass the message on. Her name's Dolores Umbridge. She's a nasty piece of work, Harry, and she's Fudge's chief toady. She won't have anything nice to say about you either; don't let her bait you. She'll use it to back up the garbage the Prophet's spewing out."

A suspicion formed in Harry's mind. "She wouldn't happen to be in the habit of wearing a hideous pink cardigan and having toad-like features as well as a silvery laugh that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up?"

Cho's scowl deepened. "That's her."

"She was at my trial. One of the people who voted me to have me charged, even after Dumbledore made it clear the charges were ludicrous." Harry said darkly. Ginny made a noise like an angry cat and Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"I should have known...should have expected something like this." Harry muttered, remembering the pink thing and wincing slightly. "Thanks for the warning Cho. I'll be careful around her."

Later, during the welcoming feast

Harry watched and listened carefully as Dolores Umbridge got up and made a long speech, and he was growing steadily more wary the longer she did.

"Ministry has always been concerned with the education and wellbeing of the future witches and wizards...progress is not necessarily good...should monitor what should and should not be taught...the Ministry is here to protect you...standardized curriculum...Minister set me up in the school..."

All parroted straight from the slanderous newspapers, and the false grandmother act just made it more saccharine and more obvious what kind of person she was. It really was tailored right to what Fudge wanted the population to believe. Harry felt a familiar burst of anger. He had a track record of saving the school and being on the side of good, and yet that still wasn't enough for these people.

A quick look over at the Slytherin table made it clear that Draco was extremely pleased with this development. Probably one of the many Ministry employees that kissed his father's helm, Harry realized with disgust. Draco was going to be getting away with more then ever before this year.

Unless we do something about him, he thought. If we don't, who else will? We've decided that we'll have to take care of ourselves...that extends to dealing with our bullies and enemies.

"...You are not in danger...to discourage the wild rumours from less savoury people...I am here to inspect this school and make sure it fits our country's expectations..."

Harry cast his eyes to the Ravenclaw table. Cho was sitting straight up in her chair, doing her best to light Umbridge on fire with her angry stare. Some of the girls surrounding her looked as though they shared the sentiment, while the girl right next to her was trying to calm her down.

He spotted Morag not too far away from his current crush; the Ravenclaw beater met his gaze and slightly shook her head. The message was clear. This woman is full of shit. Harry inclined his head in agreement before turning back to his plate.

"Bamy," Ron muttered as Umbridge prattled on. "I thought only Fred and George could say that much with a straight face."

"I don't think even your brothers would make it that far," Harry responded wryly. "They may be troublemakers but they're decent people at heart. They don't make jokes like this."

"She can't possibly believe all of that." Ron said incredulously as Umbridge began to draw her 'short speech' to a close. Most of the students were looking confused at this point, some having taken to looking uneasily at each other.

With a start Harry realized that not everyone was buying into the nonsense that they were being fed. Maybe he had more allies then he had suspected. Near the place where the second years were sitting he spotted a despondent-looking Natalie shooting a longing look across the tables to where an emotionless Graham watched the new professor with a fathomless expression. Given what he had said to Harry earlier, the younger boy was clearly a better liar then he let on.

That thought emboldened him and shot him full of energy. "I think she does," Harry said quietly. "She fanatically believes in the powers of her government. I don't think she'd be able to accept the truth if it was standing straight in front of her."

Ron scowled again. "You'd think that if the Ministry was going to force a teacher on us, they'd at least have the decency to pick someone who's actually going to teach us."

Harry snorted. "Ministry? Decent? Those two words don't belong in the same sentence, Ron."

Hermione appeared to be tuning Umbridge out entirely, focusing on a notepad that she'd been scribbling on ever since they'd sat down. Her posture was rigid, however, suggesting that she had gotten the tone of the whole thing and didn't like it at all. The new teacher finally wound her speech to a close and sat down, at which point the meal started.

Hermione looked up only at that point; she murmured something to Ginny, who nodded.

"Harry, Ron," She whispered.

"What?" Harry asked, automatically lowering his voice. Neville, a few chairs down, looked like he was trying to get their attention, and at once Harry understood why Hermione was taking precautions. They didn't know who would report them to the teachers. The gossip mill was their greatest enemy. If the wrong people found out that they were onto them...no. It was better to present that they were ignorant and work in secret. It was the only way.

"I think we should find the Room of Requirement. Tonight."

"Tonight?" Ron whispered. "Why the hurry?"

"There's an idea I have, but it's going to require a lot of work, and could likely get us expelled at best if we get caught." Hermione responded. "Anywhere else and we could be overheard. I'm not going to risk that."

Ron's eyes widened. "You're considering a plan. That could get us expelled. And you are telling us that you want to go through with it."

Hermione nodded.

Ron exhaled. "Bloody hell...Hermione Granger, trying something that might get us expelled, this is serious. Very serious."

"Oh, stop it Ron," Hermione said, rolling her hazel brown eyes. "Things change. I've changed. We're going to need to do things differently if we're planning on taking on the world. Now, make sure that no one sees you leaving and that no one follows you. We can't afford any leaks before we decide on a course of action."

Harry listened for a moment when Dumbledore said something before nodding. "Alright. When do we go out?"

"After everyone's asleep. Be at the wall for ten thirty. Watch out for Filch and Mrs. Norris. Graham said that it should be on the third floor. Meet me and Ginny there, we have a lot to discuss." Hermione murmured.

"Got it." Harry responded.

In the boy's dorm

"Harry? Is what happened to Cedric...well, did it really happen."

Harry closed his book, let out a long breath, and looked up at Seamus Finnigan. He had known this question would come up at some point, and that didn't make it any easier to hear. Knowing that the adults didn't trust him and now his dormmates weren't trusting him...maybe it had been wrong for him to get his hopes up.

He hoped that he'd be able to handle this situation gracefully, without loosing his temper and causing more problems like he had in the past. Something Ron had taught him when they were in the middle of one of their chess matches was not to let your opponent catch on to what was going on inside your head, or you would be at a severe disadvantage.

It was time for him to put that suggestion to the test. Harry took a breath, focused on forcing down his raw emotions, and schooled his face into an impassive mask.

"Do you trust me Seamus?" Harry asked flatly.

Seamus took a step backwards. "Huh?"

"I said do you trust me?" Harry repeated. He stood up, putting the book down, and looked straight at other boy, while Dean and Neville hung back apprehensively.

"O...Of course I do...I don't...I mean...why would you even-"

"Seamus. Do you think I'm an honest person? Do I have a track record of doing good things and helping out other people?" Harry continued, leaning back against one of the pillars of his bed.

He watched the Irish boy squirm uncomfortably with a neutral expression. "Because if you don't, there's no point to me answering that."

Seamus winced. "That's not fair, Harry...my mother reads the paper a lot, and well-"

"You're free to believe what you want," Harry responded, shortly, tersely. "There's no point in arguing that. I hope you find that you can trust me. Because I've been willing to fight and risk death for you and everyone else here ever since I entered this school. But if you can't believe me, then I'm not going to try and force anything and this conversation is pointless."

There was silence in the dorm as everyone looked at him.

"Are you okay Harry?" Neville asked timidly.

"No, Neville." Harry said shortly. "I've been called a lair, delusional, insane, and a host of other things over the course of this entire summer. I watched a friend die, and then see his memory defamed by people who don't want to accept something frightening. I barely survived a battle against one of the most dangerous wizards who ever lived only to be told that he was never there and I'm just making things up to draw attention to myself. So no. I'm not alright."

He sat down on his bed and watched the three boys. Seamus was fidgeting and starting to look guilty. Neville swallowed and stared back at him as though he was sorry he'd asked. Dean just locked his fingers together.

"But if the Ministry isn't telling the truth," Seamus said, scepticism heavy on the words, "Then who does?"

Harry felt an ironic smile tugging at the edges of his lips. "Good question, Seamus. One I can't answer right now. I'd like to tell you that I tell the truth, but after all this I don't think you'd believe me. I could tell you that Dumbledore tells the truth, but that would make me a liar, because he doesn't tell us everything. Hell, I'm not sure if he even tells us the important things."

"But he's Dumbledore!" Neville burst out, staring at Harry as though he had spoken blasphemy. Harry shook his head slightly. He should have expected a reaction like that. Dumbledore was touted as the icon of the light. Those who stood against him were generally considered Dark or useless, like the current Ministry.

Standing against Dumbledore's plans lowered the playing field for him significantly. He would have to work on figuring out who to trust.

"He is," Harry agreed. "He's also the man who didn't think to evacuate or lock down the school when an unstable mass murder succeeded in getting inside it, not once, but twice, and got his merry way out without anyone ever noticing."

Technically he had let a mass murderer into the school for three years, but that wasn't the official story, and Seamus and Dean were already straining themselves to even take his words into consideration. He would have to start small before he could come close to dealing with Pettigrew; he didn't even anywhere to start except the memory of him being there in the graveyard.

"And then there were the Dementors. And the basilisk. And last year a student was murdered on school grounds. Hogwarts isn't exactly as safe as its billed." He looked causally around the room. A number of the younger years, including Colin and his brother Dennis, were hanging at the edge of the dorm room, trying to pretend they weren't eavesdropping and failing miserably. Some looked uncertain. Colin in particular looked like he was thinking very hard.

Time he gave them something to think about. Harry slowly pulled himself to his feet and regarded the three boys directly in front of him. "We were here through all of that. You guys were lucky." He paused, and then shook his head and finished, "Not everyone else was."

"Consider all that, and then ask yourselves, how safe do you feel?" He asked.

Seamus, Dean and Neville looked stunned and troubled. They stared at him in concert. Ron walked up, and before he passed into their field of vision, he gave Harry a discreet thumbs up.

Harry smiled back.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry had no trouble keeping himself awake. The entire day replayed itself before his closed eyelids, as if the stress he was feeling wasn't enough to rob him of any ability or desire to sleep at that moment. His thoughts were roaring, tuning out everything else until he heard Neville beginning to snore. At that point, he quietly slipped out of bed. His heart no longer pounded when he did this as he had done it so many times by now.

Ron, surprisingly, had managed to stay awake as well – Harry had expected to have to wake him. Ron's eyes were alert and he gave Harry a knowing look just as the other boy had tiptoed over to his bed.

Together, they picked up Harry's invisibility cloak and pulled it over themselves. Satisfied, they started walking. They got down to the common room where Hermione and Ginny had fallen asleep on the chairs, clearly playing at having over-studied.

"Hermione. Ginny." Harry whispered. Instantly, two pairs of eyes shot open and met his. Awkwardly, the four of them pressed under the cloak just long enough to get past the fat lady and other paintings that were up at night.

Once they were at the stairs, Ginny slipped ahead, being still small enough to sneak under the few remaining paintings and up the last set of stairs. Harry and his friends followed suit, creeping along until they reached the wall that Graham had described.

"It should be right here," Ginny murmured. The four of them stood there for a moment.

To Harry's astonishment, the wall slowly pulled back until two doors were revealed. Hermione gasped. The doors swung open and the four of them walked inside.

The room was stacked with literal mountains of books. Harry had never seen that many in one place, even when Sirius had shown him the Black Family Library. Ron gaped, while Ginny made a noise of awe. Hermione...Hermione just looked unduly pleased with herself.

"It really does become whatever the person who enters it needs," Hermione said, sounding extremely satisfied. "I think I might have to camp out here while I'm boycotting the DADA class."

"Boycotting?" Harry echoed, turning to look at Hermione. "I never thought I'd live to hear Hermione Granger declare that she's boycotting a class."

Ginny giggled while Hermione snorted. "Very funny."

"I think a boycott of the Ministry mandated class is a good one," Ginny remarked. "It's a more passive rebellion and if a muggleborn like Hermione is hosting it, it could cause enough rabble to draw the Ministry and the teacher's attention temporarily away from Harry. I mean like you said – Hermione Granger, boycotting a class? That's going to turn heads."

Harry thought about that and smiled. "That would be nice – sticking it to the Ministry while distracting them from what we're actually doing. How many people do you think you could get involved?"

"Hard to say at this point, but I don't think we're actually in a minority," Ginny said. "You saw most of the kids while Umbridge was talking. And except for the first years, most of them are going to remember the last few years and how destructive this has become."

"Two of our visitors on the train were second years," Ron agreed. "If twelve year olds can tell that we have our necks in a vice, chances are a lot of other people have realized it too. Of course, it'll come down to who's brave enough to do something about it and who would rather not draw attention to themselves."

"Perhaps a promise of total secrecy could bring out some of people on the fence," Harry said. "If we can offer them a -mostly- safe way out they might feel more inclined to join."

"A way out?" Ron echoed. "The only real way out of this is to pack their bags and run as far from Britain as they could get. Move to Russia or America. Voldemort won't stop until he has everyone in Britain under his thumb, and even then if he manages it he won't be stopping there."

"We could point that out. Or suggest it to anyone who has cold feet," Ginny ruminated.

"Anyway, I'm here to talk about what we're going to be doing." Hermione brought the conversation back to its original topic. "Taking this whole mess into our own hands."

"Our own hands," Harry, Ron and Ginny echoed.

The four of them walked over to a table with four chairs, which looked almost like a military conference room from the movies Harry had watched when he was younger. Hermione quickly set herself on the right. Harry sat down at what he realized was the head chair, while Ron and Ginny took the remaining seats.

"First things first," Hermione said, "We have to get something straight. There are three players in this war. Dumbledore, The Ministry, and Voldemort. Where we stand is in conflict with how Dumbledore operates. The Ministry is full of quislings and will probably fall the moment the two more powerful sides reappear and start fighting in the public again; they can't be relied on for anything. It's been decided that you can only be with Voldemort or against him while working for Dumbledore, who's not just headmaster of this school but head of the ICW, though I believe that position is ceremonial it warrants research before we assume anything. Finally, Voldemort has brainwashed an entire next generation of students and planted them in this school."

Hermione paused and then made her first point. "If we're even going to start resistance, we have to assume there's no one we can trust."

She turned her attention to Harry. "That includes Sirius and Professor Lupin, Harry. I know you care about them, but if we breathe a word about what we're going to do, they'll go straight to Dumbledore."

Harry closed his eyes. That certainly wasn't what he had in mind for the closest thing he had to a father, but he knew that Hermione was right. "I know."

Hermione tapped her fingers against the table. "Now, what we also know is that some people have approached us declaring their support for Harry. I think we can set up secret meetings here, where we can find all these people."

"So, like our own Order of the Phoenix?" Ginny asked. "But with other students."

"Yes, in a sense," Hermione responded. "We'll take in everyone who's at risk. We'll figure out the game plan and everything that we can do from our position, and more later once we have more legroom.. That I'm not certain of yet, but I'll get as many newspapers or whatever else I can find to figure out how we'll go from here."

"This is about protecting people," Harry said, "Aside from protecting the kids in school who are at risk of Draco and his cronies, we'd have to find some way of leaving the school for periods of time to be able to help anyone else."

Hermione waved a hand. "We'll figure that out later, Harry." She took a particularly old and thick looking book out of the handbag she'd been wearing and put it down on the table.

"Now, the most immediate catch out there is the most obvious one. No one can know what we're doing. The catch is making sure that we can't be sold out to Umbridge or Snape or whoever else is going to be keeping an eye on us."

"How do we do that?" Ron questioned.

Hermione twined her fingers together. "I've been reading up on some more advanced spells while I still had access to Black library. Sirius had said that his parents used lots of the spells there, and that the contained spells are part of what made the Blacks so feared. It's the kind of thing that the standard circiculumn doesn't teach us."

"So that's what you were doing," Harry said in understanding. "Well, what kinds of things did you find out? I mean, I suppose we can have a sign up sheet...and put a complusion on it so that everyone who signs won't give us up."

"Regular complusion or confundus charms don't have the punch needed and can be undone relatively easily." Hermione responded. "They're not very advanced spells, and common, so the teachers would be familiar with them. They wouldn't hold out long enough if someone gets compromised. Now, we can learn to cast Obliviate, and that's much more useful in the long run, but there are some dangers even to that..."

"What could undo an Obliviate?" Ron asked, surprised. "That's the spell everyone uses on muggles so they don't know we're around. Some trials have had to stop because the witnesses got Obliviated before they could testify. Sounds good to me."

"It's safer," Hermione responded carefully and clearly, "But the problem is that it isn't infallible. A skilled Legilimas can even uncover traces of memory left behind by Obliviate, and just a trace could be enough to condemn us. And there are two people in this school who are noted for their abilities with mental magic. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape."

There was a collective scowl as the four considered those names. They were the greatest obstacle within the school itself and the ones who had unfailingly succeed in failing to help their students in any life threatening situation.

"However," Hermione swooped in for her revel, her eyes darkening as she spoke, "there is something that can unfailingly help us. Blood Magic."

Ginny sucked in a breath. "Blood Magic. I heard that's illegal."

"It was made illegal when people started abusing it to their own ends and forcing it onto people," Hermione answered. "And there certainly are nastier parts of the arsenal."

"No kidding!" Ron exclaimed shakily. "Blood Magic is universally held as something only really powerful wizards used, because they're the only ones who can get away with it. I've heard of blood magic rituals where the bodies couldn't even be identified afterwards!"

"Those were usually the ones that involved draining wizards of their magics, or doing some sort of soul-related ritual. Or an inheritance test / blood adoption gone wrong." Hermione said.

Clearly she had done some quite extensive research on the subject, because she was beginning to look excited. "Not all of it is that arcane, though, and I happened to find some of the lesser known rituals and spells that could give us exactly what we need. What I have in mind is made under entirely consensual circumstances and takes it back to its roots."

She opened the book and began to flip through the pages. For a second Harry was confused, because it was all in Latin, but Hermione waved her wand above it and the words rearranged themselves into English. She stopped at a certain page and pointed at the heading. "This is what I'm talking about. Its a part of binding vows. The modern and watered down version are referred to as Magical Contracts, often used for deals that require absolute loyalty."

Harry swore. "That's what dragged me into the Tri Wizard Tournament last year."

"Yes. Completely inescapable. Once you've made a vow, you cannot breach it. That's why you were stuck. It wouldn't matter what Umbridge or the Ministry did, they wouldn't be able to get the information they wanted, because whoever they'd found literally wouldn't be able to tell them under any circumstances. Even a mental attack wouldn't bring the information up." Hermione explained, sounding satisfied.

"Wicked," Ginny murmured. She looked at Hermione, "But are you sure that its safe?"

"I have the books necessary in my trunk; I've been hiding a few at a time over the course of the summer. Of course, we'll have to be careful when using it." Hermione responded. "But I've done all the readings and I know exactly what to do. And it will send across the message that we mean business."

"Sounds good to me," Harry said, glad they had a way forward. Ron looked more uneasy, but after a moment nodded in agreement.

"Desperate times calls for desperate measures, I suppose. How are we going to advertise this group anyway?" Ron asked.

Hermione conjured up several sheets of paper and some quills. She placed a small silver knife on the table and said, "I've already thought of that. Harry, you should be the one to write up about this group. For now, we'll call them the Wolverines."

"Why Wolverines?" Ron asked.

"Muggle movie," Hermione responded matter of factly. Harry made the connection in his head and smiled. "And code language. We'll come up with more for that once this starts gaining speed. Harry, this is a newspaper that tells the truth. When people come into contact with it, and they have the potential to see the truth, they'll be able to see what's really written on it."

"Fantastic," Harry exclaimed. "No one else would be able to tell."

"Exactly. Tell them where to meet – here – and to make sure that they aren't seen. Try to keep it to just the most important facts. Speak to the people who are in trouble. And one last thing." Hermione leaned forward. "Make it clear that this isn't a couple of kids messing around. This is a movement. This is a resistance, not a game."

End Chapter

...And I think that is the longest first chapter I've done so far (though I may be wrong) Featured in this story will be a darker!Hermione, which has been a plot bunny of mine for a while. And Ron...I like his whole chess thing, and that'll be my tag for expanding his character. Ginny does have a primary role, but that doesn't necessarily make her a love interest. More of the supporting cast will be seen next chapter. Also, don't expect to see GodMod!Harry - I have a different plan in mind for this iteration of Harry.

Read and Review please!

2. Chapter 2

The Art of War

Wanda: Hello everyone and welcome back to the Art of War. You might have noticed the rating is down; I decided that since the really dark stuff is coming later it's going to start T. The rating will be going up later. Also, I had someone ask about Flora, who's the fourth character in the tier. I was trying to decide who was going to be joining the Power Trio as the darker 'devil's advocate' of the story. Originally I was going to use Blaise, but I figured since Wand Knife and Silence is still ongoing I would use someone else. I know people usually use Daphne for this kind of role, but I have a different plan for her in this story as she'll be serving a different function. So I was thinking about someone who wasn't used often and I hit on the Carrow siblings. Flora will be a bit more prominent then Hestia because she's more cynical (as you'll see later on) thanks to what she's gone through, though Hestia has a function of her own. Warning, there are mentions of severe child abuse in this chapter. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 2: The Beginnings of Conflict

"Broken Down, Hurt Again, It never Ends" -Disturbed, Haunted

Flora Carrow was concentrating on not giving in to the horrible pain in her head, so it took her a little while to realize Hermione Granger had not come to class on time, like she always did unless she was a hair's breath from death. A few minutes later, she still didn't appear. The other two members of the so called Gryffindor Golden Trio came in, but she didn't.

Umbridge – Flora wasn't going to call her 'professor' unless she absolutely had to – came in and did attendance, and there was still no sign of Granger.

Flora Carrow was a lot of things, including observant. She had to be, or else how would she be able to brace herself for her mother's next experiment, or tell when Hestia's injuries were catching up to her, or when the seventh year thugs that their parents had on the lookout for them were about to put her in the hospital wing? Or when someone was using dark magic?

Dark Magic was something Flora had the dubious honor of being more intimately familiar with then most, if not all, of her classmates.

Of course she had known that Professor Lupin was a werewolf in third year. Of course she had known that the Moody teaching them in fourth year wasn't who he said he was. Of course she had known that the monster in the school was a snake.

Flora had kept her silence on all of these notes because...well, what choice did she have?

Hestia had suspected that the snake could be connected to the Chamber of Secrets, and then to Voldemort, but they both knew the folly of being open about that. Their mother and uncle were fanatically devoted to the Dark Lord, and interfering with his plans for the 'mudbloods' would have earned a punishment that probably had a good chance of killing them. Besides, who would believe two girls from 'dark' families, in the 'dark' house that everyone was taught to fear, was taught that good people didn't come out of?

She didn't blame Lupin for keeping a lid on the fact he was a werewolf; the laws would have taken away everything but his breathing rights if he had been open about it. Besides, he was less of a monster then the people she lived with.

Flora had known that Crouch Jr wasn't dead; he was one of the inner circle members like Alecto and Amycus and one of the few that shared their loyalty. Flora could remember one of the time she was 'taken along' to visit Azkaban and could hear him and Lestrange screaming that their master would return. She had come to recognize the way he walked, even with that peg leg she could guess the impostor.

Besides, the fact he was drinking from that pouch all the time...Flora wondered why none of that had tipped of Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time who apparently couldn't tell that a few of his students were coming in regularly looking like someone had tried to murder them. Or when people actually tried to murder them.

This left Flora between a rock and a hard place, moreso then usual. If she had blown Crouch's cover, Alecto would have undoubtedly taken it out on Hestia, and Flora couldn't imagine the kind of pain her sister would have gone through – actually, yes she could. Alecto knew it would hurt her older twin more to know that her sister was suffering because of her. Which is why she stayed silent, however much it hurt.

Flora knew that if she had spoken up, there was even the smallest chance that Cedric and Potter never would have been sent to the graveyard where Voldemort was resurrected.

She hated her family for forcing her to be complicit in the boy's death, but not as much as she hated herself for trying to justify her silence when she had been standing in front of the Hufflepuff's grave. Hestia couldn't bring herself to visit the place, but Flora couldn't go about her day to day life without trying to address the guilt that was crushing her ever since. Not that it had helped much. What was she going to do? Apologize? It wouldn't do Cedric much good now.

As for Potter – Harry (Flora preferred to think of him as a person whenever she had the chance, if just to spite her psychopathic mother) – well, it wasn't like she could apologize to him either. Sorry I'm a part, however small, of your worst enemy coming back to life, Cedric dying and you nearly dying as well. How about we be potions partners? As if she wouldn't get lynched for being a Slytherin daring to talk to the Gryffindor Golden boy.

"Granger? Hermione Granger?"

Flora gritted her teeth as Umbridge's silvery voice filled the room and brought her out of her memories. Out of all the people Fudge could have forced on them, it was Umbridge, which just served to confirm to her that he was covering up the Death Eater's return.

Maybe that thought should have frightened Flora, but she had lived through so much at this point she doubted that even if the Ministry fell, she had already taken the worst the world had to offer her. The only person who could possibly be worse then her mother was Lestrange; and she'd be too busy torturing muggles to bother with her and Hestia.

Besides, would it matter now?

In the end, she might even welcome death as an escape from this hell.

Flora had plenty of memories of the toadish bitch at the front of the classroom from encounters in the Ministry, and the fact that she was being set on helpless first years made Flora's chest burn with anger. Umbridge was as much a child-torturing psychopath as Alecto, and given Dumbledore's obliviousness, she's probably cripple half the school before he even realized something was up. Of course, she was going to be focusing on Harry, but she was trigger happy enough to turn on anyone who looked at her wrong.

Some day, Flora was going to slap Harry Potter with a portkey to America that automatically hid him under shielding charms. Sure, her mother would murder her, but it would be so worth it.

"Mr. Malfoy, do me a favour, go fetch Professor McGonagal, see if she knows where one of her 'wayward lions' is." Umbridge said with her famous false poisonous sweetness.

She couldn't be more obvious about her bias if she died; she'd been in Ravenclaw back in her school days but had always fancied herself a Slytherin.

Flora snorted. Umbridge in Slytherin. If that had happened, Slytherins really would be all torturing nutcases.

Malfoy swelled up like the peacock he was and sauntered out of the room, like he was on Broadway or something. There were some snickers in the crowd, from those who benefited from this change. Flora rolled her eyes, wincing slightly as she did so. These people were pathetic.

Flora blinked; she saw Harry and Ron Weasely exchange eye rolls and knowing looks. Hermione missing this class was planned? Intended? Whatever she was doing, they knew about it, and seemed pleased.

Flora frowned, but only slightly so as not to give them away. What were Potter and his friends up to? This wasn't the reaction she would have expected.

Was Granger trying to take attention away from Harry by doing something so uncharacteristic and distracting as not showing up to class? Surely she knew that the Ministry wouldn't give up its smear campaign against the boy that easily. They also wouldn't remove a teacher, no matter how horrible a person they were, on the word of a muggleborn. What was she trying to achieve?

This caused quite a stir of muttering within the classroom. "Where's Granger?" Maya Pritchard whispered. "She never misses classes."

Hestia shrugged, eyes flicking around the room uneasily. Hestia had always been weaker to emotional abuse then Flora; Cedric's death had taken away a lot of her sleep, to the point where Flora had been genuinely afraid that Hestia would die if her body was ravaged any further.

"Maybe she forgot something. You know Granger and her books." Hestia suggested tentatively. Maya nodded tentatively, but didn't look convinced by that.

Flora looked out of the corner of her eye and she could have sworn she saw Potter smirk before taking his books out of his backpack.

Another stab of pain burst through her forehead. Flora shut her eyes tightly for a moment, before discreetly turning back and looking at Weasley and Potter again. Any kind of distraction that took her attention away from her uncle's 'have-fun-at-school' present was more then welcome. The throbbing was as intense as falling off a broomstick and most headache potions couldn't even begin to sooth it.

Ron Weasley leaned back, towards Blaise Zabini, who was looking intently down at what looked like a blank sheet of paper to her eyes. Blaise shot a quick look up at the front, where Umbridge was waiting distracted by the door, before erecting a silence ward with a twitch of his fingers.

Zabini. Flora's breath hitched. She knew about Blaise's family. He wasn't a haughty pureblood supremacist like Malfoy and his cronies believed. No one in this school save a few knew what he was really like, what was hiding behind those falsified beliefs. He had only dropped his double talk exactly twice that she had seen in the past two years.

He came from a long line of assassins; his mother was famous for luring prey in by pretending to a high class woman, or a political dissident, and once they got close enough? Bam. They turned up dead in a ditch, their estate and political power dissolving into that of the weeping widow, who had a knife hidden in her mourner's dress.

Blaise was learning to be like his mother; throughout the years he was slowly edging himself into Malfoy's group, mimicking the boy's racist behavior flawlessly but still giving the victims some peace without revealing himself in quiet moments. Once, Blaise had given her something that closed some of the injuries her mother had given her.

Flora suspected that the real reason the Italian was here was that Sansa Zabini wanted to cut off the head of the Malfoy family. Once Blaise had an opportunity, Draco Malfoy was going to die. Maybe his parents to, if they invited Blaise to their mansion.

Flora couldn't summon any grief at that thought. The Malfoy's allowances played a part in the students who were hurt here, along with her own continued torture at the hands of her 'family'. If she thought she could get away with it, she might just kill them herself – what else did she have to loose?

Why would Weasley, one of the touted 'Golden Trio', want anything to do with a supposedly bigoted Slytherin? That implied that he might know...but a golden Gryffindor would never condone an assassin. Not something in Dumbledore's ear, and certainly not someone that young.

Something was going on, and for some reason it was gnawing at Flora to figure out what it was. What was on that paper?

Ron gestured down at the paper, while Blaise listened intently. After a moment, Blaise said something that made Weasley grin and nod before sitting back upright. Blaise slipped the paper back into his bag as Umbridge walked back to the center of the room.

Flora shook her head. Potter was definitely up to something, but if he wasn't more careful, Umbridge was going to spot him and the plan could fall apart.

"Well, it seems we will have to proceed without her," Umbridge said, "Now, open your books, and I'll begin correcting this unbalanced curriculum and years of unsatisfactory teaching-"

And off she went again, just like on the opening night. Flora bit her lip and tuned out the upcoming speech. She saw Dean Thomas ask Ron where Granger was, and she wasn't expecting his response-

"She's boycotting DADA. Ginny, Cho, 'n these two second years named Natalie and Graham are in on it too. She's asking around to see if anyone's willing to join them. She's probably hiding out somewhere."

Flora's heart started to pound. Boycotting? Granger? What was she thinking? Didn't she know the kind of trouble -

Her fingers tightened, and she took a deep breath. Granger wasn't an idiot. She was, unquestionably, the smartest witch of this generation. Of course she knew the consequences of defying the Ministry. But she was doing it anyway. But why? What was she trying to do?

Cho Chang was helping her. Cho Chang, who had been dating Cedric when he was sent to his death, who would want to know why he died, who might not accept the Ministry's refusal to acknowledge who really killed him...

"Mr. Weasley! Perhaps you can tell us where Miss Granger is, as you've seen fit to share it with your friends," Umbridge said sweetly. All eyes turned to Potter and Weasley.

Hestia was discreetly glaring at Malfoy out of the corner of her eye, and after a moment Flora could see why. The boy was grinning maniacally. Flora's nails dug into her hands. It was easy for a pompous prat like Malfoy to cheer on Umbridge punishing his opponents; he'd never been on the receiving end of her evil mechanics.

He knew nothing about the pain inflicted; some times Flora considered turning her considerable knowledge of the Dark Arts on him...to see if he still thought so highly of it...

Ron Weasley tilted his head slightly and looked at Umbridge without even blinking. "To pull a quote, Professor, Hermione said that the books the Ministry had set out are, in a word, bullshit." He said bluntly.

The stunned silence in the room was palpable.

Mouths dropped open. Whispered conversations came to a dead stop. Quills fell to the floor and Neville Longbottom dropped his textbook entirely, causing it to slap the floor, half open. The sneer slid right off Malfoy's face. Lavander Brown gasped dramatically.

Umbridge's eyes widened, perhaps she hadn't been expecting this kind of outright defiance so soon. Or maybe she hadn't expected those who resisted to be so up front about it.

Flora certainly wouldn't have. Granger couldn't know about Umbridge's habits and how she dealt with disobedient children, but she knew that she was sent here by government officials. Umbridge expected to be obeyed without question. Merlin knew what Fudge would say when he caught wind of this. But why would she do something that public unless she wanted there to be a reaction, wanted people to know...unless...

Granger was making a stand.

Flora took a deep breath to remain calm. Hestia's fingers were tapping rapidly against the desk as she tried to contain herself. She cast a quick look at Flora, and they had both guessed it. No one had made a stand before. What had changed?

Ron calmly continued, "I don't know where she's gone, but she says she's boycotting this class until someone actually starts teaching us Defence."

If possible, the room seemed to get even quieter, like a frozen tundra. You could have heard a pin drop in the hallway. Everyone was holding their breath. Flora could almost hear their thoughts. Directly calling Professor Umbridge incompetent? Teacher's pet Granger? If they hadn't been afraid of speaking over Umbridge, she was willing to bet the room would have exploded with conspiracy theories involving personality potions, glamoured replacements and the Imperious curse.

Harry nodded before adding, "She told us that we are the next generation of Aurors. Aurors need practical training to be effective. She said with this kind of learning, there's going to be an entire generation of Aurors who won't be qualified to deal with dark wizards. Hell, they wouldn't be qualified to deal with cauldron theft. She's telling everyone to expect a remarkable increase in crime in upcoming years unless we start using spells again."

Gasps filled the room. Some of the Gryffindors looked like they couldn't believe what they were hearing, while the Slytherins looked like someone had just turned their entire universe on its head and shaken it for loose change.

Umbridge looked like she would have liked to explode, but was determined to keep control of the situation she was in. Her face was turning purple from the effort and Flora could have laughed, burying her face in her hands to smother the treacherous noise. It wouldn't be appreciated right now.

If Flora had to kiss a girl, it would be Hermione. Granger had found a way of throwing the 'Ministry mandated' classroom standards back in his face. She found a way of questioning what he was doing, the idiocy of this entire setup in a way that couldn't be brushed aside as 'fear mongering'. Even the teachers hadn't considered that; only thinking that shouting loudly about Voldemort's return would change their minds.

There were times when Flora could appreciate how smart the muggleborn student was, and now was one of those times – who else would have thought of this as a way of protesting?

"Is that so?," Umbridge said, her voice shaking as she tried to keep up that 'sweet grandmother' tone that fooled everyone who didn't know any better. "Perhaps the two of you can tell me where Miss Granger has gone to? Then we can speak about this – ah – misunderstanding, and...address her concerns."

Flora knew that if Umbridge did find Hermione Granger, the detention the girl would have to sit through would not bear thinking about. She glanced at her sister out of the corner of her eye. Hestia was staring intently at Ron and Harry, trying to beseech them not to answer her. Flora bit her lip and hoped that Umbridge wouldn't notice.

Potter – Harry – shook his head. "We said, Professor, we don't know. She left the common room early and we haven't seen her since."

"Potter, I do believe you're lying to me." Umbridge's words were sharp and pointed.

Flora saw Harry's shoulders go rigid at the word. Potter was not famous for thinking things through.

Umbridge pointedly turned her attention away from Potter, sending a message - this boy is untrustworthy. Not worth listening to. "Now, Weasley, how about you tell me where Granger is?"

Weasley bristled at her defamation of his friend, but to Flora's astonishment he kept the equally famous Weasley temper in check and responded calmly, "It's true, Professor." He said tautly, "Hermione's gone off somewhere. We don't know where."

Umbridge's eyes narrowed. "I think you're simply hiding your friend from me. I will not have my authority challenged by some fame seeker and his sidekick. The two of you will be serving-

Flora wasn't sure what came over her. She never did anything she thought might jeopardize her position at the school, or bring someone's wrath down on her. She played things as safe as possible, with the threat of her possible death bearing down on her at all times.

But something inside her seemed to spring up at Granger's defiance. Maybe she had spent too long getting stepped on, but this change gave her strength, and she got up from her chair with a snap that directed people's attention towards her.

She snapped, "Don't be ridiculous. Granger's always sneaking off somewhere and none of the normal teachers can find her either. If they don't know where she is, there's no point in giving them detention."

"Hand, Miss Carrow," Umbridge said, dropping the usual sugar act, her voice becoming something slightly more dangerous. Flora glared back at her. That toad couldn't hope to be as scary as Alecto or Voldemort, and she had seen both.

"If you're referring to your habit of staying extremely inflammatory statements and then telling people to raise their hands, that's another point to Granger calling you an incompetent teacher." Flora retorted.

Umbridge glared and snapped, "Detention, Miss Carrow! I will not have my class interrupted. I am going to speak with Professor McGonagal over this rejection of my authority. All of you, read that text book."

Flora sat down slowly, deliberately dragging her chair in the following silence. Umbridge glared at her for one more minute, before realizing that she had broken the image she wanted to project to the classes.

She was supposed to project Ministry strength before some supposed upstarts, restore order while defaming Potter, but in this class Granger's non-appearance and Potter/Weasley refusing to give her up had revealed her as a control freak; and Granger's reasons for not attending could be used as ammunition against Fudge – ammunition that now everyone in this class could report to their parents. Angrily, she left the room.

Flora looked down at her textbook, the adrenaline slowly leaving her replacing itself with dread. What had she just done? Granted, Umbridge wasn't bound to report her to her 'family', but it was only a matter of time before someone got wind of it – Malfoy was in this classroom! What was she thinking? She'd just opened her self wide for punishment...

She was brought out of her thoughts when someone touched her arm. Her head snapped up to see Potter standing next to her. "Thank you," He said quietly. "For standing up for us."

Flora shrugged, hoping the gesture looked flippant. "The false gramma act was starting to piss me off." She responded dryly. "Any longer and I probably would have said something regardless."

"If you hadn't distracted her, it would probably be me in detention," Harry responded with a shake of his head. "If you'd like, I could come and find you afterwards."

Flora thought about that. A small part inside her that had been buried years ago was crying out for Potter to realize what had been done to her, to care that she was getting hurt every time she was sent home or did something wrong in the Slytherin common room, that she was bullied by some teachers and abandoned by the rest because she was in the same house as Malfoy, and her heart was dying because she was in so much pain every day. She wanted to escape, she wanted someone to keep these people from hurting her, she wanted to stop them because she knew these horrible things they were doing but she couldn't do anything about it because no one would believe her and her parents would kill Hestia. But she didn't say any of these things, out of long habit.

She just shook her head and said, "I'm a snake, Potter. Don't worry your pretty head about me. No one does."

Flora might have been imaging it, but Potter almost seemed worried at this statement. Everyone else was mostly whispering and talking about what had occurred today, looking at their friends and then looking at their books.

When Potter sat down, Hestia leaned over towards Flora, neither of them realizing that Harry and Ron were watching them still.

She whispered, quietly and full of dread, "Mother's going to squash us like bugs."

"Only if they hear about it through the Ministry," Flora responded sharply, her fingers clenching again, "and Fudge doesn't want to hear that he's being resisted, he wants to hear that Umbridge is getting results. They aren't going to find out about it now."

"Then they're find out later," Hestia responded. "They always do."

Flora gritted her teeth. She couldn't argue with that. "I'm sorry Hestia. I was just so mad, it came out. When they come, tell them its my fault. You'd be able to spend the evening in your room."

"I don't want them to hurt you," Hestia said, petrified. "They'll kill you if they think you're in a resistance with Harry." Hestia had always referred to Potter and Weasley as Harry and Ron, even in the Slytherin Common Room.

"This isn't me being in a resistance," Flora muttered. "This is me backtalking to a teacher once. It won't be that bad."

Hestia didn't look convinced. Flora wasn't sure if she had said that to assure Hestia's mind or her own. She didn't see the looks exchanged by Ron and Harry. She didn't see them write something on a sheet of paper that disappeared, before another reappeared on it. She didn't know that her chance to escape had come.

Detention that Evening

"Sit down, Miss Carrow."

Flora stayed standing for a moment, looking warily around the room. It was a garish pink, and there were cats everywhere on dishes. Normally Flora liked cats. But the overly saccharine tone of the room was sending warning thrills down her spine. There were plenty of boxes around the room. But most of her usual tools seemed to be absent. Of course, she wouldn't have wanted to make herself too obvious – Dumbledore may be dense as shit, but he was the wizard who defeated Grindelwald, and Umbridge wouldn't want to bring his wrath down by bringing her most evil instruments into his school.

Flora took the seat in front of her. The back of her neck was practically screaming in sudden pain, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

"Look at me, please."

Flora didn't want to. She really wished she could spite this woman more then she already had, but she was trapped and there was nothing else for her to do. She opened her eyes reluctantly and looked at the hideous toad woman.

"I'm disappointed, Miss Carrow. I'm acquainted with your parents quite well, and I'd say that we had similar tastes."

