(A/N: We're heading towards the big finish. :)
Chapter 10 - The End of Normal
(Sat, Jun 21)
The next morning, an owl landed in front of a Ginny with a letter. Opening it, she saw her guardianship form signed. A quick check showed no charms on it. There was also a very short note saying, "We're ready for a holiday" - just that single statement.
"What are you doing?" Hermione asked and Ron looked at her just as curiously.
"It's a letter from the twins so I'm trying to be safe now rather than sorry later," she lied as she put her wand and the parchments away.
Ron nodded in understanding and Hermione returned to her notes, revising for her last couple of tests for sixth year on Monday.
— — —
At noon, Harry hugged and kissed Fleur as they stood on the deck of the large ship again. It was the same one they'd used in Greece for the testing. Officially, it was a small merchant ship delivering archeological artifacts to a university, or so the British naval authorities thought.
"Be safe my love," Fleur told him, holding him tightly.
"Don't worry, I'll come back to you," he told her, mustering as much confidence as he could. "We have all trained very hard for this; you know that."
"That won't stop me worrying about you. You will be fighting that monster and I will not be there to help. I know we trained hard, but what if something we didn't think about happened? I just wish there was some other way," she reminded him.
"You know it must be only me to draw him out." He kissed her gently.
"I know, but I don't like it." She smiled ever so slightly for the first time in the conversation. "You must come back because I have a Stamina potion for you tonight and I promise to wear you out even with that."
Harry chuckled at her bribe and kissed her hard. "That is motivation to make me come back as soon as I can."
"You better." She kissed him hard one last time before finally loosening her grip. "I love you."
"I love you more," he told her gently as he stepped back and blew her a kiss. "Captain, are you ready?" he called out as he turned from her and saw the rest of his group standing there and grinning at him.
"Waiting on you, Sir," Captain Hammerstein told him in a friendly manner. "In fact, if you need a moment more, I'm sure the boys won't mind. We have a pleasant view of the water and coastline to look at while we wait."
Harry had no doubt what the smiling men didn't mind looking at despite the man's wave towards the barely visible coast. "I'm afraid your view has other things to do, as do we." He pulled out a rope and held it out to the five Squibs: a captain, two sergeants, and two corporals, all from various armies that helped the ICW when requested.
"Good luck, Herr Potter!"
Harry nodded at the head researcher as he picked up the backpack he had to carry. "Thank you, Herr Braun. I'll see you this evening and hopefully because we're done and not because we have to reschedule."
"I hope so too." Braun nodded and left.
Looking at Fleur one last time as she watched him while obviously trying to hold her emotions in, he pulled out his wand and activated the Portkey. A few seconds later, they landed in a forest. One of the corporals pulled out a compass and looked at it for a moment before he started leading the group of six, all dressed in camouflage gear. Each had something on his back to carry for the mission.
The two mile walk lasted almost an hour. The forest wasn't overly thick, but it was slower walking than a stroll down a road. The lead stopped them when they reached the pre-selected position that had been scouted the day before. They were barely on the backside of a small hill that allowed them to see where the action would take place soon.
While Harry helped the captain set up their little site to be more comfortable, the other four, in two teams, one sergeant and one corporal for each team, found a good tree and made a little nest in each before coming back down. Harry had been careful not to use any magic the entire time.
"Sir," the Captain said to him, "before we rest during our wait, the boys and I thought you should have this little gift."
Harry took the little pin with a brass circle and what looked like an engraved little crown on it. "What is it?"
The Captain picked it back up out of his hand now that Harry had seen it and moved to pin it to his shirt. "This is a little something I picked up from a shop. It's not real; but well, we wanted you to know that we've liked working with you over the last two weeks during our training and we've decided to make you an honorary Third Lieutenant."
"I've never heard of a Third Lieutenant," Harry said as he looked down at the insignia on his shirt now.
"That's because it's only honorary," the Captain replied with a grin. "Get a good rest, Lieutenant, we want you to be at the top of your game this evening. Don't worry, the corporals and I will hold down the fort while you three rest." He patted the pistol on his hip.
Harry looked at each and very seriously said, "Thank you. It's been my honor and pleasure to serve with you. If we had drinks, I'd make a toast to you."
"You're welcome to buy them for us when we get back," one of the sergeants quipped, causing the others to laugh quietly and say, "Hear, hear!"
"Right, when we're done, the drinks are on me tomorrow," Harry told them, causing a quiet cheer.
The moment of levity over, Harry and the two sergeants walked over to the camouflaged tarp tied a yard off the ground between some trees to lie down to rest as best they could until needed.
— — —
Harry was surprised to be woken up, considering how much trouble he'd had going to sleep.
"It's time, sir," the captain told him. "I believe you also promised a hot meal?"
"Thanks and I did," Harry said as he saw the two sergeants waking up as well. "Dobby?" he called softly.
With a pop, the house-elf popped in with a picnic basket that was almost as large as he was. "Dobby is here for Master Harry."
"Thank you for the food, Dobby." Harry took the large basket and set it down. Looking very carefully at the elf, he asked, "Are you still sure you can do this and not get caught?"
"Dobby is very sure," the elf said confidently with his ears flapping slightly as he nodded.
"Very well, go on and report back here as soon as you can. Remember, your safety and secrecy is more important than getting the information," Harry commanded him.
"Dobby will be very careful and secret." With a quiet pop, the elf left.
One of the men handed Harry a plate of food that had been in the basket. "This is just like visiting my grandparents. I always find it amusing to see food just appear on the table, good too," he said, raising a chicken leg as a toast.
Halfway through their quick meal, Dobby returned. "Bad man is there and they is eating," the elf reported.
"Were you seen by anyone, even the other elves?" Harry asked.
"Almost, but Dobby left first," Dobby said, looking proud of his accomplishment.
"I'm sorry you had to take that risk, but thank you, my little friend," Harry told him with a pat on the shoulder which made Dobby beam. Looking at his watch, one that was entirely mechanical, Harry noticed it was almost time. "Go to Fleur and tell her that the mission is on and I'm leaving in five minutes.
"One last thing, are you sure you can arrange to contact all the other elves in just a few minutes to tell them it's time to go?" This was the part that worried Harry the most.
Dobby nodded vigorously. "Yes, Dobby is sure. Dobby will talk to Hogwarts elves and have them help before joining Master's mate at the end."
