Harry Potter and the Eugenics War
Disclaimer: JKL's sandbox. I am just playing with the little bucket and shovel she left there. I am certainly not the owner of a billion galleon publishing empire. This was only for my own amusement, and hopefully that of others as well.
Warning: Some serious unpleasantness being discussed.
Timeframe: Post-Hogwarts, AU ignoring JKR's Epilogue
Author's note: I would like to thank kbo and Chem Prof for some of the ideas in this story. Some years ago, I saw some graffiti in Dublin saying "Privilege is invisible to those who have it" – I always have liked that one (right up there with "Give me puberty or give me death"). This story is un-beta'd, so all faults are my own.
Chapter 1: Contact Renewed
Tuesdays were typically a slow day at the LL&P Greenhouses. The sales staff had Monday and Tuesday off, after a busy weekend, and the research and maintenance staff had spent Monday replanting what needed to be repotted, and making sure everything was watered and fertilized.
The building maintenance people were checking the geothermal heating system which had been giving some minor problems lately, which was also affecting the nearby Roman Baths in the aptly named city of Bath. The ongoing drought had limited the amount of water available and this was beginning to get noticed by the non-magical tourists at the famous attraction.
The LL&P was a very popular place with both magical and muggle patrons because of their wide selection of plants, as well as their line of new hybrids they were developing. The non-magical areas were separated from the magical ones by a small row of Forget-Me-Now flowers, reinforced by some mild repelling charms, but nothing harsher.
Harry Potter was in his office, looking over the results of some of the hybridization work he and Neville had been conducting this summer, in preparation for Nev using the new plants with his NEWT level students come the new year. Snow-resistant orchids had been a challenge which would be nice to introduce to the Scottish castle, and two of Neville's apprentices had been working hard on crossing the tropical flowers with evergreens; although juniper produced some with a pleasant fragrance, the larch hybrids kept shedding their blossoms.
Another successful project had been the blood potatoes, which Hagrid was using to provide a more reliable food source for the growing thestral herd. The piña colada trees were proving to be a popular item as well.
After leaving Hogwarts, after the battle, Harry had tried his hand at a lot of different occupations. He had tried the Auror training, but found the limitations on what the Ministry would allow rather stupid, as he knew he would be fighting people who had no qualms about using lethal spells. Eventually, he found that he very much enjoyed gardening. He had finally come to the conclusion that, when he was growing up, his gardening skills were the only thing his aunt approved of, although she would never ever have said so. It was also the only time when his cousin Dudley was not allowed to bother him or beat him up, in part because there always seemed to be some garden tool, like a rake, that he would step on and hit him in the face or somewhere more tender (so odd that happened so frequently). After all, the neighbours might be watching.
It was likely the only time at Privet Drive that he could have said he was happy.
The clientele who were magical enjoyed the range of exotic plants which Neville and Luna brought back from their 'foraging' trips. The more snotty purebloods, of course, refused to patronize a place that would actually warmly welcome muggles, and moreover, serve them with smiles on their faces.
Maisie Cattermole poked her head into his office. She started to say "Boss, …" when Harry interrupted "Maisie, come on. It's Harry. Just Harry."
She stood up much straighter and somewhat stiffly and officiously, nodded. "Okay, Just Harry. You have an owl." They both laughed, as they did every time this happened.
Owls were not unexpected at LL&P, although most of their non-magical (Harry, Neville and Luna had all forbidden their staff to use the term 'muggle') customers believed they were kept around to dissuade the pigeons and gulls who frequented the area, particularly around the outdoor concession stand where the odd dropped chip or banger might be found.
The staff had no such illusions. All were at least magic-aware, typically being either muggle-born, half-bloods, or family members of a muggle-born person. Some were even pure-bloods who had had enough of the blood purity crap that had haunted their parents and grandparents.
Maisie still stood in the doorway, looking a bit nervous. Harry looked at her quizzically. He asked, "Yes?"
She gulped, and started "Well, I know that you and your friends saved my Mum from the trial in the Voldemort years. Perhaps I am just a bit paranoid, but I have noticed that the anti-non-magical graffiti in the area is getting worse recently. A lot worse. The vandalism attempts are increasing too."
The greenhouses had some of the best Goblin-built intent-sensing wards around them, so vandalism attacks were highly unsuccessful, with the perpetrators being relocated far away from their targets, usually in other English-speaking countries but without their wands, and sometimes without adequate clothing for the destination's climate. If the intent of the attack had been too nasty, the limitation on the linguistic location was waived. Getting back to England was rather difficult when they landed in a non-magical area, having not local currency, language skills, or any idea how to get to the local magical areas (without being taken in for psychiatric assessment).
She continued, "Some of the newer wall paintings are signed 'The Children of Lord V'. One another matter, I heard rumours that Deloris Umbridge has been let out of Azkaban, having served her twenty years. She was the one in charge at Mum's trial." Harry nodded knowingly.
Maisie nodded grimly. "Some of the stuff I have seen appears to be directed at you personally."
Harry nodded. For years he had been expecting this. Not all the Death Eaters or their children had died in the Battle of Hogwarts, and some were the kind to hold a nasty grudge. He asked, "Can you give an example or two?"
She nodded, "Okay. Remember, you asked. One said 'Potter and his muggle-loving bastards stole our birthrights. They will be exterminated!' Another said 'Potter and his family of bitches and bastards are doomed. We will finish what the Dark Lord started.' Another said 'Muggle-bornes won't be stealing our magic anymore because they will be dead!'. A lot of others like that".
He nodded with a resigned look on his face. "Maisie, when they really are out to get you, paranoia is just very smart thinking. I know some people, and we are well protected here, but I will check as well. I know some creatures who know some creatures, and I'll see what I can do. Okay?"
She smiled and nodded. "Thanks. And remember, you have an owl waiting for you. I think it expects a reply."
Harry nodded, and said "No. Thank you. Thanks for bringing this to my attention."
She nodded, and the two left the office. Maisie to her work, and Harry to the owlery. A small owl he did not recognize sat there looking at him rather impatiently, and stuck out its leg. Harry took the letter, gave the owl some treats and a dish of water, and went to the nearby desk.
Unfolding the note, he noted it was on ISO standard A4 size parchment, and bore an imprint of the Ministry of Magic. Even before reading it, he knew the author, who was one of his oldest friends. Only she would use ISO standard stationery, even if it was still parchment.