Flora bit her tongue to keep from letting out a burst of ironic laughter that would definitely make this detention worse. Similar tastes? Oh yeah, if she was referring to their propensity to torture and murder muggleborns and half bloods, then certainly. The only difference was that Umbridge supported the Ministry and her mother and uncle supported a bigger monster.

"I was rather hoping you would be like them."

I would rather fucking die.

"I don't really share the talents they have for their career path." Flora answered.

I don't care if they torture me, imprison me, or murder me in the end. I will NOT be one of them.

"You've changed since my last visit." Umbridge said, clicking her tongue as she went about selecting the instrument for this particular night. Flora resisted the urge to tap or clench her fingers; Umbridge knew that meant she was nervous or afraid.

"I grew older," Flora responded.

"I can't imagine what your parents would say if they knew you were hanging out with someone as dangerous as Potter."

Flora's back went rigid. Her throat suddenly sealed up. The threat was clear. If her mother thought she was supporting the boy who lived...if her mother thought that...they would never be able to identify her remains.

"We're not hanging out." She said sharply, more then she intended. "I don't know him. He's a bloody Gryffindor; I'm automatically labelled a troublemaker for not agreeing with him."

"Then why stand up for him?" Umbridge went to another box without looking back at Flora.

"I wasn't," Flora said harshly, her throat scratchy and threatening to betray her. "I was just pointing out the obvious. People can't tell you what they don't know."

"Oh, but like you said...you're a Slytherin...he's a Gryffindor, and a trouble maker besides...shouldn't you want him to get detention?" Umbridge made a noise of satisfaction and drew her instrument.

Flora swallowed back a curse when she saw it. It was a Blood Quill. This in and of itself would have been a problem, but the curse her mother had left her with before she went to school was not going to play nice with the requirements of this device. Fuck, fuck, fuck. She must have known that I would get myself in trouble...must have prepared it this way...

"Yeah, like that's going to make me popular with the Gryffindors," Flora said, fighting to keep her voice steady. "Like I need people following me in the halls trying to toss me out the Astronomy Tower."

"Mmm." Umbridge didn't respond to this. She put a piece of paper in front of her and handed her the quill. "Now, I want you to write I will respect my betters."

"How many times?" Flora said, dreading the answer.

Umbridge gave her a false sweet smile. "Just enough times for it to sink in, Miss Carrow."

Flora wanted to shiver, shake, but she put the Quill to the paper regardless. I will respect my betters.

Pain stabbed her head like a white hot knife, and Flora fought back a flinch. Blood dripped onto the parchment. She wrote it again, and the pain got worse in a stabbing jolt. The pattern was a familiar one. After the line, however, Flora realized that something was different. She felt different. The feeling she had in the classroom was coming back, just a little.

I wont give in to this, she thought. I've screamed for too long...I won't give her the satisfaction. A third time. Blood began to spill down her hand from the scars appearing on her hand.

Flora was gritting her teeth to keep from crying out. Fourth time. Flora felt something inside her hand burst. Maybe it was a vein, because the pain in her arm was becoming worse every time she wrote a letter. Blood was dripping down her wrist and her legs, she could feel it. Her vision was practically white with pain, she couldn't see the paper anymore.

Endure it! Flora had felt worse before. Worse, whenever her mother got angry with her. Worse after she had protested Cedric's death. But the pain was growing and it was getting more powerful every moment. At this rate, she'd pass out...then Umbridge would have to take her to the hospital wing. She'd have a fun time trying to explain that, wouldn't she?

Flora's body begged her to stop, and she wanted to let it come to words, but she wouldn't. She refused to give in to this toad. She thought about Cedric, dead because she didn't speak up, and how many more would end up this way before Voldemort finally outed himself...

"Why Miss Carrow, you're bleeding everywhere! Are you sure you shouldn't see Madam Pomfery?" Umbridge's voice comes from somewhere in the void. She had been enjoying it for a little until Flora started bleeding. She sounded slightly alarmed, she must have known that she wouldn't be able to get away with this if Flora came out of her room half dead, looking like a dragon had mauled her.

Fucking bitch, saying I should go to the hospital. She's the one hurting me. Well, that's just too bad.

Flora was about to write another line, when she was sure she would die of the pain, when Umbridge suddenly snatched it out of her hand.

"Oh dear, it seems you've had an allergic reaction," She said with that same poisonous sweetness. "You'd better have Madam Pomfery look at it, while I...reconsider...your detention. Off you go."

Flora rose shakily. Her vision was swimming as she stumbled out of the office. She could hardly see left from right.

This was worse then I thought. Definitely worse. I can't remember which way to Poppy. And if she asks questions that get back to my family, I'm screwed.

"...rrow? Flora Carrow? OH SWEET MERLIN!"

The voice shrieked loud enough to split the cloud of pain. Someone was waiting for her? Hestia? That didn't sound like Hestia. But who else could it be? No one else cared about her well being. No one ever had.

Flora's legs gave up and she collapsed into someone's waiting arms. Whoever it was – the voice sounded female – quickly knelt and leaned Flora's head against her shoulder.

"...Ronald...my bag... ...potion... now!"

...Was that Granger? Flora's mind was befuddled. Was she imaging this? That would explain a few things. Pain had caused her to hallucinate before. She tried her best to organize her thoughts. Fingers brushed against her face and moved her arm slightly.

"...kill her...I'll kill that bitch!" The female voice fumed. "Ron...go to the meeting...you tell them what happened to her..."

"Will they...believe..."

"Five feet...office is right there..."

"...Room of Requirement...I'll do my best..."

Flora wondered what they were talking about. It sounded like Granger, Weasley and Potter. Suddenly something new touched her lips.

Flora tried not to drink it but it slipped down her throat...but it didn't burn or boil like the poisons Amycus had tested on her...in fact, it was almost soothing..

Second point for it being a hallucination.

The pain almost seemed to be going away...it was nice...Flora's world dimmed and went dark.

Room of Requirement

"Who did this?"

Ginny had been at a total loss for words when Hermione and Harry carried an unconscious and very bloody Flora Carrow into the Room of Requirement, which suddenly had a medical bed on it. Hermione had immediately demanded the potions they had started stacking up by nicking from the storage cupboards; now the bushy haired witch was running a diagnostic over the blonde girl's body that Ginny had seen Poppy use.

Hermione explained shortly that she had learned it over the summer. Whatever she was seeing was making her nuclear with anger.

"I have no idea," Hermione said darkly. "Whoever it is, however, is a sadist. A true-blue-god-damned sadist."

Ginny shook her head, her Weasley temper growing and growing as she looked at the diagnostic and the scars on the back of the girls hand.

Words barely visible, I shall respect my betters, burned there, and Ginny had to walk over to a wooden dummy and reducto it into sawdust. "Respect our betters?!" She roared. "Why should we respect people who torture us?!"

Angrily she turned towards Hermione. "What can do this?" She demanded.

"Some dark artifact," Hermione explained tautly. "Under normal circumstances, using one on a student would get you time in Azkaban. But if the culprit is Fudge's pet 'inquisitor', and I bet it is, even if it did get brought to people's attention she wouldn't get so much as a slap on the wrist."

Ginny paced around the room. "But you can help her, right?" She asked. "Shouldn't we take her to Poppy?"

"And risk exposing her to Umbitch again?" Hermione said angrily. Ginny didn't think she had ever heard the bookworm swear. "Look at this. There's no way all of this is Umbitch's work. Someone else is targeting her and I'm not putting her safety in Dumbledore's hands."

Ginny nodded in understanding. "Right. But can we help her? I haven't taken a medical course yet."

"I've done a lot of reading," Hermione said. "These potions should help us stabilize her. Of course, I can't get rid of everything without sending her to St. Mugo's, and that would take some fancy footwork without alerting her parents."

Ginny tapped her fingers against the desk. "About that, I think I've heard that surname somewhere. Carrow. But its getting away from me."

"I think so too," Harry said, reappearing from one of the many, many stacks of books. He was holding a genology book, which suggested that he was looking for more potential death eater names, or still trying to identify all the men he had seen in the graveyard. "I don't want them to find out about her condition just yet. She has a twin, right? Hestia."

"Yeah. She must be worried..." Ginny said softly. She looked down at Flora again, who was finally cleaned of the blood that had covered her when she was first brought into the room. "This is sick," She said angrily. "I just want to know who did this so I can hex them so badly they need St Mugo's to sort them out."

The doors of the Room opened again, and an angry Ron stalked in. There was normal Ron-Anger, and then there was this anger. His face was red as one of the twin's fireworks, and his eyes were full of rage and disappointment.

Harry watched his friend's face and closed his eyes for a minute. After taking a long breath, he opened them again and said, "I take it there's no good news?"

"That toad," Ron spat out, "Said that Flora had an allergic reaction. To her perfume. Since when do allergies cause you to bleed everywhere, or pass out, or carve words into the back of your hand?"

Harry kicked the chair he had been sitting on earlier. It flew across the room and smashed against the wall. "I hate her," He said. "We have to do something about her. Surely she can't be allowed to carve words onto our hands?"

"Professor McGonagall didn't believe me," Ron said bitterly.

Harry stared at his best friend for a moment before saying, "Please tell me your kidding."

"I wish I could." Ron responded, his tone angry and almost sad."I couldn't believe it. I told her about the blood and everything, and she acted like I was exaggerating and told me not to make things worse then they were. I know that Umbridge was in the room, but who gives a damn? I thought she cared about what happened to us."

"She believes in Dumbledore." Hermione growled. She shook her head, brushing Flora's ratty, dirty blonde hair away from her neck. "And he would have told her not to interfere. That's his plan for this entire year. Don't do anything, don't draw attention to yourself, and just wait for the problem to break down on its own."

Quickly she uncorked another potion and continued treating Flora. "The good news is that I'll be able to get her mostly back to normal. I think I read somewhere that there are more advanced diagnostics that could identify what caused the injuries, but I'd have to go back to find them."

"Should I ask Dobby to bring us dinner up here?" Harry suggested.

"Good idea," Ginny said mutinously, "Just the sight of Umbridge hanging around as if she didn't try to murder a student would make me throw up my food."

Flora's POV

Flora was confused by two things. Firstly, she wasn't having a horrific nightmare, despite having passed out under her uncle's latest curse. Secondly, her head wasn't feeling like someone had run over it with one of those muggle claw things – bulldozers, were they called? Something like that.

She was actually feeling relatively peaceful, which she hadn't figured was a word she'd be using to describe herself ever again. The pain of blood loss had dulled and numbed; maybe she'd gotten to the Hospital Wing after all. Hestia must have found her after all; Flora could take a little peace in that. She, at least, would know to make something up when Poppy asked if they should alert the parents.

Poppy hadn't found the legacy injuries she had the few times she had been in the wing. Flora wondered if the information was suppressed somehow, that wouldn't surprise her. The darkness slowly started receding, and it was strange that pain – any twinge of pain – wasn't coming back with it.

"...waking up! Guys!"

"...good...Dobby... ...some food..."

Was that Potter?

Flora's eyes fluttered open, a high ceiling and towering stacks of books coming into focus around her head. It wasn't a room she recognized; there were a few hideouts that some of the Slytherins used but this wasn't one of them. Slowly she propped herself up on her elbows; she was lying on a white cott that wasn't all that uncomfortable.

"...What?"

"Hungry?"

Flora turned sharply to the right; Granger, Weasley, his sister, and Potter were all sitting in a row, juggling plates of food and huge, old books. Granger – Hermione – had been boxing a number of bottles; after a moment Flora realized they were potion containers.

Something hit her; before she fainted she had hallucinated Granger, Weasley and Potter finding her in the hallway, giving her something that soothed the pain. She had imagined that – but she couldn't have, or else she'd still be on the floor in the hall-

"Where am I?" Flora blurted out, scrambling to her feet and nearly falling over when she got up too fast. The Weasley girl – Ginny – darted over and caught her before she could fall on her back. Flora felt something twist inside her, quickly replaced with panic. What was going on?

"It's okay Flora. You're in the Room of Requirement." Ginny explained gently.

"Where?" Flora echoed, looking around. There were books everywhere, she realized. Not just books. There were also a series of moving dummies in a large corner of the room, and there was another huge square roped off that looked like an area. The room was huge.

"It's a hidden room on the third floor," Hermione explained. "We brought you here after you passed out in the halls. You were bleeding everywhere."

"How...I never heard..." Flora said, her head feeling sluggish as she tried to process that someone had taken her in, as opposed to leaving her bloody body on the floor.

"I heard about it from another Slytherin," Harry said. "Second year. Boy named Graham Pritchard."

"Maya's little brother," Flora murmured, more to herself then anyone else in the room. She wondered if she was still dreaming. "What's going on...why were you waiting for me?"

"Cho told me to look out for Umbridge." Harry admitted. "I figured I owed you after you distracted her in class, and...I was kind of worried."

"How did you get hurt?" Hermione asked, "There was blood everywhere!"

Flora took a breath to say something, a deflecting, an explanation, anything, but she didn't say anything. She blinked and shook her head just a bit.

There was a knot in Flora's throat that stopped any words from coming out. The edges of her eyes were burning, she collapsed onto the ground, and after a minute Flora Carrow was sobbing for the first time in years in front of a group of total strangers, Hermione Granger cautiously moving in and hugging her around the shoulders.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%%&

Flora took a long time and a calming drought to regain her equilibrium. She was sitting on a bench, surrounded by Gryffindors, marvelling over how her life had changed. Right now, she was staring down at a paper Hermione was showing her, alternating between finishing reading and staring incredulously at the students in question.

"You're waging war on the entire judicial system of the magical world?" She repeated.

"On the corruption, Flora," Hermione said, her lip twitching slightly into what might have been a smile. "I know it sounds a bit crazy, but we've done some organizing since I got here. We've distributed the posters and now we're waiting to see who might show up."

"It's less boycotting a class and more a declaration of war." Ron said simply.

"War," Flora repeated.

Harry nodded. "Let me tell you about the escapades me and my friends have gotten into over the past few years. I'll tell you everything, and then I'll tell you why."

Flora sat and listened in wonder as Harry told her about the Dementors, and the three times he had defeated Voldemort. Three. Times. Flora had seen Voldemort twice, and he terrified her beyond measure. He seemed indestructible but Harry, a boy with no training who hadn't graduated, had drawn and driven him off twice. Flora realized what she was feeling was hope.

"I can't believe you've survived all that," She said bluntly.

To her pleasant surprise, Harry's response was to burst out laughing. "You know, that's exactly what Morag said to me when I saw her on the train. Hard to argue with that, huh?"

Flora smiled just a bit. It had been a long time since she smiled. "You do realize that everyone following Voldemort is a trained killer."

"Of course." Harry said. He tiled his head slightly and said, "We'll be learning how. Right here. And things are going to be a bit...unorthodox, after a little."

Flora finally understood something. "That's why you were talking to Blaise in class."

"Yeah," Ron said. "He approached us first, actually. Well, after a couple of people we'd already talked to."

Flora shook her head. "No offence, but if the four of you don't understand what you're getting into, the Death Eaters are going to slaughter you. I know. I've seen them every other day since my mother joined them."

End Chapter

And that's the end of this chapter, and Flora's introduction. Yes, Alecto and Amycus are evil bastards, and they'll be more direct antagonists then Lucius Malfoy in this story because honestly, they're a lot more vicious then him (he's mostly pathetic after book five). Now, the rift between the kids and McGonagall is a matter of perspective - McGonagall doesn't realize she's leaving them to hang because she's used to listening to Dumbledore, who just doesn't think things work like that. Honestly, Dumbledore to me comes off as recklessly sentimental and naive then a real chessmaster, ready to let a huge number of things go wrong on the slim chance he can bring one guy through alive and not 'ruin his childhood', which he already had the minute he hinted Harry was actually supposed to be a hero with a great destiny. Also, people are going to die. I won't say who or how, but it won't just be the bad guys either.

Read and Review please!

3. Chapter 3

The Art of War

Wanda: (throws confetti and shoots canons in every direction, one of which hits Fudge) Joy, joy to da world! School and exams are over, over, over! I can finally, finally go back to writing! I am so so sorry kept you waiting, but I really had no choice with all the work I was handed! I'm so glad that's all over! here's the next chapter of Art of War to celebrate!

Chapter 3: Radical

"It's the moment of truth, the moment to lie, the moment to live, the moment to die." -This is War

Harry sat and listened in stone silence as Flora talked to him about the Death Eaters.

At least, on the outside he was stone quiet. On the inside, he was putting a valiant effort into not throwing up.

The Slytherin girl wasn't going into the fine details, but the nature of the crimes made the fine details irrelevant. It was easy to connect the dots, at least for him. His friends weren't having much trouble with it, especially Ginny, who was wearing a similar stony expression.

Harry remembered that look. She had worn it after he had pulled her out of the chamber. It had taken him a year to realize what that look meant, and he'd felt like a fool for not realizing it earlier.

After having fought with Voldemort three times, he had thought himself prepared for the unpleasantness that was bound to come up when speaking about his followers. Even when he'd found Flora bleeding on the floor, and she told them her mother had done this to her, he was certain that was the worst of it.

He had been wrong. Harry really hated being wrong these days. Either he was wrong about the people he was supposed to be able to trust or he was wrong about how evil his enemies could be. For once, Harry just wished he could be right about something.

Harry listened to Flora talk quietly without saying a single thing, even when a pale Hermione asked for clarification or a green-faced Ron demanded to know why the hell Lucius Malfoy wasn't rotting away in Azkaban. Ginny kept glancing at him, but he didn't interrupt. Not simply because he needed to know everything he could, but he suspected that Flora needed to tell them everything that was on her mind.

There was just nothing he could think of to say.

He had suspected that Flora's family was involved in some dark stuff when he heard the name Carrow – now that he was thinking about it, Alecto Carrow must have been at Voldemort's resurrection party last year. He had thought Flora looked somewhat familiar when he had returned to school at first, but he hadn't made the connection before now.

Perhaps it was simply optimism. Harry knew from everything he had experienced involved with Voldemort that the man would have followers as depraved as he was.

But he had no idea how deep it ran, how many there were, or the true depths of depravity existed with these people. There was nothing too low for them.

Murder. Incest. Torture. Theft. Mind control. The death eaters who had escaped justice had never been idle, driven by their fanaticism. That particular issue was older even then Voldemort, and his death made his followers more determined them ever.

Flora talked slowly, occasionally drinking from the glass a white and shaken Hermione had prepared for her. She spun and long and lurid tale, fifteen years of torture, of isolation, of living in the house of a mad family who joined Voldemort and remained underground once he had been defeated for the first time. She talked about the curses and the potions she and her sister had suffered through, as Amycus tried to create immunities to spells and truth potions and mental magic.

Harry was amazed she was able to talk about it at all. Flora looked quite sick, but she had gained a certain determination after she had admitted who her parents were. He was also amazed that Flora and Hestia were still alive; there had been some dark moments at the Dursleys where he had contemplated joining his parents, and for all their cruelty the Dursleys paled in comparison to the Carrows.

"...I knew about the portkey on the Cup, Harry." Flora said. Harry looked at her. The girl couldn't meet his eyes, she stared at her shoes. "I-"

Harry raised a hand. He knew what she was going to say, and it filled him with energy. Maybe last year he would have attacked or shouted at her, but now he knew better. "Don't, Flora."

Flora stopped talking. "Look at me, please." She looked up nervously, dark eyes full of guilt and pain.

"It's not your fault." Harry said firmly. "There was nothing you could have done. If you had said anything, your parents would have killed you and Hestia, and the teachers probably wouldn't have believed you anyway. I'm just glad you're here now, okay?"

Flora took a shaky breath and nodded, looking rather like she would break down again.

Ron hesitantly asked, "Do you want another draught?"

Flora shook her head. "It's fine, Weasley. I'll...I'll be fine." She took a deep breath and locked her fingers together. "It's just...know you know."

"Yes..." Hermione said faintly. "I think we do."

Silence pervaded for a long moment, while everyone digested the information given. Hermione put her hands on her knees and closed her eyes, thinking and rethinking the strategies and plans she had been considering before they had found Flora. Ron had offered Ginny a calming draught that she had taken and drained without a word.

Ginny felt a great sympathy and understanding of Flora. In her first year, Tom Riddle had walked into her head and taken charge of it.

It had not been rape in the strictest, physical sense. But in every other way, Ginny had been violated. It had destroyed her innocence, her trust in anyone, broke her emotions, and left her with fear, anguish and disgust towards herself. She had begged the nurse not to tell her family, but Poppy had had to pull her off the ledge of the highest balcony, where Ginny had intended to throw herself from, so great was the blow dealt to her.

For two years, Ginny had retreated into herself, left with festering anger, towards the teachers for their negligence, towards her peers for not noticing her plight, towards herself for falling into a trap, and towards the monster that had started the nightmares that plagued her every night.

When Hermione, Ron and Harry had told her their discovery about the world they lived in, Ginny felt a part of herself detatch, and despair had flooded her. Despair that dissolved into determination and strength when Harry revealed their plan to him.

And now she knew Flora and Hestia. Riddle had violated them too, without ever personally coming into their lives. Ginny knew keenly how the twins had suffered being a part of the orgy of destruction, and if the Carrows had walked into the room that moment, Ginny would have taken her wand and killed both of them without question.

Ron was angry with himself. He felt like he had been playing a chess game, and made some critical blunders through narrow and stupid thinking. Why hadn't it occurred to him that their might be Slytherins who supported Harry, or needed their help? Flora had been in their potions class for four years now. If he had just watched more carefully, instead of constantly letting Malfoy narrow his worldview, they could have discovered Flora and Hestia sooner.

Ron remembered when Ginny had come home after her first year. At first, he had simply rejoiced, figured the problem was behind them, and applauded Harry for being able to best Voldemort again. And then he had watched her wake screaming from nightmares, spend days in her room refusing to talk to anyone, blasting the walls when she thought she heard someone speaking on the other side of them. He had seen his bright, full of life sister deteriorate, and he realized that it had never been over for her.

And now the man responsible was back. Along the way, he had hurt Ron's best friend and killed a completely innocent student. Ron hated Voldemort, and it had nothing to do with being a blood traitor or with Malfoy's petty bullying. Ron would be damned if he ever let Voldemort or his psycho followers get away with hurting anyone else like this again.

Hermione was scared for a moment that she had overestimated their ability to fight the Death Eaters. Her father had been a Marine before retiring into the Dentist practice; he had told her highly edited versions of his exploits when she was young, making them sound like grand, heroic adventures. But as she got older, she saw the way his eyes dimmed when he thought about fighting. If she stayed awake and listened to her parents talk in the hall, he would whisper about the terrible things he saw and was involved with while her mother tried to comfort him.

The things she had heard terrified her, especially at her age. In every war book she read, there was always a few pages dedicated to atrocities that made her skin crawl and her sleep uneasy. She had prayed she'd never meet someone like that.

And then she'd come here. And with the greatest friends she'd ever met, she also found great danger. Danger from people just like those in the books. For a single moment, Hermione wondered if she was making a mistake being a part of this.

Then she remembered Cedric, and Ginny, being petrified, and she remembered why she chose to fight in the first place. If she gave up know, she was resigning herself and who knew how many others to death and other fates, because if they didn't fight back, who would? If she hadn't been there for Flora, her suffering would have continued unabated. And she wasn't the only one in danger, was she? Hermione remembered Natalie and Graham, small children in a deadly scenario.

The occupation had begun, and there was nowhere to hide – the only options were running and fighting back.

Hermione was a soldier's daughter. Running was never an option for her.

Harry and Flora just looked at each other. Flora had wanted him to know the risks; after all of that it would make sense that she'd be a bit cynical at the idea of fighting Voldemort. Her parents would have made him look invincible. But Harry had defeated him three times before. He could do it again. He would do it again.

Harry wondered if he should have been afraid, but he found all it had done was reaffirm his decision to fight back.

The Death Eaters thought they could rule through fear, after all. It was their strong – but only – tactic, Harry realized.

Without that, how did they plan on fighting?

"I think," Ron said clearly, breaking the silence. "We need to bring this all up at the meeting tonight."

"It wouldn't be right for the others to walk into this without a clear idea of what's going to be going on," Hermione agreed.

Flora blinked. "Aren't you scared?"

"Not really," Ginny responded stoically. "I know what that man would and could do to everyone he considers inferior if he had the chance, which he will at the rate this Ministry head in the sand management is going."

Ginny closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. "What good would being scared do anyway? Voldemort will come whether we're scared or not. And if we're the only ones ready to do anything to protect everyone..."

The petite redhead left the sentence to hang, but Flora understood. The two girls shared a long look, one Harry didn't quite understand at that moment.

"Ginny's right." Herimone said. "We have to fight back. How much longer until the first groups start coming in?"

"We've got about an hour," Ron responded, glancing over at the clock. "Bloody hell. Time flies when you're talking about murdering arses, I guess."

A dark chuckle was shared before everyone stood up. '

"You want me at this meeting?" Flora asked Hermione uncertainly. "I am a Slytherin."

Hermione shook her head and placed a hand on Flora's shoulder. The dirty haired girl winced slightly. "Oh Flora, we're not just picking Gryffindors, you know."

Flora's eyes widened in surprise. "You aren't?"

Hermione smiled darkly. "Of course not. War is no time for petty house rivalries. And when you have some people who are shunned just by association to something...well, how many recruits do you think Voldemort has because they had no where else to go?"

"...that's right. Thank you, Hermione."

"We're not the Order or the Ministry. We're not going to leave you to suffer and die just because you aren't part of a certain group."

There was a large cracking noise. Hermione and Flora looked up. Harry, Ginny and Ron were moving books, but they weren't the only things moving. The room itself was changing, altering itself into a large, spacious area that looked like a gym that could double as an auditorium.

Flora yelped when she saw the wall a few feet away from them start to move. "I didn't know it could do that," She said breathlessly.

Hermione had to laugh at this. It felt good. "Magic always seems to have surprises when you think you understand it, doesn't it?"

"...Yes."

Later that Evening

Harry couldn't say he was entirely at peace what he was doing.

Oh, he had no doubt that it had to be done, or that they were willing to do it, or that his goal was a gone and necessary one. there was simply a feeling, from a more optimistic time, that this might not be the most moral of choices. He was, in basic understanding, taking a bunch of people who believed in him and turning them into his private army.

Hermione wouldn't have phrased it like that, of course, but what else would you call it? He was asking people to turn against their traditions, their government, even their families to pledge their service and their assistance to him.

And after the story that Flora had told him he was under no illusions that the Death Eaters, if they were caught, would have any mercy on them because they were underage. Hell, the Ministry probably wouldn't be very relenting either, given its track record.

Yes, it was for a better tomorrow. Yes, he would make them aware of the risks and he wouldn't force them to stay. But that didn't change the fact he was asking them to risk their lives, and give up a lot, for something that seemed insurmountable or overwhelming.

But honestly? He was touched, stunned, awed and humbled by the turnout.

He might have expected this kind of response on the third week, maybe after they had pulled off some successful attacks. Might have, being the keyword. Harry was used to having to take on the whole world by himself.

Frankly, he hadn't expected it at all, given the rivalries set up, the smear campaign the Ministry had set up, and how many differing opinions people had on him as the Boy-Who-Lived.

When he had put that call for help in the articles and the papers he had spread around school, he had expected maybe ten, twenty, forty people on the first day, mostly Gryffindors, maybe a few Hufflepuffs, and at least some of them would leave because of the gravity of what he was discussing. And that was if they was lucky.

He hadn't excepted half of the people who had turned up to have actually turned up, which seemed to clock in at around three hundred, almost a quarter of the population of the school!

The Room of Requirement had expanded twice to accommodate everyone

Ginny didn't seem to surprised by this, which confused him. Ron and Hermione looked equally satisfied, which confused him more. Since when was he a figure that people rallied behind? Harry -knew- what a polarizing figure he was in pureblood society

He couldn't believe the number of people who actually counted on him, believed in him. There were people who had come in from all four houses – there were Slytherins herefor Merlin's sake!

It was as though most of the students at school had come.

He looked around. He could see Cho Chang and Morag MacDougal standing side-by-side near the front, and smiled at them. He spotted, to his amazement, alleged gossipers Lavander Brown and Pavarti Patil among the crowd, looking unusually serious. Padma Patil was there as well, standing next to a silver haired Slytherin who's name Harry didn't know.

Seamus Finnigen and Dean Thomas were also there, along with Justin Flinch-Flich and Erne Macmillan. Colin Creevy and another Slytherin girl named Rayne Dantes were ushering people into rows of chairs while shuffling papers. Dennis was with them, bouncing on his heels and clearly raring for action.

Two older Slytherin girls, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, were there having an animated conversation with Blaise Zabini, which let up when he showed them to the chairs. Heather Campbell, a notorious Ravenclaw trickster who looked up to the Weasley Twins was also there, winking playfully at Graham Pritchard and Natalie MaDondald who were sitting side by side. Another young student was there with them, Eleanor Branstone, a Hufflepuff. Clearly the three were friends.

Susan Bones and her friend Hannah Abbot were there sitting next to Neville Longbottom. Ben Glass, a tough older-brother esque Hufflepuff was there too, standing next to a small pale girl named Sally Anne Perks. Carol Duchaness, a talented Ravenclaw was there with her friend Lisa Turpin. Ginny hopped down and gave a large hug to Luna Lovegood, who had told Harry that she could see the Thestrals pulling the carriages on the way to the castle.

Walking in with her head raised was a dark haired girl named Megan Jones. Her eyes were hard like diamond, but her eyes were slightly red as though she had spent time crying. Harry wondered what was wrong; he didn't have the time now to ask directly but he filed it away in his memory; if she had lost someone she would likely need support.

And to top all this off there was a huge assortment of people he had never met and couldn't put names to there as well. Flora rushed down to greet her sister, who nearly went limp with relief when she caught her sister's eye. Hestia looked pale but relatively in one piece; Harry would insist she take a full diagnostic once Hermione had a capability to do so again.

"Harry? You've been standing there with your mouth open for ages now. You alright, mate?"

Harry snapped out of his daze and turned towards Ron, who was looking at him with one eyebrow raised. "I'm fine," He protested, staring out at the crowd. "I just...I wasn't expecting so many."

Ron grinned. "I know! But this is great! With this kind of support, we'll be able to get going places in no time."

"I had no idea..." Harry shook his head. "Why have I felt like an outcast this whole time if all these people are willing to take me at my word?"

Ron shrugged. "Fear? Peer pressure? We haven't had the safest Hogwarts Career before all this, and people weren't exactly encouraged to befriend you. Maybe it's because it's official. Its a stand. They feel compelled to be here, because its the last chance they'll get aside from moving away."

Ron was probably right. It surprised Harry how insightful his best friend could be, when prior to this he was a bit notorious for his lack of tact and his tenancy to miss how people were feeling or offend them without really trying to.

Harry wondered if his friend had been holding part of himself back prior to this, but dismissed the thought. He had other things to think about – mainly, addressing this gathering.

Hermione hurried over. "I've got a couple of cue cards, they should cover everything Flora brought up and the stuff we want to talk about," She said. "I think it could get the point across, but remember what's important, okay? If you want to add anything from your own experience-"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted gently, "I've got it. We've only been rehearsing it ever since before people starting coming in."

Hermione blushed. "Sorry. I just wanted to be sure everything was ready."

Harry smiled at the bookworm, "Don't worry about it Hermione. After everything...I'm ready. More then ever, I'm ready."

Hermione's smile widened and she handed him a mike. Ron's brow furrowed, but Harry grinned; once you lived in a world of technology you would be quite put out being separated from its conveniences. Hermione had been rankled by the fact that technology didn't seem to work thanks to magical interference, and in her spare time she had been trying to locate the problem and fix it so she could use a computer or such at Hogwarts.

Harry stepped out until he was in front over the general audience and tapped the microphone several times, causing a bit of feedback and allowing the noise to die down.

"Hello everyone." He said. "Hello to everyone from every house and every walk of life who has decided to come here."

There was a soft murmur, Harry heard whispers of appreciation and surprise within the groups of students. It was true; Harry could see muggleborns and half bloods and purebloods all in the group, and people from all four houses. It would have been amazing to see this out in the general public, but of course that wasn't how this society worked.

At least, not now.

He paused meaningfully before continuing, "First, I want to say...thank you for coming." He paused again and then continued, "Thank you for believing what I put out there. I know with what the Ministry has been saying, people you know must have doubts about me. Merlin knows, I read enough about that over the summer."

Mutters of anger and outrage came this time, a bit louder then the first. Some glared at the walls while others examined the floor. Harry closed his eyes for a second to take in this reaction, it boyed something inside him like a balloon in the wind.

"Thank you for choosing to believe or make that choice for yourself." He said firmly, emphasizing the sentence and the importance of it.

Hermione's smile got wider. In the crowd, sitting between Luna and Fred Weasley, Ginny raised her eyes to him and encouraged him to go on.

Harry looked around the room. It was quiet again, and all his fellow witches and wizards were watching him intently.

Emboldened, he continued, "Now, all of you know that the Ministry's official stance is that Voldemort has not returned. They claim that its fear mongering, that our world is secure, that those who still walk around free have renounced Voldemort-" There was a scattering of flinches at the name. He would have to do something about that too; fear of the name increased fear of the person. Fear that might not have to exist in the first place. "-and have become honest members of society. ...None of this is not true."

There was a murmur in the crowd, but order remained. Harry thought he had never seen such a quiet group of teenagers before. For a moment, Harry hesitated, because the memory of Cedric's death was still quite near and it would be hard to talk about what he went through at the graveyard.

Cho was looking up at him with understanding and a sort of inner strength, he took council from that and looked back up at the crowd.

"Voldemort is back. Cedric Diggory was murdered for being a witness to his resurrection. The resurrection I witnessed." Harry said clearly. Soft sobs sounded from a few of the girls in the room; he gave them a moment to collect themselves. Erne stared angrily at the wall, he had Cedric had been friends ever since he entered Hogwarts. A lot of the Hufflepuffs had looked up to Cedric.

"This you know. Voldemort first rose before we were born, wrought havoc on the world we live in here, cost many lives in his quest for power. He left destruction in his wake. And now he's back. And there are people who will kill for him walking among us."

Some of the younger kids whimpered in fear. In the crowd, Ben put a comforting hand on Sally's shoulder. Cho's eyes had become hard, and in the crowd, Megan Jones's expression took a turn to for murderous.

"Now...what I'm about to say will scare you." Harry said. "I understand if you don't want to get involved when I've finished. But Voldemort is simply the symptom, the result, of a bigger problem and a bigger ill."

Whispering broke out rapid fire at this, friends turning to each other in alarm, others with grim satisfaction at being vindicated. Graham watched Harry with one eyebrow raised, as though challenging him to elaborate on everything.

"The government of this country, and the generations that have ruled it, run under a destructive, outdated, and bigoted belief system." Harry said. "It's this system that allows people like Voldemort to run rampant. It's a sickness that erodes the very foundations of this world."

"It is the belief that there are people who are subhuman."

"All of you are familiar with this. In this room, muggleborns – raise your hand if you have been called mudblood multiple times."

Slowly, many hands went up.

"I see. Now, how many times has the perpetrator been punished for using a slanderous word?"

Most of the hands went down.

Harry gestured widely with his hands. "Do you see now? This is almost half the population of Hogwarts school. Most of them are muggleborn or have a muggle parent. And they are shunned. Looked down upon. Mistreated. Denied access to information, to jobs, to security...to a safe and happy future."

"When I came to this school, I knew nothing about the magical world because I was raised by muggles who were similarly intolerant, of those who were different from themselves." There was a scattering of gasps at this. Harry knew that the Dursleys's mistreatment of him wasn't common knowledge. He hadn't wanted to bring it up; he feared it would harden wizarding fear of muggles through generalization, and he didn't want to cause that.

But worlds could be gained through parallel, for pointing out that people are not so different no matter what they were born with, and Harry would say this with all the confidence he possessed.

"When I was getting fitted for a robe, I met a boy of high birth and pure blood. He told me he didn't think that the school should teach muggle borns because they knew nothing of his perfect world. But how could I have? I had no access. I wouldn't have had any wizarding money had my parents not left me any. I would have had no way forward in the world because those who already had these privileges did not feel like offering me any. Over something I would have no way of possessing had they not decided to extend kindness!"

"Damn right!" A muggleborn at the back yelled, followed by sweeping muttering, talking, gasping, everything.

"Of course, not all purebloods are guilty of this." Harry spoke again, quieting the room almost immediately. He said this in part to mollify the purebloods there, who were beginning to look grumpy, as much as it was true.

He turned and looked over at Ron. "They have compassion for their fellow wizard. Now. How are they treated by their peers? I understand there's a word for that too."

Ron nodded, took the mike for a moment and said, "I bet some of you have heard it?"

Hands went up again. This time, it was for 'blood traitor'.

Harry took the mike back. "Now, this is a question that muggles answered decades ago. Can people be truly defined by their blood? Does blood and heritage make people sub human, make them less then those who are supposedly pure?"

Harry let the question hang before saying in a ringing, forceful voice, "No! Every person in this room, no matter how magical their blood, stands on equal ground! Each and every one of you are entitled to as much freedom and future as the scion of any 'ancient house'. Every one who can cast a lumos charm has as much right to be in this school, receiving education, as those born with a silver spoon in their mouths because they have two wizard parents!"

There was a loud shout of agreement, and the room filled with the noise for several moments. People bounced out of their seats and punched their hands in the air. Harry glanced at Hermione. She put a hand on his wrist, letting the noise continue for a while, before signalling for him to speak again.

"Unfortunately, the Ministry doesn't see it this way." He said. The noise subsided to bitter mutterings.

Hermione took the mike from his hand and threw in her piece, plucking one of her cards and turning it over before speaking calmly. "They have set up this world so only those with pure blood can go forward. Do any of you know what you're job chances look like if you are a muggleborn, no matter your marks in school? If a muggleborn is on trial for killing a pureblood, what are the chances of them getting off, even if the evidence strongly favours their innocence?"

Silence again.

Fear began to tighten the air, students looking at each other, swapping information, looking increasingly troubled as information was swiftly passed along.

"The Ministry has said it outright by denying Voldemort's return. The Ministry allows people like Voldemort to exist." More flinching. He should tell them the man's real name, if only so they could speak of him freely without society's ingrained fear of the name hindering their goal.

"Those who follow Voldemort, and even those who don't, have committed atrocities and are allowed to walk free with pardons and false apologies because the world is their playground. Murder, incest, oppression...these are just a few things most people are involved with."

"They don't care about our future. The ministry, the world around us, would sacrifice each and every one of you to maintain this corrupted, twisted reign. This school has not been safe for you over they years because it has never been safe. They see it as a power play. The people who get caught in the middle are negligble."

There was an outcry, and some of the younger students burst into tears. Ginny and Ron hurried into the crowd, trying to restore order.

"What the hell do we do, then!" Dean yelled over the noise. He was standing up and staring at Harry, eyes wide, and Harry knew he had been thinking about what Harry had told him in the dorm what felt like a lifetime ago.

"Do we just sit here and wait to die?" Carol demanded, one arm around Lisa's shoulder. The other girl was distraught.

"We have to fight back, that's what!" Harry shouted.

It was as if he had flipped a switch, the room became quiet again. Every eye in the room was on him again.

"You're right," Harry said. "You're right," He repeated, more quietly, causing people to lean towards him as though entranced. "It can't go on like this. We can't live in a world where our future hangs on the whims of whatever madman thinks he owns the world next. A world this decayed, this twisted, cannot be allowed to continue like this."

"But you've seen what Dumbledore has done – nothing. A world like this...this sunk in the muck, needs hands, many hands, to pull it out again! It's an overgrown garden that needs to be weeded, but the roots go deep."

"What I'm about to say would be considered treason, both by the Ministry and Dumbledore, who nominated himself our protector." Harry paused.

"Protector, my ass!" A voice shouted. Harry's eyes found Megan Jones in the crowd. "If I had a nickle for every time someone in this room almost died because he was too busy warbling whether or not he should do something of value to actually protect us, I'd be fucking Bill Gates!"

The purebloods wouldn't have known what a nickle was, but the spirit of the statement was obvious, and there was another wave of noise.

"This is the guy who doesn't understanding the purpose of 'evacuation procedures' when our lives are in danger!" Ginny shouted.

Another roar of anger. Harry looked around the room, thinking about what he was about to tell them.

"We'll be the protectors!" Ben shouted. "We'd be doing damn better job then they are right now, that's for sure!"

"You said it exactly, Ben." Harry said, and he was surprised at how calmly and certainly he delivered his statement. "Because we're going to take down Voldemort and the Ministry."

Silence once again.

"Defeat Voldemort?" The voice was Zacharias Smith, strained with incredulity. "You're barking, Potter! None of our parents could defeat him! What makes you think we can?"

"I've already defeated him." Harry said bluntly, before the Room of Requirement could descend into chaos once again. "I've done it three times so far, the last time face to face in a magical duel."

