Of Diligo Quod Bellum

Author: Amazing Cougar (amazing_cougar@yahoo.co.uk)

Rating ~ R, Dark things to come

Category ~ Dean/Hannah, Seamus/Parvati, Neville/Lavender, Ron/Hermione, Draco/Ginny and many, many others....(Hey, it's us!)

Disclaimer: We own nothing - everything bar the plot belongs to JKR.

Summary: When the Ministry of Magic falls under the control of Death Eaters it heralds the beginning of a dark new era where Muggle borns are forcefully expelled from the wizarding world or killed. As this darkness grows, the future rests on the efforts of the Resistance scattered throughout the Muggle and the wizarding world.

Author's Notes: Well would you look at that, Gracie (Amazing Gracie) and Marianne (Sunnycouger) wrote a fic! Or, to be more precise, are writing one. Together. This is our little baby so any FB is greatly appreciated

Prologue - The End of the Beginning

Hannah Abbot was trying to think of a way to fall asleep discreetly. She briefly considered a silencing charm so that if she snored the person sitting next to her, who happened to be Ernie McMillan, would not be alarmed by the sudden noise. However, she soon dismissed this notion because she knew that the second she closed her eyes her parents, who were sat three rows behind her, would notice her lack of attention and probably fire a less that subtle hex her way to wake her up so she wouldn't miss 'such an important event'.

The event in question was her graduation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary and try as she might to pretend otherwise, she couldn't seem to escape the finality of the occasion. The four school houses were sat in four different sections of the main hall, which had been decorated with banners of the school crest and there was a distinct feeling that everyone was on their best behaviour. Gone were the boos when either Gryffindor or Slytherin were mentioned by the teachers, gone were the catcalls and sing songs aimed at the more prominent members of the 'elite' houses. No, she noticed as she sat and tried to waken up, everyone seemed to be trying to impress their parents and make it seem like the school was one big family. Of course anyone who had ever been a pupil at Hogwarts would see through this facade right away but the Muggles would probably be happier if they didn't know the politics that went on in the school.

The Gryffindors were quite naturally sat at the front of the hall, right below the place that Professor McGonagall was stood making a speech about what a 'wonderful' year group they had been. Right beside them were the 'next best thing' - the Slytherins. They would never have chosen to sit shoulder to shoulder with the Gryffindors yet there they were - the two most important houses in the school. One that had spawned He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the other who spawned The Boy Who Lived. Thinking about it, she couldn't really think of anyone of great importance who had come from Ravenclaw (who were seated behind the Slytherins) or even from her own house, sat behind the Gryffindors. That lack of fame was probably why they were relegated to the second division of importance in the school. A house probably had to produce a wizard of great note to be taken seriously and the best chance that Hufflepuff had ever had was Cedric Diggory, who had died before he had come close to reaching his potential. He hadn't even got to sit here and listen to an overly long graduation speech; he had been murdered before he could.

She sighed and shook her head - now wasn't the appropriate time to think of the past. Now she had to concentrate on the future, and all it held, but more importantly staying awake. She titled her head to the left slightly so she could see the back of her boyfriend, Dean Thomas's head. Really, it was all Dean's fault she was this tired. The night previously they had received their NEWT exam results and as Dean, herself, and their friends Lavender Brown, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Parvati Patil had all passed with varying degrees of success, they had decided to celebrate in Hogsmeade. This had, in theory, been a very good plan for them to go out and blow off some steam and relax on their own before they would go out again with the rest of the year after the ceremony. But, like all good plans it had changed and the intended 'little, quick celebration' had very quickly turned into a large, long celebration which lasted until very late in the morning. Very late. By rights, Hannah thought, she should have still been in bed at nine a clock, not sitting in the Great hall trying to concentrate on her Graduation.

Of course, she reasoned somewhat feebly, this was supposedly one of the most important days of her life. Her parents had always said that apart from her wedding day and giving birth, the most treasured memory she would have would be the day she graduated as a fully qualified wizard. Arguing about it had been somewhat futile, especially when saying that you didn't think anything would be able to beat meeting Viktor Krum and Oliver Wood and you had done that already. They would only reply with 'you'll see what we mean one day. Just think what the poor Muggles get when they finish school - nothing. But you can learn how to apparate and do proper magic. You will remember this day forever.' She hadn't really believed them as a fifteen year old and as she sat here, three years later while willing her eyes to stay open, she had to say that she couldn't imagine remembering much of this. But, it was important to her parents so maybe it wasn't wise to sleep through it. After all, in ten years they would ask, "Weren't we right all along about the Graduation? Do you remember how wonderful it was, dear?" They wouldn't exactly be happy to hear her say, "Well, not really, I was asleep for most of it. I had a really good time the night before though."