The note read:
'To BWL H. It's happening, as we long expected. Your attendance is required at a meeting tomorrow at 13:00. A car will pick you up at 11:00 to take you to New Scotland Yard to meet with DCI Hornby of Special Branch (MBE, H79, HB) and others. All surviving members of the DA will also be in attendance, if possible. By the way, we have arranged for SABP to be picked up before arriving at your place of business for you. NL and LL will be picked up separately, unless they are with you at the greenhouses tomorrow. The meeting will be SS compliant. Signed, The Unspeakable H."
Ever since Hermione had joined the Department of Mysteries, they had joked about how she was now really unspeakable, and so she had taken to signing all her correspondence as such. Harry was also amused by her using the old nickname for him (which he had hated because of the way people treated him based on it, but what can you do? It had become a shared joke).
Harry wondered how a half-blood Hufflepuff graduate of Hogwarts had ended up with the Metropolitan Police force. Once there, he could understand how the man rose in the ranks over the thirty plus, almost forty, years. For all that Ravenclaws claimed to be the smart ones, from his experience, the 'Claws seemed to be more filled with their own importance, while the Puffs were more team players who worked together of mutual benefit.
It was nice that they had arranged to pick up his wife before collecting him.
Harry slumped back in his chair and sighed. For nearly twenty years, he had been expected that the war would continue, but he just didn't know when. He knew that the Voldemort wars (as he and others called them) had never really ended. He felt that it had never really finished with his elimination of Voldemort, because Voldemort just used the prejudices and hatreds that were already there to recruit his followers. His armies had been huge, meaning that there were a lot of wizards and witches who held those beliefs. The fact that Voldemort was a half-blood who was just using the pureblood bigots for his own selfish purposes didn't change the rot that was inherent in some of the wider British wizarding populace.
Harry thought back over the years since the Battle at Hogwarts, and how some had moved on, while some seemed stuck in the past. Against the expectations of many, and indeed the insistent demands of Molly Weasley, he and Ginny had finally broken up – she had wanted her career playing quidditch and being in the spotlight, while he had wanted to get away from the fame he hated. He had fallen in love with another orphan of the first phase of the wars, and he and Susan now had four great kids of their own (all girls). His godson Teddy Lupin had just graduated from Hogwarts a year or so back, and was now out on his own, helping George Weasley run the branch of the shop in Hogsmeade.
Ron and Hermione had realized, before it was too late, that they were just not at all compatible (after Ron had commented that going for higher education was stupid, when she could stay home and raise children like his mother, while he played quidditch for the Cannons which was his life's dream). Coming from a large family run (or over-run) by a stay-at-home mother, this had seemed a reasonable life, while to Hermione, coming from a small intellectual family that travelled widely, it did not. He had married Lavender Brown, who had survived the Battle and the mauling from Fenrir Greyback, but had been infected with lycanthropy which was now recognized as a treatable disease. Because of her condition, she had never been able to carried to term, so the two had adopted six orphans of friends who had not made it. When Ron was drinking with friends, he would occasionally lament about Lavender's 'time of the month' being something really beyond most husbands' experiences.
Following Ron and Lavender's example, Harry and Sue adopted a few themselves, as the war had killed a lot of innocent people, and Harry just could not forgo helping others. He had used the stipend that came with the Order of Merlin (1st class) and set up orphanages, endowed hospitals, and help Nev and Luna set up the greenhouse business (with their OM2 stipends being part of the contributions as well).
Meeting and Planning
Harry had not known that government limousines used the same spatial compression systems as the Night Bus, but the trip from the west of England to the centre of London took only about an hour.
As Harry and the rest of the DA veterans entered the conference room, the grey-haired man in a police uniform (senior rank) pointed the group towards another man in a grey suit, but indicated that Harry and Neville should come over towards him.
He nodded to the two men and said, "When I joined the aurors after school, I trained with your dads and Neville's mom. It was the greatest honour in my life to serve with them. I had my highest admiration for them, and I am very sorry about what happened to them and your mum, Harry. I'm Oliver Hornby. I gather you have heard of my great-aunt Olive, mostly from the young woman she tormented in school."
Harry was puzzled for a moment until he remembered. "You mean Myrtle Green? Moaning Myrtle?"
The man nodded and smiled. "Yes, poor old Moaning Myrtle. Aunt Olive felt badly about that for a long time, once she managed to get Myrtle confined to Hogwarts. Before that, she was quite exasperated about being haunted personally. Not too many people get their own personal ghost." He chuckled lightly. "I suggest you go over to Colonel Greyson and get your new credentials"
As Harry and Neville looked puzzled again, he continued "In order to remain in this room for this meeting, officially, you both are now members of Her Majesty's Secret Service, Magical Division."
Harry shook his head. "No way! I believe I have done any and all public service that I can stand. I'm not joining anything."
Oliver nodded. "I understand, and agree fully. This is purely an honorary appointment and only for the duration of this meeting. You and your friends have been 'asked' here only because you have experience and some understanding that we need but don't have. You have taken no oaths to protect the people of Britain, but I and some others have. We're just asking for some advice from people who have been there. I suspect you may have viewpoints that we in the more regular forces just don't have. I heard that your friend Ms. Lovegood is known to have, shall I say, unusual viewpoints on many things."
Harry laughed as he thought about it for a moment, and asked "She does that, indeed."
"If you were training to be an auror, how did you end up in the non-magical police? If you don't mind me asking."
Oliver nodded somewhat sadly. "That kind of ties in with why you are here, Harry. After you did, whatever it was you did, the first time to Voldemort, a lot of the Death Eaters were buying their way out of responsibility for their crimes. I and a number of others noticed that all the ones who had been sent to actually fight the Death Eaters tended to be muggle-bornes or half-bloods – the pureblood aurors tended to get assignments to guard the ministry staff higher-ups, and stuff like that. Jobs that could get you killed always went to the ones who were not from the so-called 'respectable families'. On top of that, we were forbidden to use lethal spells against murderers, and our wands we checked after missions to make sure of that. Then the ministry kept passing laws that only benefited the pure-bloods. A lot of us decided this was not what we trained for, fought for and some died for, so we 'went muggle' as the saying went."
Neville asked "Didn't they try to stop you quitting?"
