Harry Potter and the Serpent Conquest
Book Three of The Heritage Series
Chapter Ten
September First
For most children in the magical community of the British Isles, September First was the date that they made their way to Kings Cross Station to board the Hogwarts Express to make the journey north to school for that year.
The station would be swarming with parents and students alike, all of them laughing and chatting away excitedly or meeting up with friends. Children would run around the platform looking for people they knew or rushing around having fun, their parents happy to allow them to wander not doubting they were safe.
This year however was like none before it. Platform Nine and Three Quarters was almost silent. Families stood close together and tried not to interact with others. Where before people trusted their friends, they now regarded them with suspicion and fear.
It was also evident that something else had changed, there were some faces missing from the congregated masses however there were also newer faces that looked very out of place. The implementation of the Educational Reformation Act mad Hogwarts attendance mandatory for all the children in the British Isles, failure to send a child was punished harshly and they could be forcibly removed, and the parents sentenced to Azkaban.
Many of those newer faces were those who had formally been home-schooled or attended the Ministry run school. Now they stood huddled with their parents terrified and out of place not knowing what they should be doing or what awaited them.
Adults were trying to reassure their distraught children, however for all they tried they couldn't stop their children sensing the fear that surrounded them all. Most wanted nothing more than to grab their children and run away and hide from this new law.
Running however was not an option. The platform was patrolled by several ministry officials, they forced the families into an orderly queue and they first had to get passed a newly erected checkpoint.
Some families were escorted away by the officials after they consulted their lists for routine question regarding tuition fees, but they did not return to the platform and only increased the feeling of dread.
Neville Longbottom stepped through the portal to the Platform and came to an abrupt stop as he felt the fear in the air and studied the changes and immediately clenched his wand by its handle in his pocket.
Behind him stepped through his elderly yet severe-looking grandmother. She stopped next to him and she looked on at everything and the wrinkles on her face became more pronounced and if possible, her expression sterner as she eyed the ministry officials.
"Come Neville." She said tersely, and she strode onwards purposefully towards the lines of people waiting to get passed the checkpoint.
With a deep sigh Neville followed her forwards and remembered their dinner the night before. Neville had tried unsuccessfully to convince his gran that she needn't escort him to the platform now that he had his Apparition licence.
Augusta Longbottom had been resolute on the topic and would not be swayed.
"I have raised you since that night, I have seen you grow from that silent infant into the man that you are today." She had said, "You might now be the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom and of age, but you are still my only grandson! I will see you off to school this final time and that is the end of the matter Neville."
Neville fingered the ring that he now wore openly on his right finger, it was the ring of House Longbottom. While his father was still alive the title and family magic were still bound to him, however under the Ancient Testimonies he was able to become head of the family given his father was mentally incapacitated.
It was a hollow tittle really, however Neville didn't mind at all. His father didn't have much in life now and Neville wasn't keen to take what little he still had a claim to from him.
They managed to cut through the line, many recognised Augusta and hastily moved away from the respected sharp-tongued elder Longbottom. She didn't acknowledge them parting before her but passed purposely passed them and joined the queue of families without a backwards look.
Neither of the Longbottom's were able to relax as the stood, they were watching the platform and were wary of it all. Neville was intrigued by the Ministry Officials who were stationed there, wondering if their presence was indicative of the ministry's failure to apprehend "Undesirable Number One" given his recent activities.
He took note that many of the members of the DA were in the crowd with their families and like Neville they were watching everything carefully and he noted they too were gripping their hidden wands. At the slightest sign of danger, they stood ready to act.
"I don't recognise some of these people, and some of them should be in my year." Neville muttered to his gran quietly as he looked at a young woman with silver-blonde hair and large distinctive birthmark on her neck who looked his age and he was certain he would have noticed her before.
"You will see many new faces at Hogwarts this year. The home-schooled and the ministry-schooled were attend so long as there not…" She replied glancing at the families around them, but she trailed off suddenly before adding. "They have no idea what they face at Hogwarts, but it will mean that has one of its largest rosters in almost a century."