No, that wouldn't go down well at all, she decided. She looked over and tried to concentrate on McGonagall's speech - but as it kept going, and going, and going, she realised that the voice was drifting further and further away. She shook her head quickly and sat up - since when had it been customary to have an hour long intro? Couldn't they just thank them, say well done and then let them graduate? Dumbledore hadn't even spoken yet - so it still had a while to go. She stifled a yawn as she decided to have a final look at the people she had been spent the majority of her time with over the past seven years, her fellow students. The four houses weren't that hard to tell apart anymore, most of the students were friendly with each other and liked to intermix. Well, apart from the Slytherins, who still very much kept themselves to themselves, thinking that they were by far superior than the rest of the school.

Her friendships with pupils from the other houses was something that she was particulary proud of herself for - it had taken a while to happen right enough but when had, it had felt right straight away. Her very best friends were in Gryffindor, not Hufflepuff and, although she was still good friends with Justin - who she had spent a lot of time with since the weirdness with Ernie had started, as well as the girls in her dormitory; she still spent far more time with Lavender, Neville, Seamus, Parvati and her boyfriend Dean. She didn't really get on that well with Ernie anymore - which had been hard. When you are best friends with someone for six years and it ends it hurts a lot. She turned to look at Ernie who seemed desperate to look interested in what McGonagall was saying and smiled sadly. Yes, it had been hard but in the end it had worked out for the best. She had lost one friend and gained five. The definitive silver lining on the cloud of the friendship ending.

She still wasn't entirely sure about what had happened with him - it was one of those situations when the whole thing seemed to come from nothing and as hard as she had tried to she couldn't really explain it. It had happened in their sixth year just before the Summer Ball. Ernie had wanted the two to go together and Hannah hadn't wanted to ruin their friendship by muddying the waters with a relationship. He hadn't taken it well and they hadn't spoken for four weeks. In these four weeks Hannah's life had changed significantly.

For starters she got her first real boyfriend ever.

She felt herself smile as she looked towards Dean who was whispering to Seamus and Harry about something. Who would have thought it? How could the clumsy, quiet Hufflepuff and the tall, boisterous Gryffindor work? Yet it did - somehow, miraculously. He had asked her to the dance just when she was about to go with Ernie just to get him to talk to her again. She hadn't expected to be asked, he hadn't expected her to say yes and that started the whole wonderful thing. She owed Ernie thanks for that - if it hadn't been him then she wouldn't be this person. She wouldn't be this happy.

She shook her head and turned away from Dean - as much as she wanted to there was no point spending time looking at him. She would see him plenty in the future after all. No, it was the others she would have to remember. People she didn't really know, people she would have liked to know better and people she wouldn't. She wondered what they would all do with their lives now?

There were the 'usual suspects' of course - the people who were just so obviously going to do a certain thing. Harry Potter was obviously going to be an Auror - probably not by choice but choice and Harry just didn't seem to go hand in hand. Hannah sighed as she looked at the black haired boy, laughing but trying to hide it as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. She couldn't imagine having his life - she didn't want to imagine having his life. The thought of having so many people depending on you, having someone else's life in your hands and not having a choice you could make yourself. She knew that he wanted to play Quidditch, she knew that Oliver Wood was desperate to get him to play for the Magpies. She knew that he would be happier than ever before if he could do that. But, she also knew that he wasn't going to do it because Harry Potter didn't get to be like that. Harry Potter got to be a saviour and saviours were Aurors and that's what he was going to be - no matter what else he wanted.

He wasn't the only person going that way though - Hermione Granger, sat looking sternly at the boys as she tried to keep the smile off her lips, was also going to join the Ministry. Hannah wasn't sure what branch Hermione was going to work in, but Dean had said that she had already been accepted and would start work a few weeks after school finished. Hermione was definitely Ministry material and would probably be promoted up the ladder quicker than anyone who had come before her and be running the place in a few years.

Ron Weasley was probably going to work there as well for one reason...well, two reasons. He would work there because Harry and Hermione worked there and he probably figured he would be able to keep them safe. She felt herself smile as Ron reached over and whispered something in Hermione's ear which caused her to smile and blush at the same time as she turned her head to look directly at the stage as Ron gave a sign to the boys sitting beside him.