Oliver laughed. "Oh yes they did. Just like with any muggle-borne who gets expelled from Hogwarts for behaving like a pureblood, they tried to break our wands and obliviate us." He chuckled. "The ministry obliviators were pitiful. Old guys who had never been out in the field until the regulars had cleaned up the mess, usually too late of course. They tried to pull their wands against battle-hardened veterans, who all were a damned sight faster on the draw. We obliviated them, and left them with the 'memory' that they had actually accomplished their orders and that we were now all nearly mindless squibs. They haven't bothered us since, because they think that as far as they are concerned, we no longer exist. A bad mistake on their part. As I expect you will see here."
After shaking the detective's hand, Harry and Nev went over the man in the grey suit, and were presented with cards stating their names, some incredibly blurry pictures, and stating that they were now members of MI-5.75.
Mr. Greyson saw their confusion, and said with a smirk, "Just as with the currency, when the government went decimal, we went decimal. '5' deals with domestic espionage, while '6' deals with external. You're now with the magical branches of the 'internal' organization. Temporarily, of course."
Harry looked around the room, and saw George Weasley, who came over to shake his hand. George's name badge stated his name, also MI-6.75 and the designation Q-42M. at Harry's questioning tilt of the head, George nodded, and added "I get to work with the fun and games bunch for the secret service, as well as running the Wheezes. Lots of fun.
Harry asked, "How's your mum doing?"
George's expression saddened. "Pretty much the same as the last few years. The mind-healers still work with her, but don't hold out a lot of hope. Losing Fred was the last straw, after losing her brothers in the first Voldemort War and worrying about all of us for all those years. She still talked about planning a wedding for you and Ginny, and expects Fred to come through the door every Sunday evening for dinner."
Harry nodded and gave his condolences.
Harry went over to Hermione and said hello as they exchanged a hug.
Harry also noticed Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was serving his third term as Minster of Magic. They shook hands and chatted briefly, before the meeting was called to order.
After procuring coffee, water and/or tea, the gathering was seated, and Oliver took the floor. He started by casting privacy spells and announcing that the meeting fell under both the Official Secrets Act of Great Britain, as well as the International Statute of Secrecy. He explained that the Special Branch of Scotland Yard was tasked with crimes of a political nature, including terrorism. He pointed out that, due to Britain's long history of dealing with criminals and terrorists, Britain was one of the countries with the greatest level of public surveillance, and probably the only democratic one (neglecting the ones that seemed to think that putting the term 'Democratic' in their official names actually fooled anybody) with that level of installations. This, he said, in a way led to the problems they needed to address. He concluded his introductory announcements by stating that the meeting was classified 'Ultra'. To many in attendance, this classification meant nothing.
He followed up this official business by introducing a very important looking woman who wore a grey suit with a green collar. "People, I would like to introduce Commander Frau Birgit Kelurestli and Colonel Sven Thorson, of the International Confederation of Wizardry's office of Investigations and Enforcement. The ICW is rather unhappy with some of the goings-on in Britain, hence this meeting. Colonel Thorson will be in operational command of any field actions."
With a gesture and a nod, he said, "Birgit, if you please?" and yielded the floor.
The tall dignified witch stood, and announced in a clear and forceful voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem, a quandary you might say. In the last century, Britain has given rise to the serious issue of dark lords causing serious breaches of the International Statue of Secrecy. Including the rise of Grindelwald, the first and second Voldemort Wars, and the recent outbreak of the so-called Children of Lord V who appear to be either the children of Voldemort's Death Eaters or those who were not dealt with in the second War against Voldemort, there have been at least four such cases. In each, the British Ministry of Magic has failed to contain violations of the Statute. Therefore, it has been decided at the highest levels of the ICW that an Enforcement Order has to be executed. Under previous such Orders, the offenders were obliterated. Totally. Along with large areas of land around their bases of operations.
"The current problem we wish to address is that our investigations have shown that the offenders are mixed with the general populations of not only the magical, but also the non-magical peoples. This makes the previous methods impractical or at least undesirable."
Susan Bones held up her hand and asked nervously "Can you explain what you mean by 'the previous methods'?"
The ICW officer nodded, and said simply "Extermination. You may have heard of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD which destroyed the city of Pompeii, the Plague of Justinian, the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the Tunguska airburst, the 1960 Chilean earthquake, and other such so-called natural disasters. These are how the muggles of the time explained the complete disappearance or obliteration of entire towns."
Kingsley Shacklebolt asked, "Can't we use the auror force to contain those causing the problems?"
The Commander shook her head. "Sadly, no, for two reasons. First, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has shown absolutely no ability to do so, for the entirety of the past century. Secondly, our agents within the DMLE have proven that the members of the DMLE themselves are not only complicit with the problem, but are part of the problem themselves." Turning to Shacklebolt, she said, "I am sorry Minister, but unlike yourself who fought against Voldemort in the front of the actions, we cannot trust any of the senior staff at the Department, which is why they are not at this meeting. Most of the senior officers in your enforcement forces were those who avoided, shall I say, active resistance to Voldemort and his crew."
Kingsley grinned sadly. "No problem, really. Most of them were uppity Slytherins who learned their DADA under the incompetent fools that Dumbledore hired, and their potions from Snape. A lot of them couldn't defend themselves against an irate kitten, anyway."
Commander Kelurestli smiled and continued. "Just so. For example, in most of the cases where one or a group of the Children of Lord V arrive on a site, killing or causing other breaches of the statute, the aurors arrive too late to do anything about the perpetrators, but only starts obliviating any witnesses. Therefore, the miscreants know they can get away with it next time. For far too long, the Ministry's so-called solution is to bury evidence that a violation took place, not to prevent it happening."
"You have to admit, with the policy for many years now of only promoting pure-bloods of supposedly respectable or important families, whether or not they are qualified, the level of competence at the Ministry is not exactly inspiring. People were hired and promoted for who they knew, not what, nor how well they did their jobs. Most of the hard work was actually done by the lower ranks of staff, whose bosses rarely even read their files."
"Anyway, with the current state of electronic surveillance installed in Britain, it is essentially impossible even to block observations of the crimes. The officers reviewing the recordings are not all magical, and we do not have enough witches or wizards to do so. We have a specific example for your attention. Oliver, please?"