Augusta had been furious after returning from the Wizengamot session where Pius Thicknesses was sworn in as the new Minister of Magic and had immediately passed new laws using his executive powers. The political alliance that Augusta had been a part of had tried to block the new law but had been undercut because the foundation of the new education laws had been laid by the Alliance spear headed by Lord Black prior to his death.
Two years ago, Neville had been startled to discovery that his gran was meeting with Lord Black following his exoneration for his apparent crimes and began restitution talks for the damage done to House Longbottom by a member of the Black Family. Following these early meetings, the two of them had become allies in the Wizengamot and together had created a strong political alliance with other likeminded Houses and members.
When Lord Blacks death was reported Neville was sad, having respected Sirius greatly and he felt sorry for Harry for losing his last guardian. However, his grandmother had likewise been saddened by his murder and the downward turn it created. She soon became furious as the work their political alliance had been twisted and changed by the Death Eater Regime and used as a platform for their agenda.
As they stood in the queue of parents and students, they both watched what was going on carefully, the family at the front was waiting for the official to check his lists and then he looked up at them and asked them to follow him for questioning. Neville wondered what the family had done to warrant such attention and he watched them walk across the platform and head for a door and just as they were passing through, he saw the student and gasped.
"What is it Neville." Augusta muttered urgently and saw where he was looking, and her face became sorrowful, "Do you know the girl?"
"That is Lydia Martin. She was part of the Hogwarts team last year during the exchange." He explained panicking slightly he saw more ministry officials within the room waiting for the family to enter, "I don't know of any reason they would have to speak with her…the only problem I can see is that she's a muggleborn…"
He went to step out of the queue when a very strong hand gripped his arm.
"Don't." Said a firm voice.
He looked behind him and saw a stern-faced Susan Bones, behind her were the Lord and Lady Abbot and their daughter Hannah who acknowledged the Longbottom's with a nod but didn't try to engage with them.
"But..." Neville protested but was cut off by Sue strengthening her grip.
"No." She said repeated tightly, "What can you do? If you cause a scene you will be arrested on the spot. If you're in Azkaban, you can be of help to no one. So, you will stand there and do nothing, so we can get aboard that train."
Neville regarded his friend closely and could see the anger that angled her features, and her eyes looked older than before. The death of her aunt and only guardian had hit her hard, but she wasn't about to be defeated and she wasn't going to let her aunt down.
She released his arm and took a step backwards and pretended like the entire incident hadn't happened, but as she released him, he saw the glint of a silver ring and a gemstone and realised that she was now Lady Susan Amelia Bones of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Bones.
Augusta had heard the entire exchange between her grandson and friend and nodded in approval as Neville returned to his place in the queue. A few minutes later they reached the front of the queue and walked up to the official and his list of students.
"Name." The official sniffing disdainfully at them.
"Neville Frank Longbottom." Neville said calmly, "Seventh Year, Gryffindor."
"Longbottom you say." The man said looking him over carefully and sniffed again, and checked his list, "You are cleared to embark."
"Thank you." Neville said sounding more sarcastic than he intended.
"Watch your tone boy." The official sneered.
They didn't linger much long, Augusta steered him towards the train and one of their house elves suddenly arrived by some unseen cue to deliver his trunk.
"You must be careful this year." She told him quietly once she was sure they were out of earshot, "I will not ask you to stay away from anything that happens, I know you couldn't even if you promised. Your too much like your mother to watch people getting hurt and do nothing to stop it when you have the power to help. Just remember that you will be alone at Hogwarts, you have to be smart and you have to be prepared for anything."
"Yes gran." Neville smiling softly, it was not often that she brought up Alice Longbottom as she had always favoured her son but in her own way, she did love them both.
"I mean it Neville." She said, her voice cracking slightly, "If I lost you too, I don't know..."
It was a surprise to her the normally intimidating woman sound so emotional and Neville smiled softly and did something that he had never thought he would do, he reached forwards and enveloped her in a tight embrace.
"What are you doing." She spluttered shocked by his action.
"Saying thank you for everything you have done." He said softly.
The embrace didn't last long, but his gran shooed him onto the train looking around consciously at his lack of decorum in front of people before she drew herself upright once more and stalked away from the platform.