The other obvious candidates though weren't Gryffindors. She turned her head to look at the Slytherins who were sat in an almost rigid fashion. Where was the laughing and smiling? Non-existent apparently - maybe the occasion wasn't as hopeful or exciting for them. Maybe they didn't have the same future choices that the rest of the school had. In this house there were a couple of people who had a 'career' all lined up and none more so than the blonde haired boy at the front of the stage. Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy - Death Eater, Dark Wizard, Sociopath, Xenophobe, Elitist...the list went on and on. And everything Lucius Malfoy was, no doubt Draco Malfoy would one day be. She looked as Draco turned and looked at his father and mother. She half hoped that he would smile, or laugh, or acknowledge some sort of natural emotion that a day like today warranted but, as he saw his parents, he simply turned back around. His expression didn't change at all. Typical Malfoy - seven years and the only times he had been happy had been at someone else's expense. She doubted he was capable of emotions, much like his father.

The other contenders in Slytherin were Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Pansy, naturally nasty to anyone who wasn't one of her own was a natural to go into the Ministry in some capacity. Her mother was a minister for something and it seemed natural that Pansy would go and join her. Hannah looked at Pansy intently. It was no secret that of all the Slytherins, it had been Pansy that had scared her the most. She had always hated walking past her because although she would never attack you physically, mentally she knew how to press the right buttons. How many times had Hannah, or one of the other students, been in tears because of persistent taunting? But, despite this, there had always been a nagging doubt in her mind about what Pansy was like. She seemed to genuinely care about her friends and her house mates so she couldn't be completely evil. No, as strange as it seemed, Pansy had a semblance of a heart hidden somewhere like the rest of her family. Close, but not truly evil. As Dark families went the Parkinson's were pretty low on the ladder. Unlike the Zabini's.

She turned her head to look at the dark haired boy. She had to confess if she hadn't been aware of what the Zabini's were like, she would have found Blaise attractive. His dark hair, his blue eyes, his charming almost friendly manner, his ability to seem, even for a Slytherin somewhat likeable were all very different from what other people expected from his house. But she knew what his family were like - she knew what they did. And although it had never been proven, she knew how dangerous and cruel they could be. Experts in their field of planning and 'persuasion' for generations - each generation of Zabini had been more creative and worse than the previous. No, the Zabini's were at the top of the ladder below only You-Know-Who and the Malfoy's and that made the prospect of him and Malfoy graduating at the same time a scary one. Blaise Zabini would join his family's business and he would do the job well.

She heard clapping and looked up from the Slytherins to see McGonagall leave the stage so she began clapping herself. Finally, they could get this show on the road. She turned back to look at the Gryffindors who seemed to be fighting against dissolving into fits of giggles as they looked at Dumbledore who was looking at them all with a mixture of pride and sadness.

"I promise you I shall be brief before we start with the festivities as I am sure Professor McGonagall has probably said everything important and more in her...'long'...farewell speech. It is customary for us, as teachers, to bore you all half to death before we let you graduate - so you will have to excuse me," Dumbledore said to the laughing assembly before continuing. "An occasion such as today is always a hard one for a headmaster and the staff who have grown to know you all over the seven years you've been here. We've done our best to create talented and capable wizards in all fields be it the more traditional magic aspects, the more recent developments in magic or the scientific disciplines. Some of you excel at Transfiguration, others Potions and," he said with a smile towards Neville. "A few of you have become skilled in the great fields of Herbology, Charms or Divination. Everyone in this room has learned all that we can teach you. Because of this we should, as teachers, be glad of getting rid of you. Yet I have always found that this occasion is a sad one and this year it is no exception. In fact this year I'm afraid I'm finding it especially hard to let my students go out in the world on their own when I can't be sure of their safety."