Hornby nodded to an assistant, who turned down the lights, and started a projection of a surveillance recording. It showed three figures in black robes and bone-white masks appearing in a crowded shopping area. They proceeded to cast killing curses into the crowd, and then disappearing. A minute and a half later, figures in red robes appeared, looked around, and then pulled out their wands and started approaching the terrified people. First, they headed towards two uniformed officers, a man and a woman, clearly intending to cast spells. Unfortunately for the figures who were now clearly aurors, the two supposedly muggle officers pulled their own wands and stunned them.
DCI Hornby commented, "As you just saw, PC Wood and WPC Brown defended themselves using magic. The three aurors you saw in this recording are now, as they say, guests of Her Majesty, all the while complaining that we muggles have no right to hold them prisoner, that they were pure-bloods and we could not detain them and that we and our Queen had no authority over them, and on and on. When asked why they felt they had the right to attack civilians, they stated, and I quote, 'Muggles have no rights. The Ministry says so!' I should also point out that the Home Office of Her Majesty's government has designated the 'Children of Lord V' as a terrorist organization, and lethal force is authorised in actions against them."
Lavender held up her hand. Hornby nodded to her and asked, "Yes, Mrs. Weasley?"
Lavender asked, "You mentioned that the police officer witch was named Brown. Is her first name Heliotrope, by any chance?"
Hornby looked at his file, and his eyes widened. "Yes, it is. May I ask how you knew?"
Lavender bit her lip, shyly. "My cousin Heliotrope signed up for the aurors, but then disappeared, apparently off the face of the earth. If she had died in the line of duty, the family would have been proud of her., but she just seemed to have vanished. It was as if she had never existed, like she was disowned in disgrace. It's like the family was ashamed of her to the point of not wanting to acknowledge her existence, if she went muggle as you say. It looks like your people took her in. Thank you. I liked Heli."
Oliver smiled. "I see to it that she gets in touch".
All in the room nodded. The Browns were a very proud pure-blood family. They were also rather intolerant, and only accepted Lavender marrying Ron because he was a war hero, in spite of his family being known as blood-traitors. Even then, half of the family shunned then, mostly due to Lavender's 'condition'.
Birgit nodded her thanks to Oliver and also to Lavender, and continued. "Our investigations show that there is a sizable portion of the pure-blood magical population who feel as these aurors do, that muggles have no rights, and that magical people can do anything they like to them; obliviate, torture, or kill. There are many, including the Children of Voldemort, whose stated purpose is to exterminate all muggle-born magicals, as well as any half-bloods and all of the muggles. As there are over sixty millions of muggles in the UK, this policy was deemed rather unacceptable by the ICW. Their slogans are painted on walls across Britain, visible to all magicals and muggles as you may have seen."
"As the ICW dictates, these actions will stop, or rather they will be stopped. As Colonel Thorson and I have discussed with DCI Hornby and his staff, we have three issues. First, how do we identify the problem people. Second, how do we separate them from the rest of the population – we do not want to annihilate all of Britain now, do we. And third, what do we do about them, and how."
"We cannot use those methods that were employed in former times. With the very large numbers of muggles, and the fact that the magical population are often mixed in among them, there would be rather unacceptable levels of what is euphemistically called collateral damage, as our military brethren tend to say in order to try and alleviate their sense of responsibility for what most would call 'dead innocent people'. Further, just as there is universal surveillance, there is also almost universal news coverage. News organizations somehow manage to get hold of surveillance recordings, no matter how secure we try to keep them."
"Because of these facts, using what you might call the 'old methods' would be in themselves violations of the Stature of Secrecy. So, we must find new ways."
George Weasley asked, "Is it possible to track some of the Voldemort offspring? If we can have them all in one area, maybe…", as he shivered lightly, thinking of what he had just proposed. Working with the secret services and having gone through the war had exposed him to 'extreme sanctions' techniques, but he didn't have to like them.
Hornby spoke, "We have tried. We have captured a few and put tracking spells on them, we have discovered a few safe houses, but not their main base. We don't know whether the tracking spells were removed, or they failed."
George asked, "Can you use electronic tracking devices? In Q branch, we have some undetectable ones which should work."
Hornby shook his head. "Electronics fail around magic."
Neville put up his hand. "I see a contradiction here. Electronics fail, as you say, but you cast two secrecy spells, yet your projector and video recording are still operating."
The group of officers all nodded and looked embarrassed. How did they all miss that?
Neville continued. "In Herbology and more generally, in toxicology, there is a basic principle. 'The dose makes the poison'. Maybe the electronics only fail when there is a certain level of magic around." He held up his wand and cast "Lumos".
One by one, others raised their wands and cast the same spell. As Hermione cast hers, the projector went off.
Neville followed this up, and said. "Okay, let's try this again, but neither Harry or Hermione are to cast the spell." They all announced "Nox", and extinguished their lights. After a moment, the video player and projector came back on. While this was happening, Harry turned to Neville and asked, "Why not me or Hermione?"
Neville looked at his best friend with a look of 'Don't be bloody daft'. "Harry, everybody knows that you and Hermione are the most powerful wizard and witch currently in Britain, perhaps with present unfamiliar company excepted. It might be an issue of power level."
They tried again, and again, when the fifth wand was lit (making the total spell count seven), the projector went off.
Thorson spoke for the first time. "This is all well and good, but it does not help. The tracking fails once the villains leave the safe houses. We do not know where they go from there." After a moment's thought, Thorson asked, "How many are there usually in the safe houses? Maybe the spells fail, or are detected and removed there, or maybe they fail elsewhere. Or we could ask them politely, where their final destination is, no?" He had a nasty smile as he said the last.
Hornby shook his head. "Unfortunately, Sven, that doesn't work either. There is usually only one or two at the safe houses when the fugitive arrives. Their 'field people' do not know their hideouts' locations. They are given another portkey to take them there. We have asked, as you say, politely, and in some cases, we have had assistance from MI 6.75 and the ICW and asked not-so-politely. No luck."
Luna spoke up, "Then maybe we should look where they don't seem to be. Where they don't show up." Those not familiar with the blonde witch stared at her as if she was crazy, which was not an unusual assessment on first acquaintance.
George nodded. "I think I get it. Thanks Luna, that's brilliant! If I understand, we tag the bad guys with an electronic tracker, and watch them carefully as they flee. We suspect that their hideouts would have strong warding spells, just as they did back in Voldemort's days. At the instant when and where the trackers fail, we can assume that they have arrived at a strong magical area, and that's our target or targets."