Harry turned a little red at the last part but had to smile. "Very good, although don't call Fleur that where she can hear it. Go tell her my message and follow her directions."
The elf left with a pop.
"Your mate?" one of the sergeants said with a grin.
Harry blushed a little more. "Not officially, but I'm thinking about asking her soon. That's a secret, by the way."
"Yes, sir," the man said with a grin before he added, "and good choice sir. I've heard a few stories about the Veela."
"Most of them probably aren't true," Harry said a little defensively. "However, Fleur and her family are very good people, the sort you want to have as family because they'll stand with you."
As another man opened his mouth to say something, the captain quickly spoke up. "Corporal, knowing you, I don't think I want to hear it and I'm sure the Lieutenant doesn't either."
"Yes, sir," the man said quickly, although he didn't bother to hide his grin.
Harry washed the last of his food down and stood. "Gentlemen, I wish you luck."
"We have your back, sir," the captain told him. "Don't forget the countdown phrase; you've got two minutes after that to complete your task and there is no abort once that's started."
Harry nodded. He knew all of this, but somehow hearing it in this setting made it more real.
The corporal at the radio handed Harry his modified flying goggles.
After donning them, Harry walked ten feet away and spoke into a small attached microphone, "Radio check for Bolt."
"Lightning reads you loud and clear. How is your receiver?" a voice spoke quietly from the little earpiece in his goggles.
"I can hear you in my earpiece. I'll see all of you at the end." Harry answered. The two sergeants gave him a nod as they picked up their very long sniper rifles and started climbing their trees. The corporals followed a moment later since they would be the snipers' spotters. The captain walked over to the radio to man it.
Harry turned and began his half mile trek down the small hill they were on and towards the spot where he would literally begin a new era in history. He hoped deep down that this turned out as well as planned. A lot of people were going to be angry at him, but he generally didn't care. The vast majority of the wizards and witches had simply failed to do what was needed, so he would do this to reform the country. Also, this was war and non-combatants were something hurt; with this action, at least they wouldn't die. The fact that this action fit the prophecy that Dumbledore had told him was just a coincidence as far as he was concerned. He'd already decided months ago that he didn't believe in prophecies.
At five minutes before the hour, Harry arrived at the correct spot, seeing the stick he'd placed there three days ago when he'd surveyed this area and verified their calculations.
"Last radio check for Bolt," he said softly.
"Lightning says radio check good," came the reply from the receiver in his goggles.
"Start the ten minute counter," he ordered.
"Ten minute counter, affirmative." There was a slight pause before Harry heard, "Lightning calling Storm. Mission is still go and Bolt has ordered ten minute counter. Over."
"Storm acknowledges ten minute counter. Good luck. Over."
With a small shovel, Harry dug a hole a foot deep in the soft earth and placed the last runic marker, packing it well so it made good contact with the earth. Unlike the others that were completely buried to hide them, the top of this one was left visible so he could activate it. Very carefully, he cast the charging spell at it.
— — —
Dobby popped into the lobby of Gringotts right next to Griphook, startling the goblin. "I is Dobby and belong to Master Harry," he said as ordered as he handed a scrap of parchment to the goblin, which was taken with a clawed hand. "Master says ten minutes starts now and you need to flee."
As the elf popped away, Griphook looked at the parchment scrap and saw, "Flee! - Harry Potter" written. Praying to his diety that this didn't cost him his head, Griphook took two steps and lifted a panel lid before he pressed the big red crystal underneath.
A very special gong sounded throughout the bank. Without hesitation, security guards began pushing customers out of the bank at spear point without answering any questions being asked.
The few customers who were at their vaults were shocked to have their goblin guide pull them out of their vault, slam the door closed, thrust a medallion at them, and then feel the most horrible spinning sensation they'd ever felt before finding themselves on the steps of Gringotts outside the bank. As they were about to ask what was going on, one last couple was pushed out of the bank and the doors were slammed shut before they disappeared into the wall, with no trace or outline of the former doors.
Also in the vaults, Bill Weasley looked around in shock as he heard the emergency gong go off. He was even more surprised when the two goblins with him grabbed an arm each and pulled him to the cart they had and it raced away.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" the curse breaker asked.
"Come with us or suffer," one said.
"What does that mean?"
"It means what he said," replied the other goblin, Sparnak. "We were told that if it went off and you were with us to bring you along while we evacuated, unless you wanted to stay behind."
"Why?" Bill thought he knew Sparnak fairly well, at least for a goblin, so this was strange.
"We've told you all we know," Sparnak said as the cart decelerated quickly at a platform in the lower caverns, where many other goblins were running to.
The two goblins jumped out of the cart and ran with the others, leaving Bill behind to decide on his own. No other goblin was sparing him more than a glance. Deciding there must be some reason for this odd behavior, he got out of the cart and followed them with long strides.
As he went through the doorway, a small goblin shouted at him. "Red haired wizard, over here."
Bill managed to make his way over, helped greatly by his size compared to the goblins. When he made it over, he noticed that the goblins were grabbing things and disappearing. Before he could stop it, the goblin touched a stick to him and he was jerked through the ether in a horribly dizzying manner.
Landing, he realized the stick had been a Goblin Portkey. "Sit and stay," the goblin said, pointing at a small set of chairs.
"Why?" Bill asked.
The goblin smiled with sharp pointy teeth. "She said it was a gift to you. Be glad you have such a good friend." Griphook walked away leaving a very perplexed wizard behind.
— — —
Ginny was walking to dinner with Katie Bell. "Who's going to be Quidditch Captain next year?"
"Don't know," Katie told her while shaking her head. "It should be Harry, but…"
"Yeah, I know."
"Do you want it?" Katie asked. "I can tell McGonagall to give you the edge in being picked."
"Maybe, although I think Ron would throw a fit. He's always wanted that and it will be his last year," Ginny told her.
"Think about it and tell me before we leave next week."
"Sure," Ginny told her as they split to take a seat for dinner with their friends. "Neville."
"Ginny," the boy returned, already with a full plate.
As Ginny started to fill her plate, she heard a pop behind her and turned, hoping she wasn't going to have to dive out of the way of a spell, assuming it wasn't already too late. Instead of a spell coming at her, she found a house-elf.
