After Midnight
Prologue: June 8th, 2030; 18:00
The rush home from work always made this one of the busiest times of day within London; that and the morning rush made commuting a complete nightmare. People were jammed everywhere—in their cars on the motorway, trudging up and down the sidewalks, and filling every single space on the tube. It was organized chaos that ebbed and flowed daily all around them, yet very few people commented on it beyond to complain about the lack of space they seemed to have each time they boarded a full train. There was always noise and traffic as the day ended and, finally, when all was finished the streets were quiet again as another day ended. Of course, what the muggle world didn't know this evening that their world may have tucked in but another was just starting.
From her window, Mona Spinks could watch the muggle world settle in for the evening as she was just starting. She stifled a yawn with one hand, aware that she had a long night ahead of her. Leaning against the table, she reached out, tapping the tip of her wand against the kettle, pleased to see steam rising from it and a shrill whistle filling the space of the small room. Cups and saucers were already laid in place as she made quick work of pouring hot water into each of the alabaster cups, tea bags floating to the top and staining the water a murky brown. It was a tedious job, but someone had to do it and Mona knew if she stayed at her desk for much longer she would drift off into sleep. That was something the Minister didn't look too kindly upon, even though the work he gave his secretary was minimal (and sometimes Mona thought her job was simply a glorified tea girl).
A little milk, one sugar for the first cup, just milk in another, a little sugar in the next, and the final cup straight black. Using a balancing charm, she left the tea room quickly, her brisk pace echoing against the walls of the old building. They had relocated a few years back into central London, having once resided in an old warehouse district in Chelsea before. The location here wasn't always ideal, considering their charms and protective spells had to be thicker and stronger than before but the location also meant that they were in the hub of London, straight in the heart where they could see things from all around them. The Minister seemed pleased enough with the new offices when elected though Mona knew he only put up with the location due to the view his office had. They could see straight across the River Thames from his office and look upon the city of Westminster with ease. He would stand there often during the day, sometimes pausing when the clock struck each hour, listening to the bells. To be quite honest, Mona found it a little strange that he took such joy in something so muggle when it was common knowledge that the Minister despised anything muggle.
Minister Abraxas Yaxley hadn't been the obvious choice when he first ran for office five years ago. The candidate that had won was the incumbent, Ernest Macmillan, though it had definitely placed Yaxley on the map and into the public eye of the Wizarding World. He was young, good looking, charmed the reporters, and had a plan, which was more than the current Minister could say. Yet, when the votes had been tallied the first time around, the two men had shaken hands and Yaxley had humbly bowed out. Of course, he didn't simply retreat away from the spotlight that he had found during his campaigning; if anything, he relished in it, enjoying the attention and building up public support for the next campaign.
With the tray balancing in the air, Mona rapped her fist against the wooden door, waiting until she heard a faint call to come inside. "I brought tea for everyone, just as you like it," She said in a brisk to0ne as she passed the cups and saucers around. The Minister gave Mona a light smile before turning his attention back to the three men who sat in chairs before his desk. They were all faces Mona had seen before, silently placing names to them as she handed out cups to each. Bernard Pucey (one milk and one sugar), Robert Smith (one sugar) and Xerxes Zabini (straight black). Each were what Mona could consider business associates with the Minister; they each had their own jobs but something always brought them back to these chairs before Yaxley's desk.
"That will be all, Mona," Yaxley said in a cold tone and Mona took that moment to quietly leave the room. She grasped the handle as their voices began speaking at once, all discussing something that Mona couldn't hear, yet she knew better than the close the door all the way. She closed it enough, leaving it cracked slightly, making her way back to her desk. Seated in the old arm chair, she opened the top drawer, finding the fleshy coloured strings that had become her nearest and dearest friend in the past few months—extendable ears.
There were certain things that the Minister didn't know; one of the key ones being that his secretary had been spying on him from day one in office. It hadn't been easy securing the job within the Ministry, especially this high up, but she had managed it somehow. She had become the eyes and the ears of the New Order in the Ministry since so few of them could work so openly in their world. Things had changed drastically since the end of the second war, most for the good. It had lasted for quite some time as the government changed and the people slowly began to heal the scars that countless years of war had left upon them. There was a bright hope, a future they could look forward too, and things were looking up. Of course, not everything lasted and the entrance of a shadowy group in society had been the start of the end.