A hush fell over the room like magic. Colin and Dennis were staring at Harry with renewed adoration, others with disbelief, and some with something like hope.

"I understand if this scares you," Harry said, "And I'm not going to force anyone to do anything. If you want, you can leave. But hear this – if you want to leave, you should leave the country all together. Because Voldemort is coming back. And he will raze Britain to the ground to get what he wants. And he will hurt you, and your family, for any minor grievance."

"So I say – if you want to leave, leave the country. Go to America or Japan or Australia. That would keep you safe from him until such time as Voldemort is taken down."

Harry looked around. "Because I'm going to fight, even if no one else will."

Cho gasped softly, Harry could hear her in the dead silence. He looked down at her, she was looking at him with new eyes.

"I'm tired of running. Hiding. Living in fear of him," Harry said, clenching his fist. "Because that's not living at all. I'm not living life at all, wondering when he's going to try and kill us next, searching the newspapers for the next victim of his insane crusade. I'm not living, hiding behind other people while he gets away with murder."

"Because if I'm going to die, I'm going to die driving a knife through his heart! I'm not afraid of him anymore, and I have nothing left to loose! If I die, he's coming with me!"

There was a short pause. Harry caught his breath. Suddenly, the Room of Requirement erupted into applause even louder then the end of second year with the return of those who had been petrified. Harry stood, eyes wide, watching as people hooted and cheered and clapped, others shouting in agreement and support.

"T-Thank you," He stammered, barely heard over the racket, "Thank you. I will do this for you, even if I have to go alone-"

"You're not alone!" Cho said bravely. She walked up to the stage, people hushing slightly as she joined Harry's side.

"Cho?"

Cho Chang shook her head. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the Ministry's cowardice, and I'm tired of the Death Eaters running rampant killing everyone who looks at them wrong, just because they can. I don't think I can fight for very long...but if they're going to try and take this country, they're going to have to fight for every foothold! Because I will only surrender my wand when its plucked from my dead hands!"

She shook a bit , but then she said, "I'm going to avenge Cedric!"

"Here!" Harry turned to see Hestia scramble through to crowd to Flora's side.

"All my life, all I've known is darkness," Hestia said, her voice no longer shaking. "I-what my parents made me see, the things they did...I've seen all of it, it's horrific and dark and they're getting away with it. I wished before this, sometimes, that I would simply die in my sleep because it wasn't worth living in such a horrible world."

"But...the world is only horrible because people like this control it! I...I won't let amoral monsters simply do as they please anymore! Even if I die...it...there isn't one more thing they can do to me that they haven't already! I'm not scared anymore either...I'm going to fight back."

Flora nodded and took Hestia's hand. "We're with Harry Potter." She said.

"So are the Weasleys!" Fred added loudly.

"If you need a little bit of chaos..."

"To get rid of the Ministry toad and all Fudgey's lackies..."

"Buy some time to take care of some masked murderers..."

"You can always turn to us!"

"Hestia's right," Blaise said, more calmly then the earlier groups. "My family has always favoured a strategy of waiting for the right opportunity, of letting certain things occur so you can have a perfect opportunity. But we've been waiting long enough. If we wait much longer, there might not be much of a world to save. My skills are a bit rigid, but if you need someone who can go into the dark places unnoticed..."

"My aunt is on the DMLE!" Susan added. "She never tells me much about the job directly, but I've heard her talk about how awful the Ministry is before, lots of times. I've seen it with my two eyes, now. They can do these things because no one resists it, because they just accept it. We can't accept it anymore!"

Then Graham spoke up, then Colin, then Carol, then Morag, and one by one the entire room was filled with noise and people pledging their alliance. Harry, for the second time that day, was completely overwhelmed, so much that Hermione had to take the mic and tell everyone next step.

As a great man once wrote, the game was set and the pieces were in motion.

The Next Day

"Harry?"

Harry turned towards the voice, and had to blink a few times before he realized he was looking at Megan Jones. After the Wolverines confirmed their alliance last night, he had hardly slept at all, binging on conjured coffee while he and Hermione looked over all the information they possessed to figure out what their first move was going to be.

Their biggest problem was the Trace. Unless they were in school or Hogsmeade, their wands were tracked by magic in the Ministry that kept note about every spell that they used. It was meant to keep track of wizards who illegally used magic in muggle areas (supposedly to keep said muggles safe) but it was easily abused to see who was doing what where, to find 'insurgents' as Fudge would say.

Hermione thought she might be able to work out the Trace if given time, but with the workload she had given herself learning about Blood Magics, organizing and the 'official' boycott Harry doubted she would have that time before they had to make their move.

Hermione herself had said that they would have to do something powerful and earth-moving before Voldemort felt he had the power to challenge Dumbledore and his order of chickens directly. And the Trace would not help keep a low profile, because they could be tracked with it.

There was only so much they could do from the school itself, aside from tormenting Umbridge until she left. (The Carrows had an idea of how they were going to do that. Harry would have felt sorry for Umbridge if he hadn't seen what she had done to Flora and other kids who had detention with her for standing up to her in class) Harry had to do something about the Trace.

"Megan, right?" Harry said. "I saw you in the crowd yesterday."

"Yeah," Megan said, glancing around the room. The common room was in shuffle mode, with people whispering and talking and pretending to go about their business when their minds were fixed firmly on the next Wolverine meeting. Harry was sitting at a desk near the fireplace, which Hermione – who was sitting nearby – could summon a silencing ward around the moment Harry needed it. "Can I talk to you? It's about the boycott." Innocent enough to Dumbledore's people.

"Sure." Harry said, gesturing to the other chair. Hermione flicked her wrist, giving them privacy.

Megan looked down at the desk for a long moment.

"Your eyes were red yesterday," Harry said. "Something happen?"

Megan tilted her head back, regarding him with cold eyes. "You could say that. The Death Eaters..." She swallowed and shut her eyes for a second, before coldly continuing, "They've given me good reason to hate them."

"...I understand." Harry said. "I'm sorry I don't have any immediate plans, but me, Ron and Hermione have to-"

"-find a way around the Trace." Megan finished.

Harry raised an eyebrow and smiled a bit. "It's that obvious?"

"Well, it would be impossible to do much if the useless Ministry can follow our every move," Megan responded. "Harry...I know that to make a better world could involve terminating the source of its disease."

Harry took a deep breath. "I'm hoping it won't come to that..."

Megan shook her head slightly. "You know it will. I can see it in your eyes. You've been stealing yourself for it."

Harry didn't say anything to this for a moment. "Only if I have to," He whispered.

"I know. Only if you have to," Megan responded. "That's why I'm here, Harry. I'm ready for it. And I know how to get around the Trace."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You do?"

Megan tilted her head slightly and said, "The plates on which the violations of the Trace are written are controlled by a pair of closeted Voldemort supporters. I...tricked Bulstrode into telling me. She's not very bright, but her father is pretty high up." She paused. "Those two...they report to Fudge any violations, but they can also alter the results or take certain wands off the Trace's notice. They're the only guards for the plates, which are kept deep in the Ministry."

Harry grimaced. "We'd have to get there first, and the Ministry has some security..."

Megan's lips twitched into something that might have been a smile...but there was a feral edge to it. Her eyes became onyx pits. "Security against wizards. Against wands and magical break ins. The hubris of wizards thinks that because muggles can find their entrances, they wouldn't be able to walk right into their law building."

Harry blinked...and then sat back in his chair. "So we could walk in. Huh, hadn't thought of that...but we'd still have to deal with the guards. How would we do that without wands?"

Megan smiled fully. It was the look of a lion right before it pounced on its prey. "My father is a major in the British army. If I could just turn invisible...I could take you to the barracks."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%

"Guns?"

Harry nodded, looking between Ron and Hermione. "I can't believe I hadn't thought of it," He said. "I feel like an idiot. I mean, Britian doesn't have gun laws the way America does, but with magic jamming the cameras along with the invisibility cloak we could get some pretty high grade things."

"But Harry," Hermione said uncertainly, "No one here will know how to handle guns."

"Then we'll have to teach them." Harry said. "Slip off to shooting ranges in the dead of night. The Room of Requirement might be able to turn into one.

"You're sure about this mate?" Ron asked.

"Actually...yeah. The Death Eaters know nothing of muggle weapons. They won't expect them, and it gives us the advantage of distance and surprise. And I know Voldemort. He dismisses dangers he thinks are beneath him." Harry paused, looking between then, before continuing, "And they aren't expecting us to fight back."

"No one here has shot anyone, either," Ron said, frowning. "Do you think we'd be able to if the Death Eaters were in front of us? We've never...killed before, Harry."

"They won't be showing us that courtesy, Ron." Harry argued, before saying, "There are ways you can use guns to incapacitate people, same as magic."

"Kneecapping." Hermione said with understanding. "Harry's right, Ron. We need every advantage we can get."

End Chapter

I hope that this is a logical progression for Harry, Hermione and Ron to come to the decisions they did, and if this looks a little black and white I promise it won't stay that way. Because that would be a bit too easy, wouldn't it? Anyway, Megan is going to be in the story as a secondary character, for reasons I won't give away, as will most of the named characters.

Expect some of them to die. Hey, I've been reading A Song of Fire and Ice.

Read and Review please!

4. Chapter 4

The Art of War

Wanda: Whew! That took longer then I expected. I guess I hit burnout for a little. Well, either way I'm back. Quick update - I'm putting Huntress on temporary hold simply because I gave myself way too much to do; I'll go back to updating it once I've finished Finding or Wand. Also, let the Umbridge baiting commence! I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 4: First Blood

"The only thing that's on my mind, is who's gonna run this town tonight." -Rihanna, Run This Town

Harry had never held an AK-47 before.

The black metal in his hands felt heavier then he expected, somehow. All the movies and the books he had read had never conveyed the feeling of holding something that could end life in an instant. It was cold to the touch, as if in warning, and again a small voice in the back of Harry's head questioned whether or not this was the right way to approach the situation they were in.

But that could just be his nerves, which were still running rampant after he and Megan pillaged an army blockade. He had almost forgotten they were invisible for half the time they were there. They had done the raid at night, so there had only been two guards at the entrance. Protected by invisibility, Megan had stunned them and they had gotten in and out without the majors noticing.

So many weapons. Harry could close his eyes and see them, machine guns and sniper rifles lined up in neat rows, boxes of grenades sitting just below them. It had looked so clinical. Megan hadn't found it unsettling, so she had already picked up a gun before Harry snapped out of his daze and followed suit.

Getting them back to Hogwarts had taken a little inventiveness on Hermione's part. Hogwarts, while still not managing to keep child-killing dangers outside its walls, still maintained a good deal of security to keep students from doing anything stupid. Hermione had asked Fred and George to wait in the secret passageway to Hogsmeade before, after a lot of hard work and half the Ravenclaws in the Wolverines helping her, creating a portkey that lead to the small village. Once Harry and Megan had cleared out the barracks, they portkeyed the weapons straight into the sweetshop, and box by box the twins carefully took them into the school and straight to the Room of Requirement.

"Be careful with those," Hermione had emphasized over and over as Fred and George sent the boxes down the path. "Tell Cho and Hestia to make it absolutely clear that no one is to point their guns at another person, even in jest."

"But even if one of them did go off, we can heal with magic, can't we?" George asked curiously.

Hermione shook her head vehemently. "It's beyond even Poppy's skill to dig shrapnel out of someone's chest before they die with a long delay. If a vital point is hit you have thirty seconds to bleed before you die."

The twins looked stunned at this information, and immediately nodded in understanding.

"We can't afford to have anyone shoot themselves or their friends by accident." Hermione finished, making a cutting gesture with one hand for emphasis. She thought for a moment, and then added, "In fact, keep the grenades packed away until we get back."

"Yes, ma'am," The twins said, with only a flash of their usual cheekiness.

"Harry?" Megan's whisper brought Harry out of his thoughts. She was holding a shotgun; it was the first thing she had picked off the wall. She had clipped her wand to it.

"We're almost there," Harry said. He didn't blame Megan for being uncomfortable; using the invisibility cloak required them to stand very close together, which had been awkward enough when it had been him and Ron or Hermione.

Megan was nearly a stranger to him, and she was growing up, so the closeness required was more pronounced. Inwardly, Harry was relieved when he caught sight of the street corner Mr. Weasley had taken him down. "This way."

It was around two in the morning when he and Megan rejoined Hermione, Ginny, Flora and Ron in front of the red booth that had brought him into the Ministry for his trial what felt like an eternity ago. Only this time, they were going in armed and unannounced.

Megan had practically begged to come with them after giving them the directions to the barracks. Harry had been uncertain at first, wanting to test the waters with his immediate friends before they started bringing others around. But Megan had looked so determined and pleading that he had caved in. Ron had also been uncertain, but Hermione had agreed wholeheartedly. Ginny and Flora had been fine either way, so Megan came along.

Hermione was whispering something to Ron when he and Megan slipped off the cloak. Ron's eyes immediately fell on the machine gun.

"It's a little big," Harry said, feeling self conscious.

"Got something for us?" Flora asked. Megan smiled and opened the bag slung around her shoulder. At first glance, it was an ordinary handbag, but Megan was good at Charms and she had made it bigger on the inside. She pulled out a long black gun and handed it to Flora.

"Sharpshooter," Megan pronounced, her grin twisting a bit and reminding Harry of the Cheshire Cat. Harry remembered beginning to give her the speech about dangers and potential death before being brushed off and fixed with a look as frigid as the Arctic Winter. Megan was bent on seeing the cause through, and Harry counted himself lucky that he found someone so dedicated, but sometimes he found her a bit unsettling.

Flora took the gun in both hands and ran her fingers along the barrel, fascinated. "Muggles made these?" She murmured, before lifting the barrel and looking down the target sighting. She gasped. "Its vision goes so far."

"It's a sniper rifle." Megan explained. "The non-magicals use it to kill from long distances. Snipers are placed in high areas and take down important opponents before they have the chance to do anything."

Flora lowered the sniper's muzzle again and pressed her finger against the top of the handle.

Ginny wordlessly took a shotgun herself, cracked it open to check for ammo, and clicked her tongue. "If I aim this at someone's leg, it's going to tear it clean off." She said bluntly.

"I know," Harry said, taking the next items from Megan's waiting hands and taking Hermione's handgun. The sickly feeling rose in his stomach again, but he pushed it down easily enough.

"I thought we didn't have to kill these two."

"We're not going to."

"Then what's my job?"

"If someone happens across us, fire down the hall at anything inanimate. The force of the explosion should convince anyone that there's some sort of duel going on." Harry explained.

He let go of the barrel and gestured to Hermione's gun. "This is how we're going to take care of the moles."

Flora and Ron peered curiously as he took a smaller barrel and attached it to the end. "What's that do?" Ron asked.

"This is a silencer." Hermione explained calmly. "It muffles the noise of a gunshot from a crack to a cough. It will keep the blasts from setting off any alarms."

Flora was also handed a silencer, which she carefully screwed on. She still seemed like she was adjusting to having the sleek muggle weapon in her hands.

"So when we get into the room," Hermione went over the plan for the fifth time since the group had set out, "I'll set up a silencing ward just to be on the safe side. We'll take out the two moles and convince them to stay quiet." Megan smirked.

"Then," She lifted her handbag, which held the wands of everyone in the Wolverines. The group had placed a huge amount of trust in Hermione by giving her their wands, assured that she would remove the trace and bring them back in one piece. Hermione had been rendered speechless for a minute when she realized this, before sobbing at bit to the surprise of her two guy friends. Ginny had said that Hermione was so used to being treated like a shrewish know-it-all that the fact they trusted her was something she hadn't thought possible. "We remove the Trace on our wands. Lift our names out of the surveillance pool. Finally, we make it absolutely clear that those two are to keep their mouths shut."

Ginny punched her first into her open hand and nodded.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Ron said with grim satisfaction.

"We better get going," Harry said. "We're loosing moonlight, and we still have to get back to Hogwarts before dawn."

The group nodded as one, and stepped into the elevator.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

"First Floor, Ministry Atrium...Third Floor, Records...Fifth Floor, Department of Mysteries."

Ron's eyebrows migrated north. "What's that? I think I heard Percy talk about it once..." He frowned at the memory of his brother, who had spurned his family to join the carrion-ridden Ministry. Whether or not Percy was aware that it was full of Voldemort's moles Ron didn't know, but the new knowledge he possessed made him all the more frustrated with his older brother. "But I don't know what its for."

"It's where the Unspeakables work," Flora explained. Harry glanced over at her. Flora had opted to dress entirely in black, which made her still-pale skin and scars more obvious. "They take care of the things considered 'mysteries' by the general public. Prophecies. Stonework. Studying potential Higher Magics. The works."

"I didn't know about that," Hermione said, brow furrowing.

"No one's really supposed to." Flora said, rolling her eyes. "It's long been the opinion of the Ministry that the information is 'too sensitive' and 'potentially dangerous'. That's why they're called the Unspeakables."

"I take it You-Know-Who knows about them?" Harry asks meaningfully. Blaise had told them before they left that Voldemort had once had the power to make his name taboo, allowing him to instantly find his enemies. Harry decided, just to be safe, to say 'Voldemort' within Hogwarts but not outside until such time as they were ready.

"Yes," Flora responded tightly. "Mother mentioned that there's something down there that he's interested in. That's what he's been doing, outside of rebuilding his forces."

Ginny frowned. "Should we do something about that?"

Harry glanced over at Hermione, who tapped her fingers rhythmically against her arm after she set the elevator to go to the Records floor. "For now, no." Hermione said. "We should keep it in mind, but I bet that that's one of the things that Dumbledore's been trying to hard to keep under wraps. With him and the Ministry stalling him, we can focus on the grunts and his followers, which are the more immediate problem."

Harry nodded. "Right. Good point."

The doors slid open. Megan tensed, and Flora shifted her grip on her gun.

The hallways were deserted as the group walked down them. There were lots of papers and desks on either side of the pathway. At the end of the hall there was a door that was open a crack, and glowing blue light signaled that there was something different inside.

Harry's hands tightened on the AK-47. He gestured to the right and to the left, causing his friends to split up and approach the door as a wall. As he approached it, Harry realized the people inside were talking loudly.

"...won't we get in trouble?" One asked uncertainly.

"Come on! The Undersecretary of the Minister has enough clout to keep us above water even if someone does find out." The other guy said dismissively. "Besides, if it shuts up the brat-who-lied, everyone should be happy."

"I know, but the Dementors?" The first one asked, shuddering. "I mean...he's just a fifteen year old boy..."

"Miss Umbridge told us it was negligible." The second man responded pointedly. "In exchange for peace and stability, you have to give a few things up. It's just one boy, anyway."

"So she tried to feed him to a Dementor. But what if that gets out?" The first asked.

Harry felt the ground lurch beneath his feet. He had wondered where the Dementors had come from, had suspected Voldemort...and it was Umbridge? The monsters that had tortured him with his mother's dying moments were under the control of people who had no compunction against using them against children.

A potential child-murderer was working as a teacher back at the closest he had to a home. She was around first years.

Megan was looking the calmest at that moment. She simply walked up to the door, glanced between Hermione and Flora, and kicked the door wide open.

The two Aurors in the room turned around and saw three girls standing in the doorway, all holding long black weapons. They didn't have any time to shout or even raise their wands before a horrible tearing agony took hold of their legs, sending them to the ground. Blood splattered the stone floor as they collapsed in agony. The second one couldn't imagine what could cause this kind of pain.

A few other kids poured into the room, all holding these black objects. The second one made a choking noise when he realized that Harry Potter was one of them! He was about to call out and ask what the hell this brat thought he was doing when something hard and cold pressed against the back of his skull.

"This is a gun." One of the girls crooned. "that's what tore open your legs. Say a single word and I'll blow your skull open."

The man choked and looked around frantically. His wand had clattered to the ground too far away for him to grab, and his companion was in equally dire straights. They were all wearing sweaters with hoods, mostly obscuring their faces given their positions.

Harry stepped over to the glowing desk and then nodded to one of the girls. The only other boy in the group took the first man from the girl, who walked over to Potter and muttered something. She ran her hands over the desk, made a noise of understanding and pulled a handful of wands out of her seemingly innocuous purse.

"Here's what the two of you are going to do," The girl on the man's far right said. "You will continue your jobs. You will not tell anyone that you saw us or that there was an intrusion tonight, or else all of Britain will know that you are a party to unleashing Dementors on a muggle neighborhood and a minor."

"Unless we decide you'll squeal anyway, and kill you first." The one holding him down said. Her voice was filled with a sort of malicious amusement. "Don't think we won't."

The man choked again, this time in fear. What is going on? He twisted his head as far as he dared, because he didn't doubt her promise to kill him. He realized that Harry and his friends were removing the underage magic charm from the wands.

What are they doing?

The barrel of the gun pressed harder against his skull. "You understand, though. You're not a squealer." Her eyes narrowed. "Right?"

The man whimpered and pressed his forehead against the floor. He was ready to bully and stand idly while a boy was harassed and put in danger, because a boy wasn't dangerous. But now there are several armed and dangerous people with a deadly weapon, and the man's courage wilted.

"Good," the girl crooned, before an explosive crack of pain made the man's vision go dark.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%%&

Hermione remained remarkably calm while they walked out of the Ministry. She was still calm when they portkeyed into Hogsmeade. Then they stepped into the Room of Requirement and she became significantly less calm.

"That BITCH!" Her voice was so loud it rang of the walls and caused virtually everyone milling around in the room to look up. Ron put a hand on her shoulder despite looking very pissed off himself, Ginny was pacing while Flora and Megan looked disgusted but unsurprised.

Cho hurried over from where she had been scolding Colin and Dennis about pointing their guns around wildly. "What happened?" She asked. "Were you seen?"

"No, they know to keep their mouths shut." Flora said with some satisfaction. "We just happened to overhear something... interesting."

"What kind of interesting?" Cho asked with a frown.

"Umbridge sent the Dementors that attacked me and my cousin during the summer," Harry explained shortly. Saying it out loud made a shiver go down his spine.

There was a great cacophony of noise when this declaration was made. Harry could vaguely make out people cursing, swearing, and promising all sorts of violence upon Umbridge's person. Fred and George exchanged ugly looks while Daphne and her younger sister put their heads together, muttering something.

Cho's fists clenched together until her fingers went white. "Okay." She said with strained calm. "Okay, fine. If that's how she wants to play it."

She drew her wand and turned towards one of the practice dummies. In an instant, it was reduced to sawdust. "If its a war she wants," Cho said through gritted teeth. "It's a war she'll get."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Umbridge woke up covered in slime.

The woman sat up with a shriek of disgust, looking around wildly to see that her entire room was covered with slime, because it was infested with toads! They were hopping on every surface, spilling her bags, covering the entire floor.

There was a note tacked onto the wall directly above her head.

Your extended family came to visit, Professor! There weren't any other dorms, so we told them they could stay in yours.

PS – get out, you child torturer and attempted murderess.

Umbridge choked in rage, wondering what student had the audacity to attack the Minister's representative in their school! The Minister would hear about this...undoubtedly it was Dumbledore telling his lackeys to undermine his attempts to restore order and common sense in this establishment.

Umbridge shot up, meaning to immediately march to Dumbledore's office, and promptly slipped on the slimy floor and slammed her head against the rail of her bed.

Sitting up, hand pressed against the back of her head, Umbridge began to hear something in the distance, just barely above the croaking and ribbiting of the frogs.

Something was banging off the walls, crackling and popping. Something headed directly for her. Umbridge hardly had the time to right herself before fireworks burst into her room, bouncing off the walls and setting most of the objects in the room on fire.

And that was the start of her day.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

The day proved very chaotic.

Hogwarts – already a 'quirky' school – had turned into a veritable obstacle course. There were fireworks, cursed books that chased after people, supersized spirders, and flying disco balls running rampant, making teaching all but impossible and all centered on one teacher, though the others certainly suffered some from the onslaught.

The History of Magic classroom had been transformed into an impromptu paintball arena – Umbridge had walked out of her inspection covered in paint and fleeing from animated paint guns, from which she had to be rescued by Professor McGonagall, who had taken to looking around like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Malfoy had been shot so many times that he had to be carried up to the Hospital Wing, his body riddled with blue and purple bruises cunningly disguised as paint.

The hallways were being stalked by the supersized ruby spiders, which took to chasing after random students only to be mowed down by a giant yellow sphere with a mouth which made one noise continuously - "waka waka waka waka." Given that Dean Thomas had taken to laughing his gut off whenever he saw it, it could only be assumed that it was a muggle joke of some sort.

Dean was seen giving an enthusiastic high five to Carol Duchannes, who he had never spoken to before, before running into his common room that night.

Students ran from one class to the next, not sure whether to scream in fear or hurt their guts laughing at the insanity surrounding them.

Certain purebloods were certainly having a day in hell – aside from Malfoy, Parkinson had quickly been cornered by spiders and elaborately webbed to the ceiling, where she remained for several hours before Dumbledore could spare a teacher to cut her down.

Crabbe and Goyle had been cornered by the disco balls, which compelled them to do a wild out of style dance until they collapsed from exhaustion – Heather Campbell nearly fainted when Fred and George slipped her a paper in class calling her a natural prankster.

The high point of the day, however, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Or at least, what happened during the class.

A very frazzled, slimy, burnt and soot-covered Umbridge stalked into class, a huge fake smile plastered all over her face. Robotically, she called out attendance, looking one step away from a screaming breakdown.

She faced a combined class of Gryffindors and Slytherins, and she had just started a lecture on one of the Ministry approved books when noise blared from the walls. And what a noise it was; everyone slammed their hands over their ears as an electric guitar roared through the air with the force of a dragon's roar.

It was a drumbeat, vibrating so fiercely the desks felt it. Following it, a voice so loud it might have been the voice of god bellowed, "YOU READY STEVE? UH-HUH. ANDY? YEAH. MICK? OKAY! ALRIGHT FELLAS! LET'S GO!"

"Oh my god, it's The Sweet!" One muggleborn said excitedly. Music filled the halls, the classroom, and it was so loud it might as well have been a rock concert.

Umbridge screamed for order and for everyone to remain where they were, but her voice was lost in the music. She tried to cast a silencing ward but shockingly it bounced ineffectively off the walls.

And then one particularly brave muggleborn started tap dancing.

The professors lined up against the head table and stared as dancing students poured into the great hall, where the music was the clearest. One girl hopped up on the desk and began doing a particularly complicated routine to the hooting of nearby males. Others grabbed a partner and swished them around the room. Then, as the music reached its crescendo, more fireworks went off and flared near the ceiling like strobe lights.

"Albus!" Minerva used a sonorus charm to make herself heard. "What the devil is going on?!"

Albus Dumbledore, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, was at a loss for words.

End Chapter

(cackles manically) Oh Umbridge, I'm not even done with you yet. I figured the kids would be a bit comedic in what their Umbridge torture plans - they are still young, and it would get tiring for it to be uber-serious all the time. Also, yes - the Sweet. I love Ballroom Blitz, and in case I didn't mention it before I moved the timeline up a decade because I fail at writing the ninties.

Read and Review please!

5. Chapter 5

Art of War

Wanda: (holding a vigil with one candle) I know I'm making you guys wait again, but I've just had a loss...my dear cat Sammy has gone to the heavens, leaving me behind. I've had him for a long time, and it hurt to loose him. Though I find writing somewhat cathartic after this tragic event, I hadn't had the urge to update until today. I hope you don't mind that this chapter is shorter because of this. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 5: War on Umbridge

"A single stone falling can cause an avalanche in the mountains." -Gandalf Greyhame, of Tokien's Middle Earth saga.

"Headmaster, I demand you find the person responsible for this!" Umbridge practically shrieked the words during the teacher meeting the next day. All the teachers were in the Headmaster's office, which was one of the few rooms that had escaped the assault

Classes for the next day had been cancelled due to the fact that few rooms (or teachers) were in any shape to hold a class. Filch had been working through the night, and he'd hardly made a dent on the mess that had been left over.

Poppy had treated Umbridge for any injuries she had sustained yesterday, and while the woman had cleaned up, she had forgone any previous strategies to express control over anything or anyone subtly and was now screaming for the Headmaster to do something.

Dumbledore had questioned the entire school body during dinner, but each student was as quiet as the next, except for the purebloods who had been on the receiving end of it.

No one would give up those responsible even in the face of suspension on suspected misconduct, and with seemingly no way of searching for proof without resorting to mild legilimency (which was a procedure that could only be approved by a court of law) the Headmaster reluctantly sent the students to bed with no leads.

This obviously hadn't helped Umbridge's mood at all; her initial response had been to curse and accuse various teachers of hypocrisy and negligence until McGonagall finally told her to stuff it and calm the hell down. And even the well known and feared ire of the transfiguration professor hadn't so much deterred the Ministry woman as taken her anger from a boil to a simmer. Umbridge, for all she had attempted to usurp Dumbledore's authority prior to this, was now expecting him to find her assailants as though she wasn't capable of such things herself.

"I assure you, Madame Umbridge, I shall do my utmost to locate those responsible for the malicious chaos yesterday." Dumbledore said gravely.

"In all my years of teaching, I haven't seen anything quite like that." Filius remarked in wonder. "And I've been teaching the Weasley Twins for over five years now."

"I can't believe such unrest could exist without giving some indication of it's existence!" Poppy exclaimed. "The students seemed perfectly fine when they entered school; what could cause such a massive rebellion?"

She shot Umbridge a sideways look at this but didn't say anything.

"It has to be Potter," Umbridge cried. "He's acting out more and more and this is just him -"

"We have no proof Mr Potter had anything to do with what happened yesterday!" McGonagall exclaimed, defending her favorite student. "He has never done something so disruptive over the course of his school career."

Snape snorted in disbelief, causing McGonagall to shoot him a dirty look. Dumbledore shook his head and waved his hand, signalling for both his most important teachers to behave themselves.

"I must say, even if it is Potter-" Snape ignored McGonagall's scathing look. "-He can't be doing it alone. The entire school was wired with traps beyond the capabilities of a single wizard who hasn't graduated yet."

"So he had his two pets helping him." Umbridge snarled. "Hardly a deduction worthy of the Unspeakables."

"We don't know anything yet," Dumbledore said placating before his Transfiguration professor could well and truly loose her temper. "Personally, I highly doubt Harry Potter is at the source of this chaos."

"And that...that...! that slander on my wall, I demand it be removed, and that I be in charge of disciplining those responsible." Umbridge fumed.

"My dear lady, whatever are you referring to?" Dumbledore asked genially.

"They called me a criminal and accused me of murder," Umbridge stormed. She slammed her first against the table the teachers were sitting at. "The shame of it! Accusing an upstanding Ministry member, the pack of budding anarchists!"

Poppy coughed, covering her mouth with her hand. Umbridge turned and frowned at her, but the nurse merely waved it off as something catching in her throat. Once the toadlike woman had looked away, Poppy coughed again. Only this time, Flitwick who was sitting next to her thought the noise sounded oddly like 'wonder why'.

"It's certainly unquestionable that the students are rebelling." Snape said, returning everyone's attention to the matter at hand. "The question I believe needs immediate answering is how they could have gotten away with it. I find it strange that under threat of expulsion, not a single student confessed or came forward with information, other then those who had been on the wrong end of the events yesterday."

"Not to mention the equipment." Aurora put in. "They would have needed several students working all night to cast those charms on the school walls. We should speak to the ghosts and ask if they saw anything out of the ordinary."

"Good thought, Aurora. Minerva, if you wouldn't mind asking around once we're done here?"

The Transfiguration Professor nodded. "I can't say if I'll turn up much, especially if we're talking about Peeves, but it's a lead."

"Perhaps they gathered in Hogsmeade?" Flitwick suggested. "There's got to be quite a number of them, and I can't imagine they met up in one of the classrooms, it would be too conspicuous. All the older students go down there during the weekends, and the chaos yesterday would have required some advanced spellwork."

"Perhaps." Dumbledore ruminated. "I suppose we can cancel Hogsmeade visits and see who tries to sneak out. It's the only lead we seem to have so far."

BOOM.

The noise was soft, as it came from further down the hall, but the faint, putrid odor that reached the teacher's lounge a moment later allowed them to identify it immediately.

"Dung Bomb!" Sprout said in alarm.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

"A lot of Dung Bombs," Aurora added, trepidation visible in her voice. Umbridge's eyes bugged out slightly, before she got up and hurried down the hallway.

"Miss Umbridge, I wouldn't recommend-" Dumbledore began before an unholy shriek rang out from the direction of the noises.

"I believe our students are making their opinion of the Ministry supplied teacher very clear," Snape drawled, looking torn between annoyance and amusement at the woman's predicament.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

"The only sure way to get rid of Umbridge would be to make her admit what she did to you," Cho told Harry. Flora nodded thoughtfully as she chewed on a flavoured bean. They were sitting side by side on the stairwell that lead to the Gryffindor dorms, sharing news and looking through the paper for any potential signs of Death Eater movement.

"How would we do that, though?" Harry asked, frowning as various options passed through his mind. "I could try tricking her into admitting it, but it would be my word against hers, and that's not going to cut it for Fudge."

Cho frowned at the reminder. "Well...I could get a detention with her and file a complaint. That might work."

Harry shook his head. "I don't want to let that toadish bitch anywhere near you guys, especially after what she did to Flora." He said firmly. "Either we raise enough complaints to get noticed by the courts, or we have to get her to confess."

Flora tapped her foot against the floor. "There's something that springs to mind, but I wonder if Professor Snape has any." She mused.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Veratiserum." Flora answered. "A truth potion. What it does is force people to answer any question asked with truth – just three drops is enough to completely block someone's ability to lie."

"That...that's a thing?" Harry asked, stupefied. "Why wasn't it used on Sirius back when he was first captured? He was Voldemort's second, they could have farmed him for all identified death eaters and everything about his master."

He had to keep the fact that Sirius was innocent close to his chest for now, since he couldn't prove that to his fellow students just yet. Once he recovered Peter Pettigrew he'd be able to prove what happened that night decisively, but until then he would have to follow the party line.

"The official excuse is that anyone with sufficient abilities in wandless magic could seal their throat or create and antidote to prevent the serum from working." Cho responded, rolling her eyes. The gesture seemed strange for her; usually she was proper and pleasant. "Never mind that you can lock someone up until any antidotes have left their system, and that even wandless magic as visible affects especially when used in front of dozens of witnesses. The death eaters wouldn't have wanted Veratiserum used, because it would have smashed their 'imperious' lies."

Harry ground his teeth, thinking about how easily he would have been cleared of charges at the sham of a trial he had received if someone had suggested this truth potion. It would have been a logical choice, and how many fifth years new wandless magic or were sufficiently good at potions to create the anti-serum, especially when they had been locked away in the muggle world since the end of school?

"Considering how talented Professor Snape is said to be, I bet he's capable of making Veratiserum," Flora said, the gears in her brain turning. "If we could get into the potion's classroom where he keeps his stocks, I bet we could find some."

Harry nodded before frowning slightly. "It's a start, but how would we get Umbridge to drink it? I imagine she'll be on her guard after the hell we gave her yesterday."

"Good for her," Flora sneered, "But the bitch isn't that smart. She's incapable of wandless magic and she always has tea for all her meals. If we could get it into the tea, we can dose her steadily throughout the day and then stage a big blowup in the afternoon defense against the Dark Arts class. We'll have our guys throw questions at her that she'll answer truthfully, and if one teacher with half a brain in her head, say, Minerva McGonagall happened to be walking past the door..."

Cho, thinking he had spotted a hole in this plan, said, "But Flora, the house elves prepare all the food we and the teachers eat. How would we be able to dose her food?"

Flora scowled, having clearly not thought of that. Harry, however, was given an idea. "I know an elf that works here half the time," He said abruptly. "He-well, he used to belong to the Malfoys but I managed to free him."

"Really?" Flora's eyebrows shot up. "You mean, you made it so the Malfoys actually have to lift a finger to get anything done in their house?" When Harry nodded sheepishly, the dirty haired girl grinned. "You've got to tell me that story sometime."

"Erm, maybe later." Harry said, a bit embarrassed. He didn't want to disappoint her with how relatively mundane his trick had been. "But my point is, do you think with his help it's possible for us to pull this off?"

Cho started to smile as well. "You'd have to swear him into secrecy," She said, "but if you saved him from the Malfoy family I don't doubt he'd do anything you asked. I would."

Harry wondered what this meant. Had Cho experienced some of Draco's maliciousness first hand? The thought sent a hot spike of anger through his chest.

"But with an elf helping us...yes, this could work." Cho got up and started pacing. "Of course, this all hinges on Professor Snape actually having some Veratiserum, but we can't be sure of that unless we can check his stores."

"So we set up a monumental distraction." Flora's grin grew wolfish. "We can do that...easily. Where are the Weasley Twins?"

%&%&%&%&%&%%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry might have felt sorry for letting the Weasley Twins completely off their chain back in first year. But watching them fill the hallways with charmed fireworks, causing the teachers to all run to the Great Hall in a panic, was far more satisfying for him to care.

"Oh, I hope they try vanishing them next," Flora said gleefully as they ran down the hall hidden by his invisibility cloak. "That makes them multiply by three, double in heat and speed up."

It didn't take long to get into the dungeons. It was utterly deserted thanks to the distraction, with the Slytherins largely being either the future death eaters in the Common Room or the recruits in the Room of Requirement. With all the teachers upstairs, the potion's lab was deserted.

Flora unlocked the door with a muttered spell and the two wolverines went into the back room, where three large shelves were waiting for them.

Temporarily taking the cloak off, Flora immediately grabbed onto the convenient ladder and pulled herself up three rungs, scanning the shelves while Harry was on lookout. "Hmm...wolfsbane... amorentia..." she muttered, running her fingers along the smooth wood. "...Draught of the Living Dead., that could be quite useful" She pocketed the extra vial before going back to searching. "...Shrinking solution...ah!"

She grabbed a small green bottle off the highest shelf and jumped back to the ground. Harry turned around and murmured, "Did you find it?"

Grinning manically, Flora held up the slender vial up at eye level. "This is it. And it's completely full! There's enough for ten men in this. This is perfect."

Another loud bang went off upstairs. "I hope the twins are smart enough not to get caught this time," Harry said grimly as he threw the cloak over them again.

They headed off upstairs once more. However, Harry stopped when he hit the top of the stairwell, causing Flora to bump into him and curse when she nearly dropped the potion. She was about to ask what the hell was up when she spotted Dumbledore talking quietly to McGonagall."

"...Chaos! This is not a good sign, Albus." The transfiguration professor was saying as they walked into earshot. Harry inched his way over to the wall, Flora following him, eyes fixed on the two old masters. "This is getting out of hand! It's only a matter of time before Umbridge calls for Aurors, and then what will happen? You have to stop this before it comes to that!"

"Believe me, Minerva, I will try not to let that happen," Dumbledore said gravely, "But as you say, this has escalated too quickly for me to suppress it entirely without reprisal."

"Let them respond," Flora hissed softly with barely contained hatred. "I'd love to see the look on their faces before I punch them in. Please, please, do give me a chance to hurt them."

"Sshhh!" Harry urged her, thoughtlessly placing a hand against her arm. Her skin was soft from recent healing potions and he could feel old scars under his fingers.

The girl tensed up immediately at the sudden contact, turning and staring deeply at him with her mismatched eyes. Anger and fear and surprise flashed through them all at once; it just then occurred to Harry that she hadn't been touched much, if ever, without feeling pain afterwards. He withdrew his hand, trying to apologize with his expression while he kept listening.

Flora's expression become unreadable at that. She stared at him for a moment longer before returning her attention to the scene before them.

"The children are misguided in these actions," Dumbledore said, as though he were talking about a bunch of stupid toddlers as opposed to battered teenagers with their backs against the wall. "They don't seem to realize that this isn't how the honor Cedric's memory, it will only make things worse."

And what would make them better, hum? Just sitting here and smiling in the faces of our potential murderers? Lying down and waiting for some imaginary hero to rush in and save us, ignoring death's cold hand reaching for our necks? Harry thought angrily. If reacting to danger isn't what we should do, what is the right way professor?

"And how do you intend to convince them of that?" McGonagall snapped. "One of their own was murdered in cold blood, and the Ministry is spitting on his grave by calling it an accident. Cedric was well-loved by people of all houses, which is not something that many people can claim, Albus! Some of them are angry enough that they won't listen to reason. They want action, and so far the Order has done nothing overt!"

"As I've told you Minerva, we cannot afford to be overt now." Dumbledore answered, sounding pained. "The Ministry is-"

"Hang the Ministry! Since when did you accommodate them so much? We know Voldemort is back, and he isn't going away while Fudge waddles about making his job easy for him!"

"We have no proof." Dumbledore said with a sigh. "And we need to get into the Ministry to retrieve the prophecy."

Prophecy? Flora mouthed out, glancing towards Harry. He shook his head, not understanding either, before listening more intently then before.