"Master and Mistress says run." Dobby handed her a piece of parchment.
Knowing what this had to be, she said as quickly as she could, "Will you please go tell my brothers Fred and George in Diagon Alley the same message?"
"It is important?" the elf asked.
"Very important," Ginny told him as sincerely as possible.
"Very well, Dobby must hurry then." He left with a sharp pop.
With trembling fingers, Ginny opened the note and read it quickly as Neville and several others looked at her with great curiosity. Feeling weak but knowing there was no time for being a damsel in distress, Ginny shoved the note in her pocket and grabbed Neville's hand, jerking him to his feet with her. "We have to go now!" She ignored his startled cry.
"Katie, I saw a Snorkack!" Looking to the Ravenclaw table, she was horrified to not find Luna until she looked to the doorway and saw her blonde friend saunter in. With another jerk on Neville's hand, she started running as fast as she could while pulling him after her. "I saw Snorkacks, Luna. Run with us after them."
"Really? Yes, let's go find them." Luna was jerked along by Neville grabbing her hand as they went by, with Katie running in the last position.
As they left the Entrance Hall, they passed Ron and Hermione. "What's wrong?" Hermione shouted after her friends but didn't receive any answer.
"That was certainly strange," Hermione commented, very puzzled.
"That's Ginny sometimes," Ron said with a shrug as they walked into the Great Hall to find many people laughing and several of the teachers looking very puzzled.
"Slow, down," Neville puffed as Ginny pulled them up the stairs of a secret passageway.
"Can't, no time," she wheezed back and let go of Neville's hand so she could run more easily.
When they reached the place where they'd held the DA meetings last year, Ginny finally stopped and pulled the paper back out of her pocket to read it again. While she walked back and forth, the others arrived and leaned over, putting their hands on their knees, taking great gulps of air.
A door appeared to her great relief and Ginny wrenched it open. "Hurry!" she urged them inside. They all stopped inside the door and looked in amazement as a smaller room of transparent amber crystal was forming inside a bigger room. With effort, Ginny tore her gaze away knowing the clock was ticking and she could gawk later. Picking up the bar next to the door, she dropped it into place, shutting the four of them in.
"Hurry," she urged them again. "Inside the room. You can look around later." When they didn't move, she pushed through them and walked in. They followed her a moment later as lights appeared from the ceiling followed by several shelves with trays of green stuff. Finally, a large timer appeared next to the door along with a very pointed hammer and a note. The crystal wall nearest the door formed and sealed the little room as a bright and slowly pulsing red stone the size of a desk appeared on the other side of the back wall, also in a chamber like theirs.
Ginny slid down the wall in relief as Neville turned to her and asked, "What the hell is going on?"
— — —
Looking at his watch again, he noted it was a couple of minutes after six o'clock and time to start. In fact, everyone would probably have an extra minute or so, he thought as he attached the safety cord to his wand and made sure his broom was on a safety cord attached to his belt for quick access.
"All is in place and I'm starting."
"Roger, we're ready here. Good luck, Lieutenant," was transmitted to him.
Harry smiled at their honorary rank for him as he lifted his wand. "Sonorous, Voldemort! The one who got away is here for you. Come out and let's end this. If you ask nicely maybe I'll even tell you the prophecy. Quietus." To help himself out, he cast a spell to raise a waist-high and six-foot long wall that looked like a rock from the dirt in front of him so he had protection at the end. He also charmed his clothes all black in case Riddle might recognize his clothes as being Army issue.
When no one showed after a few more seconds, he cast a Blasting Curse at the house. Sure he was a couple hundred yards away, but the house wasn't moving either. A few seconds later, his curse hit a window and broke it, and probably a wall beyond although he couldn't see it from here. Harry was surprised there wasn't a ward or something to block his spell. Perhaps Malfoy was merely arrogant and thought he didn't need something like that, he considered.
A few seconds later, an Apparation crack sounded and there stood a single woman.
"Bella!" Harry said with a smile. "It's my lucky day because I get to personally see you die for what you did to Sirius."
The woman laughed at him. "You're still a child and not even worth my master's time."
"I believe he'll think differently in a moment. In the meantime, Bella, you can go to hell." He smiled as he used his prearranged phrase for someone whom he needed out of the way. Although he never heard the rifle fire, a second later he saw "stuff" explode out the back of Bella's head from the sniper fire at the same time as he heard the whizzing sound of the bullet.
"Thank you, whoever did that," he said quietly.
"We said we have your back," came through his earpiece.
"Time to try again. Sonorous. Voldemort, come out and play because Bella is dead, or do you not want to know the prophecy?" Harry taunted him. "Quietus."
A moment later, there was a larger crack and two men stood about thirty yards in front of him.
"Snape, what a joy. Bella's dead and now you can be too, unless you really do work for Dumbledore." Harry enjoyed the man's quick look between him and the Dark Lord as he taunted his old professor. "You can think of this as payback for all the times you were a bastard to me. What are you going to do? Are you going to show that you're really a Death Eater and try to curse me? Or are you going to do what Dumbledore wants and send a curse at that the madman beside you? Decisions, decisions.
"And Voldemort, it's lovely to see you. How have you been?" Harry purposefully used the "thing's" moniker to keep the situation a little calmer.
"Final countdown started," he heard whispered in his ear because of that phrase. "Storm, Bolt and Lightning say bring the thunder. Over."
"Potter, I didn't think you cared anymore with the way you ran off," the Dark Lord said conversationally.
"Lightning, Storm acknowledges thunder in two minutes from now. Over," whispered in his ear.
"Generally, I really don't," Harry told him casually. "However, what I do care about is that you're violating the Statute of Secrecy. You don't seem to care about it and I think that if you keep on showing off magic to the Muggles that one day they will rise up and slaughter us all, and I don't like that thought."
Voldemort looked at him for a moment before he laughed. "Do you really think they can defeat us, Potter? We can control them."
"I think they probably can. But even if you're right that they can't, then I believe they will do the next best thing and destroy the world so we go down with them. I don't know about you, but I don't like that idea either," Harry told him conversationally, trying to keep him talking.
The idea was to start the reaction only a few seconds before the timer ended. If by some strange fate the prophecy really was true, Harry hoped he and "the Dark Lord" really were equals … in monologuing.
"Ninety seconds," came the whisper in his ear.