Neville hauled himself onto the train and levitated his trunk in front of him and guided it into an open carriage as he had planned with his friends, and as he made himself comfortable, he did not put his wand away again, keeping in in his hand ready for anything.
A few minutes later the door to the carriage opened and his wand raised slightly and was pointed subtly towards the people who were coming inside, and he lowered it on seeing it was both Luna and Ginny.
"Hello Neville." Luna said dreamily and ignored his wand and began to haul her trunk into the luggage rack and Neville jumped belatedly up to help her slightly sheepishly. "Your grandmother was out of sorts when I saw her, do you have another infestation of Nargles at Hemlock Hall?"
"We probably do." Neville shrugged fondly, he never made fun of her eccentricities, they made her Luna. "But I think it was me who did that to her, I did something unthinkable."
"What did you do?" Ginny asked surprised as Neville helped her with her trunk, "Madam Longbottom is unflappable."
A smile quirked at Nevilles lips, his friend wasn't wrong, his grandmother usually was a very collected woman. "I hugged her on the platform."
Ginny and Luna exchange a look between themselves, they too had had long goodbyes with their families. In fact, Molly Weasley had to be given a calming draught as she had become frantic when the time come to leave the Burrow.
"This year will be unlike any others, it isn't right, but we must endure it and be ready for what is too come." Luna quietly looking out onto the platform and through the steam at something which they couldn't see but they knew what it was.
"I saw Lydia being taken away." Neville said through gritted teeth as he saw another official walk passed, "She was with us at Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, she was a nice and doesn't deserve this."
"No muggleborn deserves this." Ginny said tightly, "I know that many of them were warned not to come and some were put into hiding but there are a lot of them."
"We shouldn't talk like this." Neville said uncomfortably, he wondered if the ministry or death eaters could monitor them. Out of paranoia he began to mutter under his breath as he cast a collection of detection charms to see if there was any type of monitoring magic or hidden presences in the carriage and was relived to find that there were none.
The door slid open once more and they were joined by Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones and Ernie McMillan of Hufflepuff, Michael Corner, Padma Patil, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot of Ravenclaw, Seamus Finnegan, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patel of Gryffindor.
The atmosphere within the carriage was anxious, none of them relaxed as they watched the number of people on the platform grow with only minutes to spare as people wanted to limit the time that they were out in public however they all felt the absence of several of their friends who couldn't come to Hogwarts this year.
Choosing to stay quiet wasn't a verbal decision but it was one they all came to and they waited for the last of the students to clamber aboard the train and wait for it to leave.
When the door to the carriage opened, they all turned and expected it to be one of the officials doing a final check of the train before it departed but was surprised to find a large group of Slytherins students walk in.
Daphne Greengrass and her sister Astoria, Tracy Davis, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Cameron Du Vant, Joshua Danvers and followed closely by the Gryffindor Mordred Du Vant.
It was a surprise to see them as they were the only Slytherin students who had joined the DA and Neville had assumed that they would keep to themselves this year given all the changes and especially living in the snake pit that was the Slytherin Common rooms.
However, it seemed that Neville's instincts were correct when they didn't settle themselves down in the carriage and walked from one end to the other and through the door to the next one without so much as a word or a look exchanged.
Watching them carefully as they passed, he noted that Daphne had firmly fixed her stoic, cold mask of indifference back on and he was reminded of the intimidating and aloof girl who had walked the castle for their first four years of school. Mordred following them was not a surprise as he was with his elder brother and cousin.
He wondered if there was more to their presence than merely looking for a place to sit and wondered if it was a coincidence or not.
"They've closed ranks amongst themselves, limiting their exposure to those who could bring undue attention on them." Susan said quietly looking at the door they had just walked through critically. "I recognise Daphne and Notts hand in that show and it was a message to us. They stand alone now, and they cannot be seen with us or interact with us at all."
"Everyone will be watched carefully, but some more than others. Daphne will be monitored despite her blood. Her relationship with Harry is not entirely a secret and has been whispered about for the last year." Neville pointed out and wondered if it had been wise to take her to the Weasley Wedding this summer.
"Not only that." Terry added, "Her father married this summer and the rumour is that the new Lady Greengrass is already with child. If that child is a son, he will inherit the title and estate while Greengrass will be relegated to a prize broodmare for the purebloods."