"I don't see why the prophecy is so important," McGonagall grumbled. "Of course Voldemort will be distracted by his attempts to gain it, but he won't spend all his time looking for it without rebuilding his army. With the Dementors joining him, it surely won't be long before he returns to his full strength."

"The prophecy is very important, Minerva, for it contains the secret to his defeat." Dumbledore responded. "Harry. As long as neither know, Voldemort shall be wary."

Harry let out a sharp breath.

Prophecy? There was a prophecy stating that he was the doom of Voldemort? Was that what Dumbledore was saying? How...Harry's mind flooded with all the times he had managed to stop Voldemort and survive confronting him. Five times, including his birth. So there was something about him that stopped Voldemort, something he didn't know about, something he could harness to end this war...

"You should tell him, Dumbledore-"

"I will not burden him with the knowledge." Dumbledore responded. "I have to handle this, Minerva, as I have before."

"You old fuckhead," Flora muttered disbelievingly.

Dumbledore and McGonagall both turned in their direction. Harry tensed up, prepared to run, to do anything – but after a few breathless moments the two teachers turned around and kept walking.

Once they were around the corner, Harry and Flora took off in concert and ran. Without stopping, they went straight to the Room of Requirement and stumbled inside.

Gasping, Harry threw the cloak off and collapsed in one of the waiting chairs. Flora slowed down but kept walking, tapping her heel against the ground as she caught her breath.

"A prophecy. You can beat Voldemort." Flora muttered. "Unbelievable. It's fact. It's written in magic itself. You can kill him."

"Apparently," Harry said, stunned. "But I doubt that's the whole prophecy. Somehow, I think there's more to it."

"That the ever-omniscient Dumbledore is keeping to himself," Flora said through gritted teeth. "Seriously, fuck that old man. Idiotic, brain-dead, irresponsible jackass."

"Flora-" Harry started, but the Slytherin girl rounded on him, eyes blazing.

"We need to get that prophecy." She declared.

Harry gaped at her. "What?"

"Yes, we do. As soon as possible." Flora said fiercely.

Harry shook his head, unsure of how to deal with this sudden development. But he remembered a headline that morning about increased security in the Ministry after their break in and shook his head. Their presence hadn't been discovered or named, but the Aurors would be on their guard. Getting in would be extremely dangerous, especially since they were still testing the waters.

Trying to figure out what his fellow wolverine was freaking out about, he gestured wildly with one hand before starting, "Flora. That's deep in the Ministry. We don't even know where to look and apparently, neither does Voldemort. Why-"

"You don't understand, Harry!" Flora stormed, a wild light shining in her eyes. "A prophecy stating you can defeat Voldemort is the biggest break we could possibly ask for. People will rally behind you if this becomes public knowledge."

"What?" Harry sputtered, staring uncomprehendingly at her.

Flora stared at him as though he'd lost his mind. "Prophecies – real ones – are taken very seriously, Harry. Its when fate speaks through a mortal oracle to bind people's futures, to give hints of what is to come, and most importantly, to anoint those intended for great purposes! Haven't you read any of the Greek myths?"

"That...isn't exactly encouraging, considering what happened in a lot of those myths..." Harry said, head spinning.

Flora waved a hand impatiently. "Times are different now. Don't you understand? People will believe this. The words of fate...wizards have thrown their lot in on lesser chances. Knowing that a prophecy is behind you will gain you allies in places we would never be able to reach otherwise. If this goes public, some people will stop sticking their heads in the sand and respond."

She stomped over to him and slammed her hands down on his wrists. Harry jerked back, almost afraid of her sudden intensity. "It will tell them that Voldemort can be beaten!"

There it was again, that look of wild hope where none had existed before. Flora had lived in fear of Voldemort and his shadow her entire life. Now... "Voldemort's power comes from the fact that people think he's invincible. His lackies, the ministry, the people...they all believe that. He must be afraid of this prophecy and he's right to. He's not all powerful and he's not a god. Someone can strike him down. You can strike him down!"

"It proves every time you've managed to escape him is true. Your survival...his return...it's linked, Harry, the prophecy is already coming true. We need to know everything, and everyone needs to know that Voldemort can be beaten. It will deliver a blow to his confidence, it might even plant the smallest seeds of fear in him...we need that. It gives us a chance."

Harry tried to reel in all of Flora's frantic words while his own head spun at the implications of what she was saying. A prophecy stating him as the one who could defeat Voldemort...

"Maybe you're right," he gasped out as she let him up. Pushing himself to his feet, he said, "We need to talk to Hermione, Ron and the others first. And before we do anything about this, we need to deal with Umbridge. Before we even think about going to the Ministry, we have to be able to get out of this school. And if we're going to do that..."

"The bitch needs to be taken care of," Flora muttered, her sudden energy ebbing a bit. "Right. Right. I... I got a bit carried away. Forgot that." Swinging her arms back and forth, she walked in a circle and said, "Right. Let's go find your brainy friend then."

Harry nodded, "She's probably in the common room."

The two of them were about to leave the room when suddenly Flora walked out in front of Harry. The boy came to a surprised stop, staring into those intense blue and green eyes again.

"Harry-" Flora halted for a moment, before shaking her head and saying, "Harry, I should tell you – please – don't touch me like that without..." She trailed off, that look of shame and fear and anger flashing across her face again. "Look, you kinda scared me for a moment there, okay? I nearly punched you in the face."

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered sincerely. "It was an instinct. Didn't occur to me until a moment later..." He trailed off to, unable to voice the fact that with all the torment she had experienced, physical contact might not be the most comforting thing for her.

"No, it's just...just...warn me, okay?" Flora managed, looking away from him. Her hair fell over her shoulder. "Make sure I'm looking at you when you touch me. I...I need to see your eyes when you do. Or else I don't feel safe."

"Okay. I will." The boy said softly. Unbidden, he remembered the first time Hermione had hugged him. He had thought of being held down by Piers and another one of Dudley's fat friends while his whale cousin punched him over and over in the face. He had grabbed both her shoulders and shoved hard, stumbling away and clutching his wrists. "I understand-"

"How-" Flora's eyes flashed, and suddenly the fury was back. "Those muggles. It was bad, wasn't it?"

Harry didn't have to answer. It wasn't really a question either way. Flora clenched her fists so tightly her nails cut into the skin.

"Harry? Don't ever take me to meet them." She looked at him again. Those eyes were burning like furnaces straight out of hell. "Not unless you want them dead."

Harry nodded shortly. "I see. I'll say the same about Alecto Carrow."

Something almost like a smile flashed across the girl's face, but it was too bitter and had too many teeth for it to mean anything good. "That's kind of you. But I'd appreciate...being able to do it myself."

"...I understand that too."

%&%&%&%&%%&&%%&%&%&

"A prophecy." Ginny repeated. When Flora nodded, the young redhead pinched the bridge of her nose and bit her lip as though suppressing a scream. "Don't tell me. Our much benightedly headmaster is keeping it to himself because it's 'too sensitive' and 'his burden' or something equally stupid. Am I right?"

"How did you ever guess?" Flora replied dryly.

"Yes, because telling everyone who's convinced Voldemort is some kind of god that he can die like any other person is somehow a bad idea," Ron said. When Harry shrugged, the other boy turned as red as his hair and said, "Bloody hell, are you serious? How did he even come to that conclusion?"

"Well obviously there's something else in the prophecy that's making him think it should be hidden," Hermione said with a slight frown. "Of course, you're both right. Knowing that Voldemort's potential death is ordained in a prophecy..."

"Where would we even look for it?" Harry asked, trying to get directly to the point.

"It would be in the Department of Mysteries." Blaise Zabini replied, having walked up behind them with silenced feet. Harry nearly jumped out of his chair but turned to face the other boy.

"You're certain?" He asked.

Blaise nodded. "Yes. I have a good understanding of the ins and outs of the Ministry. There's an entire section of the Mysteries department that is a holding room for prophecies of future events. Only those who the prophecy is about can reclaim and read them."

"But if we're going to get it," Daphne Greengrass came to join her fellow Slytherin, "We need to get rid of Umbridge. She's having the Floo network monitered and she's summoning Aurors to tighten security on the school."

"Then we'd best get to that." Harry said, standing to his full height. "Now, I just need to figure out when's a good time to talk to Dobby."

"You called for Dobby, Master Harry Potter sir?" The little elf asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"If he's bonded to you, you just have to call his name," Daphne said, smiling slightly at Harry's befuddled expression.

"I see," Harry mumbled, hoping it wasn't too obvious how much that had surprised him. He now had an image to maintain after all. Crouching down to face Dobby at equal height, Harry waved Flora over and said, "Dobby, I need you to do me a big favor and no one can know about it other then us..."

End Chapter

Next chapter, Umbridge gets her comeuppance. Read and Review please!

6. Chapter 6

The Art of War

Wanda: Whew! This chapter was harder then I was expecting for some reason. I kept rewriting it because I felt like the victory had been won too easily. Anyhow, it's a bit on the short side, but I hope you guys enjoy it! I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 6: Confessions of a Murderous Toad

"What...you didn't...YOU LITTLE RAT!" -Father Cornello, Full Metal Alchemist

Harry watched Umbridge drink her tea that morning with no small amount of trepidation. He trusted that Dobby had managed to spike it – the lack of accusations from the elves in the kitchen supported that – he was just hoping that this would work. Ron was already brainstorming with Dean how to get Professor McGonagall to skulk around the classroom in order to hear Umbridge's confession, though there were the students outside of the wolverines who were sympathetic but unwilling to put themselves in danger who would likely report it to Dumbledore.

Megan Jones figured that while Professor McGonagall might be Dumbledore's personal Yes Woman, she still possessed some empathy for her students, which was more then could be said for the headmaster. Hence why she had been chosen.

Professor Snape was also an option, in case the Transfiguration Professor was pre-occupied. As much as the Wolverines collectively loathed the man, he clearly despised Umbridge as much as they did and would probably be glad for any reason to see the woman out the door.

Harry shook his head and focused on eating his own meal. He would need all the strength he could get. While eating, he thought about some of Hermione's plans to get inside the Ministry. With Umbridge gone, they could probably use the Floo, but Dumbledore would undoubtedly have it watched. Harry also doubted any distractions would work on the headmaster the way they did on the teachers, which probably meant only a handful of Wolverines would be able to go.

That worried him. Aside from Blaise's vague offerings, they didn't know what security would look like inside the Ministry after their last visit. Plus, he wasn't sure how Fudge would react to Umbridge getting revealed and sacked. Obviously he would need to do something to redirect the attention of angry parents, but what could he do?

Harry found himself glancing over at the Slytherin table. Flora was staring down at her plate, avoiding everyone's eyes. Her expression was taught with controlled emotion. Hestia looked more nervous; glancing around the room as though she expected something to give them away.

Flora looked up and caught his eye. His concerns must have shown on his face, because she nodded slightly before returning her attention to breakfast.

Don't worry.

Harry felt a slight smile tug at the edge of his lips, though he hardly felt like celebrating at that moment. Flora's bluntness was rather refreshing at times.

"Ready for Defence Against the Dark Arts today, mate?" Ron asked in a low voice.

Harry set his face. "Ready as I'll ever be."

DADA Room

Umbridge's facade had cracked considerably.

Clearly the woman hadn't quite recovered from their initial retaliation, because despite her trying for the sugary grandmother expression she had at the beginning of the school year the malice in her eyes was showing though. Her smile was slightly off, the way she walked was stiff...a blind person could tell she was dying to lash out.

Which was just what Flora Carrow wanted.

The stiff gait was from the Veratiserum – Dobby had done it! The woman was going to dig her own grave – Flora gave it five minutes before she accused Harry of something, opening up the avenue for them to take her down.

"Good morning class," She said, false cheery voice cracking.

"Good morning," A handful of students responded. None of the wolverines in the class said anything, while the rest looked about nervously.

"I said, good morning class!" Oooh, definite voice crack.

"Good morning."

"Now, today...today, provided we have no more unwanted interruptions-" She threw a venomous look at Harry when she said that. Instead of getting angry, Flora grinned.

"Like more decrees?" Ron sniped.

"Shut up, Weatherby!" Umbridge snapped, not looking at him. Ron went red at the ears at the nickname. "There will be no fear-mongering in this class?"

"As opposed to hate mongering?" Maya Pritchard inquired coldly. "A whole government against one boy, there's nothing wrong with that?!"

"Harry Potter is a liar and a fraud!" Umbridge shrieked. "He's trying to undermine the Ministry! He should be silenced!"

Everyone not in the secret society looked nervously at each other, unsure of what to do. Malfoy was smirking; but he wouldn't be smiling for long.

"Silenced how?" Ron demanded. "Is our oh-so-noble Ministry planning to terrorize innocent people into silence? Is that why people come out of detention with you with their hands carved up with an illegal blood quill?"

"THEY DESERVED IT!" Umbridge shouted, causing a collective gasp from those who didn't know. "The Ministry is the law! Those who question the Ministry threaten the law and the order in our Britain!"

"So you torture children for daring to disagree with you?" Maya stormed. "You'd rather hide from a monster then face him while risking what little power you have?"

"THE MINISTRY WILL NOT BE USURPED BY A LITTLE BRAT WHO DIDN'T DIE WHEN HE WAS SUPPOSED TO!" Umbridge screamed, her eyes bugging out. She looked like she was trying to keep herself from saying these things, but the potion was too strong.

"You're wishing death on a baby?" Flora asked dryly. "Wow, you're kind of a bitch."

"He was supposed to die this summer!" Umbridge snarled. "But no, he just had to be capable of a patronus! Of course the half-breed would have coddled him, hoping to raise his status in the eyes of an Heir."

A gasp rippled through the classroom. Malfoy paled rapidly at this statement.

A moment later, the door burst open. Professor McGonagall ran in, flanked by Hermione Granger and Cho Chang. Cho was looking furious and vengeful while Hermione was glaring at the toadlike woman. If looks could kill, the toad would be nothing but ash.

Without a word, McGonagall stunned the loathsome woman. Levitating her up, she turned towards the students and said shakily, "All of you who have suffered detention with this..." Her voice faltered for a moment, "...this vile woman are to report to the Hospital Wing immediately. The rest of you...to your dorms. Now."

The crowd dispersed. Flora intended to sneak out and head back to the dorms when Ginny Weasley stepped out in front of her. "You should go to the hospital too," She said quietly.

Flora bristled instinctively. "Are you kidding me? If I get listed as a victim in the papers – and there will be papers – my father will think I squealed."

"But you need rest," Ginny insisted. "Those potions that Hermione gave you before are only rudimentary. You need further healing."

Flora shook her head, not sure how to respond at first. "I can't afford that right now. Don't worry, I'm used to pain."

Ginerva Weasley's eyes flashed with fury. Flora marveled at the fact someone so different from her could feel so much empathy for what she had been through.

In the Main Hall, after dinner that same day

Cho Chang sat with her hands folded in her lap, looking every bit the proper and dignified young lady her lord parents wanted her to be. Inside, she was both prideful and seething, the two emotions struggling for dominance.

"Given recent discoveries," Albus Dumbledore said gravely from his position at the Podium. "And the events of the previous day, the Minister has decided to place Aurors among the staff of our school in order to ensure your safety. They will be sitting in on classes and monitoring the gates in and out of the school. I have been promised that they will not interfere with classes or search and seize without due jurisdiction."

Sure they won't, Fudge, Cho thought angrily. Sure they won't. You needed to backpedal after loosing your chief toady, but you wouldn't give up your stranglehold without a fight, would you?

There were ten aurors in question. Cho recognized a few more of the man's toadies – Auror Dawlish, for instance, was a thick-headed man who had only achieved a single OWL prior to graduating Hogwarts. But was sycophantic enough that Fudge had pulled rank and given him a job in the force despite him being unqualified and prone to getting beaten up by more experienced wizards constantly.

"After the disturbing discovery made about one Dolores Umbridge, extra security will need to be practices to ensure that such things do not happen again...I am greatly ashamed that I unknowingly allowed someone so dangerous into Hogwarts under my tenure."

And yet you were perfectly fine knowingly leading a serial killer and dark lord into a school of children with zero security other then a dog and 'don't go to the third floor'. Cho thought scornfully, remembering the incident as Harry had described it to her. So that's fine, but Umbridge he's ashamed of. You would think someone who had lived that long would have a concept of irony.

"These aurors are here to protect you...if you suspect misdoings going on within the school, please report it to them so safety may be maintained..."

The blood oath will mostly protect us from discovery, but that doesn't mean they can't find out about us before we can branch out from inside the school, Cho realized with a flash of panic. We need to draw Fudge's attention elsewhere; damn it, I thought the scandal with Umbridge would be enough.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cho spotted Hermione trying to get her attention. Turning towards her, Cho mouthed out, What is it?

Meet me and Harry in the Room of Requirement, Hermione responded. I have a plan.

Cho let out a sigh of relief, wondering what the brainy Gryff had in mind. She tuned out the rest of Dumbledore's pat speech, choosing to instead remember the last dance she had shared with Cedric – the Yule Ball, before the second task. That felt like it had happened a lifetime ago.

Cho brushed away tears that threatened to fall; she had to be strong now if she didn't want Cedric's death to go unpunished.

The meeting seemed to go on forever; Cho stood at the end gently brushing Marietta away, saying that she 'needed a few minutes'. Departing from the hall, she hurried up the stairs to the third floor and entered the room of requirement.

Harry, Flora and Hermione joined her a moment later, Hermione looking quite satisfied.

"What's the plan?" Cho asked.

"I have a...deal, with Rita Skeeter," Hermione announced.

"No," Flora said disbelievingly. "How the hell did you do that? Even death threats are laughed off by that woman."

"A life sentence to Azkaban is nothing to laugh off," Hermione responded. "Between all the libel laws she's dodged and the fact that she's an illegal Animagus, Skeeter will be wishing for death if I choose to expose her."

Cho's temper flared when she remembered the awful articles that had been written during the tournament. "So that's how she knew all those details! That horrible woman was spying on us!" She was grateful that the woman had chosen not to make public the more intimate moments of her and Cedric's relationship.

"Yes," Harry said. "But here's where the good news comes in. Rita has a lot of newspaper ties. We're going to have her write a tell-all expose."

"It's also going in the Quibbler," Hermione added, "A newspaper run by Luna Lovegood's father. It's usually a conspiracy theorist paper," Flora frowned at her, "but with this kind of information it will be a hot seller. Plus, Fudge won't be able to shut down both the Quibbler, which is privately owned, and the Daily Prophet's Current Events section."

Cho nodded slowly, smiling, before asking, "How are we going to meet with her? We've been banned from Hogsmeade visits, right?"

"Well, some good did come out of Umbridge's sacking," Flora informed her. "Dumbledore is allowing a two-day weekend at Hogsmeade. I guess that's supposed to 'make up' for letting Fudge sic the twisted bitch on us."

"A weak gesture," Cho snorted, "But convenient."

"I wanted you to be there," Harry said. "You and Flora. We're going to tell them everything." He gave her a sweet, concerned look. "Will you be okay?"

Cho nodded slowly. "No," She whispered. "But I have to do it. Then, I might be okay eventually."

Two Days Later

There was a huge rabble at breakfast when the Daily Prophet rolled in. Children were babbling and exchanging newspapers, while a smiling Harry handed his copy over to Ginny, who immediately dug in:

I Have Seen The Dark Lord – He Lives in Many Ways

Harry Potter and his companions boldly speak up

Ministry Corruption, Death Eaters Still at Large, The Monster's Return May Be Inevitable

Having been called a delusional liar by the press for several months, Harry Potter and several of his friends at school have declared that not only have they spoken the truth, but the Ministry has tried to suppress it because high profile members are closeted Death Eaters. This intrepid reporter managed to score an interview, under deepest secrecy, with the boy himself, who has narrowly escaped death for the fifth time in his life.

R: How could You-Know-Who have returned? You destroyed him without a trace as a child.

H: Black magic. Blood magic. He used my blood, the bone of his deceased father, and the hand of his servant Wormtail to construct a new body for himself. He had Barty Crouch Jr transform the trophy into a portkey. Cedric and I had grabbed it at the same time, causing both of us to travel to a graveyard.

R: So this is how Cedric Diggory died?

Anonymous 1 (she wished to remained unnamed in the article): Yes. When both he and Harry were brought there, they were confronted by Wormtail. Voldemort told him, "Kill the spare," and...(cokes back a sob) and he was dead. He wasn't a threat, they could have just stunned him or forced him out of the way but they didn't. He was killed...just because he was there.

R: Harry, how did you escape, if you were surrounded by You-Know-Who and his most loyal followers?

H: Call him Voldemort, Miss. He's going to kill you either way if he gets the chance. He insisted on duelling me, one on one, so he could prove that my survival as a baby had been a fluke. To prove his superiority. I survived thanks to my mother's protection.

R: Lily Potter's...protection? I'm sorry, I don't quite understand.

H: When my mother died that night, Voldemort confronted her in the nursery. She stood between me and him and begged him not to kill me, offering her own life in my stead. When Voldemort murdered her, the love she had for me formed a protection so powerful that when Voldemort attempted to silence me with the killing curse, it was thrown back in his face.

R: What a brave woman.

H: (stoically) Yes, she was. I wish I could have grown up with her, but Voldemort saw to it that I couldn't. The Ministry spits on her grave, and Cedric's, by refusing to confront him now that he has returned.

R: Why would the Ministry deny such a threat if it truly existed?

Anonymous 1: (Scathingly) Because half of them are cowards, and the other half agree with him but are too chicken-shit afraid of either loosing their current power or things going wrong to join him outright. After all, dear Minister Fudge sees no problem accepting hefty bribes from Lucius Malfoy, a WILLING death eater who escaped imprisonment with a silver tongue and a lot of gold, whenever someone tries to change the status quo. Minister Fudge saw no problem hiring Amycus and Alecto Carrow, who torture their own children on a regular basis and still go out on 'let's toture some muggles!' nights, because who cares what happens to non magical people? Did you know our DEAR minister keeps a cataloge of covered up rapes of muggles by purebloods? Really, the only difference I see between the Ministry and Voldemort is a conflict of interest regarding who gets power.

R: How do you know those things to be true?

Anonymous 1: Because that was my life up until now. Headmaster and teachers never noticed a damn thing.

R: So, according to you, the Ministry is in cahoots with Voldemort?

H: No, not all of them. Though he certainly has his spies and plants within the organization. What the Ministry is, however, is a corrupt basin that encourages people like Voldemort to exist, because in the end they aren't that different from him. After all, who other then Voldemort is willing to set soul-sucking demons on a fifteen-year-old boy to silence anything that could shake their grip on their power?

R: Dementors?

H: Oh yes, didn't you hear from my sham of a trial? I managed to drive them away with a patronus, but how many half bloods and muggleborns know that spell around these years? They were sent to attack me by none other then Dolores Umbridge, under Fudge's orders no doubt. He will deny it, but I know the truth.

Anonymous 1: The bitch put me in the hospital with her illegal blood quill. Anybody who didn't follow the Ministry like obedient little drones was forced to carve words like 'I shall respect my betters' or 'I must not tell lies' into the backs of their hands, their blood used for ink. Those have been illegal on six continents for years now, but since when did they care about what's morally wrong?

H: She didn't teach us any magic in class. Minister Fudge is so afraid of having an army raised to topple him from his throne that he would rather have an entire generation of useless Aurors and children who wouldn't be able to protect themselves in extreme situations. Instead, she had us reading useless theory and punished anyone who used magic.

Anonymous 2: It didn't matter when a boy had been murdered in cold blood. They would rather call it an accident then face the truth. I wouldn't be surprised if half of the men who work in our Ministry decide to join Voldemort; most of them are blood purists after all.

H: I've barely escaped Voldemort five times now, when he confronted me directly. But his influence has followed me everywhere I go. Do you know that the word 'mudblood' is thrown about in the hallways without the slightest consequences? In the muggle world, using a similar word at school would earn you a suspension. I saw Malfoy strutting around all throughout my second year, bragging that the heir of Slytherin was going to slaughter all his muggleborn and half blood classmates. Was he punished? No, because he knew that his bigoted daddy and paid-off politician friends would keep him safe from any reprisal, no matter how deserved.

Anonymous 2: Morally, Voldemort and the Ministry are much alike. That's why they've been trying to discredit Harry all this time.

H: How much of what you've been told is bullshit? You probably don't know, do you? Do you realize how much danger you're in? How much people have been suffering, even before Voldemort came along to claim the title of most dangerous Dark Lord ever seen, because the Ministry has been so corrupt?

Anonymous 1: We can't – we REFUSE to just sit here and take this anymore! I'm tired of having to go home to face the Cruciatus because people can't be arsed to help me!

Anonymous 2: I'm tired of having to fear my classmates, who might attack me or continue to harm me just because I'm born to muggle parents. I'm smarter then a good deal of 'pure bloods', and I realize know that I deserve better then this. Everyone who is muggle born or pure blood deserves better then this.

H: I'm sure you readers believe the 'vaunted' Ministry is keeping you safe. But ask yourself, what is your ancestry – and exactly how 'safe' are you really?

Ginny put the paper down and ginned at Harry. Let it begin.

End Chapter

Next chapter, we see the fallout of this newspaper article. It does its job of distracting Fudge for the time being, but how will Harry and his Wolverines get past both the Order and the DEs to retrieve the prophecy? And will the stirrings of discontent caused by this article plant the seeds of revolution?

Read and Review please!

7. Chapter 7

Art of War

Tyene: I can't believe you haven't broken your brain trying to do this all at once.

Wanda: (typing away while listening to Icon for Hire) Did you say something? Everyone has to have a hobby!

Tyene: (rolls her eyes) Okay, if you're not going to pay attention to me, I'm going to go hunt some ice monsters. I do not own Harry Potter, and neither does she (jerks thumb at Wanda).

Chapter 7: Liar, Liar

Fudge didn't like dealing with parents. Especially because it was their votes that put him in office.

The accusations in Rita Skeeter's article had spread like wildfire in very short order. Howlers had been pouring into the Ministry for hours; the Unspeakables were still doing damage control to keep the building operational.

The worst part were the people pouring in for inheritance tests. They wanted to see if their parents were truly their parents, or if they had been duped.

Fudge had checked the reels that were mentioned in the article, and blanched. While he had known of the list's existence, he had no idea how widespread it was. However, from the looks of it, nearly a quarter of those children who were supposedly 'muggleborn' were actually bastard children of the pureblood nobility.

Now, the Minister was being faced with an unenviable choice – confess to the existence of the list and risk alienating his rich backers, who obviously did not care to acknowledge their children by muggles, or attempt to cover it up.

Covering it up would be very difficult at this point. The information had been spreading too far. The most likely thing to do, however, was to try and distort the actual number from the list. To keep it contained within his office, and hopefully keep out snoops like Skeeter.

There was one name on the list that caught his attention. Hermione Granger.

Or, more accurately, Hermione Lestrange-Granger.

When he had reached that name, the corrupt Minister of Magic had been tempted to do a little happy dance.

Fudge wanted to get back at Harry Potter for revealing this cover up. How did the brat-who-lied even discover such things? Surely no one from an upstanding pureblood family would have revealed such sensitive information to an attention-seeker like him.

But now, if everyone knew who Hermione's father really was, he would have to protect her. Perhaps he'd even drop her for daring to have a 'Death Eater' for a parent. Hah!

There were a few other names too. Sally-Anne Perks was really Sally-Anne Greengrass-Perks. Dean Thomas was really Dean Malfoy-Thomas. Lavander Brown was Lavander Black. (hey, pure blooded woman had kinks too. Plus, Narcissa's blonde hair was rather distinctive.) Colin Creevy was Colin Pritchard. The list went on.

It didn't matter what impact that would have on the women (and men) involved. According to the Ministry, they should be delighted to be given the attentions of such noble wizards, low born as they were.

"We're going to admit to something small," Fudge declared, "And open a small door for legitimization. That should do something against the tide of bad publicity. Dawlish!"

Back At Hogwarts, the Next Day

Harry was brought out of his nap by Hermione's shriek of horror.

He scrambled down into the Gryffindor common room, where Hermione had dropped that day's copy of the Daily Prophet and looked close to hyperventilating. Ginny and Neville were standing on either side of her, holding her hands and looking disgusted.

She wasn't the only one. Lavander Brown looked shell-shocked, an equally stunned Pavarti putting her hand on her shoulder and swearing that this didn't change their friendship. Colin Creevy just looked stumped.

"What is it?" Harry demanded, aghast. "What happened?"

Hermione just sobbed and sank into the chair by the fire place. Ginny, her voice temporarily lost, just handed Harry the copy of the newspaper.

Harry grabbed it and scanned the columns until he reached Fudge's address. "I do confess that there have been a few indescribable that were overlooked the last few years. It is true, there have been some children of noble houses that have been believed to be muggleborns when they entered Hogwarts. As Minister, I wish to right this wrong. All the children mentioned in the list below have been legitimizated, made true members of the Wizarding Community.

Hermione Granger, fifth year Gryffindor, is the daughter of Rabastian Lestrange.

Lavander Brown, fifth year Gryffindor, is a Black through her mother, who still wishes to remain unnamed.

Colin Creevy, fourth year Gryffindor, is the son of Drake Pritchard.

Sally Anne Perks, fifth year Hufflepuff, is the daughter of Caius Greengrass.

Lisa Turpin, fourth year Ravenclaw, is the daughter of Lucius Malfoy.

Heather Campbell, fourth year Ravenclaw, is the daughter of Amycus Carrow.

Eleanor Branstone, second year Hufflepuff, is the granddaughter of Orion Black.

Dean Thomas, fifth year Gryffindor, is the son of Lucius Malfoy.

Janos Train, third year Ravenclaw, is the grandson of Albatrax Malfoy.

Natalie MacDonald, second year Gryffindor, is the daughter of Regulus Black.

Megan Jones, fifth year Hufflepuff, is the granddaughter of Orion Black.

All these children have been recognized as part of a noble house, entitled to allowance and a higher standing then their previous lives suggested. It is heavily suggested that these children take on their family names, so the shrinking houses may continue and they suffer no more abuse for being 'lesser wizards and witches'.

Harry stared down at the list for several minutes, not quite comprehending it. Finally, he tore his eyes away from the missive, the words 'lesser witches and wizards' burning in his ears, to face his distraught friend.

"Hermione," He began, at loss for words.

"He raped my mother, Harry." Hermione sobbed. "He raped her and made her forget. Now they want me to take his name."

Ginny squeezed her hand. "You don't have to, Hermione. And if they twist your arm, you can keep your real surname over it. He's not your real father. Daniel Granger is your real father."

"There are probably a lot more names then that," Neville said grimly. "Fudge is releasing just enough to do damage control...and to try and hurt us while he's at it."

Harry shook his head. "This calls for a meeting."

In the Room of Requirement

"He. Is. Not. My. Grandfather." If Megan Jones could spit fire, Harry's hand would be nothing but ash. A look of pure hatred had overcome her face. "I will die before I acknowledge a raping pureblood bastard as my family!"

"If I meet Rabastian Lestrange, I will kill him with my bare hands!" Hermione said, still slightly teary but now full of righteous rage once again.

"As horrifying as this is," Lisa Turpin said thoughtfully, "I'm going to love forcing Draco Malfoy to call me 'sister'."

Nervous laughter rippled through the crowd. Harry let out a nervous breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He had expected the response to this news to be more violent, but thankfully no one seemed prepared to attack Hermione or the other students who's blood parents were the vicious death eaters they had sworn to take down.

Colin had walked over and sat next to Graham and Maya Pritchard. While there was a certain awkwardness between them, Graham seemed almost receptive of having another family member.

"I can't believe this," Lavander Brown said. Upon this realization, she had followed Hermione to the Room and sworn herself in as a Wolverine, along with her loyal friend Pavarti. "My blood mother's last name is here, and she still doesn't have the guts to acknowledge me? What a bitch. My real mother is Aggie Brown."

"I'm willing to bet ten galleons that your blood mother is Narcissa Black," Graham said. When Lavander gave him a look of horrified disgust, he elaborated, "Punishments for 'indiscretions'" He puts the words in quotation marks, "Are much more severe for the woman than the man. Bellatrix is in Azkaban as of now and I sincerely doubt Andromeda Black, who ran away and married a muggle, is responsible. So that leaves Narcissa, who won't be keen on her husband discovering this."

"Oh, thanks," Lavander muttered. "Before I was just partially tempted to throw up...now I'm sure I'm going to throw up."

"It isn't just you," Lisa said, her eyes showing that despite the levity she was treating the situation with, she was just as angry as anyone else.

"There's definitely more who aren't mentioned on the list," Daphne Greengrass said. "My father makes little secret of how he abuses Imperio and Obliviate, since my mother has gone barren after Astoria's birth." Her younger sister clenched her fist at the reminder.

Daphne then gestured for Sally to come and join her. The Hufflepuff looked uncertain at first, but then walked over. "We're sisters," The Slytherin Ice Queen told the other girl, to the amazement of those who knew her by reputation. "And sisters look out for one another."

Eleanor and Natalie exchanged nervous looks. As granddaughters of one of the most infamous pureblood families, their lives were about to change quite drastically.

"It can't be helped," Flora said grimly. "This information is now out in the open. The question is, how do we adapt to it, and – if possible – how could we use it to our advantage?"

"We don't mean by getting in any way close to those responsible," Hermione added quickly when Megan opened her mouth to let out a scathing rant, "But we all know that those who belong to 'pure-blood' houses tend to get a lot of privileges that others don't. Now that some of us have been 'acknowledged'" She made a face at the words, "We may, despite being half muggle, be made privy to some of these privileges."

"There's a reason that Fudge decided to cut his losses and have some of you declared legitimate," Hestia continued. "A lot of the vaunted 'pure blood houses' have grown smaller over the last few years. Clearly he hopes to expand the roster by acknowledging those who have this ancestry. Particularly the Blacks, since only Sirius Black remains a pure, direct descendant of Orion Black."

A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd. While Harry was yet to reveal the complete details yet (due to lack of Pettigrew for proof) he had spread some doubt regarding Sirius's supposed betrayal of his parents. He wondered if Sirius had gotten the prophet, and knew that he had a niece and two grand-nieces he had never met.

"...I'm not going to have to live with Malfoy, am I?" Janos looked understandably unnerved at the concept.

Heather Campbell made a production of gagging. "If I had to live in the same house as that boy for a week," She said, "Either I will murder him or he will murder me. I guarantee I'd be trying first. Thank god at least my pure blood siblings are sane."

Hestia smiled brightly in return for Heather's friendly look.

Ron let out a short laugh. "And I doubt he'd want that either. What this seems to entail is stuff like money and possibly land or house titles."

Natalie's eyes widened. "Hey! If some of us have inherited houses, we could turn those into bases outside of school!"

For a second, Harry was stuck dumb. Then he laughed and said, "You're right, Natalie! Do any of you know what you've been entitled to yet?"

"It doesn't say in the newspaper," Hermione said with a frown.

"They don't publish that kind of information," Flora explained. "You'll likely be summoned to Gringotts either later today or tomorrow, given keys to vaults and such. They may be the most vicious, ponderous bastards ever suffered to walk to earth, but many are fabulously wealthy and have multiple homes. Likely Fudge is arguing with your so called 'blood families' into parting with a few things in an effort to quiet things down."

"As much as I'm sure you guys would hate to acknowledge them," Harry told the crowd, "Both money and houses would be invaluable to our efforts."

Lisa, Lavander, Natalie, Eleanor, Dean, Colin and the rest looked contemplative at this. Megan still looked furious and unlikely to consent. Harry didn't blame her, but he couldn't deny this could be potentially useful.

"We'd have to make sure that none of our 'parents' would be able to access them," Lisa said, "I'm sure there's magic for that, in case they can."

"Anti-Floo and Apparation wards." Blaise said. "I'm fairly familiar with them – I could help set them up under such circumstances."

"That sounds good," Harry said. "Now, we'd better head down for lunch. I imagine it will be an interesting meal."

Genuine laughter rippled through the Wolverines. Lisa looked like she was searching for a camera.

At Lunch

All it took was a casual glance down the Slytherin table to see how well Draco and his fellow blood purists were taking this revelation.

Draco looked like he wanted to scream. Harry had cautioned Dean, Janos and Lisa to watch their backs around him – undoubtedly Draco would not be interested in either acknowledging them or shaking anything he thought was rightfully his.

Eleanor and Natalie had gone to sit with Megan, reasoning that despite their mutual hatred of their new heritage, that blood made them family. Hermione had been concerned that Megan would snap at them, but thankfully the bitterly angry girl had welcomed them with little comment.

Harry was pre-occupied helping Hermione through the revelation. Once they were relatively alone, Hermione had started crying and apologizing to Neville about his parents. Neville had gently but firmly said that what happened to them was not her fault, she hadn't even been old enough to walk then. It was Bellatrix and her husband's fault, no one elses.

Harry was also aware that if or when Bellatrix escaped Azkaban, she was not going to take Hermione's presence quietly. Mentally he made a plan to kick up weapons and magic training, as well as trying to create some portable portkeys so Hermione would be able to escape should such a thing come to pass.

He had written a letter to Sirius earlier. He thought that, though he hated his family, he wouldn't mind acknowledging the girls or helping them. After all, they were just kids, and what better revenge against his purist parents then to give sanctuary to their half blood children?

Sure enough, owls carrying official letters fluttered throughout the hall just as Daphne had predicted. One was a letter for Hermione, who opened it and read aloud so her friends could hear.

"Seeing as the Lestranges have been put in jail and have no legal rights to their property, you are now the soul inheritor of their estate, including the Mansion and the vaults," Hermione said, shock filling her voice at the last bit, "It is requested that you and the other new heirs travel to Gringotts this afternoon in order to sort out the finances."

Turning towards Harry, she said, "A mansion and vaults! They might as well paint a target on my back and strap a sign to me saying, 'I'm a threat and upstart halfblood, please kill me!'"

"I know Hermione. But to be honest, you're already a threat. This just makes us more public." Harry said semi-comfortingly. "I think you should go, too."

"This isn't gonna go away," Ron agreed. Hermione sighed and smiled weakly at her two best friends, before nodding and tucking the letter back into its envelope and leaving the table.

A goblin had appeared not long after the letters were received. All the 'new' half blood students walked over to join him, while Draco seethed in his seat. Clearly he was planning to rant at Snape or his father the moment he could.

Hermione tried to look encouraging at the younger kids when they were lead out and taken through the floo. The goblin, Griphook, didn't say much until they reached Gringotts.

At Gringotts

"These are your keys," Griphook drawled, handing a brass key to each student. "Your new money and property have been separated from the family vaults. While you are legitimate, you are children of different fathers and mothers so the families have refused to claim you directly. Instead they settled on parting with fractions of their fortunes, as agreed on by both the Ministry and Gringotts."

"I hadn't realized Gringotts had different standards from the Ministry." Heather said in surprise.

Griphook gave Heather a toothy smile. "It is a disgusting sin, to abandon a child, Heather Campbell-Carrow. In the goblin kingdom, you either claim your children, or loose your wealth and standing. It is our law."

Janos looked impressed. Juding by Sally and Dean's expressions, this was not common knowledge. Hermione knew about it thanks to in-depth studying, but it warmed her to hear it all the same. In many ways, the goblins were kinder and better people then the purebloods like Malfoy.

"Janos Train-Malfoy, Lisa Turpin-Malfoy, Dean Thomas-Malfoy, Bearclaw shall take you down to your vaults." Griphook said as two other goblins approached. Bearclaw indicated for them to follow, which they did somewhat nervously.

"Megan Jones-Black" Megan visibly glowered at being called that, "Natalie MacDonald-Black, Eleanor Branstone-Black, you are with Dragontooth. The rest of you...follow me."

Hermione obligingly followed Griphook down to the carts, where the rickety train ride pulled them deep down underground. They passed by a dragon, sleeping in a corridor.

They really did have dragons guarding Gringotts, Hermione thought with shock. They slipped past him.

"Granger first," Griphook said, buisness-like, pointing a clawed hand at one of three closed vaults. Taking a breath, Hermione walked over to it and opened it with her new key. She gasped when she saw the heaps of gold inside.

"The other two vaults have to be inspected before you can remove anything," Griphook said from somewhere behind her. "Given the nature of the previous owners. Now, all of this is yours."

Sally swore she saw the goblin grin at this.

Later that Day, Room of Requirement

"I have never seen that much gold in one place. Even in the movies," Hermione confined in Harry when the next meeting started in earnest. "Also, I have the deed to their Mansion. It would make a good base outside of school – it's very spacious, plenty of warding to keep out intruders. With a little extra protection, like a Feildus or blood ward, it would be perfect for hiding refugees."

"Natalie and Eleanor got houses to," Flora reported. "The lady black was a spiteful bitch when it came to Sirius – only Grimmauld place was given to him, and that's because he was the last living heir. She would rather let her family's assets be liquidated then give them to him because he befriended James Potter in his youth."