"And people call me dark," Voldemort quipped. "I offered you a place in my group before. I'll make the offer one last time. If you don't take it, I'll have to kill you."
Harry chuckled. "I have two problems with that. First, I don't know what you have to offer me that would make me accept, but you're free to tell me. Second, if you believe in the prophecy, you really don't want to kill me. By the way, did you ever hear the full prophecy?"
Voldemort looked irritated for a moment. "No, I haven't heard it. Would you care to share?"
"Certainly, although would you mind sharing how you heard the part that you did?" Harry replied back, noticing that Snape suddenly seemed a little nervous.
"Sixty seconds," came the whisper again.
"You first, Potter, then I'll answer your question."
"As you wish." Harry quoted the full prophecy slowly and dramatically as it was good for another twenty-five seconds.
While Voldemort thought about it, Harry heard the captain, "Thirty seconds."
"I don't believe that's the real prophecy," Riddle told him.
"That really is it. So who told you the first part?" Harry asked, not really expecting an answer.
To his surprise, Voldemort actually smiled and answered. "The man who's about to kill you, do it Snape."
As Snape raised his wand towards Harry, Harry had to say, "You really are a bastard to be the cause of my father and mother's death as well as pick on me as a teacher."
"Twenty seconds."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Snape sneered as he silently cast a spell.
Harry couldn't tell what it was, but they were just far enough away it was easy to dodge the single spell so he leaned to the side and let it whiz by as he heard, "Ten seconds." He cast three quick Blasting curses, two at Snape that were easily blocked and one at the ground in the middle, kicking up a lot of dust into the air between them.
Voldemort sent a Killing Curse back at him at the same time Snape did.
Fortunately, they had only taken one step towards him so they were still far enough away that he had time to move. He dove out of the way as he considered that his time was about up. As if in answer, he heard the voice in his earpiece say, "Five…" Harry cast the spell to trigger the chain reaction for all the runic markers as the wall in front of him rocked with a loud noise and the concussion knocked him back, causing him to have to scramble forward on his hands and knees while slightly woozy. He made sure he was facing east and was parallel to the rock wall.
He thought something had failed when he heard, "Two," and he was still there. Suddenly, he was flung forward hard and he heard a loud pop as his receiver went dead. However, that was the least of his worries as he noticed the trees coming up fast and he wasn't high enough nor was there time to put his broom into service.
Thinking fast, he cast a Levitation charm on himself and flicked his wand upward, which was enough to move him up so he skimmed the tops of the trees, hitting the leaves and small branches of only the taller ones. To give himself more height, he now grabbed his broom dangling from his waist and cancelled the shrinking charm on it. Getting it under him, he rose a little higher for safety and made himself comfortable. He thought the wave of magic was pushing him faster than his Firebolt was capable of, which was really cool. Fortunately, the broom allowed him to control his height which was what he needed. He made himself as comfortable as he could and enjoyed the journey of riding the wave of magic which should last about an hour.
A roar overtook him from behind, causing him to look over his shoulder. There was a "column" of dirt and smoke rising into the air behind him.
He was glad he'd left before the two bombs had struck. They were yet another backup plan for killing Voldemort, in case the magic removal ritual didn't kill him. Exactly where or how the ICW had acquired the older devices was something he didn't want to know, but he was told they would be Portkeyed a mile into the air over Malfoy Manor so they wouldn't be detected and allowed to fall on their own with a spell to slow them down and control when they hit.
The explosion was timed to his ritual. The explanation for the Muggles would be that a meteor had hit and caused the crater. It would also be blamed for any other effects that his ritual caused. Captain Hammerstein was also supposed to go plant a small meteorite rock in the crater as soon as he could to help the story.
Yet another backup plan was the sergeants and their sniper rifles. If all of that didn't kill Voldemort, then perhaps he was truly immortal, but Harry didn't think so. A quickly applied Disillusionment spell helped to hide him as he saw a small town in front of him in the distance.
— — —
At the moment the bombs destroyed Malfoy Manor, Neville turned to Ginny with a demanding look as she slumped down the wall in relief and he asked, "What the hell is going on?"
Ginny was torn and wasn't sure what to say.
"I think we deserve an answer as to why you started yelling your 'emergency phrase' and made us run through the castle to this," Neville wave his hands around, "bizarre room."
"Neville," Katie called and put a hand on his arm. "Give her a chance to answer."
"Wait," Luna said, looking displeased. "You mean that really was the emergency phrase and you really didn't see any Snorkacks?"
Ginny rubbed both of her temples, mostly in an effort to cover her face. "Yes, I used the emergency phrase I told you about because it was a very real emergency."
"I saw a house-elf appear behind you, what was that about?" Katie asked to start the ball rolling and to prevent Neville from going off again since he still looked upset.
"Everyone sit, we're going to be here for the next three hours." When Katie pulled her wand out, Ginny said quickly, "No, I don't think we should use magic in here; just sit and try to be calm."
"Why?" Neville asked a little more calmly, but not by much as he sat against a wall like Ginny did.
"Harry told me that he would be returning soon and he was going to fix things, with a little luck." She pulled the crumpled note out of her pocket and smoothed it. "The elf was Dobby and he now looks to Harry as his master, or at least I think he does based on what he said. Anyway, he gave me this note."
Ginny,
To save yourself, Neville, Luna, Katie, run to the Room of Requirement. Ask for a room that will hold magic in and keep you alive for the next three hours while magic leaves Britain. When you come out, the magic should have returned. If you are not in in that room or out of Britain in 10 minutes, then you'll lose your magic too. We're reforming Britain.
Harry & Fleur
When Ginny finished reading the note out loud, there was complete silence for a long moment.
"You know," Luna said, surprising everyone by speaking first and making them look at her, "this answers the question if Hogwarts is alive and intelligent, at least a little. I wonder what I'll win from the Ravenclaws, since this has been a very long-standing debate."
"Ignoring the debate, what do you mean?" Katie asked, looking as perplexed as the other two felt.
"She would have to be to be able to read your mind to create rooms that meet your needs, but the real proof is taking what Ginny said in that note and realizing that she also needed to protect herself." Luna pointed to the slowly pulsing rock in the next chamber of crystal. "That must be Hogwarts foundational rune stone or heart stone. It must direct everything else. It's hard to see, but it looks like the Sorting Hat is on top of it too."