In his work for the secret services, George knew that sometimes, his products were used to kill, as he put it, on the retail level. This option would be going 'wholesale'. The idea of massacring those who were responsible, or at least complicit, in the murder of his twin brother did not seem to bother him all that much.
Commander Kelurestli nodded and smiled. "Excellent, Ms. Lovegood, and Mr Weasley. Excellent. This we will try. That may solve one of our problems. However, we have the others as well. Inspector Hornby, I see what you meant about Ms. Lovegood having a fresh perspective on things."
After a pause as the people considered some ideas, discarding most of them as unacceptable or impractical, then Hermione spoke up. "In the Department of Mysteries, there are some very old and very obscure documents. Some dating to thousands of years ago. These are some of the ones I have been reviewing, and if my translations are accurate, there may be a method."
Harry smiled, but managed not to snicker. He knew the chances of Hermione's translations being inaccurate were roughly the same as the atmosphere bursting into flame with tomorrow's dawn, as the sun set in the east.
She continued. "I know that the document indicated that the spell it mentioned was considered absolutely horrifying by most magical people. Too horrifying to be mentioned or even discussed. Really dark, and a lot of people assume if it is dark, it has to be evil. In the DOM, we try not to make this assumption, because it is our understanding that being evil depends on the intent of the user, not the spell itself. The spell involves setting up some wards to eliminate all magical abilities within the warded space."
Ron Weasley cried out, "You want to destroy magic? Hermione, how could you even think of something like that?"
The ICW commander looked at Ron, and said quietly, "Mr Weasley, you would prefer all life in Britain to be extinguished? That is one of the options that were used in earlier times. It was also one that was originally proposed for this problem. We here must consider all options. All options. Dr. Granger, please continue."
Hermione swallowed, shocked at Ron's reaction. Hermione nodded towards him, and said, "See what I mean? Most wizards make that assumption." She knew that, as a pure-blood, even though not one of the bigots they were fighting, to him the thought of eliminating magic was just unthinkable.
George Weasley laughed. "That would be great. Remove their magic, and that would turn them into what they despise the most. Muggles or squibs."
Hermione smiled widely. "Not just that, George, but their magic would be stolen by a muggle-borne, and the one muggle-borne they hate the most. Me! That would be so sweet."
She continued. "The documents I mentioned indicate that this was considered anathema to most wizards at the time, but they had a powerful monster that they had been unable to defeat in any other way. A monster that was destroying whole towns and cities. I suspect that this was the basis for the Beowulf stories, because it was from the old Norse. Anyway, the method involved setting up some powerful wards around an area, and triggering them somehow (I will have to review that section again). Because of its effect, the wards themselves were destroyed after a short time, maybe seconds, so there was no lingering effect on the area. However, inside the warded area, nothing showed any sign of magical essence or ability."
Ron asked, "How can we make sure it works, but only where you want it to?" It was clear he did not want to claim any responsibility for the idea. "Are you going to ask for a volunteer to be inside and commit magical suicide?"
Neville nodded. "Good point Ron. We have to make sure it works, and only works where we need it. I would point out that Harry, Luna and I have easy access to a number of non-sentient magical plants. We could put some inside the test area, and line the perimeter with others. This would prove whether the effect is exclusively within the target area, or not. Then adjust plans accordingly."
Hornby nodded. "Good suggestion Mr. Longbottom. So then we would just have to make sure that only the ones we are after would be inside the warded area, when what happens actually happens. That might be tricky. I gather that the ICW's order is for complete termination of the problem."
The two ICW officers nodded. "It is", said Thorson. "Complete. When an Enforcement Order is given, and it is only given under very specific conditions, that is the required outcome. Any level of collateral damage is acceptable to the ICW, as long as the problem is terminated."
Many in the room shivered at the implications of Thorson's statement. This was not going to be a capture and imprisonment approach, but an extermination. Harry Potter scowled a bit, which his wife noticed, although most others did not.
Hornby sighed. "Okay, we have one possible method, that doesn't involve large amounts of explosives or poison gases. We will continue to see if other methods are available. Now, the main problem is, how do we separate the miscreants from the general population?"
After a brief moment, George Weasley smiled and laughed. "That's easy. We throw a party!"
Those who did not know George well looked at him as if he was completely crazy. Ron thought that the mention of the magic-eliminating wards may have finally driven his wacky brother over the edge.
Commander Kelurestli looked at George sternly, and ordered, "Explain, Agent Weasley." Using his official designation as an officer of the secret service made this anything but a polite request.
George elaborated. "Okay, this might work. We set up a party, or two depending on locations and who we need to target. We specifically invite only those who need to be eliminated, and make sure everyone else is out of the area. At least as many as we can get out. Collateral damage and all. Once only the bad guys are in place, we activate the wards. Problem solved."
Luna asked, "How do we make sure that none of the fairies or elves are harmed?" Her classmates in the DA knew of her love of the magical creatures.
Susan Potter held up her hand. Everyone looked at her, and Hornby commented that they were not at school any more, and she didn't need permission.
After people chuckled, Susan commented, "I have spoken to our house elves, and apparently, they hold some sort of celebration on a specific night of the year, I can't recall which, usually in the middle of the night when the people they are bonded to are asleep and don't need their services. They make sure that all their chores are done before they attend, but absolutely all elves in Britain show up. I get the impression it is something like a marriage fair, as this was explained to me when one of our male elves brought a new female elf to us to be bonded, and they now have children. Cute little things."
Luna nodded. I can speak to the fairy queen. She is an old family friend. If you can find out when this elf bash happens, I think we can arrange something."
Harry said, "Okay, that can work for the LV people. We will have to do something for the elves whose masters have just become non-magical. You know, I really hate the term muggle, but I know it is easier to use. In the US, they call them non-mags."
"But, how are we going to clean out the Ministry? Sorry Kingsley, but unless we get rid of the old pure-blood fossils whose main purpose in life is only to hang on to power, we're just going to have the entire problem over again, like we did the last two times. I gather that will not be acceptable to the ICW." He looked at the visitors, who were shaking their heads. "I didn't think so."
George announced, "Okay, two, no three parties then. One at the Ministry, where we make the invitations so repulsive to the 'good guys' that they will certainly not attend. Maybe put a spell on them for that only the bigots can read it. A second, where we surreptitiously invite all the good guys from the ministry and maybe have to kidnap those who would otherwise hang around the building like the janitors. Oh wait, the cleaning staff are all elves, so that's already covered. Maybe have to abduct Clarence the wand-weighing guy at the entrance. The third is for our main bunch of nasties."