Harry expelled an angry breath. He'd gotten a good idea of what a mad bitch Walburga had been thanks to her portrait, but realizing that Sirius had a childhood not all that dissimilar from his was a depressing thought. Had anything good ever happened to Sirius, besides meeting my father and Professor Lupin?

"The rest of us got mainly money and magic trinkets." Lisa Turpin said. "I'm pretty sure Malfoy would have rather died then given us a place to live. If we need more supplies at any point, we're pretty much set."

Harry nodded, before leaning back in his chair. "Well, now that we have places outside of school, we should think of leaving...permanently. At least, some of us."

"Do you have a new attack plan?" Flora asked, intrigued.

"A two-pronged variant." Harry said. "First, we're going to set of a number of controlled explosions within both Gryffindor and Slytherin dorms. The second part is to throw off suspicion as much as possible, while the other one will give some of us an excuse to pull out of school thanks to 'danger'."

"Secondly," Megan Jones said, eyes narrowed in delight. "We're going to attack the Ministry. Not a siege or attempted take over – we go in, blast and blow some things up, then portkey out of there – with the prophecy, and perhaps the rest of that list that Fudge was so afraid of."

"So I need enough portkeys for a thirty-man party," Harry explained. Hands all over shot up immediately. "Those involved should be good with disillusionment charms as well, to conceal their identities. Before we portkey away, we're going to leave a message. A statement."

His eyes narrowed. "Voldemort and The Ministry won't have their way for much longer. A revolution is on the horizon, and we're going to destroy everything they've ever built."

End Chapter

Next comes the attacks and the reveal! If Fudge thought he was in trouble now, wait until Voldemort hears that he's not so invincible after all.

Read and Review please!

8. Chapter 8

Art of War

Wanda: Another chapter, because this brainwave isn't done with me yet! Hah, this is a good feeling! I am on a ROLE here! Also, if anyone's interested, check out my profile - I've posted a number of challenges for anyone who doesn't have a major project right now - PM me if you're interested! Just putting that out there. Anyhow, I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 8: Strike and Retreat

Even when you were expecting them, explosions were startling, frightening and ear-rupturing events.

Megan Jones sprang out of bed immediately went the first bomb went off, rolling away from the windows and anything that could fall as Hermione had instructed. She pressed her hands, covered by socks, over her ears as the next explosion went off, wracking the entire tower and knocking shelves off the wall.

Everyone who wasn't a wolverine was screaming – and even some of them had shrieked when caught off guard, though they marshaled themselves in impressively little time.

A flash of red. Megan glanced to the right, where Zacharias Smith had blood leaking out of his ears. Evidently, he had been too close to one of the the explosions scrambled any coherent thoughts, some part of her brain cheered it as a strike for credibility.

Megan took a moment to drag Heather towards her, and the two of them held onto each other and covered their ears as the tower rocked and fire spurted everywhere, waiting for the explosions to die down.

Over in Slytherin, there were more bombs and more chaos.

Hestia, Flora, and Maya had all hidden themselves in the bathroom; the only guaranteed safe places in the tower. Downstairs, Graham was doing the same, though he had to crouched down in the shower to avoid the shattered mirrors.

Meanwhile, everyone else was getting a full taste of muggle terror. Draco permanently lost hearing in one of his ears, spurting blood all over his expensive curtains. Pansy had a bookcase fall on top of her when she decided that hiding near a heavy object when the floor was pitching up and down was a good idea.

When the rumbling finally ceased, dust was everywhere.

Megan broke the silence in her dorm. "Hell of a way to redecorate."

At Breakfast

The damage had been considerable, though as Harry had planned few people, if anyone, were hurt.

There was dust and chunks of rock and marble everywhere as the students picked their way down to the Great Hall. Many of the first years looked dazed, so Hermione had taken charge to gently shepard them down into their seats.

Dumbledore had summoned Aurors in record time to examine the aftermath. Everywhere you looked, there was someone poking around at the scorch marks or imploded towers. Tonks waved to Harry when he passed her by; he smiled in return.

The Heads of houses did a headcount once in the Great Hall to ensure that everyone was there. McGonagall read of a short list of those who had been put in the hospital.

"I don't like it," Snape declared after she had finished.

"And what's that support to mean, Snape?" McGonagall demanded. "We should consider ourselves lucky that more of our little ones weren't hurt!"

"That's exactly what's bothering me," Snape responded shortly. "This is to clean. Too easy. If this was truly an attack, why haven't more people been hurt? This feels more like a message to me. Whoever did this is inside the school, and has been for some time."

"Rubbish! We don't teach any blasting spells that powerful in our classes, and only seventh years would have been able to cast them!" McGonagall protested.

"I have a feeling Snape is right," Flitwick chimed in. "Do you have any suspects?"

"Out of the usual suspects?" Snape asked. "Not really."

McGonagall's scottish temper flared immediately. "Your grudge against Mr Potter is incredibly childish, Snape! No matter what rule breaking he has done in the past, he has never endangered large chunks of innocent students in such a way!"

"Some of my Hufflepuffs are petitioning to be sent home," Pomona said sadly. "They must feel like this is the last straw."

McGonagall cast her eyes across the crowd. A dull sense of fear and shock had settled over both students and teachers like a fog. Friends were huddled together, holding hands and looking about as though they expected more shockwaves to toss them about like ragdolls.

"I can't see how we could convince them not to," She said dispiritedly. "After the events of today, I'm surprised more parents aren't petitioning for their immediate removal."

"It's still early in the day," Pomona sighed. "I imagine we can expect more as the news travels."

Owls soon cluttered the room as many brought in notices and howlers from parents, loudly lambasting Hogwarts supposed safety while demanding that their children be sent home. A particularly ear-ringing one had come from Molly Weasley, declaring that she was withdrawing all her children until such time as the school wasn't in mortal danger every other week.

But what was most surprising was the withdrawal notice from Vernon and Petunia Dursley. They were calling their nephew back to Privet Drive.

Dumbledore had been stunned. He had never expected either of Harry's current guardians to be paying attention to what was going on in Hogwarts, neither had he – to his great disappointment – expected them to be too concerned about his safety. He wanted to protest, and intended to send them a long letter once he had finished handling the student exodus, but so far their demands had to be heeded – they were, after all, Harry's guardians.

Down at the Gryffindor table, Harry watched Dumbledore whiten as he read the withdrawal letter before turning towards Dean Thomas and smiling. "Thanks Dean."

"Anytime Harry," The expert forger responded.

On the Hogwarts Express

"How's your reading coming along, Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione was digging into yet another one of the books from the Room of Requirement on blood magic, a look of intense concentration on her face. Sitting next to her was Cho, who murmured suggestions and pointed out certain passages.

"I think I've got something," Hermione said. "It's like a Fieldus charm, but its all about secrecy. Two Protectors will have to write blood runes on the doors of the house in question, before swearing that they will see to the protection of everyone who comes for sanctuary."

"Any way to break it?"

"That depends on the Protectors. They, and only they, can allow anyone inside the houses." Hermione explained. "If they break their oath, then the blood wards will fade."

Harry nodded. "Sounds good. So, shall you and I be the Protectors for the Lestrange, now Granger Mansion?"

Hermione smiled at the rename. "Actually Harry, myself and Ron decided that we would be the protectors. After all, its only a matter of time before Dumbledore contacts the Dursleys and realizes that they weren't the ones withdrawing you."

Harry flushed as Ron smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "You guys..." He trailed off.

Megan Jones stepped into their compartment a moment later after a quick word with Flora. "Harry, when are we going to assault the Ministry?"

"Tonight." Harry said. He had discussed the plan of attack extensively with Daphne and Blaise, who turned out to be quite knowledgeable of the ins and outs of the Ministry building at large. Ron had been helpful too, since his dad did work there for some time. "Megan, you're on my squad, alright?"

Megan grinned unpleasantly. "You won't regret this, Harry."

"I believe you," Harry said warmly before turning his attention back to Hermione's book, "Hermione, how about you walk us through the casting so we can spread the word to the other safe houses..."

/

"But I want to go!"

"Graham, you're too young. We want to give you some safer missions."

Hestia and Flora had their hands full at the moment; Graham Pritchard and his friends in second year were quite upset and the announcement that they hadn't been selected for the guerrilla party against the Ministry.

"I'm old enough to fight for my life," Graham said stubbornly.

"No," Maya overruled him quite nicely, causing Graham to give her a scathing look. "I'm sorry Graham, but I'm going and I don't want to risk you okay?"

Eleanor looked equally put out, though Natalie didn't seem bothered by the fact she wasn't allowed to go yet. "Don't worry – we'll find something important for you to do." Flora added, thinking back to the interview with Skeeter.

/

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you Colin?"

Colin was giving his camera a quick check over for the tenth time that day when Dennis asked him the question. His younger brother – well, his younger half brother, if you were splitting hairs – was watching him with his hands folded to keep his excitement and energy contained.

"I'll be perfectly safe, Dennis." Colin promised. "Harry promised that he would get us all through this. I trust him."

"So do I," Dennis protested, "But that doesn't mean I can't worry."

Colin smiled and offered his brother a hand, "I know Dennis. But I promise, I'm going to give you a better world to live in."

/

"I hope I haven't made a mistake."

"I don't think you have, Lavander."

"But we aren't really fighters, Pav," Lavander said nervously as the train whisked on. Pavarti and Padma were both sitting with her, considering their new options. "We didn't excell in the Duelling Club."

"Lockhart turned out to be nothing more then a pretty face," Padma snorted. "The guns are different from duelling, Lavander. I think we'll find this easier then duelling. Certainly Harry will teach us more then that fop ever did."

/

"Mother and father are going to murder us."

"Only if they can catch us, Tori, and if I have my way they never will."

Daphne was trying to calm the nerves of her younger sister and her friends Dana DiLanterus and Lilian Moon. The two girls had just considered the ramifications of being caught and were in somewhat of a panic.

"But what if you get caught?" Astoria asked pleadingly.

"I won't," Daphne promised, though some small part of her wondered if she was making promises she couldn't keep. "I told you when we were little that I would keep you safe, remember? I meant it, Tori. I'll protect you if its the last thing I do."

"I don't want it to be the last thing you do!" Astoria protested.

"Then I'll just have to be careful, won't I?" Daphne remarked soothingly. "I will be, Tori. I will come back to you."

/

"Do you reckon Fudge will pull out all the stops to try and find us once we've done this?" Janos asked Lisa as the train drew closer to the end of the line.

"Certainly," Lisa said. "But lest we forget, he's an incompetent fart."

Sally Anne Perks giggled slightly at that.

"You promise to watch my back, and I'll watch yours," Janos said grimly.

"Agreed." Lisa said instantly. She smiled at the other boy, who smiled back for the first time since his blood heritage had been revealed.

/

"Mum's not going to be pleased," Fred noted.

"When is she ever when it comes to us?" George sighed. "We've thrown our chips in, Gred. They've sown in the wind, now they shall reap the whirlwind."

"I've got an idea. How about, once we've burned down Malfoy Manor, we set up our joke shop exactly where it used to be."

"I like the sound of that. Let's do it."

Later

The children, once they had stepped off the train, made a mad dash to the floo ignoring the startled calls of those who had come to pick them up. As one, they vanished to their respective safe houses – Lestrange Manor, the Black house on the Isles, the Black Summer home to the east.

Then they started loading up.

Machine guns, shotguns and many, many grenades and assortments of bombs were laid out and placed in protective, bottomless bags. Clicking filled the silences while house elves diligently reworked the house to remove anything left by the original owners. People filed into their selected groups. Dinner was eaten.

Finally, everyone sat around at the nearest clock, waiting. It was eerie, but no one could focus on anything other then what they were going to do tonight.

At long last, the clock struck midnight. And forty-five Wolverines stood up and went to work.

At the Ministry

The many portraits of Minister Fudge were burning.

Megan Jones was rushing forward like a woman possessed, cackling while throwing grenades in every direction. Explosions followed in her wake, her companions careful not to step under any of the falling debris as they fought to keep up with her.

Hermione had also taken to her duty with a near maniac energy that she had rarely shown before. Every time she came across a desk or a picture or anything that had to do with a pureblood, she would shoot it full of holes or drop an explosive inside and bolt while it blew up in a shower of splinters, glass and feathers.

Ron was focusing on burning documents. Anything that Fudge was using to monitor people and keep tabs on went up in smoke. He and the twins threw large amounts of paper into the middle of the hall and set them ablaze, watching the smoke rise to the ceiling.

In the middle of the chaos, Colin Creevy was calmly taking pictures of the destruction and discussing with an often distracted Maya which one she thought would look best in the Quibbler tomorrow.

A few of the younger Wolverines who had managed to come, such as Lilian Moon, began chanting, "burn it down, burn it down, burn it down!" as they cast destructive curses at the walls, typewriters and charmed instruments that allowed the Ministry to function as smoothly as it did.

Harry slipped away from the main group along with Daphne, Blaise and Flora, taking to the elevator. Hestia gave him a smile as she and Cho took the other one up to the office containing a certain list that they intended to make public.

"Department of Mysteries." The cool female voice was a little hard to hear over the BOOM BOOM BOOM going on above them, but Flora said, "this is it," and lead Harry and the others out. Harry stared down the hallway full of glowing glass balls

"How...all these prophecies," He said in amazement. "There are so many of them!"

"Some predict minor events, others major," Blaise explained. "The Ministry always decides what it wants to make public once they have a record of them."

Harry rolled his eyes at yet another sign of the Ministry's controlling nature before hurrying down the dark hallways. He and his companions searched for several long minutes, when Harry finally came upon the sphere.

Taking a deep breath, Harry picked it up and quickly but carefully placed it in his satchel. He nodded at Daphne, who took out a broken lava lamp (donated by Hermione) and transfigured it into a false prophecy stone.

As they left, Blaise delicately stepped over the unconscious body of Bode, the Order member planted to keep an eye on the prophecy. The Italian muttered something very uncomplimentary in his native language about Dumbledore's defence plans before rejoining the others at the elevator.

The explosions had finally ceased by the time Harry and Hestia's group returned to the main floor with their items in tow. Hermione and the rest were standing in a circle around a number of Unspeakables and Aurors who had come to investigate and had been (violently) dealt with. Hermione was focused on carving words into the floor, bright red magic and sparks sticking out against the dirty and destroyed area.

"Any injuries?" Harry asked worriedly.

"A few minor hexes here and there," Ron answered promptly, "Janos got knocked out by a stunner. But apart from that, nothing too serious."

Megan laughed contemptuously. "This was far too easy. It's a wonder Moldyshorts hadn't just waltzed right in and taken over."

"He must have realized he doesn't have to," Flora muttered in disgust.

Hermione finished her work, and Colin took a quick picture. Once Harry nodded his approval, the group collectively portkeyed out.

The Next Day

"Good day, everyone, let's make this a ooooAAAAHHHH SWEET MERLIN WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?"

Fudge was about to chid his new secretary Percy Weasley when he stepped into the room and saw what had made the man shout.

The Ministry building was utterly destroyed. Nothing was left untouched. Ashes covered the floor, pillars had collapsed bringing part of the ceiling down with them. And on the floor was a message.

Confusing words. Deadly words.

This is merely a taste of what we shall unleash upon you. Mudbloods, you call us – but do you know how many of us there are? We can stampede over you. And we will. We have had enough of your lying over the return of the dark lord, of your abuse of us simply for being different, of being thrown away like garbage after being promised a long, wonderful life.

We are the Wolverines. We are Many. And You have made us your enemy.

Under this message was a carved image of the head of the creature in question.

Another yell caught Fudge's attention – another secretary of his was running in with a copy of that conspiracy paper, The Quibbler. Fudge snatched it out of his hands and read furiously.

He was stunned.

Born as the seventh month dies, he shall have the power he knows not – Harry Potter is Voldemort's equal, and he shall destroy him in the end. The Hidden Prophecy, by Rita Skeeter.

Also on the front page was a list. A list that Fudge had attempted to suppress in its entirety. A list that was now entirely out in the open.

Not for the first time, Fudge was struck with an intense feeling of fear.

End Chapter

And in the next chapter, you shall see the reactions of Dumbledore, Voldemort and the general population to this revelation. Voldemort will get pissy and decide to prove his strength, while in relatiation some of the populace will decide to throw themselves behind the wolverines. And what was a quiet catfight between two old men will explode in to a civil war.

Read and Review please!

9. Chapter 9

Art of War

Wanda: Welcome back, my dear fans, to another chapter of Art of War! A merry Easter weekend to you all! Finally, we see the wolverines strike for blood. Making the first move can be a huge asset in any battle! I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 9: Sniper

The Hidden Prophecy: The Truth Behind the Boy-Who-Lived

By Rita Skeeter

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him...born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord shall mark him as an equal, but he shall have the power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hands of the other, for neither can live while the other survives."

This is the prophecy made not long before the birth of Harry James Potter, regarding both him and the Dark Lord. Suppressed by the Ministry, it has finally been brought out into the open. I, and my editor at the Daily Prophet, were delivered the prophecy late last night from an anonymous source, with a note telling us to publish it. It said that the population deserved to know, and that they would see the information leak anyway if we refused to write about it.

I doubt the sudden arrival of this information, in conjunction with the attack on the Ministry building just last night, are a coincidence.

There's a rebellion on the horizon.

To those who are likely crying about fear-mongering, it is not merely my opinion on which I base this statement! Aside from the attack on the Ministiry itself, there was a warning left at the scene that leaves no illusions as to what caused this.

The Wolverines. Yes, I saw it myself when the reporters were finally allowed inside the building. The head, the words burned into the ground.

It seems that the muggleborns have finally had enough. They say that the Dark Lord has returned. They say that if the Ministry won't fight him, they will.

The Wolverines have sent out a message – Fight Back! Anyone can join them. If you want to fight, you will know where to look for them.

They have also said that the Minister was not entirely honest about the length of the list. The entire list has been given to me to publish – may you all know who your blood parents are.

The Malfoy Bastards

Katie Anne (Malfoy) Bell, 17 years old

Fredia (Malfoy) Rivers, 24 years old, squib

Damien (Malfoy) Harvester, 15 years old

Catherine (Malfoy) Vendturo, 20 years old

Jason (Malfoy) Costa, 22 years old, squib

Jedd (Malfoy) Fields, 17 years old

Kevin (Malfoy) Jenkins, 19 years old

Susanna (Malfoy) Karen, 14 yeras old

Janice (Malfoy) James, 35 years old

Mona (Malfoy) Scheuster, 40 years old, squib

Ginger (Malfoy) Snap, 32 years old

Nodoka (Malfoy) Hiroka, 30 years old

Justin (Malfoy) Timber, 25 years old

Elizabeth (Malfoy) Olson, 16 years old

Kevin (Malfoy) Alastar, 12 years old

Anthony (Malfoy) Fererra, 17 years old

Alexander (Malfoy) Preston, 17 years old

Benjamin (Malfoy) Brook, 30 years old

The Black Bastards

Natasha (Black) Romanov, 23 years old

Stacey (Black) Marie, 13 years old

Ellen (Black) Paige, 22 years old

Samantha (Black) Jane, 28 years old

Dancia (Black) Danger, 16 years old

Verity (Black) Smith, 30 years old

Domino (Black) Steel, 42 years old

Ryan (Black) Plumber, 29 years old

Francis (Black) Italia, 39 years old

Peggy (Black) Carter, 30 years old

Adrian (Black) Davis, 30 years old

Gary (Black) Oldman, 41 years old

William (Black) Herondale, 21 years old

Alex (Black) Ryder, 23 years old

Gerald (Black) Jameson, 29 years old

John (Black) Hadrian, 34 years old

Robb (Black) Straighton, 24 years old

Victoria (Black) Jane, 33 years old

Tabitha (Black) Serenity, 22 years old

Arnold (Black) Daniels, 27 years old

Mario (Black) Celeste, 30 years old

The Carrow Bastards

Jane (Carrow) Foster, 28 years old, squib

Darcy (Carrow) Lewis, 29 years old, squib

Lana (Carrow) Lewis, 25 years old

Miles (Carrow) Ice, 30 years old

Nicolas (Carrow) Pyre, 6 years old

Matt (Carrow) Holland, 22 years old

Leigh (Carrow) Clearwater, 16 years old

Clara (Carrow) Roselle, 20 years old, squib

Fred (Carrow) Masterson, 24 years old, squib

Lance (Carrow) Sunspear, 20 years old

The Greengrass Bastards

Donna Lynn (Greengrass) Skye, 13 years old

Christine (Greengrass) Traudi, 14 years old

Carrie Anne (Greengrass) Fawkes, 16 years old

Karen (Greengrass) Grey, 15 years old

Amber (Greengrass) Perkinson, 17 years old

Annette (Greengrass) Jane, 15 years old

Rihanna (Greengrass) Redfield, 14 years old

Tabitha (Greengrass) Hawkins, 17 years old

Rachel (Greengrass) Jackson, 19 years old

Isabelle 'Belle' (Greengrass) Swan, 16 years old

Tamara (Greengrass) Blue, 18 years old

Rosa (Greengrass) Park, 14 years old

Mei (Greengrass) Sandra, 16 years old

The Crouch Bastards

Jared (Crouch) Daniel, 22 years old

Seraph (Crouch) Eagle, 30 years old

Hardrian (Crouch) Farsee, 21 years old

Harold (Crouch) Evans, 34 years old, squib

Michael (Crouch) Alcott, 20 years old

Geraldine (Crouch) Silver, 19 years old

Evan (Crouch) Peters, 24 years old, squib

Sarah (Crouch) Ambers, 17 years old

The Nott Bastards

Alexa (Nott) Dane, 13 years old

Athena (Nott) Christou, 16 years old

Perceus 'Percy' (Nott) Carr, 19 years old

Michael (Nott) Tesla, 24 years old

Michael (Nott) Ginger, 22 years old

Jacob (Nott) Cameron, 23 years old

Hannah (Nott) Angel, 16 years old

Helen (Nott) Arryn, 15 years old

Tobias (Nott) Karstark, 27 years old

Gary (Nott) Oak, 21 years old

Jennifer 'Jen' (Nott) Star, 14 years old

Tessa (Nott) Moore, 13 years old

The DiLaurentis Bastards

Alison (DiLaurentis) Jane, 15 years old

Elieen (DiLaurentis) Lannister, 18 years old

Michelle (DiLaurentis) Maegyr, 22 years old

Anna Marie (DiLaurentis) Rogue, 25 years old

Erin (DiLaurentis) Blogger, 16 years old

Luke (DiLaurentis) Flint, 24 years old

Nico (DiLaurentis) di Angelo, 12 years old

Nate (DiLaurentis) Greyjoy, 32 years old

Brendan (DiLaurentis) Malice, 24 years old

The Pritchard Bastards

Scotia (Pritchard) Flame, 16 years old

Sasha (Pritchard) Desume, 16 years old

Simone (Pritchard) Drayden, 16 years old

Matthew (Pritchard) Elm, 22 years old

Carl (Pritchard) Woods, 52 years old

Marlin (Pritchard) Seaworth, 33 years old

Paul (Pritchard) Nakamazi, 23 years old

Vikki (Pritchard) Coulson, 17 years old

The Prince Bastards

Leanne (Prince) Marius, 35 years old

Darien (Prince) Shields, 40 years old

Nina (Prince) Ender, 15 years old, second generation

Morgan (Prince) Price, 16 years old, second generation

"I want them found!"

Fudge had turned purple in the face. Howlers were going off everywhere in the building. People – both his backers and untold muggleborns (sorry – half bloods) were pounding on the gates, looking for somewhere to complain.

"Where the hell is that blasted woman!?" He demanded of Umbridge, in reference to Skeeter. "Since when did she stir the pot like this?"

"She left the country last night, Minister." Umbridge answered. "Aurors went to her current lodgings only to find it empty. I imagine she skipped town to avoid the backlash."

"Well-! Find where she went!" Fudge blustered. "This cannot be allowed to stand!"

"It already is," Amelia Bones said dryly. "Or have you missed the mob at your doorstep, Fudge? There's no way we can cover up something this public."

"I knew it! I knew there was a rebellion coming!" Fudge declared. "I finally have enough to get Dumbledore locked up! He must have been planting these ideas in those insipid children ever since they entered his school! Kingsley! Take two squads of Aurros to Hogwarts. I want him found and arrested!"

Kingsley bowed his head and left the room, both to search and to warn Dumbledore what was coming.

"Even if you manage to pin all of this unrest of Dumbledore," Amelia said, in a tone that suggested she very much doubted that was possible, "It won't change the fact that this is out in the open. How do you suggest we handle this?"

"Find the little miscreants and arrest them!" Fudge demanded.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Fudge, but they seem to be rather popular." The Head of the DMLE said coolly, gesturing towards the madness just barely held back by the Aurors. "I don't imagine sweeping arrests will change much."

"You're being ridiculous, Bones!" Fudge exclaimed, frowning at her. "You aren't secretly helping the man, are you?"

Amelia rolled her eyes. "I serve the country, Fudge. That has never changed." She said. It was true, she had never been an official part of the Order of the Phoenix. She had been a sympathizer during the first war, passing information and such, but Fudge didn't need to know that.

"There's no way those upstarts have support, mark my words this has something to do with Potter! He's finally taken his little fame jockeying too far!" Umbridge said. She was still furious over having been dismissed from Hogwarts. Fudge had pulled several favours in order to keep her out of Azkaban, but she was thirsting for payback.

"You're right Umbridge, but we should start with damage control." Fudge said. "Let it be known that I'm hosting a meeting with the other members of Parliament to discuss the situation we have all found ourselves in."

Turning to his right, he said, "Tonks! Go and collect everyone, will you?"

'Tonks' nodded, turning and leaving. Once she was relatively out of sight, she cast a disillusionment charm over herself and transformed back into Flora Carrow. Quickly activating a portkey, she vanished back to Granger Mansion.

The Mansion

"All of our worst enemies, all in one place." Flora continued. "It's perfect, Harry. We can't deny that."

Harry nodded. "Do we have the layout of the place?"

"Yes." Hestia nodded. "It's a different place from the courtroom where your 'trial' happened. Its closer to the centre of the building, one floor up from the main entrance."

"There are windows, near the top of the building." Blaise continued. "Those floors are usually abandoned since they were used for practising illegal spells during the first War. Fudge hasn't reinstated it yet because he still doesn't believe he's at war."

"Hm. How useful," Ginny said darkly. "So, shall we crash this meeting?"

Harry nodded again, and smiled. "Hermione, call all the Snipers."

Within fairly short order, all the students/Wolverines who had learned who to shoot the Sniper rifles assembled in what had used to be the Master Bedroom, which had been refashioned into one of several planning rooms by its new occupants. Megan, Hermione, Dana DiLaurentis, Susan Bones, Maya Pritchard, Janos Train, Damian Harvester, Blaise and Sasha Desume all lined up in front of Harry. They were all holding their guns.

"Alright, half of you will be taking the right, the other half the left." Harry instructed. "Don't hold back. Me, Hestia and Ginny are going to trap them inside and bolt. You'll all have the emergency escape Portkeys, don't loose them. Shoot as many people as you can; just watch for Amelia Bones – pretty much the only non-corrupt member of that shithole. Throw disillusionment and shield charms over the door to buy yourselves some extra moments to flee, just in case. Once the Aurors break down the doors, that's your cue to leave before anti-portkey wards get put up."

The group nodded.

"The meeting is in four hours." Harry said. "Let's get everything set up. We're moving out, people!"

The group roared in agreement before heading towards the floo.

-At the Ministry, Four Hours Later-

Megan Jones comfortably rested her head against the line of sight of her sniper rifle. The last of the 'Lords' were filing in, the doors slamming shut. She knew that Harry and the others would be casting their charms now. The watch on her wrist was ticking down the seconds until 4:00 pm, at which point they would open fire.

She could see the tangles in Lucius's pretty silver hair at his seat through the scope. She could already see the blood soaking that pretty hair as it lay in clumps on the floor, blood soaking the walls and gore slowly dripping down the sides of his desk. She smiled coldly.

Mom...dad...I'm going to avenge you...I won't stop until they're all dead, just like they did to you and auntie Hestia...

A grin slowly crossed her face. Ah, wouldn't you look at that? Umbitch was here too. Megan was looking forward to ventilating her head. Though it would be a pity if her death wasn't more...drawn out. Megan had entertained fantasies of feeding her bit by bit to a crocodile or throwing her to the centaurs, though she had never been given the opportunity.

A slight sniffle sounded at her right. Megan glanced over to see Dana shivering.

"I don't know if I can do this," Dana whispered.

"Yes you can," Megan retorted quietly. "Just remember – if you spare them now, they'll come after you later. And they won't be so merciful."

Dana stopped sniffling after that.

Flora glanced at Megan out of the corner of her eye and smiled grimly. Megan returned the gesture, the ticking of the clock drawing closer and closer to Four. Thirty seconds now.

"Esteemed lords and ladies, thank you for arriving on such short notice."

Twenty five.

"As you are all likely aware now, we are being threatened by a militant group of muggleborns who call themselves the 'Wolverines'. They wish to destabilize our good country, which we welcomed them into with open arms, because they are greedy and selfish."

Ten seconds.

"I shall not stand for such warmongering against the finest of our society, so I am here to discuss how we might find and stamp out this little rebellion. Ah, Mr Malfoy."

Five.

"I believe, Minister, that we should ban any other muggleborns from entering the country. Perhaps deportion shall teach them to respect."

Bing.

Megan pulled down on her trigger. Hard.

Lucius Malfoy choked, a hole the size of a finger punched through his chest. Narcissa screamed but was abruptly silenced by a bullet to the dome. There was a moment of silence before the rest of the congergation started screaming too.

Fire at will!

Megan fired again and again. She had her eye trained on Umbridge, and she wasn't the only one. The toadish woman's body preformed a gristly dance as it was riddled with bullets before finally sinking to the ground.

Swinging the muzzle to the right, Megan blasted down Amycus Carrow near the far door. But she stopped at hitting his ankle; someone else would want to finish him off.

Flora caught sight of him and emptied her entire first clip into the man who had made her life a living hell. Even muggle blood analysts would have trouble identifying what was left of his body.

Magnus Pritchard fell next, bullets ripping open his shoulder and throwing him to the ground. Minister Fudge was cowering behind his podium, which while obstructing the scope's view gave him a wonderful look at what was going on. Blood soaked the floor.

More bullets. Reloading.

The matriarch of the DiLaurentis family died whimpering, her lungs punctured and filling with her own pure blood. The father, a sympathetic man, was spared the massacre by refusing to join the meeting. Both Train parents dropped dead, entire limbs torn off due to being shot at by several different Wolverines.

Megan, with a savage smile more suited to a barracuda then a human being, kept firing. A sharp giggle burst from her lips, causing Flora to cast another glance in her direction. She shot Lucius Malfoy again, non fatally, several times as he crawled over to his wife's body.

Megan could hear the thumping on the doors as the Aurors realized they were locked out. The time was almost up. The bullets kept flying. The number of 'lords' left behind was dwindling further and further down.

Ginny Weasley, protected by a double shield charm, walked into the room with a bucket of Rooster blood. Stepping delicately through the chaos and dead bodies, her identity shielded by a vision-distorting charm, she stepped up on a chair, dipped her fingers in the blood and wrote on the wall.

HOW PURE IS YOUR BLOOD NOW?, a dripping, savage Wolverine with a body in its mouth next to the words. Smirking, Ginny disapparated just before the doors were broken down.

At the cue, the rest of the snipers activated their portkeys and vanished to the safety of the mansion, leaving an open-mouthed Amelia Bones, a terrified Fudge and a bloody room behind.

-Back at the Mansion-

Flora laughed as she collapsed down on a couch next to Ginny. "What was that, paint or blood?" She asked curiously.

The Mansion was buzzing with activity. The snipers were filling in the rest of the Wolverines on what had just happened, while Luna and Cho Chang were both diligently writing away on their next expose and propaganda piece. Harry had retreated into a back room, presumably exhausted from the day's work, while Ron and Hermione were answering questions and looking dazed by the results of their second attack.

"Blood," Ginny said, sounding smug. "Not human blood – rooster blood. I thought it was appropriate – in my first year, Riddle used his diary to possess me, make me kill Hagrid's roosters and write threatening messages on the walls with their blood. I wanted to turn that around and throw it back in his face."

"Glorious," Flora informed her, causing Ginny to laugh and smile. The Slytherin through the Weasley Girl was quite pretty – no surprise that Corner and some other boys had been eyeing her up as she approached acceptable dating age.

"So, how does it feel? To know that Amycus is dead." Ginny asked, her face becoming serious once again.

"To be honest?" Flora said shortly. "It's amazing. I know that Alecto is still alive, so I'm not entirely free yet...but can you imagine how liberating this must feel?" She paused, staring into Ginny's eyes. "No, of course not. Your parents love you so much, I'm surprised sugar doesn't crystallize around you whenever you're all in one place. I'm rather envious of that – always have been."

"I didn't realize you were watching us." Ginny said quietly.

"I watch everyone. It's a bit of a habit when your in Slytherin, and have to watch your back on two fronts." Flora explained.

Ginny smiled. "Well, at least you and Hestia have each other," She said, "And not just her, either – you have all those half siblings you haven't even known. I'm sure one of them has to have a loving family, perhaps one you can join when this is all over."

Flora felt her lips twitching. "That would be nice," She admitted, "Assuming any of them would have us."

"I'm sure they would," Ginny said confidently. "You're very brave."

"Tch, you're embarrassing me." Flora said with a laugh, looking away. "I'm pretty sure the history books will be mostly talking about Potter."

"They should talk about all of us," Ginny responded, "You included. This wouldn't be possible without everyone here, you and Hestia especially."

Flora looked back at Ginny. "You're a funny person, Ginny." She said after a moment of silence. "I think I like you."

Ginny grinned in response. "I'll take that as a compliment, Flora."

/

Harry let out a long sigh as he walked through the halls after dinner. The rest of the wolverines had dispersed back to their various hideouts to sleep, but he couldn't quite find the urge to nod off just yet. The bloody room flashed before his eyes.

God above, I hope I'm doing the right thing.

"Harry?"

Harry turned in surprise to see Cho having come up behind him. The Chinese girl took a step back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you."

"It's okay." Harry said. "I was just thinking."

"Are you worried?" Cho asked.

"No-okay, I am." Harry admitted. "I'm just hoping I'm not making a mistake and dragging other people down with me."

"This isn't a mistake, Harry," Cho said firmly, taking a step closer. "I don't believe that. You've taken all these people under your protection, and you're fighting when everyone else is choosing to hide. That's not the wrong decision."

Harry nodded slowly, "I appreciate your support, it's just in my nature to worry about these things."

"Is it keeping you awake?"

"I think so, yes."

"Then would you mind if I kept you company?" Cho asked.

"No, not at all."

The two fell into silence. Harry felt a lot more at ease around Cho now. Despite having a crush on her before, he now knew a lot more about her as opposed to just finding her attractive because she was pretty and played Quidditch. Cho was grieving, yes, but there was anger and a sense of righteousness and protectiveness in her too.

Cho turned around and faced him. Harry mentally recognized that they were close together, but it didn't quite register.

"I wanted to thank you, Harry." She said quietly. "For everything."

"You don't owe me anything, Cho."

Cho smiled softly. "You're a good man, Harry. Hermione, Ron and the Weasleys are lucky to be so close to you."

"I don't think I'm anything special." Harry said easily. Cho looked beautiful in the low light. "I just don't want anyone else to go through what I've experienced."

Cho leaned forward and kissed him.

End Chapter

(shrug) Mixing teenage hormones and high stress situations was bound to have predicable results. Now before you all go nuts, Harry/Cho is not necessarily the end game ship. They're just two teenagers acting on a previous crush under a high stakes scenario. In fact, I do have it in my mind that Harry would end up with a Slytherin girl (not saying who, spoilers and all) but I felt like this sort of thing should happen. Also, potential Flora/Ginny because my mind is a twisted den of thorns.

Read and Review please!

10. Chapter 10

Art of War

Tyene: (fascinated eyebrow) Wow. This goes into a dark place.

Wanda: (shrugs) It's war. I can't pretend that there wouldn't be retaliation. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 10: Reactions

The Order of the Phoenix was very quiet, except for Moody.

"I knew this sort of thing was bound to happen." The one-eyed Auror was muttering. "All these years of getting abused and put upon, they were bound to strike back eventually."

Dumbledore slowly set down the morning's paper. While no one particularly wanted to look at the images, the horror was too mesermizing to look away from. Molly had excused herself, having found herself feeling ill after seeing the photos. Even Snape looked shaken.

The picture on the front cover showed a bloodbath. Bodies were strewn all over the courtroom floor, distorted faces locked in an expression of absolute terror. Gore had splattered the ground, brains and other organs having slipped out of gaping wounds. A threatening message left on the wall, an image of a dead snake shredded in the jaws of a wolverine.

An act of war.

Over forty lords and members of parliament had been reported dead. Among them were Narcissa Malfoy and Amycus Carrow, two plants of Lord Voldemort that the Order knew of. Lucius Malfoy had barely survived after being given Draught of the Living Dead, and was currently interned in St Mugos fighting for his life.

"So, these Wolverines are genuine." Moody went on. "I warned you, Albus. I warned you that if we didn't change more sooner, it would come to this."

"I...I had believed that everyone knew there was a better way." Dumbledore said, stunned. "We – we have always strode to be better then those who suppress us."

"And what did they get out of it?" Moody demanded. "Refused jobs, threatened and bullied daily, denied opportunity and security that pure bloods got easily. Last time, we were doing something. People were fighting back. But this time, Fudge stuck his head in the sand – he might as well have put up a sign saying 'open season on muggleborns'. People don't lie down and take abuse forever."

"But how is this even possible?" McGonagall asked faintly, a tinge of green in her complexion.

"Clearly, McGonagall, this was pre-planned!" Moody said, jabbing a finger at his copy of the paper. "Someone in this group knows their way around the Ministry and all its alarms. Had they been using normal spells, they would have been caught."

"Then what did they use?" Arthur asked faintly. "What could possibly get through the Ministry unnoticed?"

Numbly, Remus turned the page and read further down the column. Another picture caught his eyes. The Aurors were shifting through piles of shells, while baffled healers turned bloody shards of metal over in their hands.

"Bullets," He whispered. When the magic-rasied members of the Order looked at him for clarification, he explained shortly, "The Wolverines have guns. Military guns, I imagine."

"Muggle?" Fletcher said, his voice slightly disbelieving. "'Ow could they wreak this kinda havoc with a bunch o' muggle toys?"

"They are hardly toys, Fletcher." Snape said, his voice tight. "Muggles had two world wars in which they perfected the art of warfare. They have learned to kill in ways we can only imagine. A single shot from one of their hand guns kills as easily as Avada Kedavera."

Something terrible occurred to the potion's teacher. "The explosions we experienced, both at the Ministry and at Hogwarts, were no blasting charms. They were time-locked bombs."

"The Wolverines attacked a school full of children!?" McGonagall demanded, aghast.

"I believe that's why no one was killed." Snape said grimly. "That wasn't an attack meant to kill. It was simply a means of intimidation. They wanted to make a statement."

"What could they say that wasn't said when they attacked the Ministry?" Sirius wondered. While he was as alarmed by the brutality of the attack on the Ministry, his mind was elsewhere. Personally, he thought that if this act tempted Voldemort out of hiding, it might actually be a good thing for them.

He was poking at the newspaper from yesterday and a few days before – specifically, the section on the Black bastards, and his direct niece/grand nieces. Sirius had suspected his father was less then faithful to his mother back when he was a young man, but he was goggling at the sheer number of half bloods sired by his fanatically 'pure blooded' family.

But most specifically, he was interested in Natalie MacDonald. The page said she was the daughter of Regulus Black. But – but the last time Sirius had seen his brother alive prior to him going missing didn't match up with Natalie's date of birth. And that could only mean one thing – Regulus was still alive.

A small pang struck his heart. Sirius had always regretted that he had parted with his younger brother on such ill terms. He had loved Regulus when they were children, but Walburga's hateful influence had driven them apart. Regulus had always been love starved, an in turn he had latched onto the darker influences in a desperate bid to keep his parent's affections. Sirius had seen how working with the death eaters had destroyed his brother, due to a few short meetings prior to his disappearance.

Now, he was more bewildered then upset about Regulus's disappearance. How had his brother escaped from Voldemort and his inner circles? Being a Death Eater wasn't something you could just retire from. And what had finally propelled him to rebel against the dark lord and flee? Had he discovered something that Voldemort would kill to silence?

More importantly, would the reveal of his daughter possibly bring him back to Britain? Sirius decided, damn what Dumbledore thought, that he would sneak out of Grimmauld Place and set up a discreet charm near the young girl's house. A simple one, one that wouldn't intrude upon the family but would tell him if Regulus came calling.