"I think she's right about the Hat. I didn't see it at first," Neville said as he squinted at the other chamber.
"There might be a ghost in there as well. I hope it's the Grey Lady," Luna told them.
"What are in the trays on the shelves?" Katie asked. "It looks like the light is for them and not for us."
"I'm almost sure it's algae," Neville told them. "There are no magical properties for it that I'm aware of, but it's basically a plant that can form in stagnant water and some magical plants grow better with it near. It can also grow very quickly. I'm not sure why it's there."
"Back to the note," Katie said. "What did he mean by keeping the magic in here and magic leaving Britain? And how is that supposed to fix things?"
Ginny pulled some hair out of her eyes as she looked at the others. "This is a guess, but I think it sounds like Harry's doing something that will temporarily remove all the magic from our country. He's told me that he will get rid of V-Voldemort although he's never said how before. If he got rid of all the magic, my guess is that he thinks it would reduce everyone's magic who was out there, which is why we need to keep magic in here and not use it."
"So we stay normal by being in here," Katie breathed with shock.
"It makes perfect sense," Luna agreed casually.
"But why do that to everyone else?" Neville asked in his own shock. "Will it only magically exhaust them for a while, make them like Squibs, or kill them? I've always heard you had to have magic to live."
"It probably depends on how long the magic is gone. I'm sure we could work up an Arithmantic equation for it if we knew what spell he was using, or more likely a rune based ritual," Luna said confidently.
"Does he really hate everyone else that much?" Katie asked quietly. "I can't decide whether to be glad that I'm his friend and consider myself very lucky to be in here or whether to be angry at him for what he's doing to my family out there."
"Wow, I hadn't thought about that yet," Neville admitted warily as if it was too much at the moment.
"Fortunately, my father is out of the country at the moment. I wonder if that's a coincidence," Luna wondered.
"You'd have to ask Harry to be sure, but I don't believe he hates everyone else," Ginny said as she shifted to become a little more comfortable on the hard floor. "From what I've been able to get out of him, it's that he doesn't care what happens to them. I think he'd say something like, 'They turned their back on me so why should I care about them'."
"Still, this seems very extreme," Katie pointed out.
"Maybe, but he could have done a lot worse. There are some things you don't want in your brain," Luna shuddered. "He'll also be able to topple the Ministry this way and he won't need Helopaths to help him."
"What do you mean?" Neville asked. "About the toppling the Ministry," he added quickly.
"Helopaths are very powerful, but if the Ministry has no magic, Harry won't need that help as the people at the Ministry can't fight back, can they?" Luna replied.
"Bloody hell! Talk about reforming Britain!" Neville slumped as the enormity of what Harry was doing hit him.
"How do you know all of this, Ginny?" Katie asked her. "Harry and I wrote about a number of things, but it sounds like you've discussed a lot more with him."
Ginny blushed, especially when Neville and Luna started staring at her too. "We have exchanged a number of long letters," she hedged.
Neville's brow suddenly furrowed as he looked intently at her. "Wait, there's more to this, isn't there? You haven't really dated anyone this year despite the fact that I know at least two boys asked you. And combine it with the rumor about you being sent a massive care package from some boyfriend – which you didn't deny..."
"You always did think Harry was dreamy," Luna added, earning a scowl from Ginny.
"And Harry is the heir of a Noble house…" Neville continued.
"But the letter was signed by Fleur too," Katie said, "and Harry has told me that he considers Fleur his girlfriend."
"Wait." Neville looked at Ginny harder. "Is Harry the heir of another Noble house besides Potter? If he was, that would explain it."
"What are you talking about?" Katie asked, thoroughly confused.
"The laws are written," Luna explained, "such that if a man is over multiple Ancient and Noble houses that he can have one wife for each house so the lines may continue. Sirius Black was Harry's godfather." She left the implied question hanging in the air.
Ginny realized she'd been boxed in and had little choice but to answer. Her friends deserved that. "Yes, Harry is also the heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Black."
All were silent for a moment until Katie asked, "Would you really do that? You know, share Harry? I don't know that I could share my husband."
"I think it could work with someone like Harry," Luna said, although they were all looking at Ginny now.
Ginny played with a hem of her blouse for a moment. "Fleur made me the offer to become Lady Potter while she took the title of Lady Black. It's why I haven't really dated anyone else this year and I'm still struggling with the question of what to do. Not only that, but she's a Veela. How am I supposed to compete with her? She's practically perfect." She ended with a hint of frustration.
"You do realize that you can probably have almost anyone you want now; in fact, that'll be true for all of us," Luna told them all.
"What do you mean?" Ginny wondered if this would help her answer the question.
"If everyone else turns into a Squib or almost one, then as a powerful witch you'll be very desirable as a wife," Luna replied as if it should have been obvious.
"She has a point," Neville agreed reluctantly. "It also means that a lot of the older families will be searching for a spouse on the continent and there will be a lot of gold changing hands for that."
"But it doesn't have to mean that," Katie argued. "Just because both parents are low in magic doesn't mean the children will be."
"You're right," Neville agreed, "but I don't think the old families will want to take that chance." He looked back at Ginny. "So what are you going to do?"
"Still don't know, but I have that long," Ginny pointed at the large hourglass-shaped timer with most of the sand in the top, "to figure it out."
"Ginny," Katie said gently, "I think you have longer than that. You've still got two more years of school. Surely Harry would wait that long."
"He probably would wait that long for me to join him," Ginny nodded, "but would he wait that long for me to state my intentions? Also, if the four of us are the only ones with magic, I don't think Hogwarts will be much of a school. I might as well go somewhere else and Harry has said that Fleur has been a good teacher. Err," she growled. "This is so complicated."
"I think the changes we've mentioned are just the beginning of what will happen," Neville said sagely. "I guess we'll find out when…"
They all suddenly heard a loud noise and could see many objects suddenly appear outside the semi-transparent crystal. A bright flash of light and what sounded like an unearthly scream rent their silence for a brief moment.
"What the hell?" Neville asked for them all.
"I don't know what the scream was for, but I'd say that whatever is out there now is the normal way this room is. Whatever Harry did has reached us," Luna told them and no one argued.