"And Ron, perhaps for the main nasties, we could just use a lot of explosives, poison gas and contact parasites, so they get properly killed without having to take away their magic. After all, that would be terrible, wouldn't it. Murder being so preferable to losing their magic." The group could see that there was going to be a serious split in the family about this.
Lea Jordan quipped, "Nothing nuclear, I hope". He looked shocked at the look on the ICW officers' faces when they responded, "It was considered". Many in the room shuddered at the realization of the extent to which they would be willing to go.
Colonel Thorson looked thoughtful for a minute and then said, "We might be able to use conventional means, that is non-nuclear, for the hideouts and fortresses. The Ministry remains an issue, because it is in the middle of London. We could not use high explosives there."
Harry mumbled loudly, "At least that would get rid of that damned statue. The thing is an absolute embarrassment. Really, it is a symbol of exactly what we are discussing as the problem."
Most of the group nodded at his assessment. The ICW witch also nodded and smiled. "I have seen it, and I agree, both from an artistic point-of-view as well as a political one. The thing is bloody ugly! If I understand correctly, it was created magically, so the wards should destroy it as well."
The people chuckled at this comment, but Luna started laughing more loudly. Neville turned towards her and asked the matter. She responded, "I just realized that Umbridge, and these so-called Children of Voldedork keep claiming and worrying that muggle-bornes are stealing their magic, and here we are, all blood status levels, planning to do it to the whole lot of them. Hermione has it exactly right."
Harry Potter nodded sadly. "Luna, you are absolutely correct. We are trying to do to them what they are planning to do to us. At the end of the day, are we any better than them? I wonder."
"From what Ron said earlier, most pure-bloods cannot imagine living without magic. Consider the way a lot of pure-bloods treat any children that turn out to be squibs. Nev, you remember how you were treated, and that was a mistake, but it still happened. I think a lot of the bad guys who lose their magic will kill themselves within a short time, either because they cannot cope themselves, or how they are treated. Not that they don't deserve it."
"The fact that the ICW has killed many bunches of them in the past, or felt they had to do so, doesn't make it any better. I can't say I disagree with this, but I also can't say I'm happy about it."
"I mean, I was raised by muggles, and I know I can live comfortably as one, if necessary. A lot of magical people can't, because we had had so little communication between the two worlds. You've all seen magicals trying to pass as muggles, dressing like it was a hundred years ago, and walking out in front of cars. The muggles study course at Hogwarts was a total joke. We are proposing to effectively these people into cripples, but in muggle society, they have supports for people with crippling injuries. Our magical society has fantastic medical healing, but no way and I must say, no intention, of helping these people. Again, they may deserve it, but it would be more merciful to just kill them all outright."
"Anyway, I am also thinking that we may have to have an extra event. I don't see how we can keep the party for the non-bigots a complete secret."
Thorson nodded. "We have found that there are some, what is the word, hedgehogs in the Ministry, who might leak the secrets".
Lavender giggled. "I think you mean 'moles'". After the room chortled, Thorson smiled and said, "Of course. Thank you for the correction, yes. Moles. The 'Children of Lord V' might try to arrive at the party, and kill the participants. We would not want this."
Hermione sighed. "In the Department of Mysteries, we have some charmed parchment, that detects the intent of the viewer. Kind of like the parchment where only the intended recipient can read it. We could make the invitations so that only someone with no evil intent can read the actual information."
Harry responded. "I still see a problem. If the non-bad-guy party is not the same time as the one at the Ministry, and if the false party is not also at the same time, someone is going to smell a rat. They're dumb, but not that dumb. And if they arrive, and there is no one there, they will just portkey away before we can activate the wards."
"Also, what about some innocents, who might be coerced, or imperiused, to leak the location of the 'good guy' party? We will need some security to prevent the bad guys from disrupting things."
"I'll tell you what. If we indicate in the invitation that I will be hosting the party, the fake one anyway, we may be able to use it as a trap. The Children of Lord V had clearly stated that they hate me and everything I stand for. If we say that I will be at the party, there is a good chance that a bunch of them will show up to try and kill me and anyone who would attend it. After all, the attendees would be the ones they want to destroy."
He paused for a moment, and then continued "Where did the Statute of Secrecy come from anyway? Was it the ICW?"
The two ICW officers nodded. "Yes, it is a policy of the ICW."
Harry continued, "Is the ICW primarily an organization of pure-bloods?" Again, they nodded.
He said, Okay, so a group of mostly pure-bloods pass a law giving themselves the authority to kill off anyone who lets out the secret that we exist. Correct?"
Ron Weasley interjected, "But the muggles were burning witches at the stake!"
Harry looked disgusted. "Ron, don't you remember? We had an essay in the summer between second and third year, showing that burning at the stake didn't work!"
Ron looked puzzled. "You expect me to remember something from a summer, years ago."
Harry shook his head. He should have known that if it didn't involve quidditch or food, Ron wouldn't remember it. However, he thought it better to not say that out loud.
He concluded, "So we have laws that says that we can wipe the memories of anyone who learns about magic, and kill them if we decide it necessary. The ICW says that any level of what they want to call collateral damage, which means dead muggles, is acceptable. If this is what we have given ourselves the permission to do, purely because we have magic, perhaps magic is not worth having!"
"I can see by your shocked looks you think I am crazy for thinking this. I said, I was raised by muggles, so to me magic is an incredible gift, a wonderful gift, but not a right to maim or murder. I recognise that these people have to be stopped, but I wonder at what cost to us ourselves."
Susan looked over to her husband, and saw a plan developing. A plan she probably wouldn't like, but certainly understood. Her husband continued, proving her right.
Harry smiled at the group and said "I will host the fake party, and I will attend it. If the bad guys show up, I will attempt to escape before the wards activate, but if I can't, so be it."
Thorson nodded. "Excellent Mr Potter. I will have a number of officers there as well, to help you fight if necessary, and to aid your escape. They will also prevent the so-called 'bad guys' from escaping as well." He did not mention that to Harry, and it was probably not needed to do so, that the bad guys would be 'caught in the course of a terrorist act', and none would be leaving alive.