"Do we have any idea who may be part of this...vigilante group?" Dumbledore asked with some difficulty.

Moody shrugged. "I couldn't tell you, Dumbledore. You'd have to shake down the entire muggleborn and half blood population of Britain, because they all have a motive to join." He paused. "Come to think of it, the muggles of Britain have some motive too, considering the list that came out. That would explain where the guns came from."

Snape had a dark look on his face. "I can't help but wonder..." He said slowly.

"What is it, Professor Snape?" Dumbledore asked mildly.

"The sudden rebellion of the students at school...followed by the exodus after the explosions...I think it's safe to say that there are a few of our now-formerstudents who may be affiliated with this new side of the war."

"How dare you even suggest that, Snape!" Molly exploded. She had returned in time to hear this remark. "They're our children! How could you possibly suggest lumping them together with terrorists and maniacs?"

"We can't ignore the possibility, Weasley!" Snape shot back. "Considering the circumstances the last five years have brought our school, the behaviour of certain students has all but ensured that some children have already been sucked into this conflict. Some of them already have reasons to doubt their safety, since not only did we fail to evacuate after the death threats when the Chamber was opened, not only did we not evacuate when, supposedly, Voldemort's number two supporter came calling, and then failed the prevent the murder of a student by Voldemort during a school contest they may very well decide to throw their lot in somewhere else!"

"But they're children!" Molly insisted, looking as though she might cry from stress. "How...how could they even be capable of that?"

"I'm afraid it's a possibility, Molly." Dumbledore said gently. Internally, he flashed back to when he met Tom Riddle as a young child. A young child who terrorized his fellow orphans and caused two of them to 'disappear'. "I don't want to believe it either, but there is evidence of a possibility."

Arthur gave his wife a hug when she sobbed in response.

"Dumbledore, sir...did you know about this?" Remus asked, gesturing faintly to the list of bastard children.

Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "Indeed, I had my suspicions, given how those families saw muggles as less then dirt and not deserving of rights. But any attempts at protection fell through – after all, their reputations were impeccable."

"Weren't you Supreme Mugwump?" Tonks asked waspishly. The existence of the lists had struck an angry nerve for her, given that her mother had been banished for marrying a muggle. And yet her family clearly didn't have any issue of forcing muggle women to carry their children! "Couldn't you have pushed things through even with the pompous bastards wailing in protest?"

"Tonks!" Molly scolded the youngest Order member, surprised by the young Auror's attitude. Few in the Order ever questioned Dumbledore.

"I was the head, but I wasn't the whole government," Dumbledore said in a placating manner. "There was only so much I could do."

Glowering, Tonks hissed softly, "You mean only so much you were willing to do." Luckily for her, the comment passed without notice.

Malfoy Manor

"Who...dares...!?"

"We know not, my lord. They were not seen. They only call themselves the Wolverines." Pius Thickness looked absolutely terrified, as did the rest of the Death Eaters in the room. Voldemort, upon receiving the newest paper after silence from his spies in the Ministry, had gone into a terrible rage.

"Upstart mudbloods..." He hissed. Turning towards Thickness, he demanded, "How could you not know!?"

"I read all the reports and spoke to the Aurors. There was no one seen in the Chamber where the attack took place." Thickness looked scared.

Voldemort seethed for a moment, hand twitching on his wand. While the Death Eaters awaited the assault of magic that was sure to follow, their lord started pacing, his brow furrowed.

He now had the full contents of the prophecy. The Potter boy did have the power to kill him...a twinge of fear burned in his gut, but he forced it down. He had his horcruxes. Even if this body was somehow destroyed, he had defeated death. He would return!

Except the boy...the boy had a power he did not know...could this be a power that would overwhelm his defences? If he could lure the boy out into a battle somehow, watch him fight, maybe he could get a glimpse of this so-called power...but he needed to see more...

Voldemort swept his eyes over the cowering masses of Death Eaters. Some had remained faithful... others were cowards, and no longer useful to him.

This called for an experiment...something that would allow him to identify this new, third side of his war against Albus Dumbledore and the weak, filthy muggles and their spawn.

His eyes fell upon the list, the list of bastard children. He knew where to start.

In Various Places in Britain

"But why am I running, mother?" Christine Greengrass-Traudi asked her mother.

"You're running because we're targets now." Her mother responded firmly, wrapping a cloak around her daughter's shoulders. Realizing where her daughter had come from had not turned her against her family, but now she understood the gap in her life that she had been fighting with for so long. "Well, we were always targets, but now a war has begun."

She pressed the coded Quibbler into Christine's hands. The propaganda piece had just been released, and the woman understood what it meant. Places to hide. The Wolverines had revealed them, but they seemed to realize that this meant they had put them in danger too. "Use this to find one of the Wolverine's hideouts, I've decoded it for you. Now hurry – we could be attacked any day."

Christine was scared and near tears, but she hugged her mother and whispered, "Please find me again mama," before running off into the night.

Amber and Tabitha, also newly minted Greengrass bastards, had decided to split after their parents rejected them for being products of abuse. They took a train and then a boat all the way out to the summer islands, were they would continue walking for several days before coming across the Black Mansion there.

Jared and Seraph, two colleges who lived primarily in the living world, had gone out looking for their half siblings. Once they had located them all, they bought ship tickets and headed for the islands as well.

Helen Nott-Arryn was lucky. Her parents had pushed her into a vanishing cabinet, and subsequently sealed it, just before they were set upon and murdered by Death Eaters. Helen eventually stumbled across Fred and George, who delivered her to the safety of Granger Mansion.

Jacob Nott-Cameron wasn't quite as lucky. After witnessing the violation and murder of his parents, he had taken three separate Crucios before managing to portkey away from his burning house. He passed out on the street and would have died had Alison Jane not stumbled across him and dragged him to the Leaky Cauldon, where they hid out until Luna Lovegood found them and gave them directions to Granger Mansion.

Elieen Lannister went looking for trouble. She burst in on the house three doors down from hers, where Nina Ender and Morgan Price were in the process of being kidnapped by Fenrir Greyback. After a vicious and exhausting battle, which resulted in her taking a werewolf battle, Elieen successfully escaped with the second generation Prince children.

Darien Shields wasn't lucky. He was found brutally murdered in his own house in the aftermath by the muggle police. Marlin Seaworth had also been murdered, along with his wife and eldest child.

Karen Grey and Carrie Anna Fawks were nearly thrown into the proverbial bonfire by their parents, who gave them up in hopes of being spared. The two girls were tortured by a scarred and vicious Lucius Malfoy for a day before they managed to escape during the night after Carrie threw a beaker of acid into the man's face.

Rachel Jackson helped Donna Lynn Skye and Matt Holland escape to the ferries which brought them to the summer isles – they were lucky enough to all live in the same neighbourhood. A neighbourhood which was subsequently levelled by the following Death Eater attacks.

Dancia Danger and Verity Smith were also victims of kidnapping by the Death Eaters. They were told they would make 'pure blood' children, because it would be a shame to spoil such a noble linage. Luckily for Dancia, Verity was an escape artist and the two escaped by the skin of their teeth.

Lucius did his level best to murder his bastards, especially the squibs, in his rage following his wife's death. However, Susanna Karen defied him and escaped with several of her half siblings, denying him his vengeance for now.

Nodoka Hiroka had even taken a moment to spit in his face after he murdered her muggle husband, before portkeying away with Elizabeth Olson.

Chaos reigned all over both sides of Britain – magical and muggle. Not everyone walked away in the aftermath.

End Chapter

You know Harry - he'll be all angsty and guilty next chapter. Yay for angst that's not related to adults being stupid and not listening to the kid who's fought off Voldemort four freakin times already! But while this attack is cruel, Voldemort is only ensuring that more people have powerful reasons to fight against him.

Read and Review please!

11. Chapter 11

Art of War

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter 11: Retaliation

Harry had to be pulled out of bed by Flora to make another address to the Wolverines. The muggle newspaper clippings reporting mysterious deaths, fires and destruction at various places in Britain were sitting next to his nightstand.

"Don't you dare clock out on us, Harry." Flora said fiercely. "Voldemort hurt, terrorized and killed those people. Not you. And now those who are left need our help."

Granger Mansion was bustling. The already considerable number of student Wolverines had been joined by a veritable flood of others. Some of the bastard children who had escaped, their parents, relatives who had escaped the killings, neighbours who had tried to protect them, it was a mess. Hestia and Ginny were still sorting out sleeping and living arrangements in the Mansions many, many rooms as well as converting the basement into a sleeping area.

Hannah and Neville were busy in the makeshift infirmary, ie the old office that had originally contained some of the original family's cursed objects. Carrie Fawkes, Eileen Lannister, Karen Grey, Jacob Cameron and several others were all still recovering from injuries they had received during the Death Eater assaults. Nodoka Hiroka, a former healer as it turned out, was helping them – well, more like she was leading while Hannah and Stacey Marie absorbed the instructions and administered potions. Neville was mostly there to support Hannah whenever an injury or a sad patient made her loose her nerve.

It had all happened so quickly over the last three days; the dementor attack on Little Whining felt like a lifetime ago for Harry. The entire magical community – and the muggle one – were going crazy, independently of each other of course.

Voldemort, evidently, had decided now that the prophecy was out in the open that he might as well attack, to see what Harry's 'power' might be. While most of his men had escaped unpunished, a few had been killed and their bodies discovered by the DMLE.

The Ministry was in shambles. Many high ranking individuals, including the heads of several departments, had all been slaughtered during the Wolverine's first assault. The system's ineffectual nature was shining through as people scrambled to try and pull it into shape to face the threat that Fudge had been struggling to deny for quite a while.

Fudge, one of the few who had survived the assault, was still Minister of Magic mainly in lieu of the fact that there was all but no one to replace him. The only two real candidates, Amelia Bones and one of her head aurors, were too busy scrambling their forces to restore order, to worry about the politicking of war.

It turned out that Fudge's denial was beginning to show long-standing consequences. Upon the sudden Death Eater assault, muggleborns downtown near the Ministry had rioted. Shouts about lies and slander and war crimes riddled the air while garbage, curses and heavy objects were thrown about like confetti. Bones had managed to restore order with minimum injuries, but two pure blood Ministry workers had been killed in the chaos.

That wasn't all. Shortly after the riots, blood red replicas of the bloody Wolverine head were suddenly being found everywhere – on the side of buildings, in news papers, hung up in shops. Further rioting was predicted by the Prophet. (outside of the Skeeter column, which was now selling like wildfire since the Wolverines began using it as a mouthpiece).

Despite Fudge denouncing the the renegade group as terrorists, several members of society – including in the Ministry – were outright praising those who had seen through the lies and decided to fight back.

Hence why many new recruits were coming in.

"So what happens now?" Tammy Blue demanded, dogging Hestia's heels as the former Slytherin ducked through the crowd to reunite Mei Rosa with her half sister.

"We're waiting on that." Hestia said. "I promise, there's going to be retribution, but Harry will need to make a plan first."

Scotia Flame, Sasha Desume and Simone Drayden were friends. As a unit, they swore themselves in and asked about planning and potential targets. Ginny explained that Daphne, Blaise, Astoria, Flora and Hestia would be suggesting and helping co-ordinate some attacks on Voldemort's followers.

The plan was similar to the assault on the Ministry. Hit and run, this time with bombs and grenade launchers as opposed to sniper rifles. This was just to cause as much damage as possible while hiding behind a few shields, before darting back to safety.

Graham noticed that his friend Natalie was hanging out alone by a window. Walking over, he asked, "Is something wrong? Your mother and cousin are alright, so what's bothering you?"

"I'm wondering where my dad is." Natalie admitted after a moment of silence.

"You're dad? You mean Regulus Black, or-?"

"My mum raised me alone," Natalie explained, blue eyes casting down. "But I saw dad twice, both times on my birthday and never for very long. He said it wasn't safe for him to stay."

Graham pondered that for a moment. "Do you think that means-?"

"-Yes." Natalie agreed, finishing her friend's thought as they often did. "I think my dad broke off from the Death Eaters a while ago. So I'm just a little worried about him, what with V-Voldemort," She winced slightly at the name, despite her continued attempts to break the habit, "walking about again and all."

Graham blinked. "I would be useful if he came to find you again," He remarked thoughtfully. "Not only would you get to see him, but he might know things about Voldemort that we don't."

Natalie nodded and sighed, "He'd have to come to us, though."

/

Over at Black Mansion up north, where Ron, Fred and George were handling things, a lot of adults were asking where to sign up.

"My wife is dead because some bastard thought she didn't deserve to live," A shaken, teary and angry Paul Nakamazi told Ron. "There's nothing I'd like more then to find him, shove my shotgun down his throat and make him taste gun oil."

He wasn't the only one. An enraged Morgan (Prince) Price commissioned Daphne Greengrass to sneak her into Gringotts. Once she was there, she claimed a sizable portion of her great-grandfather's fortune and proceeded to spend it a large chunk of it on a military grade tank. After that, she spray painted a wolverine face on the side, wound it up with enough anti-magic guards to choke out air, and asked for driving lessons.

Ron's reaction to the tank being delivered had to be seen to be believed. He asked Hermione what they should do with it. Hermione, eyes sparkling, told him to hold that thought.

"You were just a bunch of kids?" Anna Marie DiLauntaris said in astonishment when she went to enlist and saw Ron for the first time. "Goddamn. If a couple of kids can cause all of this, what excuse do I have?"

Astoria and Sally Anne Perkins were comforting the children, especially Nina Ender who was still scared from her near abduction by Fenrir Greyback. Astoria, who knew the werewolf's habits through her parents, was silently thanking the stars that Eileen Lannister had managed to rescue them in time, even if it meant becoming a werewolf herself.

Because the other option did not bear thinking about.

Donna Skye and Christine Taudi both decided to fight, Christie to avenge her mother, Donna so she could live in a better world.

"We should burn it all down," Christine muttered quite frequently. "We should burn it all down and start all over."

Leanne Marius was in a similar boat. "When do we attack?" She demanded once she had sworn in.

"All in good time, lady." George promised. "All in good time."

/

The Summer Isles Mansion was in little different shape. Morag, Megan and Blaise, having been put in charge by Harry, were organizing for some of the younger half bloods/muggleborns who had come to them to gain safe passage to America through back channels and international portkey.

Other then that, they were also bringing in recruits. "Nothing is mandatory," Morag told a teary but cold eyed Jennifer Star, who had lost both her parents to Malfoy. "But if you want to fight back, you're more then welcome to."

"Great." Jennifer said flatly. "I'm going to kill every last one of them."

Amber Perkinson came with her German immigrant parents in tow. Turns out they were descended from a pair of Grindelwald objectors who had fought so fiercely against the man that Gellert had to come out and kill them personally. He hadn't managed to catch the son, however, who was now keen on living up to that legacy especially with the revelation of Malfoy's treatment of his wife.

Amber's mother Janice in particular was looking forward to paying Malfoy back for taking advantage of her. Even Megan, who feared nothing, was slightly intimidated by her.

Susanna Karen had different contributions in mind. "This is hardly the entire muggleborn population of Britain," She said, waving her hand to indicate the sleeping areas where some of the younger kids were still recovering from the traumatic experience. "We should save some people for going in and sneaking out other at risk people, Harriet Tubman style. At least, that's what I think."

"You think right," Morag said with an interested tone. "I should fire off a message to Harry about that, have him ask around at the other safe houses. How about you gather a few other people for this 'squad' and then talk to us again."

Susanna grinned and hurried into the next room, grabbing Annette Jane by the arm on her way out.

Back with Harry, a few hours later

"Voldemort has been staying with various members of his fanclub." Flora said, gesturing across the quickly drawn up map she had created. "My intimate knowledge of his travel plans ends with Oswald Nott, part of his inner circle, but likely he'll be moving about more now that he's actively plotting."

"He was going to come to our parent's place next." Daphne informed Harry. "Though he may have changed his plans, that makes them a target."

"But won't your parents be inside?" Ron asked in confusion. "You know, when they attack."

Daphne favoured Ron with a flat look. "They're choosing their path. I'm choosing mine." She said coolly. "I have no love of those hateful murderers, any more then you do. They were going to sell Astoria to Draco in order to create a 'pure blood dynasty' that would rule for a thousand years."

No one had anything to say in response to that.

"So that's the Greengrass's, the Malfoy's, and the Nott's." Hermione said, frowning and drumming her fingers against the desk. "That's a small target circle. Anyone else?"

"The Moons and the DiLaurentis are two of the other big names. Pritchard, too." Megan said, arms crossed. "Not all of Voldemort's fanclub are prolific names; some are just those who happened to have two wizard parents and latched onto the idea that this made them 'better'. They have less money and less standing, but that means they're not going to be all nicely holed up somewhere that we can bomb the hell out of."

Harry growled in annoyance. "Great. If they could be anywhere, this could go on for a long time." He said disapprovingly.

"When it comes to that, maybe Moldyshorts has a good idea." Ginny suggested with a smirk. When everyone looked strangely at her, she went on, "You know – draw them out. But this time, instead of just attacking wildly and underestimating our targets, we'll set an ambush."

"Good idea," Flora said approvingly. "We'll threaten to hit them a place where it hurts, bring them all running to a dead end and then shoot them like fish in a barrel."

"It could be difficult to set up," Hestia pointed out.

"And where would we be able to plant that?" Hermione asked. "There is the Ministry, but after our first attack Voldemort would probably smell a trap. Where else would he feel inclined to go?"

Ginny snapped her fingers. "Gringotts." She said.

"Um...Ginny? The goblins are going to be neutral in any wizard war." Harry said, not sure what she was getting at.

"I know," Ginny said, "We'll make them think that we've partnered with Gringotts, and when they come to storm the door – boom. That's when we strike, from all around the city near him. Given the state of the general population, I'd say we'd have some company if we did."

"But it's a pretty open place, too." Ron said, believing he'd seen a flaw in the plan. "We wouldn't want to drag innocent bystanders who just went to collect their paychecks into it."

"We'll fire a pre-emptive explosive, then," Daphne said with the air of one with an idea. "The goblins will seal Gringotts with their own magic, keeping their innocent charges inside while the Death Munchers get slaughtered."

Harry nodded, desperately trying to ignore the twisting and the nausea in his gut as he remembered the bodies from the Ministry. I chose to do this, he thought firmly. I have to believe this is the right thing to do. "So we have a two step plan. I like the sound of this."

Straightening up, he turned towards Blaise. "What time frame do you suggest for the bombing assault?" He asked.

"Voldemort will be wanting to see the results of his initial strike." Blaise said. "So more likely then not he'll be holed up in one of these houses as we prepare to strike. If he does appear, though, we will need to cut our losses and run, tossing any explosives over our shoulders. Unless we swarm him and attack as a massive collective, we're all as dead as Cedric."

Noises of agreement echoed through the room. Harry gestured towards the door and said, "Let's get to work."

End Chapter

Read and Review please!

12. Chapter 12

Art of War

Tyene: Huh. I'd say I wasn't expecting you to go there, but I know better.

Wanda: I'm glad you decided that. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 12: Death

Blaise kept half an eye on Megan Jones.

"Are you afraid of her?" Daphne asked, quietly so they wouldn't be overheard.

The three of them were leading a platoon, staking out near Nott manor. The three of them were leading, due to having been part of the Wolverines the longest. The group was a mixed bag with older and younger members, all of whom were waiting for the co-ordination orders to come over the magic type phones Hermione had invented. Many of the platoon looked nervous or otherwise uncertain.

Megan, however, looked entirely at home. She was tense with anticipation, and her face showed no fear or concern – it was a stone mask. Christine was next to her, both to watch her back and help her corner victims. A smile seemed to creep up Megan's face as the clock ticked down closer to the attack.

"Afraid?" Blaise echoed, slightly offended. "No, I'm not afraid. It's just..." He glanced at Megan again, making sure they weren't being overheard.

"What?" Daphne pressed.

"I appreciate how driven Megan is. But sometimes I find her eagerness unnerving." Blaise answered. "Perhaps that's a bit hypocritical as an aspiring assassin, but it continues to trouble me..."

Daphne frowned. "I heard rumour of Hestia Jones's death. Said it was a raid gone wrong...at least that was Fudge's explanation. Megan has lost a lot – more then either of us. More likely then not she's seeking revenge. Her aunt, father and mother gone...I cannot fault her for that."

"Neither can I." Blaise conceded. "I may just be overthinking it." With that, the two Slytherins settled down into silence. They had been friends since their sorting, so in all the previous raids they had worked together as a unit.

Morag had the bomb triggers. The explosives had been discreetly rigged around the Nott mansion by Helen Arryn, since her blood allowed her to bypass the wards. The young girl then returned to the safety of the Mansion with a portkey while Morag began counting down.

Not far away, Harry, Flora and his team were doing the same around Malfoy Manor, having littered bombs around a number of other mansions and buildings as well. Carrie Fawkes was holding the detonators there, and she looked quite eager for some payback. And further away then that, Hermione, Ginny and their platoon were staking out the Pritchard residence.

The timer clicked down. Several Death Eaters spilled out into the yard just as the buildings were lit up with smoke and fire.

Bellatrix Lestrange was among those who managed to get outside. She found one of the bunkers and attacked it.

Curses and bullets flew in every direction. After a heated battle, many death eaters lying dead on the lawn, the brilliant flash of portkeys drew the Wolverines away. Bellatrix screamed in rage, the Malfoy mansion burning behind her and dead bodies surrounding her.

At Granger Mansion

"DAPHNE!"

Harry heard Astoria's scream before he saw anything; portkeys always made him dizzy. As soon as he regained his footing, he ran over to the source of the noise.

Astoria had flung herself over her sister's body, sobbing and crying loud enough to wake the dead. Blaise was shaking, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. Blood soaked the floor around the girl. Harry felt bile rise up in his throat.

"It was Patrick Nott." Hestia said, tears dripping down her face. "He threw a severing curse at Astoria's neck when she was pre-occupied. Daphne got in the way but couldn't throw up a shield in time. Hit her right in the chest."

"C-Can she be helped?"

"She's already gone, Harry."

Harry leaned back against the wall at this pronouncement. His chest felt heavy as lead. What had he done?

"HERMIONE! SOMEBODY, PLEASE!"

Ginny rushed over to Lavander Brown, who was helping Pavarti. To Harry's horror, blood was dripping down the girls face. Her usually perky friend was in hysterics, even after Hannah and Nodoka pulled Pavarti away and immediately began treating her.

"Hush!" Nodoka said, her tone loud and kind, but firm. "Your friend will not die, if I have anything to say about it. I've healed much worse, so calm down and cease crying! I must focus."

Numbly, Harry called for all the leaders and demanded to know the situation.

Colin, who had been taking pictures for propaganda, had gotten hit by a Crucio, but he was fine (though rather shaken up) His friend Rayne Dantes was helping him, along with Dennis.

Sally Anne Perks had lost her right hand, also to a severing curse. She had passed out, but Dean had cauterized the wound in time to prevent the injury from getting worse.

Ben Glass was dead via Avada Kedavera. His friends hadn't managed to collect his body before the timed portkey went off.

Neville had taken two Crucios for Jennifer and Matt, the resulting pain knocking him out cold. Luckily, he had been brought back.

Carol Duchannes was also dead. She had been hit by Avada Kedavera before she even realized the situation had changed.

Sasha had taken a cutting curse, but she hadn't even noticed the pain – she had stayed behind, shooting up Death Eaters till the bitter end because her friend Tammy had taken a bludgeoning curse. Thankfully, both girls would recover – though Sasha would have trouble lifting anything heavier then a kitten with her right hand afterwards.

Three dead. Several injured.

"I'm going to kill them all," Astoria snarled through her tears, "Send me back! I'm going to kill him!"

"Don't worry," Megan Jones said darkly. She had ghosted over from her platoon, where they had been no deaths or injuries, and knelt next to the girl. "That bastard will pay. I'll make sure we see to it."

Astoria blinked the tears away from her eyes, clutching at her sister's arms. Several of her half sisters came over to join her – Sally, Christine, Karen, Annette, Tabitha and Amber. Christine muttered and agreement to Megan's statement while Amber gently pulled Astoria away from the body into a hug. While the redhead comforted her half sister, Sally and Karen turned towards Harry, who stared back at them with grief and dismay.

"We need to bury her." Sally said plainly, any trace of her original shyness gone. "Her and Carol and Ben, if only in spirit for him."

Harry nodded mechanically.

"I'll get the wood." Ginny said quietly.

/

Harry hadn't known much about wizard funerals. It was tradition to burn the bodies, since it was believed that fire cleansed the soul of sin. That, and it would prevent the bodies from rising again as Inferni.

Daphne's pyre was extravagant, a group effort by her sisters and her closest friend Tracey Davis. Flowers were woven in her hair and covered the wound on her chest. Harry, as he watched her, still felt as if he would see her stand up and give a sarcastic observation as she had many times before. It was so hard to believe that someone in his year, someone he had conversed with and promised to protect, was dead.

Ben and Carol were given similar care, though they didn't have any siblings among the wolverines. Nodoka Hiroka, to Harry's eternal gratitude, offered to care for them in place of their parents. After rites and eulogies were spoken, Scotia and Alison – both experts with fire magic – set the pyres ablaze.

Harry looked around him.

Ron had taken a step back to comfort Astoria personally. The usually tactless boy was being incredible – but, having several siblings he loved dearly, he knew how harsh this blow was to her. Hermione was standing stoically close to the fires, her tears falling in silence. Flora and Hestia's hands were folded as if in prayer.

Megan was singing something in German – a ballade of the Valkyre, Tabitha told him. Ginny joined her, though she merely sang the notes since she didn't speak German. Blaise was muttering in Italian, telling the heavens that a brave warrior was coming to join them. Luna crushed a flower in her hand and let the petals fly away in the smoke and wind, her expression serene but sad.

A couple of Hufflepuffs, Eleanor Branstone included, were crying and throwing flowers onto the pyre. Ben had been a big brother to the house collective, and seeing him fall was like loosing family. Paul stood among them along with Anne Marie, offering words and embraces of comfort.

"This isn't your fault."

Harry was surprised to be brought out of his thoughts. One of the older wolverines had come to join him – it took him a moment to identify her as Verity Smith.

"I know you feel guilty." Verity said, looking intently at him. "We all do. But their deaths weren't your doing. They chose to follow this path, and it was Nott and his companions who struck the fatal blow. You have to remember that, Potter."

Harry shook his head slightly. "I asked them to believe in me," He murmured. "I asked them. I said I would protect them."

"And if they hadn't believed in you? Would they truly have survived long?" Verity asked calmly. "Their parents would have sold Astoria like a common whore to Malfoy; how long would that energetic, full of life girl survived locked in a room, endlessly pregnant and giving birth with any agency stripped away from her? Daphne sympathized with you and never would have accepted the Dark Mark; how would her parents have taken to that?"

Harry had no answer to that. "Daphne chose to die for this cause. Ben and Carol too." Verity said. "It's our job to ensure that they don't die in vain."

"But how many more will die if I keep this up?"

"The real question is, how many will die if you stop fighting?" Verity responded, looking intently at Harry. "Let me tell you from my experience, Potter – if you had not given me a place to run too, I would have been made a whore for whatever death eaters wanted to continue their progeny. Many of those in my situation would have been murdered. And your friends, when the Death Eaters decided to come out of hiding?"

Harry looked down. "Your compassion is your greatest asset, Potter – but placing all responsibly on your shoulders will kill you." Verity said. "If it were up to me, or any mother and father worth a damn, you wouldn't be in this position in the first place. However, you are the beacon of hope in this world against Voldemort."

"What do you want me to do?" Harry rasped. "Send these people to their deaths without a care?"

"Of course not. But you need to know that what you stand for is worth dying for." Verity said firmly. "And I would rather die today then live in a world under Voldemort."

"I don't want it to come to that."

"Then we better see that it doesn't, shall we?" Verity asked.

For a moment, Harry was silent. After a moment, he asked, "What do you think should we do next?"

"We should keep moving," Verity said. "Likely the Death Eaters will realize they aren't safe in any single place. Voldemort is a man who likes to make shows of strength."

"We can't fight Voldemort yet."

"Perhaps not. But we can slaughter his men as they goose-step down the streets, wrapped up in their feelings of invincibility." Upon Harry's curious look, she smiled coldly, "I imagine some of your Wolverines are looking for revenge."

The Next Day

Harry named several commanders, telling them to take a group of armed Wolverines and stake out whatever places they thought Death Eaters were likely to appear. He left the decision of choosing locations to them, though he did organize who went with who. Paul Nakamazi, Verity Smith, Dean, Justin, Cho and Ron took their platoons down into the inside of the city while Anne Marie, Harry himself, Flora, Hestia, and Simone Draydan circled around important buildings such as Gringotts and the Floo centre.

Megan Jones was also given a platoon, which included Astoria and Sally to name a few. She had a location involved, but she decided she wanted to take a detour first.

/

Lucius Malfoy stormed into Hogsmeade with Patrick Nott and several 'lesser' houses in tow. "Kill some, brutalize others. Throw up the Dark Mark!" He bellowed.

"How about no, Lucky-boy?" A new voice sing-songed.

Lucius whipped around, wand in hand, but his snarl died in his throat.

A girl with dark hair, Astoria Greengrass and several other nobodies in tow, were forming a barricade between them and the rest of Hogsmeade (and by extension, Hogwarts). But they weren't alone.

Malfoy, Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle were there too. But their wands were gone, their hands were bound and they all had those accursed black metal weapons pressed against their heads.

"I thought you might come here." The dark haired girl – clearly the leader – stated, sounding satisfied. "Given your master's obsession with the school. I thought I would bring along some friends."

Draco whimpered. He had a busted lip and a black eye – the group had violently roughed the group up to prevent them from calling for help.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lucius demanded.

"Paying you back." The girl responded coldly.

"Release them this instant!"

"... ...Why? Why should we do that?" One of the other girls spat on the ground. Crabbe tried to shed away but was violently pulled back by the ear.

Lucius fired off a vicious cutting curse only to discover a powerful shield charm standing between them and the children.

The girl clicked her tongue and pushed the barrel of her gun further down on Malfoy's neck. "tut tut, Lucy. You claim to be nobility, yet you act just as savage as you say we are."

"What do you want?" Patrick said, his tone slightly panicky as he stared at his sole legitimate air, who lying on his side at Astoria's feet.

Astoria laughed in response, her eyes burning with hate. "What do we want? I want my sister back. But I can't have that now...so instead I want every last one of you fuckers rotting in a ditch."

"You can't do this!"

"We can't?" The lead girl demanded, her voice dangerously low. Lucius had a nagging feeling he recognized her – he had a fleeting memory of another person when he looked at her. Was it that Jones woman? He and several others had gone to silence her in her home.

Lucius had been sure he had left no survivors.

"You murder our family. You terrorize us and threaten us with death and worse daily." Astoria and Dancia Danger both glowered at this. "You force us to live like maggots, torture us, and you want to tell us what we can't do?"

"You brought this on yourselves!" Lucius roared, sill believing that the children in front of him wouldn't dare strike his son when faced with him.

That proved to be the wrong thing to say.

"No." The girl said. She started to smile. "You did that."

The gun went off with an earsplitting roar. Draco Malfoy didn't even have a chance to scream before his head was blown apart, spraying blood and gore everywhere.

Another bang and Theodore Nott's head was severed from his body. Astoria stared back at the patriarch of the family as he screamed.

Lucius was so struck stupid by his son's sudden death that he left himself wide open for a disarming spell. The girl's companions immediately raised their wands and relieved the group of shell-shocked purebloods of their weapons.

When the now helpless Death Eaters tried to run, they were either shot down or paralysed by stunners or binding curses. Lucius himself was bound in ropes and shoved to the ground.

The leader dispelled the shield and walked over to Lucius, stepping over Draco's body without looking at him once. Lucius was still gaping in horrified shock at the body when he was abruptly rolled over with a boot pressed against his chest.

"Do you know who I am?" The dark haired girl demanded.

Lucius choked and didn't say anything, bile and tears of pain filling his throat.

"My name is Megan Jones. You came to my house just before the school year. You murdered and raped my aunt. You destroyed my family. I have nothing to live for now...nothing but the desire to destroy you and everyone like you."

"Then...then kill me." Lucius choked out. "Do it. What are you waiting for?"

Megan's response was to produce her wand and say, "That's too good for you, you bastard." With a flick, she sent a severing charm at the man's groin, deftly removing his final weapon. As Lucius howled in pain, Megan cauterized the wound and kept him pinned under her boot. "There were two men with you, one of them did the same to my mother, forced my father to watch before murdering him. Who were they?"

"...P-Peter Pettigrew...and...a-and...Rabastian...Lestrange..."

"Pettigrew." Megan echoed. Lucius screeched in pain as she twisted her boot on his chest. "I see." With that, she pointed her wand at her eyes. "Compliments from Pavarti Patil."

Lucius Malfoy screamed as his vision was taken away from him.

Megan kicked his body away before turning her attention to Astoria. The girl was throwing cutting curse after cutting curse at Patrick Nott, who was now catatonic with shock and blood loss, screaming "My sister! You killed Daphne!"

"He can't feel it anymore, Astoria." Megan remarked mildly. The blonde girl gave no indication that she had heard.

Christine Traudi came over to Megan, staring hatefully at Lucius. "Is he dead?"

"No." Megan responded. "I want him to suffer for as long as possible. I did, however, remove the weapon he used against your mother."

"Good." Christine snarled. "But it's missing something..." She fired a severing curse at the man's dominant hand. "Live with that, you bastard!" She shouted. "See what its like to be at the bottom of the food chain, oh superior wizard!"

Megan chuckled appreciatively before flicking another cauterizing spell at the now thoroughly ruined man.

"We need to double back!" Amber yelled in warning, having finished off Crabbe's two parents as the they had tried to flee. "The Order of the Phoenix is headed this way – Snape noticed Malfoy was missing."

Megan nodded shortly. "Come on, girls. There are more raping, murdering bastards out there. Let's go kill them."

Astoria finally stopped her abuse of Patrick Nott's now fairly unrecognizable body to activate her portkey. When Tonks and Kingsley burst onto the scene, along with the residents who had fled upon the DE's arrival, they found nothing but dead or dying bodies.

Outside of Gringotts

"Pettigrew? Peter Pettigrew?" Harry paused, Megan's voice flitting through the floo-based phones all the wolverines had been issued. "I see. I'm sorry." More muttering. "So he's been out and about. Let's see if we can find him." A shout. "I'll take my team and meet up with you – I've been given some new information by the goblins.

"What was that about Pettigrew?" Ginny asked from where she was holding a struggling low ranked Death Eater at gunpoint.

"Word from Megan." Harry explained. "Pettigrew attacked her family, which means he's not waiting on Riddle hand and foot. That suggests to me that Tom had him doing something."

Ginny blasted the man's shoulder apart before walking over to Harry. There were a number of Death Eater bodies strewn all of the steps of the bank – the goblins had closed up just before the attack thanks to Harry's warning. In return for this, Griphook had informed him of something.

"Kindly inform your friend Hermione Lestrange-Granger that we've inspected and cleaned out the remainder of her vaults. We found inside one of them a cursed goblet – a Horcrux. I imagine this is related to your Dark Wizard."

Harry planned to have Hermione and some others research this subject when they doubled back to their respective mansions.

"You mean the horcrux?" Ginny asked. When Harry nodded, she looked grim. "I've only heard stories and rumors about that. It was said to be the darkest of magic, something even Gellert Grindelwald wouldn't touch."

"Sounds like it's up Tom's ally." Harry said in response, eyes narrowing. "I'll ask Flora and Hestia about it when we regroup." The Carrow twins were generally accepted as the Wolverine's dark magic experts, aside from one or two of the Black bastard children.

Ginny started in surprise when her floo phone rang. Picking it up, she said, "Ginny speaking." Pause. "Natalie? What is it?" Eager chatter. "Your dad? Wait, he said something about horxcruxes too!? ...He's looking for them now and has been ever since he went missing? ...He's already destroyed three!? Is he still there? ... ...Lovely. Tell him to come back with you to the Mansion. Now stay safe."

"What was that?"

"Natalie's father." Ginny said briskly, pocketing her phone. "Regulus Black heard about the murders and came looking for her. He ran away from the Death Eaters partially because he discovered the horcruxes! He wants to talk to you, Harry."

Harry's expression became determined. "I'll see him once we've finished up our work for today. Do me a favor and take over here, will you Ginny? I'm off to help Megan."

Ginny nodded as Harry disappeared via portkey.

End Chapter

Yup, not all the Wolverines are going to be strictly honorable like Harry. I set up Megan to fill this exact slot, hence the murder of her family and her actions this chapter. When Harry discovers more of what she did this day - he hasn't yet - he'll protest, but Megan has support in how extreme she is by others driven to such rage by grief.

What can I say? War makes demons of everyone.

Read and Review please!

13. Chapter 13

Art of War

Wanda: A shorter chapter, mostly because character moments are important and OH MY GOD AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON COMES OUT TOMMOROW, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE AND GET HYPE! I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 13: Three Sides

Tonks was struggling not to barf.

She was with Kingsley, having been deployed to St Mugos after another series of Wolverine attacks. The blood red image of the creature was now all but inescapable downtown – it was left at every scene. While the wolverines hid their faces, they were completely prepared to stand up and claim the killings as their work.

One house had been ransacked by the Death Eaters first. The wolverines caught up with them. It was said that the Dark Mark that how hovered over that house had the snake beheaded and a knife rammed through the skull, splitting it in half.

To the horror of Dumbledore, people were cheering when they saw it.

"Such wanton death has been dealt," The old man had said, looking all of his a hundred and fifty years, "I'm afraid that if this continues we won't have a world left saving."

In her heart of hearts, Tonks found she didn't quite believe that. Where the wolverines were sighted, there were fewer civilian deaths then anywhere else – if anything, she thought that there were more people surviving then in the first war. But she kept this opinion to herself, swamped with uneasiness and wondering if she was following the right person.

But right now, all those thoughts were driven out of her head by the shape of the two Death Eaters who had survived the Hogsmeade attack.

There was a morbid sense of justice to Malfoy. In the first war, Lucius had often been in charge of leaving bodies behind as 'examples' to the 'lesser ones' who dared to resist the pure blood's right to rule. Now, it seemed that he himself had been made an example of. He had been mutilated, blinded and castrated – but he was still alive, and the nurses said he would recover.

Patrick Nott was in a similar state, though his continued survival was doubtful. He had been so viciously scarred up that the nurses had to take a blood test to identify him for sure, and even Kingsley – who had fought him several times in the past – hadn't recognized him on sight.

There were also the bodies of Draco and Theodore. Their deaths, at least, had been quick and painless – the bodies had been rolled out for cremation shortly after their arrival.

"You think Dumbledore will want the Wolverines declared public menaces after this?" Tonks asked her older partner; the gristly scene was hypnotic.

"Yes." Kingsley said evenly, his eyes showing no emotion. "He never approved of them, you know that. Killing Draco and Theodore, as well as this torture, cannot be accepted."

But what if Draco and Theodore had already taken the Mark?, whispered a voice in Tonks's head. They've been just as devoted to spreading the pure blood cause as their parents...the wolverines aren't the only ones who have vicious children among them. You of all people would know that.

But...but this isn't right. She argued silently. They're still just kids.

So the motly resistance has a few loose canons. And Dumbledore doesn't? He lets Mundungus and Snape into the Order, their both convicts and both have killed before without a flinch. Dumbledore himself has fought in a war and killed people. Does that make them wrong?

But...but there has to be a better way then this...!

What better way? Her inner cynic was coming out more and more often in the recent weeks. Waiting for Voldemort to restore his army to its fullest potential, including getting giant and werewolf allies? Not responding to murders of friends and family? Last time, Dumbledore called the shots...and last time, shits like Lucius walked free with hardly more then a slap on the wrist, and another war has been started over it! Can Dumbledore, who didn't stop it fully, claim to be so snow white? Dumbledore, who knew how the purebloods treated their non-'pure' contemporaries – and their muggle neighbours?

Tonks shivered. She didn't like how persuasive her inner cynic was becoming these days. When she became an auror, all she had wanted to do was what was right. But in this situation she found herself in, what was right? The uncertainty was almost worse then the battles with the death eaters. (or Remus trying to avoid her affections).

"Do we even know where to look for them?" She asked, trying to move her mind elsewhere.

"No," Kingsley acknowledged. "But several of the Order, including Vance, have been sent out to try and capture some when they come out to attack again."

Would they be treated just like the death eaters? Her inner cynic demanded. Dumbledore is going to throw children into Azkaban, a place worse then death?

"I don't like this. Any of this." Tonks said plainly. "What if they're right, Kingsley? When we couldn't protect them because Dumbledore didn't want to fight Fudge, they had to protect themselves. I mean, what were those kids supposed to do when Malfoy and his friends stormed into their houses to kill their illegitimate children?"