Looking at the note the room had provided, she saw she was to break the crystal with the hammer when the timer ran out, to the outside first and then to the other chamber. A closer inspection showed a small "X" etched in the crystal on each wall. She hoped they survived that long and looked back at the timer again, unsure if she wanted it to go faster or slower.
— — —
Harry saw the eastern coast of the island come into view and he couldn't help but smile. It had been a wild ride, yet that had made it a lot of fun flying that fast.
As his broom flew out over the water, he felt like he was flung much harder than during the test in Greece. With some effort, he avoided falling into the sea and continued flying towards the large dot on the horizon almost in front of him.
About five minutes later, he landed on the deck of the ICW ship and Fleur flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "You're safe…" she breathed into his ear with so much emotion her voice broke.
He dropped his broom and hugged her back. "I told you I'd come back to you." Harry noticed others, including Herr Braun standing, waiting on him.
"Captain Hammerstein said you were taken away, but they said you almost didn't leave in time." Her hands were roaming over his head and back as if to assure herself that he was really back and in one piece.
"It took a little longer to engage than in the tests, I guess because Britain is bigger than the test island," he told her. "Otherwise, it wasn't all that bad. Let's go over to the others, I'm sure they also want to hear what happened."
Fleur slowly released her hug, but she kept one arm around his waist and walked closely next to him.
Harry greeted the others and told them what happened from his point of view.
"Yes, much of that was relayed to us by Captain Hammerstein on his spare radio afterward," Herr Braun told him. "The captain also said the snipers hit the Dark Lord just as he started to 'fall apart', then the bombs landed. Afterward, the captain reported that his team was able to only find traces of the two men and that they removed all items of clothing and the few body parts they could identify. Any blood the Muggle authorities find should be attributed to animals being caught in the blast. He also put the meteorite rock we found from another location there to help the cover story."
"That's good," Harry agreed.
"As soon as it's safe, a team of wizards will go to the site and make sure all blood and any other evidence of the two men is gone. Regarding the house," Braun shrugged, "if we get there first and can Vanish the debris then we will. If we can't, then we'll try to convince the Muggles to alter the records to show a house was there and claim it was abandoned."
"Makes sense," Harry nodded.
"I've also received one report about a known Death Eater in London who we were watching. He has died and I expect that will be true for all of them. So this has cleaned up the terrorist problem and the major breach of the Statute of Secrecy," Braun reported with a smile.
A man came out of the cabin used for the project and handed Braun a note. After he read it, he smiled again. "Our team responsible for checking Azkaban reports that all the Dementors are dead and the few Death Eaters that were there are also dead."
"Very good, I hate the Dementors," Harry told him. "Let's go inside and we can listen to the reports there. I'd also like something to drink as I'm very thirsty."
— — —
In several places around the country, including in front of a somewhat shady looking pub in London, Squibs from the ICW drove up in a large truck and unloaded some materials. It didn't take long for them to erect a privacy screen to block the sight of viewers. Signs on the outside proclaimed "Under Construction".
It stayed that way for a little over an hour. A man appeared suddenly and after a quiet conversation with the foreman, the construction screening was removed and the truck drove away.
Anyone who looked before and after the events saw nothing appeared to be different … as was intended.
— — —
Around the country, especially in the more remote parts, a few people were in the right place at the right time to see a large manor looking house where they couldn't remember there being one before. However, by the time they could investigate, the house had disappeared and they forgot what they were about to look for.
— — —
Emergency workers were very surprised by the sudden influx of people that were being sent to hospitals. It was quickly noticed that the only commonalities were: the people seemed to have fallen unconscious on their own, their vitals were reasonably normal, they had no normal identification on them, and most of them were dressed a little funny as if they were in costume for some play.
It was only later noticed that the people seemed to wake up on their own and then demand to be let go, walking away without waiting for anyone to come get them, and most didn't give a name. The few that gave a name were not found in any registry.
— — —
Bill Weasley took another dizzying ride via a Goblin Portkey and ended up in the lobby of Gringotts with Griphook as his guide again. There were two other wizards present, who had joined him moments after the evacuation. After a few minutes, the main doors to Diagon Alley opened, the guards took their usual places, and business resumed as usual.
"You have the rest of the weekend off. Report to work again on Monday morning," Griphook told the three wizards before he left them.
Looking at the other two, Bill asked, "Do either of you know what's going on?" Receiving a "no" from each, Bill left the bank.
Walking around the alley showed him that all of the windows were broken. Also, all the signs that he could remember as moving in some way were still. The few shop owners he saw looked very pale and some of those were leaning against a wall and looking at the devastation in their store in disbelief. One man was even openly sobbing, sitting on the ground with his wand dangling limply in his hand. Another man was swearing as he tried over and over to cast a spell and nothing happened.
Remembering his brothers, he turned and walked to their store. When he saw it, he stopped in shock. Their magical sign was as still as everyone else's, but their windows were whole and he could see five people inside moving around hurriedly with purpose.
Standing at the door, he could see the twins, their girlfriends, and Lee all restocking their shelves using much wand-waving.
Bill hurried into the store and suddenly found two wands in his face until Fred and George realized who it was and relaxed. "What the hell is going on?"
"We're repairing the damage and putting everything back."
"Yeah, what does it look like we're doing?" the other twin quipped.
"Do you know what's going on?" Bill asked very demandingly. "I was forced to use a Goblin Portkey and taken away somewhere for the last hour and was only now allowed to return."
"We haven't been back long either," George told him.
"But what happened?" Bill stared at both as if trying to force an answer, however the twins looked at one another for a moment.
"Honestly, we can't really answer that as we don't have the information; however, my guess is that the world's biggest prank has been played on Britain," George told him.
"You were out of the country?" Fred asked him.
"Yeah, so?" Bill asked a little belligerently.
"Be very, very, very glad," Fred told him in his most serious manner yet. "We took all of our merchandise here in the main part of the store, but the stuff that was left in the back is totally ruined. It's not magical any more. I'd hate to think what that did to any wizards that were here."
"You mean that store owner I saw trying to cast a spell and it not working was not him just trying something unusual, but he really couldn't do the spell?" Bill asked as he started to realize what might have happened yet hoped his guess was wrong.
"Probably so," George confirmed as he emptied another box of joke products onto the shelf in front of him.