Neville exchanged an amused snort with Susan, Hannah and surprisingly Ginny shared in their humour.
"Daphne might be a highborn lady of a great house, but she is still one of the most capable women I've met." Susan repulsed.
Many of them within the carriage were purebloods but none of them followed many of the more antiquated practices followed by the other elitist purebloods of their society in which they themselves ranked.
"If you think she will allow herself to be sold off or forced into an arranged marriage you don't know her at all. But that message was clear as day. Don't try and speak to any of them unless they approach you." She continued.
The Hogwarts Express gave a shrill final whistle and the carriage shuddered slightly as the train began to pull away from the station. Everyone watched as the platform got shorter and shorter and eventually, they had left the station entirely and were trapped aboard the train.
Ernie looked down at his watch and frowned.
"Damn, we have to go to the Prefects carriage." He said apologetically.
"It's not your fault." Ginny said waving the apology away, "Go, but return as soon as you can, it is better that we are together."
The compartment felt partially barren with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Prefects gone.
"Have new prefects been appointed for Gryffindor?" Terry asked with interest, "Your Seventh-Year prefects aren't attending this year after all."
"No idea." Neville shrugged, "I would imagine McGonagall would have told either Seamus or I if we were being appointed as we are the only two boys left in our year and we haven't heard anything have we?"
Seamus shook his head and snorted. "No but I doubt she would appoint me, I have been caught in too many broom closets!"
"Have you heard from Dean?" Ginny asked Seamus, he might be her ex-boyfriend, but she still cared.
Seamus looked very uncomfortable now, "We spoke prior to the appointment of Minister Thicknesse, he decided to go on the run and follow register with the commission."
"So, he has run." Luna said in her usual dreamy voice but sounded intrigued, "But is he actually muggleborn? Does he know who is father was? If he was a wizard, then he is a halfblood."
"His mother does not know the truth of who his father was, she believes that he could have been a wizard, but he had many secrets and she is even unsure of his name." Seamus explained, "It has frustrated Dean tirelessly. He could have tried to claim be a halfblood, but the commission would demand proof of his father's bloodline which he cannot provide."
"For all we know Dean could be of the ancient bloodlines, or of course he could be muggleborn." Luna said sadly her eyes misted over for moment as she was deep in thought, "But I have always liked Dean. He gave me tips to help me with my painting last year. He was always kind."
"Shall we finally talk about what I am sure we have all heard about?" Terry said eagerly with a brief look to the carriages doors to ensure they were closed. "What happened in Diagon Alley two days passed?"
"Terry!" Susan hushed looking around horrified as if expecting a Death Eater to be sitting in one of the empty seats.
Neville flicked his wand towards the door and muttered his incantations as he had yet to master the art of nonverbal spells and placed an imperturbable charm around it and the others began to place other charms around their carriage.
Once the spells were in place Terry immediately asked a question that he had been wanting to ask since he got on the train.
"So, what did exactly happen? I have heard so many rumours and they all differ."
The occupants of the carriage exchange a look between themselves but eventually all gazes fell on Ginny.
"Why are you looking at me." She asked looking a little alarmed.
"Well your infamous twin brothers shop offers a good view of the front steps of the bank." Susan explained easily, "But we all know that you seem to know more about things that we often do, so out with it Weasley!"
Ginny bit her lip for a moment, most of the students in the compartment knew about the Order of the Phoenix but Ginny had never confirmed their suspicions that her family were active members of the secret society.
"The rumours are true." She said quietly, "Harry was ambushed by Death Eaters as he left and was trapped by anti-transportation wards. A fight broke out between them, but Harry was able to defeat them using one of the tricks he taught the DA with water and lightning. His success was short-lived as You-Know-Who arrived, and another duel broke out."
Everyone looked enthusiastic at the news that Harry was out there and had fought the Death Eaters and won however at the mention of You-Know-Who their faces fell, and they became worried.
"He duelled You-Know-Who!" Lavender exclaimed horrified, "but he got away! That's not possible."
"Of course, it is!" Terry exclaimed, "Harrison is a prodigy when it comes to duelling."