The Serpentine rose up like a dark shadow roughly ten years ago. It started slowly with protests out in the world where anyone could see, calling for a change within the system. The claimed it had failed them the most, the ones who had needed it, but very few people paid attention to them. It was the working class they gathered with street protests and violence rising unexpectedly overnight it seemed. They grabbed hold of the people with a choke hold and it was only after a surprise election landslide that the real culprits behind it—the elite of society that had been washed out after the end of the Dark Lord—came forth and revealed themselves. Abraxas Yaxley had come into power with a swift and sure force that few would knock down. With the Ministry failing to keep the people in line, Yaxley offered what they could not and won the votes of any who wanted peace. But it became evident after a year in office that peace was the last thing on his mind.
The dictatorship was one gained through bloodshed of the cabinet members in the Ministry and, when it was finished, a new government had stepped into power, one that wanted supreme control over everything. There were curfews, stifling of public opinion, and complete power was given to those whom the Minister deemed worthy of it. And, like they had done before, the Order of the Phoenix rose from the ashes to defend their world.
Everything was crumbling, but tonight, Mona thought as she sat, poised, listening intently at what was going on inside the office, tonight they might stand a chance. She'd been listening in as plans were laid. For weeks now she'd slipped beneath the radar as someone rudimentarily good at magic but not to be treated as anyone of consequence.
"A perfect evening," Smith's voice was the only one out of the lot of them that Mona thought had at least a little warmth to it. Or, at least, he had once been a warm man. "Have there been any issues so far?"
"None, thankfully," Yaxley, ever calm, paused to take a sip from his cup. Despite being so dignified out in the world, his slurping gave him away. "We've begun to gather everyone. They're set to move later this evening."
"Do you honestly think they'll let us go through with this without a fight?" Zabini's low voice resonated throughout the small space. Somewhere Mona could hear fingers tapping against one of the chairs. There was no denying who he meant when he said 'others'. Yaxley didn't like hearing the word Order, especially when it was used in conjunction with everything he stood to demolish. Mona braced herself, never quite sure when Yaxley's temper would rear its ugly head in conversations. Instead he was laughing, an unfeeling, harsh sound that made her wince.
"They won't be an issue much longer. I know exactly where they're located." Mona drew a sharp breath, eyes wide as the world began to spin in front of her. Melin's beard, how could she have missed that little piece of information? She was panicking; if he knew where they were, he could come after them easily. They needed to be warned, they needed a fair chance to defend themselves if Yaxley planned to send people after the last remaining bits of the Order.
"Everything should go off without a hitch," The Minister continued, smugness all but dripping from his tone. "After midnight, our world shall be made new."
Mona had heard enough. She gave her ear a sharp tug, watching the extendable ear retract back into her palm as she tried to swallow against her racing heart and the lump in her throat. He knew, she thought, oh Merlin he knew something and it was up to her to warn them. They knew this was coming, they'd been preparing to break out from the forces that kept them in place, but they weren't prepared for a surprise attack against them. Carefully she pushed herself away from her desk, sliding out of her shoes so as not to make any noise as she all but dashed away from the Minister's office.
Late evening sunlight cast shadows along the walls of the empty rows of desks that were settled on this floor. Twisting her head over her shoulder, shooting a nervous glance back to where she had come, Mona finally paused as, breathlessly, she muttered the incantation. Her wand was alight with silver as the familiar form of her patronus (a heron) came to life before her. The silver light pushed the shadows into the farthest corners of the room and Mona momentarily breathed a sigh of relief.
"Quick," She whispered as she kept her wand pointed at the silvery apparition. "This is Mona. They're coming. They've got plans. They're forming and there's nothing I can do to stop them. He says he knows where you are. Dover's not safe and-" The message was stored away in the patronus as Mona heard footsteps behind her. There was no time to for more as she hissed one final incantation, sending it vanishing as the room was ushered unceremoniously back into darkness again. Her body whipped around to face them, taking in a sharp breath as she found a wand level with her chest.
"Mona," Yaxley murmured, his cold eyes boring into hers. "And here I thought you were better than this." There was no mercy, no second chances as he glared down at her. "Well, it's a shame." The words were spoken with a cold harshness, green light shattering the calm around them. Her body fell to the floor, expression glazed in place, eyes staring ahead at the terror that had been her ultimate demise.
"Do you think we have anything to worry about?" Smith sounded worried. Yaxley snorted.
"No, don't be ridiculous," He stared down at the lifeless body and felt very little remorse for what had happened. "Now we know exactly where they are, don't we?" A laugh fell from his lips, though it held no real humour to it. "Well, we'll have to see about this Order."
The fight had begun and the clock finished chiming outside. London was settling down for the evening. But, for the men inside that room, it had only begun.