"But, how?" Billed asked aghast as he looked out the window and looked at the chaos and destruction again, guessing that all the magic that had squeezed the small area that really had been only a little alley many years ago had been momentarily suppressed, or at least he thought that would have caused damage like this.
"I have a much better guess about that, but I think we need to keep that to ourselves for now."
"Yes, dear brother," George agreed, "I think we shall, although I believe the truth will come out soon anyway."
"What do you know?" Bill demanded angrily.
"Know?" George ignored the demand and sounded amused. "We don't know anything, our older brother. But I…"
"We!"
"Yes, we believe that the entire Death Eater problem is now gone. There's no more reason for the Order of the Phoenix, not that it matters to us since we resigned from it months ago."
"Now if you'll excuse us," Fred told him as he Vanished the last empty box in front of him, "we need to fix our sign and reopen for business."
George shook his head. "Although I do wonder if anyone will come see us for the next few days."
Shaking his head, Bill left them and hurried towards the Apparation point so he could check on his parents at home.
Bill landed outside his parents' newly rebuilt home, surprised the wards had let him land so close. He was more surprised by the damage to the new house; the top floor had fallen over and the bottom two floors didn't look too stable.
"Mum! Dad!" he yelled as he drew his wand and hurried into the house, hoping they were alive and not buried in rubble.
In the kitchen, he found his father kneeling over his mother and several boards that looked like they had been thrown to the side.
"Dad!"
"Bill, are you injured from all this?" his father asked tiredly and somewhat distracted with worry.
"No Dad. The goblins took me with them out of the country. It was like they knew this was coming."
Arthur Weasley sighed as he continued to slowly wipe the face of his wife with a damp cloth. "Perhaps they did. Can you still do spells? I can't do more than a Lighting spell and a weak Levitation spell. She's breathing but I can't tell what's wrong."
"Of course." Bill cast a diagnostic spell hurriedly. "She's not hurt more than some bruises. From the bump on her head, I assume the boards fell on her?"
"Yes, I had to pull them off."
"Let me wake her and then we should leave the house. It doesn't look too stable from the outside." With a wave of his wand for a silent Ennervate, his mother fluttered her eyes.
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure," her husband replied. "I seem to have passed out while I was in the shed. When I woke, I came in here and found you out as well. I think the boards fell on you." He looked at his son.
"I'm not really sure either," Bill said, looking as uncertain as his words, "but I stopped by the twin's shop on the way here and they're doing well. They also hinted that they thought magic had been removed for a short time and it looks like they might be right."
Molly gasped. "Ron and Ginny!"
Arthur understood her concern. "We can check on them soon. We need to get out of here for the moment as Bill says the house is unstable. After we check on a few things, Bill can take you to the school."
"But Arthur…"
"No, Molly," he stopped her, knowing what she was really asking. "I can't take you as I feel as if I've lost much of my magic and I would wager that you have as well. We're fortunate that Bill wasn't affected, we can only hope that the rest our children are unaffected as well."
"The twins weren't affected either," Bill told them.
"Then we're very fortunate," the father said as he shook his head and seemed to become more normal. "Come my dear. Let's get you out and then Bill and I can check the house and do what we can to have a place to sleep tonight."
They took Molly to a bench in the back garden to rest and recover some more while Bill and Arthur investigated the house.
Bill levitated the damaged upper story off of the remaining part of the house in sections as large as possible. Several transfigurations repaired other parts and shored up the walls. Arthur checked the Floo and found it in the strange state where it responded to Floo Powder, but wouldn't call anywhere nor take him anywhere.
They went up the stairs and found the first floor stable enough for now. As quickly as he could and with help from his father, Bill put a roof over the house from the materials on the ground. It wasn't a long term solution, but it would hold for now.
"If you're ready, Mum?" Bill asked when the basic repairs were finished an hour and a half later.
"Are you sure, Arthur?"
"I'm sure, Molly. Go ahead and check on the children. I'll stay here and do my best to put a few more things in order. Bill?" Arthur looked at his oldest.
"Of course I'll return and stay here to help as long as you need me," Bill promised.
"Thank you." He looked at his wife. "I know you'll want to bring both children here immediately, but do consider all the options, dear. Bringing them home will be difficult and they might be better off staying at school for a few days."
Molly looked troubled by that, but she finally nodded before she kissed her husband on the cheek and then gripped her son's arm and he Apparated them away.
The two Weasleys landed at the gates to the school and found a squad of four wizards with a white oval patch on their breast with the letters "ICW" on it in blue. Bill instantly understood - the ICW had finally intervened, as Dumbledore had talked about in one of the Order meetings.
"The school is under protection," the leader of the squad said. "What is your business here?"
"I have children here. I want to know they're safe," Molly spoke up boldly.
"Your names and their names?"
"I'm Molly Weasley and this is my son, Bill. I demand to see my children!"
"Their names please?" the leader asked again patiently.
"Ron and Ginny Weasley," Bill supplied to avoid an argument from his mother.
One of the guards looked through a book. "The two children are here and it lists Molly Weasley for a parent. Bill Weasley isn't."
The leader looked at them for a moment and then at Bill only. "Will you please tell me how you were able to Apparate here?"
"I work for Gringotts and was out of the country when everything happened," Bill answered, going for the truth since he could tell that the other three ICW guards were watching him and two had their wands out and by their side while his was in his wand holster.
"Yes, that would explain it," the leader answered with a nod. "I think we can let it slide. You both may enter; however, please exit here later."
"Thank you," Molly said with relief and hurried in with Bill following and having to take long strides to keep up with his mother.
By the time they neared the castle, they could see many of the students outside the front door. Of the few professors that were seen, Molly quickly found Minerva McGonagall and made a beeline for her.
"Molly? I'm surprised to see you here," McGonagall told in greeting and looking flustered. "I'd expected parents eventually, but not this soon. My apologies, Bill, but good evening as well."
"Professor," he intoned with a nod as he looked around for his siblings as his mother was.
"Oh, there's Ron, but where's Ginny?" Molly asked as she continued to look around.
McGonagall's flustered look took on a hint of embarrassment. "I'm afraid she's one of four students, a group of friends really, unaccounted for." At Molly's upset looks, the professor hurried on, "Most of the professors are searching for them while they're also inspecting the castle."