Aftermath
Harry Potter was sitting in his office at the greenhouses, reading the Daily Prophet, or as he and many of his friends had thought it since Rita Skeeter's columns during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the 'Daily Bullshit, Scandal and Libel Supply'. It had been a week since the 'Culling' (as he and his associates called it) or "The Magical Disaster' as much of the magical population had dubbed it.
The paper's headline screamed 'Magical Aristocracy Obliterated!' When he read the article detailing the paper's take on the disappearance or deaths or some many prominent and respected, Harry spit his tea all over his desk. This to the amusement of his staff who had passed their copy of the rag to him (as he was not subscribing to it, as he never had).
The article read:
Our most prominent and respected persons in the country were attending a party thrown by the Ministry of Magic to celebrate our preeminent position in the magical world. Many of the attendees became violently ill and died. It was rumoured that this was due to poisons supplied by muggle terrorists, and smuggled into the event by dastardly muggle-bornes. These terrorists need to be hunted down and killed, as should all muggles who do not recognise the blessings of their magical superiors.
There is also the possibility that there was an outbreak of Centaur Plague. To prevent a recurrence of this loathsome disease, the centaur herds infesting our land must be exterminated.
Among those who died were the chief officers of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who have been protecting our world from all threats from lesser creatures. Many department heads and senior staff also succumbed to whatever disease or malfeance that happened.
At the same time as the Ministry party was taking place, several dwellings of our most respected families were maliciously destroyed, presumably by the same groups that caused the deaths of our top citizens.
Harry thought "They are making the same mistakes over again! I don't know whether I should warn them, or just let the ICW deal with it. Because they will! There is an African saying that when the elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers." I need to do something. Maybe write a letter, if they will publish it. Which they probably won't."
While he was thinking these things, Maisie came into the office and handed him a piece of parchment. It read simply 'BWL H, do nothing at the moment. It's being handled. The Unspeakable H.'
Harry hated waiting for others to look after things, but over the years he had realized that sometimes it was required. Sighing heavily, he waited until the end of the day, packed up his things and headed out to his motorcycle for the ride home. He was fond of his bike, as it was the same model as the one Sirius had owned (although it was not equipped with flight capacity as he could no longer use it).
On the way to the packing lot, he ran into Neville, who was still drying his hands after working in the dirt for most of the day. Harry wore an amulet which allowed him into the 'magical only' parts of the greenhouses, but he spent little time in the greenhouses themselves as that was Nev's turf.
"Hey, squib. How you holding up? Particularly with that crap the Prophet was spewing."
Harry paused and shook his head. "Oh Nev. Those idiots. They aren't going to know what hit them". Then he smiled. "Anyway, who you calling a squid? I still have all my tentacles! You know Nev, in my ultralight, I can still outfly you on that pathetic broom you use. Besides, Sue tells me I still have enough magic in me for her needs." The two men laughed, gave each other a brief hug, and Neville headed home.
As Harry mounted his bike, he thought about the last while, and in particular, the fake party that had indeed attracted the attention of the Children of Lord V. He had stood in the middle of the warded area, among tents and tables loaded with enough food and drink to disguise its true purpose in case someone had arrived before the main assault to reconnoitre. He fully intended to carry out his threat to lose his magic, if he was culpable for so many losing theirs.
When the attack force arrived, wearing what to Harry's eye like cheap knock-offs of the Death Eaters' regalia (apparently, their financial support system was not what their predecessors had managed), Harry indicated to the ICW officers in the distance to trigger the wards. Contrary to what they had expected, he did not disapparate out before the wards activated. Before the wards took full effect, he saw Delores Umbridge rip off her bone-white mask and grinned at Harry, expecting to watch him die by her hand as she had dreamt of for so many years. To her shock, all her health, age-delaying, and beauty charms began failing (Harry was surprised that, as ugly as she had been, she was under the spell of many beauty charms) and as she died of old age before his eyes, she looked even worse that he had remembered from their encounters at Hogwarts. Harry had to admit to himself that he got a perverse thrill for this fact. He was not entirely sure that that made him a bad person, or a good one.
As the group stood around, wondering what had happened, they looked at Harry and tried to cast killing curses. When nothing happened, a number of them tried to apparate away, also with no effect. Harry smiled and called out to them "It wasn't the mudbloods who stole your magic, it was a powerful bunch of pure-bloods who decided that you were all too naughty to allowed to keep it." With that, he walked calmly away from the area, suspecting that none of the attackers would be leaving the site alive. The ICW officers had looked rather nasty when they were setting up the ambush, and he suspected that no quarter would be given, as the Children of Lord V had never shown any such limitations.
When he arrived home on his motorcycle, Susan was waiting for him, carrying the little Athena on her hip. After kissing him hello, she said there was a letter waiting for him in his study.
The note was from Commander Kelurestli, saying that they had dealt with the member of the Wizengamot who had written the item in the Daily Prophet, and also his associates of similar opinions. She did not specify how they had been dealt with, and Harry was not sure he really wanted to know.
She also asked that he write a letter for inclusion in a soon-to-be published edition of the Daily Prophet, to go along with an ICW rebuttal of the previous rant. She also asked that his letter expressed just his own view, and not to feel restricted by the ICW's position on the matters.
A couple days later, the Daily Prophet had a notice from the London Office of the International Confederation of Wizards:
From the London Office
International Confederation of Wizardry
Office of Investigations and Enforcement
A few days ago, in this paper, there was an article blaming the recent extermination of a large number of the British wizarding society's so-called 'aristocracy' on various magical beings and non-magical humans, rather than on their own actions. This article was false, and the exterminations were carried out by agents of the ICW's Office of Investigations and Enforcement. The reason for these terminations was that the British Ministry of Magic has proved itself unable, or unwilling, to stop the flagrant violations of the International Stature of Secrecy. Instead of stopping the violations, ministry operatives would obliviate the victims and blame others, rather than stop the groups committing them, in a large part because these violations were in service to maintaining the aristocracy's hold on power within the magical world. This situation has gone on for over eighty years, from the era of Grindelwald, through the two Voldemort wars, and recently under the terrorism of the Children of Lord V.
Through consultation with some of the British wizarding world, as well as some who the wizarding aristocracy have driven from the magical world through their policies of favoritism in hiring, promotion and other practices, the ICW decided to declared an Enforcement Order. In the past, this has called for the obliteration of the entire wizarding population of an area, and in some cases the complete extermination of the population of an area, both magical and muggle, human and non-human. In this case, our Office, which was tasked with implementing this enforcement order, agreed that given the scale of such an extermination would itself be a violation of the Statute, and a more precise (or what the muggles would call surgical) approach was required. This was carried out.