"And You-Know-Who is a hardly a slouch." Parvati pointed out with a shiver.
"The twins said the duel was fought as a stalemate between them." Ginny continued on dutifully, "apparently Harry humiliated You-Know-Who by throwing him across the Alley and he landed in a heap on the banks steps. His fury was terrible then, he immediately tried to use the Killing Curse to end Harry but failed. Harry eventually was able the flee the duel when the containment ward broke and he got away before more reinforcements arrived."
Everyone exchanged looked and many a brow was raised, and they were awed by the sound of the duel between their friend and the darkest wizard of the age.
"That is not how the Prophet reported the incident. They said that the DMLE received a tip off that the criminal Harrison Black-Potter was within the bank and sent officials to take him into custody because of that nonsense about his involvement in the death of Lord Black. The Prophet said that Harrison immediately attacked them" Terry said darkly, "They said that during his escape Harry killed a dozen or more innocent people and destroyed several the shops. I don't trust the Prophets account at all, but many do. Is there any truth to it?"
"That is the Prophet pushing the Death Eater agenda!" Ginny retorted angrily, "That is not what happened at all!"
"None of us believe that Harry had anything to do with the death of Lord Black." Neville reassured her, "Harry loved Sirius we all saw that."
"According to the twins that duel was awe inspiring, they said the amount of magic and power being used was intense and they could feel in even in their shop." Ginny explained, "You-Know-Who's killing curse missed Harry and hit an innocent person. However, there is some truth in the report I suppose. You-Know-Who sent a powerful curse at Harry, he couldn't block it entirely and had to divert it, but it caused the curse to hit the surrounding shops, three of which collapsed, and a fire started. That was how those people died."
Neville gasped as she recounted the truth and immediately saw a problem. The Prophets report on the fight was flawed and he saw through their propaganda against his friend. However, there was enough truth, twisted as it was to make the story believable.
"So, it was an accident." Neville said easily making the distinction, "Harry didn't actively kill those people. You-Know-Who killed one with the killing curse, and his other curse destroyed the buildings which caused those other deaths."
Terry frowned at him, "That is a subjective view, Harrison caused those deaths by diverting the curse away from himself, by saving himself he killed the others."
Ginny and Neville cast him a nasty look of warning.
Terry quickly raised his hands in surrender, "Woah! I don't like it any more than you but that is the truth of it. I will be down to the people to make up their own opinion on who caused those deaths should the truth ever be published, something I don't have much faith in."
Susan looked conflicted as she digested what she was told, and Neville saw it on her face and asked her what was wrong.
"My aunt told me this type of incident has destroyed a number of careers within the Auror office in the past." She said, "this is very serious, they are never black and white. I agree though, Harry would never have done it if he thought there would be a loss of life. If I know him, he would have probably just taken the curse himself just to stop that."
Ginny nodded, "he would, if he learns about this he will be devastated."
"Do we know what they are doing?" Terry asked with interest.
"They who?" Ginny said tightly, "I wasn't aware there was a they here."
Terry visibly gulped seeing the challenge on her face.
"Well Harry won't be alone will he. The Golden Trio will be out there fighting together as they always do." Seamus said rolling his eyes. "Are you telling me that Hermione and Ron are not out there this moment with Harry?"
"I have made no such comment at all." Ginny snapped. "I don't know where Hermione is. And my brother is ill which is why he has not attended school this year."
The carriage became silent as she finished speaking but it was obvious none believed her.
"Ginny is right." Neville said carefully, and he eyed them all, "we know Harry is out there fighting. But we do not know where Hermione is except that she is most probably in hiding, I don't think any of us would say she was foolish enough to try and come to school this year. If any of us have other thoughts to the contrary, you should keep them to yourselves."
"It's true." Susan said firmly, "we could be questioned under veritaserum, and it is better not to speculate."
"Hermione has not been seen since my brother's wedding and we do not know where she is." Ginny reiterated sternly daring anyone to contradict her. "Harry is on his own doing who knows what. And my brother is ill with a serious contagious infection. That is all that we know and that is how it should remain."