"The castle was damaged too?" Bill asked. At her look, he explained, "The Burrow was damaged, as were almost every store in Diagon Alley when I was there. I'm starting to believe almost every magical dwelling was affected when magic was removed for a short time."
The professor gasped. "That's what happened?"
"While I'm not entirely certain, I'm starting to believe that's what happened."
"Professor," Molly interrupted. "Why can't you find Ginny and her friends?"
McGonagall hesitated for a moment. "We all fell unconscious for a time this evening. When we awoke, we immediately did a head count and found all but those four. Also, I'm starting to believe that they had warning of this event. Not ten minutes before it happened, they all ran out of the Great Hall as we were starting dinner. A few students also said that Ginny was visited by a house-elf and given a note. I afraid that's all I know." The older woman did look truly sorry.
Molly was dumb-founded and said nothing in her shock.
Bill was starting to have an idea as to what and how this might have happened and he didn't like the conclusion. On the other hand, if his conclusion was correct, there might be a few good things that came out of this, or so he could hope.
The professor looked around again to keep an eye on the students, but there was little difficulty as most were sitting on the ground and looking quite distraught as they talked softly with friends.
Ron eventually saw his mother and walked over, followed by Hermione a few steps behind. "Mum, can you do magic anymore?"
"I, I haven't tried yet, dear," she said hesitantly as she slowly pulled her wand out. "Your father said he can't do many spells now." With a slightly shaky hand, she flicked her wand and said, "Lumos!" A weak light lit at the end of her wand.
"Maybe it's just dim because of the sun?" Hermione suggested hopefully.
McGonagall pursed her lips as she searched for the proper words. "I'm afraid not, Miss Granger. I can only do the most simple of transfigurations now. I can't even change into my Animagus form. The rest of the professors have reported similar results. All of us appear to be magically weaker at the moment."
Hermione looked down. "I was hoping it was only a few of us who were affected."
"I'm afraid not, Hermione," Bill said gently. "The only people I've seen so far who have all of their magic are those who were not in Britain." When she looked up at him intently, he added, "Myself and a couple of other wizard employees in Gringotts, Fred, George, their girlfriends, Lee Jordan, and the ICW guards by the gates."
"We will be having a very different way of life if it stays this way," McGonagall said sagely and sadly.
— — —
All four of them watched the timing glass anxiously, trying to will it to speed up. They'd stopped talking over an hour ago and it was getting stuffy in the crystal room. The algae had grown quite a bit earlier, but wasn't now and the lights over it were dimming. They could also see the Heartstone of Hogwarts blinking slowly a little better in the dimmer light and they could see what looked like several ghosts over there too.
Ginny picked up the hammer and pointed the sharp end at the wall. As the last grains drained, she swung as hard as she could and only managed to knock a small chip out. "Oh bloody hell," she muttered as she sat looking at her attempt to get them out.
"Let me try," Neville said as he stood and walked over. Ginny gave him the hammer and moved back to give him room. Still standing, Neville swung the hammer with both hands and the crystal gained a small crack. With a smile, he swung twice more, breaking a hole the size of his head on the third strike.
Almost immediately, the lights brightened to full strength again.
"It was true," Luna said. "The crystal room kept the magic in." She muttered a Bludgeoning Hex and it blew out a large chunk of the wall, leaving a hole big enough they could crawl through easily.
"Now the other wall, Neville," Ginny told him, starting to feel more at ease.
"I do hope the Grey Lady made it," Luna said as Neville walked to the inner wall and the others moved to give him room.
Before he started, he pulled out his wand and enlarged the handle so it was twice as long. With one swing, he created a hole in the inner wall and the Heartstone immediately brightened and the crystal started melting.
When the crystal disappeared, the Heartstone and Sorting Hat did too, leaving only the four students and four ghosts.
Luna stood and bowed. "Lady Ravenclaw."
The others stood as well. "Sir Nicholas."
Neville greeted the others for the group since they had no representatives. "Friar, Baron."
"Greetings," the Lady Ravenclaw said. "We are all the ghosts that are left, and you are the only students unaffected. Hogwarts thanks you for the warning so she could preserve all of us here and herself. You will always find favor in the school." With a final nod, the four ghosts left.
"Well, I guess we should go find everyone else?" Ginny said.
"And see Harry," Luna added. "I'm sure he'll come this evening."
"Probably," Ginny agreed as she walked towards the door to unbar it. She felt she knew what to do and thought she could live with the decision.
— — —
Harry looked at the clock on the wall, noting it was almost three hours after he had started the war. There was one last task he really needed to do before he went to Hogwarts. He had been putting it off, but he could do that no longer. "Dobby!" he called.
The elf popped in. "Yes, Master Harry?"
With a sigh and hoping for the best, he asked, "Dobby, did all the house-elves make it to safety?"
Dobby tugged at a single ear. "All of the Hogwarts elves did." He looked at his feet and his voice became very quiet. "Only half of the other elves followed Dobby and left. Dobby and the others have been burying the ones who remained since we returned. It is all done now. A few of the Hogwarts elves are leaving the school to have a family."
Harry knelt down and put his hands on the elf's shoulders. "I'm sure you did your best and I'm very grateful for those you did save."
Dobby nodded but still didn't look happy. "We did take all the school owls and as many of the other post owls that we could." The elf started to smile again.
Harry was happy to hear that. Hedwig was safely in France at the Delacours waiting for Dobby to come get her when it was safe.
"You can go tell the other owls to go back to where they belong and take Hedwig to Potter Manor. We should be there in about an hour." Turning to his girlfriend, he asked, "Shall we go?"
"Herr Potter!" lead researcher Hans Braun called and held out a note. "I think you should see this before you go."
Harry read the note and Fleur looked over his shoulder. "Really?"
"Yes, that's what the team at St Mungo's reported," Braun confirmed.
"I'm glad no one died there and that we sent Healers there to help out." Harry looked at Fleur. "Grab my arm."
She smiled at him as she did so, slowly becoming less clingy as the reality of his safe return removed her earlier worry. They Disapparated with a crack to go see his few remaining friends at his old school.
(A/N: Sorry to end it there, but we've hit the chapter size that I like and the next part would make it far too big if included. Stopping here also gives me a chance to have more fun with the ending. The next chapter is the official end of the story.
This chapter was beta'd by AlekTas; any remaining errors are mine from last minute edits.)