"Tonks," Kingsley said, sounding surprised. "Do you sympathize with them?"

"What?" Tonks protested, her heart skipping a beat. "C'mon. I'm just saying, why they're doing this...it just makes too much sense for them to be run out of the mill psycho killers."

"Don't say that in front of Dumbledore or Molly," Kingsley said severely. "Especially since Molly believes that her youngest children have joined the wolverines after leaving Hogwarts. Just mentioning them around her will not have pretty results. She thinks they've been brainwashed."

Tonks didn't respond to that, she just followed the older auror out of the hospital. The questions she had raised still nagged at her, despite Kingsley seeing it as fairly open and shut.

She thought of her mother, disowned for loving a muggle, even after the war over blood purity was supposed to be over...what if they, the Order, won the war again only for nothing to change?

Were they fighting a war for the status quo, so everyone who had died would have died for nothing? It would prevent things from getting worse...but it wouldn't make them any better.

What should she do? If she sympathized with the Wolverines...should she try to join them? But she was an Order member, a double agent in the Ministry – not a safe place to be for someone who sympathized with the uprising.

Hiding her inner turmoil behind her Occlumency training, Tonks took a portkey back to the Ministry.

With Fudge and Amelia Bones

"-Sweeping arrests! I want everyone the Potter brat has ever smiled at behind bars!"

"Minister, we have no proof that-"

"Are you blind, Bones? Who else would be abysmally foolish enough to start such a crusade against our noble people and government!?" Fudge demanded, pacing wildly. His sycophant in the DMLE drafted the laws rapidly over Amelia's protests – Fudge had claimed emergency powers to override the head of the Law branch in what he deemed to be most important.

"I want every muggleborn within a mile of the Ministry deported!" Fudge continued. After the last riot, in which he had taken several rotten tomatos to the face, he had been rather adamant about this tidbit. "I don't want to leave anywhere for them to hide."

"Sir, you're being irrational!" Amelia shouted, her face turning white from exertion. Any attempts to make Fudge see reason were lost to the shouting and chaos within the building. "We can't just send away a large chunk of our immediate population!"

"The hell I can't, Bones! Who's the Minister of Magic here, me or you!?" Fudge snapped, his pacing intensifying in speed. "I want arrest warrants on Potter, his friends, double the bounty on Black!, the werewolf teacher from the breakout year, hell even arrest his muggle aunt and uncle! I don't care what charges you have to make up, just do it!"

"I cannot abide this blatant defiance of the law and basic rights!" Amelia sputtered.

"You will, Bones, or I'll fire you and hire someone who will!" Fudge exploded. "I will not loose this country after all the time I've spent keeping it under control!"

Amelia resisted the urge to point out that, with the riots and the civil war raging outside his doors, Fudge wasn't showing any control at all. In fact, a large chunk of what they were experiencing now was his fault – and he was yet to suffer real consequences for it, barring witnessing the brutal death of his chief toady which had only made him more fanatical.

"Deliver conscription notices to all the half blood families! I want our Auror corpse prepared to take out this infestation and restore order!" Fudge yelled.

Amelia seethed as she watched the barbaric decisions being laid out before her. Not for the first time, she almost wished that Dumbledore had been Minister instead of this fool; he at least was far less delusional.

Fudge's grip on solid reality was breaking, and between him and Voldemort and this new enemy she wasn't sure that Wizarding Britain would survive the resulting bloodbath.

At Granger Mansion

Harry was surprised how little Regulus Black looked like Sirius.

They did have the same hair and eye colour, but that's where the similarities ended. Regulus had a more slender, almost girlish frame, as if he spent most of his life inside. Perhaps that was due in part to having been on the run for several years, most of which he spent living in various forests as a fox animagus. He was dressed in primarily muggle clothes, since that was the other place he hid out when he got tired of eating raw animal meat and berries day to day.

Though the strength in his eyes did confirm to Harry that he and Sirius were brothers. When they were angry, they had the same look. Though now Regulus looked surprisingly calm and mostly serious, except for when Natalie had rushed to the door and hugged him with all the strength in her small body.

Then he had smiled softly and petted her hair, looking for all the world like a different person.

"So you're the famous Harry Potter," Regulus said when Harry sat down across from him, flanked by Ron, Fred and George. The man (or is that god-uncle? Harry wasn't sure how to refer to him in his head) examined him for a moment before saying, "For some reason, I thought you would be taller."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Harry deadpanned. Fred and George snickered.

Ron produced the cup that Hermione had been given by the goblins and placed it on the table. Regulus's eyes narrowed immediately.

"Do you know what that is?" He asked.

"I know it's called a Horcrux." Harry said. "I know it requires dark magic to create, and its been forbidden since the time of the Founders."

"It's a soul container." Regulus said without preamble. "Voldemort created this to ensure his immortality. Using the darkest magics, he tore his soul apart and placed it in several containers, which he's hidden throughout Britain. Llike some goddamned Easter egg hunt from hell."

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered, while any trace of levity left the twin's faces.

"Ensured his immortality..." Harry whispered, feeling as if a rock was sitting in the pit of his stomach. "How?"

Regulus gave him a mirthless look. "Because as long as you have a Horcrux, Potter, you cannot truly die. Your body can be destroyed, but the horcrux anchors you in the living world. With a ritual, you can resurrect yourself time and again until the sun burns out."

"Are you saying he's unkillable?" Ron demanded, turning green.

"Can they be destroyed?" Harry asked urgently.

Regulus chuckled a bit. "What the hell do you think I've been doing the last fifteen years? I discovered this secret by chance – he tortured my house elf to test the protection he'd set up for one of them. Kreacher. He's been helping me ever since...I've found three that he's created, and I'm taking it that since he's still around, he's got more."

Ron turned from green to white. "Harry...remember the diary?" He whispered. "Remember the thing that possessed Ginny?"

Harry did remember. "These things...they contain pieces of his soul. Can they act on their own? Possess his memories?"

Regulus looked surprised. "So you've been in contact with one. May I ask how that happened?"

"Malfoy had a diary that belonged to Riddle." Ron said tersely, trying to push back the terrifying memories that year had given him and the emotional aftermath that Ginny had suffered through. "He slipped it to my sister during her first year. She didn't know what it was, she wrote in it, and that somehow allowed him to take energy from her and possess her to open the chamber. Harry destroyed it in the end by driving a basilisk fang into it."

Regulus grimaced. "Yes, that was a horcrux. The things are damn near impossible to destroy – basilisk venom is one of the few things powerful enough to do so...that and Fiendfyre, cursed flame, or goblin-wrought silver." He regarded Ron for a moment. "If I may ask, what happened to your sister? Did she die?'

Ron shook her head. "No. Harry saved her."

Regulus turned his attention back to Harry. He seemed almost impressed. "Huh. I was nearly ten years older then you when I destroyed my first horcrux. I thought Dumbledore just meant for you to be a figurehead for his inane little 'stunners only' crusade."

"Do you know how many of these...things Voldemort made?" Harry asked.

"If I had to guess, since now four of them have been destroyed – with this one to go, next – he must have made seven. It invokes a sort of magical singularity...creating luck and such."

"Blimey." Fred muttered. "No wonder snake-face is so batty. Seven times..."

Regulus nodded. "You might notice that this new Voldemort is somewhat...off kilter?" Upon their nods, he went on, "Don't take this as an attempt to defend the stupid decision I made, but – but if you had met Riddle, back when his soul was relatively unblemished...you would understand why people would follow him. His presence was hypnotic...he could make almost everyone agree with him. But once he continued to split his soul...that part of him was destroyed. Now he's little better then a mindless beast, lashing out at anything he perceives as a threat."

"Lovely." George said. "That should make him predicable. Mad dark wizards are stupid dark wizards."

Regulus snorted. "That's true, but he's no less dangerous now then he was before. And forgive me, but prophecy or no prophecy I have a hard time believing his downfall is going to come solely at the hands of a fifteen year old boy with very limited magical experience."

"I think you're right." Harry answered, earning a look of surprise from his guest. "Why else did I create and lead the Wolverines? I never believed I could do this on my own. I know my limits, Mr. Black. That why...I would like your help."

The dark haired man tilted his head to the right. "How so?"

"I can't spare any time looking for these." Harry said, gesturing to the cup. "My attention is needed at the front. What I'm asking is – for the sake of your daughter, for Natalie if not for me, will you keep looking for the horcruxes and destroy them? I'll send some back up with you. Hestia Carrow is good at recognizing and fighting Dark Magic. Alison Jane and Soctia Flame are fire magic experts."

"I know we're young," Harry said when Regulus gave him a mildly sceptical look, "But they're better then some adult wizards I've met. This way...you don't have to do it alone."

"..." Regulus looked contemplative for a minute before chuckling. "You've got spirit. All right, as long as they don't slow me down, you can count me as part of your group. I've been doing this for fifteen years...and I'm more then ready for Voldemort, and all his assorted pure blood bullshit, to die and leave nothing behind."

End Chapter

I intended from the beginning for the Wolverines to eventually get eyes and ears in both the Ministry and the Order, partially to help them stand on equal ground with their older counterparts. And in that case...hello, Tonks. Sirius and Remus will appear next chapter, via the Dursley's trial (and thus realizing Harry is not, in fact, with them as they believed) and more riots happen.

Read and Review please!

14. Chapter 14

Art of War

Tyene: ...You've had that in your back pocket for a while, haven't you?

Wanda: (watching with sunglasses on) On come on, I can't be the only person who dreamed of levelling that damn place! I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 14: Azkaban Breakout

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE'S NOT WITH THEM!?"

Dumbledore winced at the rage and panic in Sirius's voice. He had just returned from the Ministry and a day of bad news.

News of arrests quickly trickled through the Order's channels. Fudge had gone completely mental, sending out swarms of aurors in an attempt to smoke out Harry. The Lovegoods were one of the family's searched, but neither the daughter nor the father were home. The Burrow was also raided, though the Weasleys had moved into Grimmuald place the house had been sacked and many of their possessions destroyed, including the clock Molly used to check on her children's welfare. The matriarch was distraught when Kingsley reported this.

Dumbledore had talked to Amelia Bones, but the angry woman had sent him away saying that thanks to Fudge there was nothing she could do – unless Dumbledore wanted to do something himself. The old man had left rather hurriedly afterwards.

The conscription notice had brought about more riots. Many young men had been stunned and dragged out of their homes to join Fudge's group of fanatics over their family's protests. Some fled the country while their parents attacked the aurors to keep them at bay. The entire downtown was in chaos. Some families had simply packed up and fled the country.

It was also becoming apparent that a number of the children had seen the writing on the wall regarding the safety of this country. Despite Dumbledore keeping a strict eye on his classes, with Filch doing double duty, half bloods and muggleborns were steadily disappearing.

What he didn't realize was that Susanna, a Wolverine, was smuggling at risk students out through Hogsmeade then transporting them to state boundaries via portkey. The students and any family members contacted would then go incognito as muggles and leave the country either via ship or plane to a safer place.

There were a few border patrolmen who were wolverine sympathizers, which made Susanna's job easier. They covered for her and her companions Tabitha, Simone, Carl and Erin Blogger whenever any of Fudge's aurors drew close to the oceans.

Between the disappearing students and the increasing riots, Fudge deployed a number of Aurors to 'observe' Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and any other civil hotspot. These Aurors were thugs, shaking down anyone who had muggle ancestry and arresting anyone who protested.

The trials were the worst though.

Fudge was throwing show trials for anyone he captured, before chucking them straight into Azkaban. The parents of children who were believed to be Wolverines, anyone who protested him, rioters who were captured, any low ranking death eaters he managed to capture, even some muggle relatives of those who believed to be guilty.

Dumbledore had come into one of the trials in yet another beleaguered attempt to protest when Vernon and Petunia were dragged in for their show trial.

The two were hard to miss; they were ranting and screaming about 'freaks' and how they had no authority to pass judgement on good, honest people. Dumbledore stepped in as the defence for them before asking if they had managed to hide Harry from prying eyes.

Their response chilled him to the bone – Harry had never come back to their house after the exodus from Hogwarts.

Bringing the news back to the Order proved to be difficult. Molly and Arthur immediately burst into tears, Sirius went berserk and Mad Eye just shook his head. The elderly auror seemed convinced that Dumbledore should have seen this coming.

"Find him," Dumbledore told Sirius, exhaustion in his voice. "Do whatever you can, but find him, Sirius."

Sirius skewered him with a glare. "I told you you should have let me talk to him!" He exploded. "He should have stayed here, where he would have been safe! But no, you just couldn't listen to anyone else when it came to him, could you?"

"Sirius!" Molly protested, but he rolled over her,

"I wish I had never listened to you when you told me not to write to him! After the hell he went through last year, do you have any idea what must have been going through his head!? What if he's part of the Wolverines, Dumbledore!? If your idiocy has forced my godson to become a killer, I will personally skin you alive!"

With that, Sirius turned and stormed down the hall before changing into his Animagus form, Remus directly behind him. The werewolf didn't join in the verbal tirade, but before leaving he shot Dumbledore a look of fear, disappointment and disillusionment.

"Sirius...Remus...!" Neither listened, the door slamming shut behind them. Dumbledore sighed and lowered his head.

"There's a very good chance the Potter boy is a wolverine, Dumbledore." Moody said gravely, taking a lumbering step over towards the elderly headmaster.

"Alastar, please. Don't aggravate the issue."

"You can't ignore the facts, Dumbledore. The prophecy coming out into the open, just before their first attack? That can't be a coincidence. My intiution says they're using him as a rallying point to gain followers – people who can now believe that Voldemort can be beaten. I told you, you should have released the prophecy to the public immediately after his return. Might have convinced some of his spineless followers to stay their hands."

"As I told you before, Alastar, it was too delicate a time." Dumbledore said. "Harry wasn't ready yet."

"Would he ever be ready in time?" Moody asked coldly. "He's a young boy, Dumbledore. Either you could have put a wand in his hand and given him a way to kill the man immediately, or he would have remained blissfully ignorant while you hamstrung enemies that have existed from far before his time."

With that piece of sour wisdom, Moody limped outside the complete his next shift. Dumbledore lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. How had everything gone so wrong?

At Granger Mansion

"My brothers are in Azkaban!" Matt yelled, pounding on the table. "I have to go rescue them!"

"They have my mom and my aunt!" Tabitha whimpered. "I can't leave them there...! not with those awful, soul-sucking monsters!"

"We have to do something!" Helen pleaded.

"We've got to break them out!" Lisa shouted out.

Hermione had to throw off a cannon blast with her wand in order to quiet the crowd. Most of the standing forces of the Wolverines had gathered in Granger Mansion as the news of the arrests spread. Morag, Flora, Hestia, Blaise, Ron, Hermione, Megan and the other leaders were standing on an elevated platform looking grim.

"Fudge has gone crazy!" Harry exclaimed when the first Prophet and Quibbler papers rolled in. "What does he expect this to accomplish?"

"He's obviously trying to draw us out," Flora said, pacing angrily back and forth.

"It's working," Hermione observed, looking down at the crowd. "I think if we tell them that we have to wait to do anything, some of them will leave and attempt a breakout of their own." She glanced at her best friend. "We can't afford that, Harry."

"Of course not," Harry said angrily. "I would never leave innocent people in that hellhole to be tortured by dementors. But that prison is still one of the most secure buildings in the world!"

"You're still thinking like a wizard, Harry." Megan said chidingly.

When Harry and the others turned to look quizzically at her, Megan continued, "As 'secure' as Azkaban is touted to be, it's still made of stone. What do muggles do when they want to tunnel through a mountain of bedrock just as tough, if not tougher?" She raised an eyebrow. "They blow a hole in it."

"What are you suggesting?" Blaise asked, seeking clarification.

"I'm suggesting," Megan said with a slight eyeroll, "Is that we find a construction warehouse to raid – or failing that, we double back to my dad's workplace and steal every bit of TNT and C4 that isn't nailed to the ground, get ourselves to Azkaban and blow it sky high."

There was a beat of silence before a huge cheer went up from the listening witches and wizards. Harry had almost forgotten they were there.

"BOOM!" Nina cheered. Her mother had been locked up just yesterday, and the little girl was anxious to get her back.

"Boom," Flora echoed, smiling.

Ginny tapped her fingers against her arms. "It could work," She said, frowning, "But we would have to set them at the foundations. Every moment we spend there we risk getting spotted and swarmed by aurors. We'd have to take care of them first."

"We'd have to send in another strike team," Flora said decisively, "Either to take out whatever poor saps were sent to guard that hellhole and drive off any remaining dementors that haven't already joined Voldemort's side quickly and quietly. Then the rescue teams would have to come in with portkeys-"

"-While the rest of us set the explosives," Ginny agreed, finishing her sentence.

Harry nodded, pleased, before turning his attention to the collective once again. "Who here can cast a Patronus charm?" He shouted.

There was a pause before several hands went up. It was mostly older wizards, including Verity and Paul, and a few who had practices with him back at Hogwarts.

"Here's what's going to happen," Harry said, doing his best to sound authoritative. "We're going in three groups for this rescue attempt. But this isn't just about saving our friends and family – it's about putting an end to another monument to the Ministry's tyranny, a hellhole even Death Eaters shouldn't be subjected to. We've only got one shot at this, so let's do it right!"

"Megan, take two platoons including your own, collect the explosives and wait for my mark. Astoria, Ginny, you're leading the strike team."

When Megan, Ginny and Astoria made noises to the affirmative, Harry's eyes swept the crowd until he came across Susanna Karien and Eileen Lannister.

"Susanna, Eileen, you're in charge of evacuation. Gather the pre-made portkeys and free everyone not marked by Voldemort. Take them to the borders and get them across safely, tell them to ask for refugee status."

"Yes sir," Eileen said easily.

"And Megan," Harry turned to face the girl fully, "I'll be going with you. Once they've gotten all the innocents out, I don't want a single stone left standing."

Megan gave him her semi-famous smirk, a look that made her appear somewhat deranged and definitely dangerous. "You can count on that, Potter."

Harry clapped his hands together. "Let's get moving, people!" He shouted. Another ragged cheer rose from the group.

Later that Day

"Why're you here, Flora?" Ginny asked in confusion as the ratty dark blonde girl fell in step beside her, wand in one hand while her sniper rifle was slung comfortably over one shoulder. "I thought you were with Hestia." The twins were rarely seen apart, after all.

"Eh, I felt like taking it easy for once," Flora said with an easy smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Ginny frowned, "Are you worried about something, Flora?" The two girls had ended up on a lot of missions together. Throughout miscellaneous recon or guerrilla attacks, the two had talked a lot. Ginny was usually the one Hestia went to when Flora was hurt and had to be begged with/threatened into seeing Nodoka or Hannah. Thus, Ginny knew that Flora always took the offence towards Voldemort and the Ministry...so something was different.

"Worried?" Flora laughed unsteadily, though she was trying to project confidence. "What's to be worried about, besides the dementors? And considering I'm surrounded by patronus users, I'm not that worried."

"..." Ginny put one hand on her hip and gave Flora a critical look. "Please, don't lie to me Flora." She said lowly. "I've lived with Fred and George for far too long to fall for that."

Flora took a step back and looked away. "It's nothing serious...just personal."

"Personal how?"

The ex Slytherin turned around and looked Ginny straight in the eyes. "I can't say right now." She said plainly.

"Why not?" Ginny felt somewhat hurt. She had thought she had developed a pretty close bond between the rest of her friends and fellow Wolverines. She knew all her squadmates by name and had shared life stories with Cho, Megan and both Flora and her sister. What was wrong now?

"It's not your fault," Flora said, agitated, as if she had read Ginny's thoughts. Perhaps she could – she and Hestia knew a lot of magic, and Ginny wouldn't be surprised if she did have some skill in Legitimacy. "It's just – I can't really talk about it. It's personal because I can't explain it, alright?"

Her tone of voice was getting defensive pretty quickly. While Flora was one of the toughest of the wolverines, she was also the most easily threatened.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said, "I just wanted to say...you know you can talk to me, right?" She waved her arms to indicate the interior of the weapon's vault.

(which the old Lestrange Library had transformed into. Ginny had never seen Hermione burn a book until she reached some of Rabastian's personal collection).

"I mean, we've both seen and been in some pretty dark shit...I'm not going to judge you for anything."

Flora looked distant. "This is different?"

"Different how?" Ginny couldn't help but push, even though Flora had asked her not too. It was just so strange to see coldly confident Flora uncertain about something.

Flora looked away. "it's nothing. Probably nerves. I try not to think about it, but I'm human too."

"You've always been human," Ginny said quietly. "You're one of the most human among us."

Ginny turned around to answer one of Tabitha's questions, so she didn't see Flora's head jerk up or the older girl give her a stricken look. Flora masked her emotions quickly – the room was crowded as the rest of the platoon picked out and prepared their weapons – but she hurried out of the room to see her sister, leaving the red haired girl behind.

At Azkaban Island

Flora apparated directly behind the first of five auror guards that remained stationed on the island and blasted him into unconsciousness. His partner was alerted, but quickly stunned by the arriving platoon.

Ginny, Verity, Tabitha and Paul moved to the front. The dementors, sensing the new arrivals to the island, began to float downwards. There were a couple dozen of them...there used to be more, but now many of them were either allied with Voldemort or simply gorging themselves on the discordance reigning over Britain.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" In unison, four blasts of brilliant white lights erupted upwards. The dementors screeched and flew away.

Ginny smiled as Megan's platoon appeared and headed for the door, bottomless bags slung over their shoulders. Without breaking stride, Megan threw a blasting curse at the door breaking it into splinters. While she and half the force went inside and downstairs, the rest went around the building, planting masses of plastic explosives at the base.

Flora stepped over to her side and noted, "You're patronus is corporal," a hint of admiration in her voice.

Ginny looked up in surprise. She had been too absorbed in the job to notice, but her spell had indeed reached its power peak. A majestic winged horse galloped through the air, bucking away any dementor that tried to return to the island. "That's the first time I've done that," She said in amazement.

"What was your memory?" Flora asked, glancing at her.

Ginny smiled, "It's kind of silly, really...it isn't even something that's happened to me in real life." Closing her eyes, she said, "Just before I went to my second year at Hogwarts, I had this beautiful dream...it was my wedding. I had a ruby dress, and it was on a hill set behind a setting sun. My whole family was there, even my two uncles that died in the first war against Riddle. When I got to the alter...I couldn't see the person I was marrying."

She blushed. "I know that sounds stupid, but when I touched their hands, I felt so happy. It was like...like getting something you never knew your needed, but suddenly you can't understand how you lived without it. After I had that dream, I was so happy and chipper."

Flora was silent for a moment before wistfully saying, "I'd like that." When Ginny gave her a confused look, she elaborated. "A dream like that. It sounds like a fantasy to me."

"It won't be forever," Ginny said determinedly as she gazed up at the spires of Azkaban. "Once Voldemort is gone...once the notion of pure blood becomes antiquated...they won't be dreams. Not for either of us."

Flora didn't say anything, but she smiled softly in response.

Inside Azkaban

"Everyone out!" Eileen ordered, unlocking another door. The frightened mother within thanked her profusely in German before rushing out and following Susanna's directions to the front, where Nina and Morgan Price were waiting with the portkeys.

"Geez! How did he capture all these people in just the last few weeks?" Susanna asked as she broke open yet another cell block. The grateful muggles trapped there flooded out.

Eileen snorted. "Most likely, he just lined up everyone within a mile of the Ministry, and whoever didn't acknowledge him as Britain's supreme king was thrown in here. The man's got no rationality left in him – as if he hadn't any in the first place."

Susanna chuckled. "Good point."

"How about the actual murderers?" Eileen swept her hand to indicate the cells that hadn't been opened. Evan Parkinson in particular was shouting for the Wolverines to release him.

Susanna glanced at the older woman, "Do you have to ask?"

Eileen tisked and smiled coldly as Parkinson blanched and stared at them in mingled fury and alarm. "You're right. Stupid question."

"Do you think that Megan has the charges set yet?"

"Maybe. I'm just glad that wizards don't have security cameras...that would make this much more difficult to pull off."

"Score two for the 'savage' muggles," Susanna said in amusement as she opened another door. "That's all for this floor. Let's go see if Matt's taken care of the top floor yet."

"I'll go check on Tammy and Mei," Eileen said as the two split up, the older woman apparating to the floor downstairs while Susanna skipped up the stairwell to the top.

Outside Again, some time later

Megan took a deep breath of cold sea air and smiled as the last of the refugees came hurrying out, vanishing in the light of the portkeys. Nina immediately ran over to Eileen, who transported her straight back to Granger Mansion along with Helen.

Morgan declined to leave immediately and stepped as far back as she could. "Waiting for the light show?" Megan asked the other girl coyly.

Morgan laughed and said, "I wish I had brought popcorn."

"I think Harry would have found that in bad taste." Megan noted. Though she too wished she had remembered to bring some. "We'll just have to take pictures instead."

Morgan cast her gaze around for Colin. "He better get some good shots," She muttered. "I want this memory immortalized."

Megan just smirked and stepped back into the boat while the remaining Wolverines disapparated. She, Morag, and Hestia Carrow were all holding the individual detonators. Hestia clambered into her own boat, and once the four (including Colin) had rowed out just outside of the blast zone, she gave them the all clear.

Megan had always wondered if movies overplayed how big a blast some bombs made – there was always a scene where a whole building went down because someone lit a match while the hero ran for his life. However, in conclusion movies actually hadn't portayed just how devastating explosions really were.

Blasts of light illuminated the entire structure. Blasts ran through the air as if the very earth itself was splitting in half. Shock waves crossed the entire lake, nearly capsizing her boat. Megan's ears rang.

Morgan cheered and threw her hands in the air.

End Chapter

Bye Bye Azkaban Prison - and a good chunk of Voldemort's not freed yet prisoners. You might have noticed that he couldn't preform is great breakout from the middle of the book since he's been pre-occupied. So most of his top tier grunts from the last war have been wiped out - leaving him with middling grunts who possess delusions of grandeur. It suits him, considering how many amature blunders he makes throughout the books.

Read and Review please!

15. Chapter 15

Art of War

Tyene: Shall I go ahead and stick the 'trigger warning' on this chapter, or is that just a given?

Wanda: (shivering) I felt uncomfortable writing that. And I've been chronicling Sierra's antics without blinking. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 15: Captured

After the destruction of Azkaban, Voldemort wanted to reassert his crumbling control over the chaos in Britain.

While he had lost a huge chunk of his followers over the past several months, especially during the prison destruction, he still had several that he could count on in his inner circle. The new Aurors weren't proving any difficulty either – most of them didn't want to be there in the first place and would flee whenever marked Death Eaters came their way. And given that Fudge had planned no strategies for battles against Voldemort's people, any who did fight tended to loose badly.

Voldemort was determined to strike a victory. The Order of the Phoenix would inadvertently give him one during an attack on Diagon Alley.

Alecto Carrow had lead a number of Death Eaters into the alley in hopes of striking a blow for fear into the population. Thanks to all the riots, it seemed that the everyday people were loosing their fear of her master – and that simply could not stand.

A detachment of Wolverines met them. They had been a little misinformed about the size of Alecto's group of psychos, but as per usual they were holding their own.

Until the Order of the Phoenix showed up.

Vance ordered everyone to stand down and come into custody quietly. When they joined the fight, they didn't just attack the Death Eaters – they attacked the Wolverines too.

Ginny Weasley was a great fighter, especially considering her age. But there were only so many people she could fight at once. When she was hit in the back with a stunner from Vance, Alecto Carrow grabbed her body and disapparated.

Because of this, the battle was a mess. Dean Thomas, Ernie Macmillian, Justin Timer, Mona Sheuster and Ginger Snap were all killed in the battle. Lisa, Eileen, Dancia, Simone, Karen, Carrie, Alexander and Anthony were all injured while Damien Havester and Kevin James were both missing.

Ginny, Verity and Tabitha were captured by Alecto Carrow.

At Carrow Mansion

Tabitha spat out a mouthful of blood when she was tossed back into the cellar. Her head was ringing with agony, but her refusal to scream kept her from making any noise.

If I get out of this place alive, she vowed to herself, I'm going to kill Albus Percival Fuckup Dumbledore with my own two hands.

They were doing so well, then that old bastard just had to stick his nose in, hadn't he? Tabitha knew she had been stunned because she was trying to help Nymphadora Tonks – the young auror had been singled out and surrounded. She shot two of them before getting knocked out.

Hopefully she's, at least, alright. Tabitha thought hopefully as she ran her hands along her mouth. Internally, she was grateful she hadn't bitten through her tongue during the 'interrogation'.

A scream rang from above. Tabitha grimaced at Ginny's voice. Verity's with her. They'll help each other, she promised herself.

Unless Alecto decides to kill one of them.

The amount of blood covering her shit put testimonial to that. Tabitha gave herself a once over and decided that none of her wounds were fatal – though they all hurt like a bitch giving birth. That was likely intentional as well.

Another scream. Tabitha closed her eyes, trying to shut the horrific noise out. Be strong, Ginny...Ginny was strong. She'd get out of this. She had to.

Determined not to let this be their downfall, Tabitha began making her way around the cellar. Hermione Granger was a prodigy – she had found a way to combine muggle Morse code with magic during one of the many study sessions the curse breakers had been working on. She had to send a message back to the Mansions in order to get an extraction.

Knowing that Alecto wasn't the only person in this house now, Tabitha scavenged around until she found a large rusty nail from a broken instrument – she'd heard stories from Dancia and Carrie that guaranteed she'd be needing it at some point.

Then she went to work, tapping on the ground. She didn't have her wand – but thanks to Hermione, again, she wouldn't need it for this.

With Ginny

"Tell me where they are, you stupid mudblood bitch!"

Ginny was in pain.

She was bleeding all over. Alecto's crucios cut like actual knives – she was injured pretty much everywhere.

Everything hurt.

She spat blood straight in Alecto's eyes. "Go to hell. Bitch." She responded spitefully.

Another crucio. The pain blurred Ginny's vision and made her see white. She felt tears stinging her eyes and wished desperately that her mother was here; her mother who hugged her and always kissed and sang her pain away...

She heard Alecto laughing, Alecto who tortured Flora and Hestia their whole lives, who revelled in killing innocents, and her cold stone centre hardened once more.

She didn't scream. Tabitha hadn't either. Ginny was so proud of her squadmate. She wouldn't cry either.

Aleco looked furious. Ginny smirked at her. "You can kill us," She rasped. "You can kill every muggle born and muggle left here and rule over a graveyard if you must. But you won't win in the end."

She coughed and glared at the woman as fiercely as she could. "It's in your nature to loose."

Alecto physically grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the stone floor. Tears did fly this time, out of shock and pain, but Ginny gritted her teeth and spat, "You're going to have to do better then this."

She had an experience worse then this. She had been mind raped by Voldemort and forced to orchastrate the deaths of her classmates and family. This was nothing compared to that.

Aleco kept going. She shrieked for information, she demanded that Ginny break and submit.

But even as the pain got worse and the blurriness of death seemed to be approaching, Ginny merely marshalled herself.

Then the wall exploded.

The last thing Ginny saw before she slipped away was Flora's horror and rage filled eyes.

Flora's POV

Flora blasted the wards of her former house down with a single blow. Ron charged in ahead of her, but she was just a step behind.

Ginny was lying on her side, covered in blood.

Ron threw himself at Alecto. A true pure blood, she didn't expect the physical attack, and she went down like a stone. Ron began to violently pummel her with the butt of his shotgun. He hit her over and over until the skull shattered and splashed blood all over his hands and shirt.

Flora immediately ran over to Ginny. She was pale, she wasn't moving...

-she can't be dead, she can't be, she can't be-

A pulse. Faint, fading. She was still here. But not for long.

Gasping, Flora immediately picked Ginny up. She didn't remember what she barked at the rest of the platoon, but the next thing she knew she had burst outside into the clean air.

The full moon was shining down on them. Flora felt a surge of vicious satisfaction, knowing that somewhere Eileen Lannister was ripping Death Eaters to shreds. But that wasn't her concern right now.

Right now her concern was saving Ginny.

Flora used all the potions in the kit that all platoons carried for emergency injuries. She was familiar with her mother's spellwork; she lifted the constant pain curse with little trouble. Once she had done everything in her earthly power, she just stopped and stared down at Ginny.

The sticky red blood was all hers – it was on Flora's hands now, though the girl scarcely noticed. Ruby hair sprayed across the ground, Ginny looked exceptionally pale in the moonlight. She looked beautiful – like a princess under a terrible curse in one of those muggle fairytales.

Flora's heart seized up to the point it caused her physical pain. It's personal, indeed. It was so personal she hadn't said it aloud, not even just with Hestia.

Ginny, who had empathized with her from the start, Ginny who laughed with her and made her feel like a person, "you've always been the most human of us all..."

Flora trembled fiercely and started shaking Ginny. "Wake up, Ginny. Wake up, damn it!"

No response.

I'm going to kill her, Flora thought wretchedly, dropping her hand and shuddering form head to toe as tears formed in her eyes. And if she's dead I'm going to bring her back as an Inferi and kill her again! Damn you, mother, damn you! Fuck you you crazy evil bitch!

"..."

"..."

"...Flora?"

For a second Flora was sure she'd imagined it. But after blinking the tears out of her eyes, she realized Ginny was looking at her.

Those heather brown eyes were muddled with pain, but they focused on her with amazement and admiration. "...you're here..."

Flora let out a trembling laugh and carefully picked Ginny up. "Damn it, Ginny...I thought you were dead..."

"...Tabitha...basement..."

"Everyone else is inside...I needed to take care of you..."

"Don't...worry about..."

"Says the woman covered in blood! Shit, and you give me hell for downplaying my injuries!" Flora snapped, adjusting her grip so as not to aggravate any of Ginny's many injuries.

"...Others...need it...more..."

"Fuck that noise," Flora said quietly before kissing Ginny on the forehead. The redhead fell silent in astonishment. "You need it right now. And right now you're more important to me then anything else." After a pause, she added, "Besides, Ron agrees with me."

Back in the Mansion

Ron fired an Incendio curse at Alecto's corpse, turning it into ash. Blood was roaring in his ears. Tapping his phone again, he shouted, "Damn it Flora, talk to me! How's Ginny!?"

"She's alive," Flora's voice sounded weakly from the other end. Ron let out a gasp of relief and leaned against the wall. "I have to take her back right now though."

"Go," Ron said with relief, shutting the phone off. He then made his way over to the cellar and unlocked the door.

"Tabitha?" He yelled. A moment later, Tabitha emerged holding a bloody nail.

"Thank god," She said when she saw him. She rushed up and threw herself into Amber's waiting embrace. Her friend began conversing rapidly with her in German, something Ron had no hope or desire to understand as he doubled back to see Blaise.

Blaise shook his head. "Verity's dead. Died protecting Tabitha from Rabastian Lestrange's 'advances', from the looks of it. Paul's taking her body back."

Ron exhaled. "Damn it," He muttered. He liked Verity. "Megan's going to be pissed when she finds out he escaped again."

"Think of it this way. Once she knows where he's been, there won't be a single place in Britain where he can hide from her." Blaise said. "And I don't think I'll try to talk her down either," He added darkly.

Ron nodded in agreement, looking around the room. He had known from Hestia's descriptions that their parents were monsters, but Merlin...he was glad the adult Carrows were both dead now.

"What are we going to do about the Order?" Blaise asked lowly.

Ron bristled. "They got Ginny captured!"

"They're on our side, though."

"Nominally!" Ron said. "Look at what their interference did here."

"I know," Blaise said with surprising calm, "But we're already fighting on two sides, do we need to make that three?"

"What do you suggest we do instead?" Ron asked with scathing sarcasm.

"You could have someone mislead them about your plans," A new voice suggested.

Both Ron and Blaise turned around in shock to see Tonks walking into the mansion flanked by Fred and George, looking nervous but determined.

"Tonks?" Ron asked warily.

Tonks nodded, but her attention was currently on Tabitha. "You and Ginny rescued me from a tight spot." She said quietly, "How are you?"

Tabitha managed a brave smile, "I've seen better days."

"Thank you," Tonks said quietly and sincerely. "Where's Ginny? How is she?"

"She's alive, but Flora had to run her back to the Mansion." Ron said. "The Order got him captured!" He spat.

Tonks winced before squaring her shoulders, "The Order is making a mistake. You guys aren't the bad guys. I just wanted to say...I want to help you, somehow. I work in both the Ministry and the Order – I can feed you information and then false information. How – how does that sound?"

Blaise eyed her for a minute before asking, "What brought this on?" One had to exercise caution under these circumstances.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," Tonks answered. "You can call it my 'inner cynic', if you will. I wish I had listened to it before today." She waved her hand to indicate the interior. "But I guess I wanted to believe that we could stop this without too much bloodshed. Fudge certainly proved me wrong on that account."

Her hair turned red with anger when she said this.

"Ja, no kidding." Amber said in agreement. "It would be good to have you, Tonks. What do you say, Ron?"

Ron let out a breath. "Yeah, ja." He said. Tonks smiled in relief. "Sorry Tonks, I just needed to be sure. What do you plan on doing?"

"Try and make sure that the Order doesn't screw up another raid like this," Tonks said. "I'm not supposed to be here right now – I'm supposed to be involved in an interrogation. I mean, Dumbledore wouldn't want the animagus-repressing spells he put on Damien and Kevin to have slipped for some reason..."

"You let them go?" Tabitha asked.

"Yeah."

"Did Dumbledore force them to say anything?"

"I think their oath largely protected them, Dumbeldore said that normal legitimacy didn't reveal anything." Tonks said.

"Good." Ron said. "Let's double back to base; this isn't the best place to have this sort of conversation."

Back at Granger Mansion, Hospital

"You don't have to be here right now," Ginny murmured.

"Yes I do," Flora responded. She was sitting on a chair next to one of the many beds in the infirmary. Right now it was only sparsely populated – Nodoka and Hannah had largely dealt with the injured before the raiding party returned. Tabitha was the only other person being treated, and she and Nodoka were politely pretending not to hear anything of the conversation currently going on between the two girls.

"Does this have something to do with the whole, 'it's personal' thing last time?" Ginny asked, starting to sit up. Flora immediately reached out and pushed her down by the shoulders.

"You're too weak to move around right now," She said firmly.

"Hypocrite," Ginny muttered. "I had to stun you last time you were here."

Flora snorted in amusement. "Yeah, you did..." Her eyes grew distant. "Yeah, it does have something to do with it..."

"Why couldn't you tell me back then?"

"Because I was scared out of my wits, that's why?"

"Scared? You? Really?"

"As funny as that must seem, yes." Flora said sarcastically. Ginny giggled before coughing. Flora quickly gave her a class of water, which she accepted with a quiet 'thanks'. "But I think I just discovered that nothing's scarier then seeing you dead."

Ginny sipped from her water and set it aside, looking intently at Flora. "Why's that?" She asked quietly.

"Ha...! I don't know if I have words for it. I'm not Hermione." Flora said after a sharp, ironic chuckle. "I was just thinking about that dream you told me about...about having something to see on the other side of the war?"

"...Yeah...?"

"...You know, I always kinda liked you. You're a firework, you aren't scared of anything...hell, even your brothers are scared of you. I liked your inner strength, and that was before I got to know you..."

"...Flora...?"

"...you're kinda amazing, Ginny. I...wasn't sure...gah, I'm no good with this kinda stuff." Flora shook her head. "Just...have you ever had that feeling like there's something you can't ever live without? Something you never realized you had, or could even have in the first place?"

"..."

"... ... I guess that's a stupid question." Flora muttered. "I heard...I mean, Ron said something about your crush on Harry once. I should've expected-I mean, I thought-" She started to stand up, to leave before she said anything else damning -

-Ginny reached out and grabbed her arm. Flora turned around and looked at her, the usual spark of fear nonexistent.

"That was a crush," Ginny said quietly. "That was what I felt back before I knew anything about myself. I like Harry as much as the next person...but I don't think I love him."

"...What are you trying to say?"

"I'm almost kind of grateful for Michael," Ginny remarked as Flora slid back into her seat. "He was a prat, but he made me realize something about myself – if that's all 'boys should be boys', I'm glad I'm stepping out of that world."

The redhead leaned back against her pillow. "Flora, your courage broke my heart back in school. I think I can honestly say I like you a lot."

"...What...like-like that?" Flora sputtered.

"...If that's what this is all about... ...you know, I never knew if that person waiting for me at the pavilion was a boy or a girl in my dream."

Flora didn't move, so Ginny sat up and kissed her.

Across the room, Tabitha muttered, "Amber owes me money."

"Shush," Nodoka warned her, though a smile twitched at the edge of her face.

After all, the way to win a war was having something worth fighting for.