The authors of the article in the recent edition of the Daily Prophet were investigated. In spite of their claims that they were only using tactics which had proved useful to maintain the authority of others with whom they had no connections, they were found to have always voted in the Wizengamot supporting the so-called Pure-blood agenda. Whether this was done because of coercion, bribery or their own bigotry is now irrelevant.
The ICW has declared that Great Britain will now be under a fifty-year monitoring, and if necessary, further actions will be taken.
Signed:
Commander B. Kelurestli
Colonel S Thorson
Following this statement was a note from the Ministry of Magic itself.
To the British Wizards and Witches, Greetings
I am delighted to announce some changes in our society. With help from the International Confederation of Wizardry (ICW) and some magic-aware people in the muggle world, we have regained control over our world.
As of today, we are changing the policies for recruiting and promotions within the Ministry. Employment and advancement will be based on qualifications, performance and abilities, and not on family connections or bribery from those family connections. Blood status will play no part in these processes. These are major changes from the way the Ministry has operated for most of the last century.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE) will have its staff increased, and all aurors will be trained in both lethal and non-lethal spells. No longer will aurors we sent out to confront miscreants who use lethal methods be handicapped by Ministry policies. Too many of friends and colleagues went to their deaths because of this rule. Further, standing patrols will be in place in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, so there will no longer be any delay between the commission of crimes and aurors' responses.
I and the rest of the Ministry intend to try improve our relationship with other magical beings. We plan to send representatives to the Goblins, the centaurs, the merfolk and others to alleviate centuries of hostility. For humans afflicted with lycanthropy through no fault of them own, which is most of them, Wolfbane potion will now be available to them at cost as part of a ministry health initiative.
My last point has to do with the lawmaking branch of our society. From this time, all vacant seats in the Wizengamot will be filled by popular election only. A general election for these seats, and for my own position, will be held two months from today. All hereditary seats in the Wizengamot which are currently vacant are now abolished, as these families are no longer in a position to fill them.
I trust that these changes will allow our world to be a more equitable and positive place. I look forward to it being a place I am happy and proud to live in.
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister of Magic
Following this 'official' statement, there was a note from Harry Potter.
By now, I am sure most of you may have figured out the so-called aristocracy of the British wizarding world have been exterminated by the ICW. Not quite true. Some were, but most just had their ability to do magic taken from them. For many of them, suddenly becoming muggles, which they despised more that anything else in the world including Goblins and house elves, led them to them kill themselves or else their families did it out of shame.
Good riddance!
Most of the upper-crust pure-bloods supported Voldemort of Grindelwald or the Children of Lord V, either financially or through their attitude that they were the crown of creation, and that gave them the right to abuse torture or killed what they considered lesser beings. In this way, they supported the massacre of many in the wizarding community, and drove more than half of British wizards and witches out of the country or into the muggle world. On top of that, they backed the ones who murdered my parents and have been trying to kill me for most of my life.
In spite of my distrust of the British magical society as I came to be part of it, I was excited at being a wizard. I loved magic and its possibilities. I just didn't like a lot of the people I met there.
However, when I was involved in the meetings which discussed what the ICW was planning, I could not see that this plan, although justified, was much better that what had gone before. Yes, it was much more limited, and was addressed to those who had made a good part of my life hell, but I disliked being part of it.
Many of you know that I was raised by muggles who hated magic, and so learned to be comfortable in the non-magical (you would say 'muggle') world. Even those I respected used this derisive term, seeming to indicate that they thought that the non-magical were not really people with full human rights, and that being magical was just inherently 'better'. Even many I like showed this prejudice.
Were you aware that when Voldemort's Death Eaters attacked, no one and I mean no one, defended themselves? In one raid, four Death Eaters arrived in Diagon Alley to attack a crowd of fifty wizards and witches, and killed twenty before fleeing – not one of these even drew their wands to try protect themselves, and none of the Death Eaters even got a scatch. The Goblins I know are a warrior people, and to them, not teaching their children to defend themselves is considered child abuse. Goblins are a proud people, and if you show them respect, they will respect you back – you should try it sometime.
Knowing the ICW plan to catch and eliminate the 'bad guys', and knowing how much most of them had been taught to hate me above all others, I decided to serve as bait in one of their traps. As such, I also lost my magical abilities.
I know that this means many in the British magical community will shun me as unworthy of their consideration. For most of these, too bad, because I didn't like you much either. For my friends who cannot accept this fact, I am saddened, but there is little you or I can do about it now, and if you cannot deal with it, that's just too bad.
For many years, the wizarding public would alternately malign me, or call me their saviour, expecting me to 'do my duty' to protect them from Voldemort and his minions. I took no oaths to protect them, and I refuse to accept commitments I did not agree to and that others seem to want me to take up on their benefit. They have no right to impose obligations on others that they did not agree to voluntarily – when I was fourteen, I was bound to a magical contract I had not agreed to, and it is not going to happen again! I do not recognise any such 'duty' to protect them when they will do nothing to protect themselves.
As I have no magic anymore, don't expect me to show up and do what you are not willing to do for yourselves. I won't be coming. I will live my life my way, and you will need to do the same.
Harry J. Potter
The Boy Who Lived
The Man Who Conquered
The Wizard That Was.
After Aftermath
For many years after what came to be known as The Cleansing of Britain, Harry Potter and his family lived contented lives. His horticulture business thrived, and the family prospered. The British magical world prospered, as might be expected without 1 percent of the population hoarding 99 percent of the wealth.
Harry had a wide range of friends in both the magical and muggle worlds, and when his daughter Athena married Oliver Hornby's grandson Olivier, the celebrations took place in both societies.
Ron Weasley had trouble accepting Harry's status for a long time, but after many years, there was a cooling of the hostility with his old friend.
Harry never showed any regret for his change of status, for the rest of his long life. However, one day in his 113th year, his wife and their great-granddaughter Lily (named for her grandmother and her great-great grandmother, and amply supplied with red hair) went out to the field where generations of Potters and their friends had played Quidditch under Harry's watchful eyes, to find his body lying beside his garden chair. He was holding his old Firebolt to his chest, and there were tear-tracks under his eyes.