He looked almost old, She found herself wondering how the most powerful Wizard and her hero had got so, well, frail It seemed almost wrong that such a man should grow old Hannah thought as he took a moment to look around the students before continuing. "It is hard because the world you are entering is a dangerous one that is becoming more and more hazardous with every passing minute. Yet, despite this danger you all must go out into the world and shape your own future because time will not stand still until the world is safe. Life will go on and you must live it. Now, some of you may have your future apparently drawn out for you already - that you have no choice in what happens next," he said as he looked at Harry and then towards the Slytherins and Draco. "For those of you who feel that this is the case, I have this advice - trust in yourself. Do not trust in what you hear from others and do not trust others blindly. Those who follow another person's path are libel to fall down the same holes that they have in the past and make their mistakes. No one who is worth following will expect blind obedience so trust your own instincts and you will never go wrong. Others," he said as he looked towards the Ravenclaws. "You may have a dream to just live a happy life - do that but live it well, don't take that happiness from the suffering of others. Enjoy your life but let others do the same. For some," he said as he looked directly at her briefly with a smile before turning to the assembly again. "You may not believe that your lives will make much difference in this world - you are wrong. Everyone in this room has the chance of achieving greatness and I believe that many of you will. I have faith in my students - I have faith in you. Go on and be great - and if you cannot be great, be good - for our world will need both."

Hannah applauded with the entire class as the students all stood and applauded their headmaster for the final time. That was it - the final speech that Dumbledore would ever give them and it had been sad, and depressing and, thinking about what he had said at the end after he had looked at her, confusing as hell.

****

Albus Dumbledore stood in a room just beside the Great Hall where he could hear the laughter and cheering of the students as they celebrated with their families and friends. He walked to the door and looked out at his newly graduated students - so young. So young to face what would come next and he still wasn't sure if they were ready. So much rested on so few and they hadn't the benefit of life experience to judge. He looked over to see them all dance and laugh and smile - even Harry. The boy who would save the world one day not so long from now. He shook his head and closed the door as he walked over towards the fireplace.

"You are getting old and nostalgic, Albus - this happens every year," he said to himself as he sat down. It did indeed happen every year but this year had a very important difference. At no other point in his history at Hogwarts had he watched the potential saviour and the potential destroyers of the wizarding world graduate at the same time. Watch them celebrate so very close to each other. He reached over to the table and pulled over a small tray of silver dust and began tracing his wand in it causing it to turn into a fine mist building. He looked at the building he had created and shook his head - it was so soon for them to face what would come.

"You know, some people would think that you weren't happy, Albus." He turned his head to see Remus Lupin standing at the door. "I've been sent with very set instructions to extract you from your hiding place so the kids can see you before they go off down to Hogsmeade."

"Away to sample the local hospitality for a final time - oh to be a century younger to join them."

"I believe Severus said he was going and I thought Harry was going to collapse in shock not realising that it was sarcasm. Who would have thought that he would be graduating already - if only James could see him now." Remus said wistfully.

"Yes, James would have been proud - his son has turned into a fine young man."

Remus smiled proudly. "There was never any doubt of that - I swear I think Sirius is just about bursting with pride today."

"And so he should be. But, I worry, Remus...I worry that we expect too much from him."

Remus shook his head as he looked out the door. "I don't expect anything apart from him living a nice happy life..."

"I wish it were that simple," Albus said with a sigh as he stood from his chair. "But unfortunately the future is rarely that kind."

Remus had turned to look at him when there was a flash at the fireplace and a wizard fell out of the flames. "Albus! Albus!"

He turned around and Remus ran over beside the wizard, his wand raised. "Diggory?"

"Amos, what's wrong?" Albus asked as he knelt down beside the wizard. "What happened?"

"It's happened. It's all gone. They're dead...it's finished," Amos said as tears fell from his eyes and streaked down his face. "All of them...just...just gone. We didn't stand a chance..."

"What's he talking about, Albus?" Remus said as he knelt down. "Who's gone, Amos?"

Amos reached over and grabbed Dumbledore's hand. "They will take him! The others are safe just now but they will take him! It's all over..."

"What is he saying?" Remus asked as the man on the floor began to cry. "I don't understand!"

Dumbledore stood and walked over to the tray of sand where the mist figure still hovered. It was too soon. He had expected it but not so soon. Damn them. "The Ministry - the upper circle of the Ministry has fallen to the Death Eaters as well as some Aurors I suspect..."

"What?!" Remus asked as he stood up. "No, it can't have...it..."

Albus looked at the smoke figure again as a skull emerged from the top of it - the Dark Mark that was now over the top of the Ministry. "It has begun. They pounced when all our energies were on making today safe - the eyes of the wizarding world were here while Voldemort's were where they had always been - on an opportunity for power. And because of it the war has begun." He closed his eyes and brought his wand down hard on the tray of sand, dispersing the building with a clatter as he looked towards the door. "It has begun"

TBC