Talk within their carriage all but ceased after that, none of the others felt comfortable speaking out of fear that doing so could reveal something or reinforce a believe that could be compelled out of them.
Neville sat next to the window looking out as they left the muggle metropolis behind and thought about the conversation. He, Ginny and Luna had met up in the summer at his house and they'd tried to predict what school would be like and what they could do to fight Snape.
They had mainly agreed that they could come up with all manner of theories but until they were at school, they couldn't make any actual plans. Instead they decided that it would be down to the three of them to help people in the Golden Trio's stead.
It was strange to think of Gryffindor Tower without the Golden Trio in residence and not there to lead and protect them all or uncover some mysterious plot. It was a commonly held belief that if something dark and dangerous was afoot then they would no doubt stop it.
Ginny's account of the duels at Diagon Alley made Neville wonder where Hermione and Ron were. He didn't have proof, but he thought it likely that they were there but merely a hidden presence helping Harry from the shadows. There had been a containment ward over the Alley that trapped Harry originally but somehow it was broken.
Was that the work of the other two? Or had someone else assisted in his escape?
Neville knew that he would miss Harry this year, he wished that Harry could be there with them even now. He would probably be silently thinking and staring out of the window like Neville was doing now thinking of ways to fight back against the Death Eaters under their noses but also to ensure they protected the innocent students.
But that responsibility fell now to Neville and he sighed deeply at the weight he felt pressing on him and it drew Ginny and Luna's attention and they saw his worried frown and tried to distract him.
o-HP-o
It had been a few days since the fight between Harry and Voldemort and they had spent those days ensuring that they were not being followed or monitored in any way and had travelled all over the country and hadn't settled in once place more for more that six hours at once.
When they had escaped Diagon Alley they had landed in a farmer's field in oxford surrounded by startled cows spread across the grazing fields. But they were fortunately alone and there was no sign that they had been tracked as no Death Eaters suddenly appeared.
The moment Harry had felt the ground return to under his feet, he'd flinched with the sudden brightness of the morning sun, and the movement around him caused him to immediately dive away expecting spell fire and a shield charm blossomed protectively around him as he moved.
It had been a shock to Harry to find himself facing not Voldemort who only moments before had been trying to kill him but Ron and Hermione, but he kept his wand drawn and pointed at them both much to their horror given the look in his eyes.
"Wait! It's us!" Ron had cried out raising his empty hands in surrender, "We got away! Don't curse us Harry!"
While Harry could clearly see that they were not in London anymore, and looked to be out of immediate danger he just hadn't been able to relax his arm or mind. His body was alive, every nerve and muscle burned with energy, his heart raced, and he felt the blood pounding in his ears.
"I promise you Harry." Hermione said taking a measured step forward only to stop when Harrys expression hardened. "We are in Oxford, nowhere near him. We are safe for now."
He had been unsure of himself then, taking a step backwards away from them both but as he did his legs became unsteady and he stumbled backwards barely managed to stay on his feet.
Hermione and Ron tried to help him, but Harry stopped them as his wand sparked dangerously, like a wounded animal snarling at any who approached.
"Where were you both." Harry had demanded, "Why were you not there when I needed you."
His friends exchanged a worried look between them at his tone and it was obvious he was not ready to allow anyone near him. Ron gave Hermione a very pointed look telling her that it was best if she handled the explanation.
"When it became apparent that they were Death Eaters and that they were there for you it was already too late, they activated a dormant ward scheme over the entire Alley." Hermione explained cautiously, "We sent you the message to warn you that they were waiting at the line and of the ward. I realised that there was no way for us to leave the Alley until the ward was broken so I decided to bring it down and Ron came with me."
"So, while the two of you were off breaking a ward you left me, on my own. To face thirteen Death Eaters." Harry had snapped viciously, "YOU LEFT ME ON MY OWN! AND HE CAME! I FOUGHT HIM AGAIN AND YOU ABANDONED ME!"
"Harry, we didn't know he would turn up!" Ron said defensively and looked pale at the mere thought of being in Voldemort's presence, "We knew it was a risk to leave you on your own, but I thought you could handle the Death Eaters, I thought Hermione would need help and protection while she brought the ward down. If we had known he would come we wouldn't have gone, but if we hadn't, we wouldn't have escaped!"