End Chapter

Aww. That's nice. I wanted to add in something nice after all that. Also, Tonks is a double agent now. Yaaaaaay! (in hindsight, maybe I should ship her with Harry. I haven't made any final decisions yet either...)

Next time, Fudge goes even crazier and finally catches a bullet to the dome for causing all this ruckus.

Read and Review please!

16. Chapter 16

Art of War

Tyene: A bit shorter then usual, don't you think?

Wanda: There's a reason for that - I just wanted a bit of a lull in the story for a few characters. Also, hi Sirius! I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 16: Madness

Howlers had always been feared by students at Hogwarts – it was a public discipline that often came with a helping of humiliation for the offending student. Out of all the howlers that had come over the years, the most feared were those made by Howling Molly Weasley, as she was known throughout the non Gryffindor houses.

The only thing worse then getting a howler from her, would be getting one in person – three feet away from your face.

"YOUR IDIOTIC HANDLING OF THAT RAID HAS GOTTEN MY LITTLE GIRL CAPTURED! SHE COULD BE DEAD FOR ALL I KNOW, HER AND RON AND MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, AND THEY'RE OUT THERE INSTEAD OF HERE WITH ME BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T FEEL SAFE WITH YOU! ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, CONSIDERING THIS A WARNING – WHEN I FIND MY CHILDREN, I'M GOING TO HURT YOU FOR EVERY WOUND THEY HAVE! YOU HEAR ME!? I WILL SEND YOU TO HELL PIECE BY PIECE!"

Molly had been going strong for the last few hours, while her husband and oldest sons were out examining the scene at Carrow Mansion. Unfortunately, there was no sign that Ginny was there. Arthur hoped this meant that she was still alive, where ever she might be.

It was pretty clear by now that all of their other children had become Wolverines. Arthur recalled, very upset, how Ron and Ginny had been acting during the summer after Harry's attempted arrest by the Ministry. The fact that Ron hadn't felt safe enough with his parents that he became the figurehead in a world at war broke Molly's heart.

But this wasn't the time to get sad. It was time to get angry.

"-USELESS, SENILE, SELFISH, IDIOTIC, OVER PRAISED, COWARDLY EXCUSE OF A HUMAN BEING, I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVER TRUSTED YOU-"

"Is she still going?" Tonks said in wonder, falling in step with Sirius.

The older man let out a bark of laughter. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't be surprised if she keeps going on until the sun goes down. She might be a hosewife, but she's probably one of the most dangerous witches I've ever met when it comes to the safety of her family."

"That's nice, at least." Tonks remarked, thinking of the many, many, many pureblood families who were known to be underhanded, abusive and loveless. Her mother had lived in such a house before escaping via her elopement with Ted.

"That pretty much sums her up." Sirius said. "Loving, but misguided."

Tonks knew immediately why Sirius seemed so despondent. "You still couldn't find Harry."

Sirius closed his eyes and pressed both hands against his face. "I looked everywhere I could think of, but I couldn't find him. At least, with all this press, I know he's alive...but..."

Tonks felt a spike of guilt, seeing as she now knew where Harry was but was oath-bound not to tell him especially within the Order.

"He's a Wolverine." Sirius said in despair. "He has to be, that's the only reason he wouldn't write to me...oh, Tonks, why did it have to come to this? Why did the world have to fall on his shoulders? My poor godson...having to kill...this is all my fault..."

Being unable to directly comfort him in the way she wished she could, Tonks immediately enveloped her cousin in a crushing hug. "I know that Harry doesn't blame you," She said as firmly as her wavering voice would allow. "I didn't see much of him, but I can tell how much he loves you. I think he wants to change this world so we can be free of this..."

"But that was my job, Tonks! Mine! I was supposed to protect him from the start! I was supposed to keep him safe and happy, and instead he's out god knows where, shooting people so faceless masses of strangers have a chance at a good life. He's such a good kid...that should be me out there...should be me..."

For a while, Tonks couldn't do much but hug Sirius and try her best to comfort him. Throughout her life, she had only see him cry twice – once after he was finally disowned for good, the second time after he was given news of Regulus's death. He always tried to be so strong, but internally he had many scars.

"I wish it hadn't come to this for him." Sirius said bitterly, once he had recovered his breath. "This was my war, not his. If only I had ended this all those years ago."

"That wasn't your fault, Sirius..." Tonks said gently, rubbing his back. "The blame lies at Riddle's door, and his alone. Him and his followers. All you ever did is try to stop them...you'll never be damned for that."

"I should have gone to him first, Tonks. I should have forgotten about Peter and taken him away."

"Sirius, you just saw your best friend die, knew that one of your other friends betrayed him and his wife out of selfishness! After everything the war had already put you through, after Regulus, I would have gone after him too! You couldn't have imagined, even then, that Peter could have done what he did. Harry doesn't blame you...neither do I. So...don't blame yourself."

Sirius managed a weak smile at that. "You're a good girl, Tonks. Tell you what – next time Remus tries to deflect your offer for coffee, I'll smack him."

Tonks couldn't help but laugh at that, even as she felt a stab of guilt for going behind his back. "That's very generous of you, Sirius. Be careful out there."

"Aren't I always?" Sirius said wryly, before ruffling her hair and striding towards the doorway where Remus and Kingsley were waiting for him.

Tonks let out a small sigh before following him out the door and leaving in a different direction.

Once she was relatively clear from everyone else, Tonks slipped down the road to the floo at a pub run by a Wolverine sympathizer. She considered with heat that she ought to tell Harry about this episode, perhaps convince him to meet up with Sirius. It would probably be better for both of them.

Later that Day, at the Ministry

"Can we get moving already? The doors are already locked!" Megan barked in agitation, twisting her grip on the knife in her hand. While she generally preferred her wand and sniper rifle, Megan decided that carrying a close combat weapon as well was probably a good idea.

"Be patient, Megan!" Hermione said, her voice similarly strained. "Merlin, you know these kind of ambushes require some delicacy going in to avoid getting seen!"

"Let them know we're coming!" Megan growled, glaring down from her perch hidden in the ceiling to where a mixture of Ministry Workers and Death Eaters were going here and there. While they were more wary after the continued battles, their consistent contempt for muggles meant that they didn't consider closing off the mundane entrances – the Wolverines were able to enter through the sewer system.

However, Fudge was not yet at this next meeting and Megan was getting impatient.

Especially since Peter Pettigrew was in the building.

Harry had rather strictly stated that he wanted Peter taken alive, but Hermione was beginning to worry that she would need to send Paul and Dancia ahead to catch him before Megan could find him.

The fever that had been lit in her eyes when she heard the man's name disturbed Hermione in its intensity. It was almost a look of insanity – a look that reminded her of a picture of Bellatrix.

Perhaps she was catastrophizing. After all, Megan was one of the most efficient of the rag-tag army, even outshooting many of the adults who had joined them. And given what Pettigrew had been involved with, Hermione could hardly blame her for seeking revenge – what he had done was just as awful, if not more, then when he turned Lily and James Potter over to Voldemort.

But Hermione believed that Megan understood and would continue to follow Harry's instructions.

"I've got eyes on the Minister," Carrie reported over the headset. "He's speaking with one of the conscripted aurors – green kid. Hopefully he's smart enough to stay outside. He should be walking in... about now."

Hermione nodded. "Thanks Carrie. Team 1, 2...close in. Ginny, Flora, you know what to do."

The three platoons fanned out in silence, turning off their earpieces along the way. Once the doors were closed, Ginny and Flora threw off their dillusionment charm. The aurors, mostly fresh recruits, were sufficiently taken off guard that they could be stunned without incident while Flora began casting the dark lock charms and anti-apparation wards over the room.

Outside, Morgan, Helen, Justin, Karen, Annette, Vikki, Leanne and Matt got to work closing off the building itself. They walked around in circles, dressed as civilians with hoods, muttering the spells and curses under their breath.

Meanwhile, the snipers were getting set up while the foot troops collected at the doors. Just before they kicked them down, there was a collective hestitation – one that many of the children, despite their many battles, were still prone to.

But then Hermione gave the order, and Megan caught Fudge in her crosshairs and blasted a two inch hole straight through his chest.

The victims were more prepared then the first batch that had been executed in this room – many immediately went for their wands when Fudge dropped and the doors burst open to reveal many black and red clad warriors. Unfortunately, facing both the assault on the floor and from above prevented them from forming a strategy fast enough to keep from being overwhelmed.

Once the room was emptied, the three platoons split up. The plan was to move systematically through the Ministry, killing everyone recognized as either a Death Eater supporter or a known bigot, and cleaning out any potential Ministry candidates other then Susan's aunt, Amelia Bones.

Megan, however, broke off from her platoon when she caught sight of a mop of mousy brown hair. Wrapped up in subduing aurors, Dancia didn't notice her leave.

-With Megan and Peter-

Peter Pettigrew had always been a coward. But he had never been so afraid of a young girl then he was right now.

The black haired girl was hurtling after him like a creature possessed. He had to transform into his rat form to avoid the bullets from her gun as he scrambled into the elevator.

He wasn't fast enough.

The girl threw herself just past the closing door and lunged for him. Peter bit and struggled, but the girl was relentless, eventually getting him in a stranglehold and slamming him against the wall multiple times until he was mildly concussed and in no condition to move.

The elevator stopped in the middle of the building, just above the archway of the entrance.

The shooting and fighting going on downstairs seemed like it was happening somewhere very far away.

Peter decided to hedge his bets, to transform back and try to overpower the skinny younger girl. He had the upper hand for a moment when he knocked her over, but then she fired her gun off, burying a bullet in his shoulder allowing her to force him off and stand up.

The girl drew a knife. She slashed through his shirt and put another bullet in his leg to stop his attempts to kick her away. He howled.

But that was nothing compared to what she did next. Lowering the knife, she dug it into his stomach, not deep enough to kill. While Peter howled and wimpered, she kept going...she was writing...

At last, when she was done, she stood back, a savage frenzy burning in her eyes.

Peter couldn't see what she had written. The pain was too agonizing. "Please...please...have mercy..."

The girl seemed to tower in her rage, becoming bigger as she spoke.

"WHY!? MY MOTHER ASKED FOR MERCY! MY FATHER ASKED FOR MERCY! DID YOU GIVE IT TO THEM!?"

"I d-didn't do it...I d-didn't mean it...!"

"YES YOU DID! YOU WERE THERE, YOU HELPED YOUR TWO SICK FRIENDS KILL THEM! I SAW IT! I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES! TELL ME YOU BASTARD, TELL ME WHY YOU DESERVE TO LIVE! TELL ME WHY YOU DESERVE IT MORE THEM MY MUM AND DAD! TELL ME! TELL ME!"

Her voice was rising. She seemed to transform before his eyes; the exterior of the girl seemed to melt away into a spirit of rage, screaming and crying, wrapped in a visage that was terrible to behold.

Peter whimpered. "I...I didn't mean it!"

"SAY HER NAME! SAY THE NAME OF MY MUM, WHO YOU VIOLATED! SAY IT, BASTARD! SAY MY DAD'S NAME, YOU FORCED HIM TO WATCH!"

"I...! I don't know, I didn't know, Lucius-"

The girl surged forward and stomped her foot down on his lower leg, where she had shot him. Peter let out another scream at the excruciating pain, his vision blurring with pure agony.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU MURDERED THEM AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN – FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" the girl was beginning to loose her coherancy. "WHO AM I? DO YOU EVEN KNOW, THE PERSON WHO LOST EVERYONE SHE LOVED BECAUSE OF YOU?!"

Peter couldn't answer, another worthless plea dripping from his lips.

Megan Jones, tears streaming down her cheeks as her face turned an even darker shade of red, finally ceased screaming at this. In fact, she seemed to calm down quite abruptly. But the shade of her eyes was more frightening then the screaming.

Suddenly, they were cold and empty like the blue flames that lit the halls of Azkaban.

She transfigured a chain and wrapped it around his neck before walking to the small stain glass window. Peter, realizing what she meant to do, began to pitifully beg as she shattered the window.

"Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Megan pauses for a moment, before turning to face Peter straight on. Her face is devoid of emotion, but her voice contained all the wrath of the Furies themselves.

"I know you're sorry. ...But I don't believe you."

She threw the chain around a hook on the ceiling and threw Peter out the window.

End Chapter

So, yeah...Megan's starting to loose her grip on justice vs vengeance, and quite possibly her sanity along with it. At least Pettigrew's body makes it clear that Sirius couldn't have murdered him...and Fudge is finally dead.

Read and Review please!

17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Interlude – Comfort

Harry was sitting at his desk, exhausted.

Megan was pacing in the room upstairs. She didn't have her gun or her wand, but she was hardly imprisoned.

The news of Pettigrew's rotting corpse, chained to the top of the Ministry building, the blood leaking down and covering the wall, had spread quickly.

At first, Harry had been furious. He had wanted to be the one to do it, the one who had forced the truth out of the man who had kicked off the second war by bringing Voldemort back ,who had driven a knife into the backs of his parents who had deemed him their closest friend.

But Megan had gotten there first. Megan, who's parents had also met brutal ends thanks to him. And thanks to the body of Pettigrew having obviously died in a different place and time, Sirius was still exonerated by Amelia Bones, acting Minister of Magic.

Megan, who might be loosing her mind.

Megan, who a large chunk of the wolverines were supporting.

It alarmed Harry. But many stepped forward to defend Megan when Hermione explained that she had disobeyed a direct order. Amber and Tabitha pointed out that had the situations been reversed, Megan wouldn't have been spared plus Sirius was still exonerated. Matt said that the man deserved to die, what did it matter who did it?

Cho agreed with Megan. Was one of her big defenders. Harry had realized he wasn't in love with her after the second time they had slept together – he didn't hate her – not hardly –, but what he thought was romance was just the twisted emotions following brutal circumstances. And yet, it still hurt to think that she believed that Megan was right to disobey him.

Annette had been under the impression that Megan serving 'justice' onto Pettigrew was the entire point of the wolverines. Christine fanatically supported Megan, insisting loudly that Peter deserved it. Paul said that while he didn't appreciate Megan disobeying orders, he believed that her hands were clean of Peter's murder – the man had deserved what she had gotten. Natalie protested that Megan was clearly very upset and that made people do weird things, with her friend Graham vocally supporting her along with Eleanor.

Damien and Kevan were both of the same mindset, the guy was going to die anyway what did it matter when or how it happened?

In the end, Harry couldn't discharge her as he had planned – he had wanted Megan to leave peacefully and be transferred to America by Susanna. But Megan had refused, saying she wouldn't leave until all those who caused or condoned her family's murders had been brought low. And she had a lot of support.

Once again, Harry found himself in a difficult situation. Was Megan justified? Was he doing the wrong thing? Was he becoming more like Dumbledore or Voldemort with justifying the killings in the first place? Was this the right way to go?

"Hey, Potter."

Harry was brought out of his memories by Regulus. He walked in, with Scotia and Alison right behind him. Alison immediately dropped an object onto the table – a diadam.

"This is the last one," Regulus said.

Harry immediately sat up straight, the disciplinary problem forgotten. "The last one? Are you sure?"

"Positive," Regulus responded, sitting down and craning his neck to work out cramps.

"The rest we found have been destroyed," Scotia said, "But we thought you should see the last one go."

"That," Alison added, "And we thought it might be an idea to show off to Mouldyshorts that we knew his little secret and they've all been destroyed."

Harry thought about that for a moment before he realized that he was smiling. "I think...that's an excellent idea. We'll endeavour to do that this evening, out in the public square – if none of his toadies see it, Rita will happily put it in the newspapers."

Regulus snorted in amusement. "Let me tell you, Potter, I hope you appreciate this – it was a pain in the ass trying to tempt that snake away from him to a place where I could kill it."

"Does he know you're still alive?" Harry asked in concern.

"No, thanks to Alison here." Regulus said with the ghost of a smile. "She's good at hiding."

"It's an acquired talent." Alison said sheepishly. Scotia rolled her eyes in amusement in response to that.

"That's one way to say she's a prodigy. Would make a great auror," The other girl said while Alison stuttered in embarrassment.

"Great," Harry said sincerely. "Let's get out there."

With Sirius

Sirius had been enjoying his new found freedom, no longer being shut up inside Grimmauld place feeling useless, when he saw the crowd.

It wasn't unusual – the citizens had fallen in love with the Wolverines, with their earnest sense of justice and their declarations to make things 'better'. Sirius supposed it made sense – after the last war, when barely anything changed, it was understandable that they would latch onto something that would genuinely make a difference.

But then he saw Harry, and a very familiar figure. He had grown taller, but he was still the slender shadowed boy who had left his room in a rage all those years ago. Regulus.

Harry threw a crown in the air.

Regulus shot a blast of dark fire at it, and it turned to dust. The crowd let out a frenzied roar, many thrusting guns above their heads and chanting Harry's name. The wolverines surrounding him as protection did the same, though they were calmer and more coordinated.

Sirius didn't care about any of that. He only cared for the black haired boy who had spotted him through the smoke and the crowd, and the taller brother who had been gone for so long.

His companions must have known, because they allowed Harry to disappear while entertaining the remaining crowd with further shouts and promises.

Harry and Regulus met with him in the alley.

Regulus looked like a skittish animal, his eyes flicking between Sirius and Harry with a mixture of fear, uncertainty and other emotions. Harry looked almost afraid as the oldest Black looked between them.

Then Sirius opened his arms, and Harry rushed into them, crying. Sirius rubbed his back and muttered soothing things while Harry babbled about blood and death and killing and how he had killed, he had lead and coordinated the wolverines he recruited Megan and the others who agreed with her as she slipped closer to the black hole of madness, how he felt unclean some nights and that he was just so sorry.

Sirius kissed his forehead, told him that he would love him no matter what. He couldn't not love Harry, ever, no matter who he was or what he did. Regulus stood there, locked in bitterness but unwillingness to leave, when Sirius let go of his godson and stepped forward until they were facing each other.

There was a stiff silence for a moment that seemed to go on for an eternity. Then, to Regulus's astonishment, tears rolled down Sirius's cheeks. "I went to your funeral." The older brother gasped.

For the first time in a long time, for the first time since he met Natalie's mother Diana, for the first time since he had cut himself off from society to atone for joining the ranks of a monster, Regulus cried to.

The brothers embraced for the first time. More tears, spouted apologies for everything under the sun from the last, nearly twenty years,

Two brothers reunited.

Perhaps this insurrection would bring something other then despair after all.

18. Chapter 18

Art of War

Wanda: (lets out a ragged cheer and collapses upon bed) And another story is winding towards it's conclusion!

Tyene: Feels good, doesn't it? Or are you just going to replace it with five more?

Wanda: Hey, I'm having a moment, don't ruin it. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 18: New Laws

Amelia Bones met with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger (she politely declined to take her birth father's name), Flora Carrow, Cho Chang, Ron and Ginny Weasley on her first day as Minister.

"...So it really was you," Amelia Bones said as she examined Harry and his companions through her monocle. "Fudge went completely mad in his last few days, and yet he was right that you were involved with the Wolverines."

"...I've said everything I believe justifies what we had to do." Harry said. His voice was quiet but firm; there was no trace of the uncertainty that had plagued him over the last few days. "And the public seems to agree with us."

"Given the sheer number of riots whenever we attempted to send out searches gave me a hint," Amelia said coldly. "So, what happens now?"

"That's up to all of us." Harry said.

"Is it? You're the ones with the weapons, who have been raging across the country over the last several months." Amelia reminded them.

"Minister Bones." Flora said, her voice equally cold. Ginny reached out and gently took the other girl's hand. The dirty blonde took a deep breath and went on, "If you want to build a better one, that sometimes requires tearing the old one down. You can't do that without making enemies."

"Why do you think I've been in the Ministry all my adult life?" Amelia demanded. "I noticed."

"And how many innocent people payed the price without anything changing?" Flore retorted.

Amelia was silent at that.

"Susan is alive and well." Harry went on, as a way of extending an olive branch. The older woman raised an eyebrow. "We were intending to change the world for the better. That's the reason we became warriors. And now that we're here...there's no Malfoy to make 'donations' to dissuade change, no pure blood council protecting their own interests. This is ideal. This is all we wanted."

Amelia paused for a moment to consider that before sighing heavily. "This conflict isn't over yet." She said. "Voldemort and a handful of his cronies are still at large."

"Let them come." Ginny said boldly. "His failsafes are gone, his forces almost completely decimated, and he's learned that one bullet to the skull will kill him as easily as any spell."

"We were going to bring all our forces here." Harry said. Even some of the unstable ones, he added silently, thinking of Megan, Christine and Astoria. "When he arrives...we'll put an end to him. Once and for all."

"Voldemort isn't an idiot." Amelia said warily. "He won't take the bait."

Hermione smiled grimly. "Oh, I think he will."

"I think this country needs a few new laws." Harry remarked. The door opened; Sirius Regulus and Tonks stepped in, all of them carrying papers and charmed declarations. "I've reviewed the United Nation's Human Rights declaration, so I have a lot in mind."

"That...sounds promising. But what are you scheming now?"

"To tear down everything Voldemort believes in, and bury it." Ron stated. "He'll be so pissed off he'll come running straight into our ambush. And, this country will finally be dragged kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century."

Sirius smiled at that, while Regulus pushed a series of papers over to the older woman – who was still quite shocked to see him alive and well.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

The whole country was buzzing over the course of the next few days. The prophet sold more copies in those moments then they had ever before in its entire recorded existence.

The New Ministry of Magic

Presents the Following Amendments and Proclamations

For the Law and Order of Magical Britain

Article #1:

The Ministry Senate has been hereby dissolved. Any seats that have been exclusively controlled by any individual family have been returned to the government. Instead of an old family name, one must receive a general vote to gain a seat in the world power. Once the last of the dust has settled from this civil conflicts, voting offices will be set up throughout the country to ensure that all citizens shall have their voices heard and considered.

Bribery and Prejury now carry a five year and ten year sentence in our new Prison Blackgate respectively, along with a fine of 10,000 galleons and a black mark on the political record. Those who have black marks will be demoted and not considered eligible for the senate, Minister of Magic or any head of Department positions.

If one is confirmed to possess multiple dark objects, they will be barred from promotions until they have said objects destroyed. If one is confirmed to have ingrained prejudices against any free thinking being, they will be barred from running for any important Ministry office.

If one is suspected of casting unforgivable, or any other sort of severe crime, a thorough investigation involving both Veratiserum and mental magic shall be conducted to ensure that the applicant has the people's best interests at heart. Failing this exam will result in interment at Blackgate for however long the offence calls for.

Article #2:

To ensure neutrality, justice and fairness, voting has extended beyond males who own property. Any witch or wizard above the age of seventeen will be granted voting privileges, regardless of whether or not they own private property or have a significant other.

In addition, all sentient magical creatures are now granted the right to vote. This list as of now includes Centaurs, Goblins, Sirens, Merfolk, House Elves, Werewolves and Vampires, while others are being evaluated at this time.

In conjunction with this, the 'Disposal of Dangerous Creatures' committee is now forbidden from trying and executing any of the above mentioned folk. They are no longer considered 'beasts', they are fully functional members of society. Failure to comply with this will be a violation of Universal Rights and a life sentence in Blackgate.

With the aide of the potions community, both the Wolfsbane potion and synthetic blood will be made readily available for anyone suffering with either the lycanthorpe or vampiric condition, free of charge. However, those who refuse to make themselves safe for those around them still open themselves up for decisive action.

Article #3:

Marriage Contracts and Life Debts are now banned, part of the Binding Dark Magics act. Marriage Contracts – the act of selling a young woman, be she pure blood or half blood or muggleborn, as a bartering chip with no agency or choice in the decision – is an act of slavery, contractual fraud, cocersion, rape and rape by proxy, all of which are punishable by imprisonments and hefty compensation to be payed to the victim.

Life Debts – a twisted device used to trap people into the service of others, is an act of slavery, financial abuse/theft, and oftentimes rape, all of which are again punishable by imprisonment, loss of land titles and political office, and compensation fines.

Furthermore under this act, the abuse of House Elves will now warrant a one hundred galleon fine and a removal of the elf from the offending family. They are members of the family and the community, not commodities to be kicked around whenever they don't deliver dinner fast enough.

Anyone confirmed to have touched upon the knowledge of soul magic will be imprisoned or, depending on how closely they have come to it, executed. The last thing this world needs is another Tom Riddle skulking in the shadows.

Article #4:

Malicious slander will not be tolerated any longer. Any paper or publishing company who commits a smear campaign against any individual shall face a hefty fine, depending on the severeness of the libel, a public retraction and the firing of those chiefly responsible.

Any individual in a working environment, may it be in a school or in the workplace, who ever openly bullies or degrades their companions or workers either through slander or foul slurs will loose their job and face charges, ranging from fine to imprisonment depending on the severity of said abuse. Applications to any job, especially at a school or public office, will involve screening to catch such unwanted biases in new employees.

Article #5:

Compensation shall be delivered to all the families that have suffered from the vileness of blood bigotry, so ingrained that it was that war had to be fought to stomp it out. The assets of those families responsible for such things, whether they openly bore the mark of Tom Riddle or if they were merely malicious and taking advantage of this skewered system, shall be liquidated. From this pool, money, house titles, magical artifacts and others shall be gifted to the families, widows and orphans who have lost so much for something so petty.

The scale of compensation goes as follows -

Six of the seven Lestrange Vaults have been liquidated with the acceptance of the last legal biological heir. Ten of the thirteen Malfoy Vaults have been liquidated, five of the seven Carrow Vaults, thirty-seven of the forty-six Black vaults, ten of the twleve DiLauntarius Vaults, seven of the nine Pritchard Vaults, three of the five Moon vaults, twelve of the fifteen Crouch vaults, and six of the eight Nott vaults. Land titles have been organized, with the larger ones broken down into smaller, single home plots of land while mansions and businesses have been broken down into temporary homes and shareholds, respectively.

Now, the compensation as compared to the injury:

If a family member has been murdered: the family will receive 150,000 to 300,000 galleons plus possible shares, depending on the number that were killed, and if the remaining family members are orphans or widows

If one has experienced rape (either by fraud, imperious/obliviate or simple force) or torture: 10,000 to 50,000, with titles going to those 'bastard' children of houses who took explicit advantage of 'muggles/muggleborns for sport.

If one has lost a home or a business, either during battles or in deliberate terror attacks: 50,000 to 100,000, depending on the size and the severity of the damages done.

If ones has lost work opportunities or forced into destitution due to lack of 'adequate' heritage: Immediate return of previous line of work, or seamless transfer to the new Ministry and/or other jobs opening in the wake of this conflict, along with a sum of galleons ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 in order to 'get back on their feet'.

Article #6:

The Reasonable Restricting of Underage Magic has been amended so children of half blood or muggle heritage can practice their craft more freely (though still within reason regarding the Statue of Secrecy) instead of being utterly forbidden while 'pure' children use it freely. As long as they are with a responsible adult and wary of watching non-magicals, practising magic within a home is entirely legal.

Children born to non magical parents shall be contacted soon after the first displays of accidental magic, the parents informed of their child's abilities and given a pamphlet detailing the world they don't know exists. As such, new families shall come into this world far less unprepared and may feel less inclined to leave it after completing their wizarding schooling.

There is also the mortal danger clause – if any young child uses magic outside of school when presented with danger, no punishment shall be doled out. Things that qualify as 'danger' are as follows – violent adults (be they parents or strangers), criminals, dementor/leithfold/etc attacks, severe weather, and rabid animals.

Article #7:

"Muggle baiting" and any other such form of taking advantage of our non magical brethren is a felony, ranging from fine to imprisonment as detailed under the Compensation Act. There are no exceptions, and no 'grand father' clauses may be used to interfere with the lives of those who live outside of our world.

Article #8:

Schooling in Britain, as seen over the last few years, requires much reworking. To start, the Board of Governers at Hogwarts has the power to dismiss headmasters or teachers they feel are harmful to the students or the learning experience, but they do not have the power to remove people on a whim or interfere with the day-to-day activities of the school. This includes whether or not a class uses practical work or who can fly on the Quidditch team, among other stipulations. Anyone known to violate this shall be summarily dismissed. This board will also become elective, instead of a legacy to be inherited by lazy, spoiled purebloods.

Bullying shall no longer be tolerated. Use of slurs (including mudblood or racial taunts, either regarding skin or parentage), acting in a group against one or two individuals, docking points excessively from one particular class because of personal dislike of students, demonization of groups within the school, favourtism and corporal punishment (such as a blood quill, whips or thumbscrews) are all forms of bullying and will carry severe penalties. For a teacher, s/he shall be fired, fined and possibly imprisoned depending on severity of the offence. For a student, suspension or expulsion, again depending on severity.

More teachers with expertise in their area should take up positions at the school. Multiple teachers for each subject shall be recommended. Teachers shall not be sacked over diseases such as lycanthorpy, but they can and will be sacked for negligence of the children under their care, deliberate or malicious ignorance of danger within the school, or interfering with the private lives of the students (up to and including attempting to dictate the child's actions outside of the school itself). This can also result in criminal charges if the DMLE deems it severe.

It was like a bomb going off.

Under the careful watch of fresh-faced, eager new aurors, a huge congregation had formed before the steps of Gringotts to claim compensation. The Goblins, more than a little pleased at this change of events, worked companionably with the aurors for the first time in centuries while sorting out titles and finances.

The aurors ensured that the non magicals received their compensation through complex paper trails and transfers, just to keep their police counterparts from getting confused or suspecting foul play when the deposits were made.

Though that didn't stop Jared and Emily Granger from being thoroughly baffled upon discovering their now had a vacation home in the bahamas.

Ron was right, though. If there was anything that would pull Voldemort and the remains of his sympathizers to the Ministry faster, it wasn't made by people.

End Chapter

So, the final ambush is coming up! How will it all go down? How will the prophecy be solved?! (because I'm running out of creative ways to kill this jerk)!? How will individuals like Megan react to the aftermath? All this and more next time!

Read and Review please!

19. Chapter 19

Art of War

Wanda: (flings hands over her head) OHMYGODITSALMOSTOVER GFYUOLBUJONJFTSDERAS. (regains calm) Well, here's the next chapter, inspired by Metallica's song One. I sincerely recommend you listen to that while reading this chapter. I do not own Harry Potter.

19: Ambush

Megan paced back and forth in her small room before Amber and Paul came to get her.

Her sleep hadn't been peaceful.

Her mother was screaming, crying, covered in blood. She could see through the vents of the cupboard under the stairwell, could hear everything. She could see her mother lying brutalized and dead. Her mother, who laughed easily and made everyone feel at home.

Her father had torn muscles trying to reach her, protect her, long after aunt Hestia's screams fell silent. Green light flashed.

Gone. All gone.

She saw them again, their bodies rotting and decaying. Her mother was covered in blood and her scream inhumanely high pitched, like broken glass. Her eyes were empty sockets, she was naked and covered in scars.

Her father looked no better. He had no hands or feet; he crawled up to her with his gargantuan limbs, eyes pleading for release.

She saw Draco's head splitting open, the blood and brains in her hands on her body in her hair, it wouldn't wash out, she could see the horror reflected in Lucius's eyes reflected in her own. She heard Christine whispering about her mother, saw the older looking woman held down by a charm while the whole world bled red.

"Before we have peace, blood will spill blood, the sea will run red!"

She saw Flora and Hestia tortured by their parents, the pain curses, lying awake attempting to ease each other's pain.

She felt the pain, felt it everywhere, she just wanted her family back, why, why, why...what had they done to deserve this...? her mother, her father, her aunt...

She could see Daphne in her mind, the red pouring out of the wound on her chest...Daphne rose from the ground like a twisted marionette before latching rotting hands around her neck...

She felt fear, trapped in that school where death could come at any moment...she felt the basilisk stalking her...the dementors hungering for her soul...the creeping horror crawling up her spine...

they should all die...they don't deserve to live here when they've caused so much pain...

I just want this all to end...

Please...

It was dark all around her...there was only the black and the red, taking her voice, taking her hearing, taking her arms, her legs, her soul...

Many of her dreams were like that these days. Nodoka offered her dreamless sleep potions to ease the pain, but Megan could only take so many of them...her immune system reacted poorly to one of the ingredients...

"It's time," Paul said simply, passing her back her sniper rifle. Megan slowly took it, looking around. Astoria, Christine...they had both been released as well.

"This is the last time?" Megan asked.

"Riddle is coming." Paul answered, his eyes narrowing. "Whatever else happens, this is end game. Are you in or not?"

Megan regarded him for a minute before letting out a sharp chuckle. "Of course." She said dryly. "Who do you take me for...?"

"We're probably going to end up fighting the Order as well." Flora materialized from the shadows a moment later. Megan glanced at her questioningly. "Dumbledore wants to maintain the status quo. He doesn't feel we can afford to the decisions we're making."

"Oh, fuck him." Megan snarled. "If we can't 'afford' it, than this entire war might as well have been for nothing. And I will sooner gut him and strangle him with his own intestines then let that happen at this point, and I would enjoy every second of it."

Flora's lip twitched at that, seeming almost amused at this.

Megan was hooked up with her platoon once again. Amber and Tabitha smiled and welcomed her back, though Leanne, Dancia and Matt seemed a little more twitchy around her. Astoria rolled her eyes and the remaining Wolverines on standby were taken to the Ministry.

"Do you like our redecoration?" Flora asked with a dry smile. Megan's only response was to grin in a feral manner.

The emblem of the Ministry had been replaced with a Wolverine head.

"I love it," Astoria said eagerly.

"Do we know when he'll be here?"

"He has no choice but to come in through the front." Flora said, gesturing around her. "the building is fortified for a seige, but Harry plans to meet him on the battlefield. The prophecy will be fulfilled...and all this will come to an end."

"The kids?" Megan asked.

"Been moved to Granger Mansion." Flora responded, another ghostly smile crossing her face. "In case worse comes to worse, Susanna's there to ensure they get across the border before anyone reaches them."

"Good." Christine said flatly. "Let's get on the wall, girls."

Megan slid her sniper rifle off her shoulder and walked up the stairs.

Back Downstairs

"Shouldn't you be with Ron and your brothers?" Flora asked Ginny as the redhead swept down to join her.

Ginny threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Flora flinched slightly, but returned it a moment later. She still wasn't very good with physical contact, but she was working on it.

"I wanted to see you."

"Are you ready for this?"

"No. No, I'm not."

"It's over after this, I promise."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Ginny whispered, her fingers digging into Flora's shoulders. "I don't want to loose anyone else."

"We've made it this far."

"I mean it, Flora. I can't. Promise me you'll be safe. Promise." Ginny whispered.

"I'm not planning on going anywhere." Flora responded, kissing her on the forehead. "I promise."

Back With Megan

The battle started and ended abruptly. Megan had gotten somewhat used to this, given the unpredictable nature of war in general. But perhaps she had expected a bit more of Voldemort.

Sure enough, exactly as Flora said, both the Order and the Death Eaters attacked the Ministry.

And they were met with Morgan's tank.

So while the street was torn to super heated pieces, Megan, Christine, Astoria, Amber and Tabitha remained in the relative comfort of the ramparts picking off anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in their crosshairs.

They focused on Voldemort when Harry faced him down, before taking an Avada Kedavera to the face protecting Hermione Granger.

Voldemort's body was then ripped to pieces by a tank missile.

Megan chose the moment afterwards to kill Dumbledore. Why? Because when Harry dropped dead, she saw the man smirk in response. So she put a bullet in his throat. She didn't have any particular attachment to Harry, but she knew what that meant. Dumbledore had always meant to doom them.

With the death of Voldemort, the Death Eaters splintered. They were ruthlessly tracked down and killed before they could escape.

/

Megan leaned against the wall.

You promised you'd safe us-

you said you'd save us-

Megan-

Megan-

-(inaudiable screaming)-

"Daphne...I avenged you..." Astoria whispered, dropping her gun to the floor as she stumbled over to join her squad leader in the bombed out cafe.

Christine collapsed at a desk, her eyes gaunt and hollow...

"...Daph...can you see me now...?"

Megan shuddered.

They're still gone...

Everything is gone...

"What happens now...?" Christine whispered. "...I...I... ... ... ...I don't know what..."

"...Who else is dead...?" Megan asked quietly.

"...I saw Ron die...Neville with him." Amber muttered in response. "Don't know how many others."

Megan closed her eyes.

"...Boss...?" Christine's voice had become weak and pleading. "...What do we do...?"

"... ... ..."

"Boss?"

"...We can only do one thing."

"...What's that...?"

"...Keep walking."

Megan stepped over to the floo and took a handful, before waiting a moment. After some visible hesitation, Astoria and Christine walked over to join her. After another moment, Amber and Tabitha joined as well.

The five girls then disappeared into the floo, leaving for another country.

End Chapter

One last chapter after this! I sincerely thank all of my readers for sticking with this story the whole time. I'm glad of your support making this story one of my best so far.

Read and Review please!

20. Chapter 20

Art of War

Wanda: (lying comatose) Another...story...done. How sweet.

Tyene: (rolls eyes with a slight edge of affection) We do not own Harry Potter and thank you all for reading.

Chapter 20: Epilogue

**Fifteen Years Later**

Flora woke with a shriek, sitting upright and panting as the memories of pain and death flashed before her eyes again. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes. It's because its the anniversary of our victory, she thought with a wry smile. They're more and more infrequent now...some day, they'll be faded and forgotten.

The person next to her stirred and sat up. "Flora?" Ginny asked softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"...Just a bad dream, Ginny." Flora said. "You know. The usual."

"I offered to let you take a dreamless sleep last night." Ginny said in concern.

Flora shook her head and grasped her wife's slender hand. "Hey...you know we can't take too many of those. Besides...it wasn't that bad. I'm here with you, right?"

Ginny smiled and kissed Flora.

A rattle from downstairs caught the two women's attention. After listening for a moment, the television was clearly being used – the opening chords of Iron Man's theme song drifted through the halls.

"Our kids are awake." Ginny observed.

Flora made a mock disdainful snort and lay down again. "Before nine in the morning on a Saturday, they're your kids."

The redhead rolled her eyes affectionately before sliding out of bed. Flora admired her wife as she got dressed before saying, "I'll join you for breakfast."

"I hope so," Ginny said, chuckling.

The war heroine made her way downstairs to where three young girls – triplets – were sitting on the edge of the couch, cheering as Tony Stark unleashed retribution upon the eastern terrorists. "Girls," She said chidingly. "What have I said about popcorn before breakfast?"

Dahlia flushed while Sierra scowled and Helen protested she had tried to stop them. Thanks to a potion and a ritual, they were biologically Ginny and Flora's – they didn't have a father. It was one of the many innovations from St Mugos over the past decade and a half.

"We're you cousins?" Ginny asked, looking around the room.

"They went back to Auntie Hestia's house next door." Helen answered, waving her hand in the direction of the door. "Uncle Blaise had come home for breakfast so they wanted to see him."

"Of course," Ginny said, pleased. As she ushered the three girls into the kitchen, she remembered that Blaise was a foreign diplomat for the revitalized British ministry and thus, half the time Hestia wasn't certain what country he was in. For all the good work he did, he didn't have as much time to spend with Bianca and Travis.

As Dahlia, Sierra and Helen dug into the cereal and milk, Ginny flipped through the newspaper. Flora joined her in a moment with toast for the pair of them. Ginny kissed her on the cheek in thanks and returned her attention to reading.

Hermione Granger, Minister of Magic. Oh, how the times had changed. Not too long ago, the idea of a muggleborn becoming Minister of Magic was as unlikely to Britain as a black President would have been to colonial era America. She didn't have any children, being focused almost entirely on her work, though Ginny heard she was considering Janos's marriage proposal.

Harry had scored another victory playing for the Quidditch world cup. His kids Leah, Alice and Lily were all shaping up to be stars in their own right, Leah in duelling, Alice in charms and Lily in creature taming. But unfortunately, the mother had divorced the boy-who-lived-twice a year before. Ginny knew how upset Harry was about that; she hoped he would find someone less shallow in the future...

Sirius had travelled abroad with his brother and their wives. Altair, Sirius's eleven year old daughter, would be going to school in Tokyo – Sirius said he had too many bad memories and wanted her to get a fresh start away from it all. Regulus, now that he could safely marry Diana, did so and gave Natalie two younger brothers – James and Severus.

Natalie and Graham were dating, under her father's watchful eye. Graham was poised to take up the DMLE position, his only real competition there being Susan Bones.

Britain was flourishing. While the scars of the war of blood purity remained, they were scabbing over. A new era was beginning – one of acceptance, love, compassion.

Hogwarts had started admitting 'dark creatures' into its ranks openly. Saying mudblood got you fined. It was easier for everyone to live in peace.

It wasn't perfect. There was still discontent and mutterings of unfairness among those who were still yet to adjust to the change. But everyone was tired of fighting. They wanted a different world. Even if it wasn't perfect.

It was good enough.

End

Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following!