Harry had glared at Ron at that moment and felt the overwhelming urge to curse him painfully, feeling that while he had been duelling the darkest wizard in recent history, and while Hermione broke the ward on the Alley, Ron had just been standing there doing nothing
"We should not have been in that Alley." Harry had managed to spit out, "this entire situation could have been avoided if you had listened to me! I said from the start that it was a bad idea, but you refused to listen to me! You had to force the issue! Throwing all caution out of the bloody window just to try and rush everything."
"Well at least we did something." Ron growled, "If we left it down to you, we still would be trying to decide where to go next! You have no idea where those Horcruxes are! We were going in circles and you know it, I gave us a direction!"
"We did something?" Harry snapped back, "We did something? Tell me Ron what did you do? Did you duel him? Did you duel the Death Eaters? Did you protect the people in the Alley? Did you even lift your wand? As far as I can see you did nothing!"
Ron had been furious and had flinched like Harry had punched him.
"Well what exactly did you do then Harry?" Ron spat back his eyes on fire now with a fury Harry had never seen. "Yes, you duelled them all and managed not to die. Well done mate. But did you protect the people? No! People died because you couldn't protect them!"
Now it was Harrys turn to step backwards and he felt like Ron and kicked him below the belt and a deep sicky feeling creeped through his stomach, he looked at Ron horrified by his words and they cut him deeply.
Suddenly Hermione stepped between them before the argument could escalate further.
"Enough you two." She'd pleaded giving Ron a hard look telling him to drop it. "Harry you need to calm down and let me have a look at you, your bleeding."
"I am fine." Harry said tightly, his legs were trembling now, and his body was cold. "I didn't need your help then, and I don't need it now."
Hermione looked hurt by his words, but it didn't stop her moving towards him, she was braver than Ron when it came to Harrys anger.
"Yes, you do." She had told him pointedly "Your bleeding and you're as pale as a ghost. You can barely stand Harry, please let me look at you."
Harry had looked own at himself and was surprised to have found that his robes were sodden, a dark patch had spread across his belly and his left hand dripped with blood. The moment he had seen the blood he became acutely aware of the injuries and pain registered with his brain.
"What happened to me." Harry demanded as he holstered his wand and probed his side and hissed with pain and became dizzy and he fell backwards and onto the floor.
Hermione had hurried over and quickly wordlessly vanished his outer robe leaving him in what had been a white shirt but was now stained scarlet and she gasped.
"I need to stop the bleeding now." She'd told him and then vanished his ruined shirt and exposed the deep laceration across the right side of his abdomen and another on his left-hand forearm.
Harry had realised as he saw his wounds that at some point two spells had hit him, either slipping through his various shield charms between casting or they had not been strong enough to block all the magic thrown at him.
However, what had worried him most was that he hadn't known who or when the damage had been done.
"I didn't even notice." Harry had muttered to himself.
"It was the adrenalin." Hermione had explained, and she had looked about ready to start to try and heal his injuries even while her hands shook with worry.
But she was stopped by Ron who had gone pale seeing Harrys injuries.
"No, don't! You need to check his body for residual magic, if that was caused by a curse you need to remove the traced of the magic or it won't heal."
Ron had crouched down next to Harry, their previous argument forgotten as he pointed his wand at the wound and began to cast numerous spells over him and slowly removed the residual magic with Harrys help and then healed it himself.
The mission had been almost complete failure and it was one that Harry blamed almost entirely on Ron for his insistence on pursuing it. Harry eventually could admit after two days that he could only have got away with his life because Hermione broke the ward over the Alley, and eventually learned that it had been Ron who had thrown the Darkness Powder as a distraction but it by no means alleviated the blame Harry placed on him.
Today however was a very odd day for the three of them, it was September First normally they would have been aboard the Hogwarts Express and on their way to Hogwarts. Instead they were had stopped in a muggle supermarket to buy a meagre amount of food with the money they had left before they found a place to stay for the evening.
Deciding where to go next was no simple matter, they agreed that they needed to steer clear of anywhere they familiar to them or could be easily traced to their past. However more often they replied on luck by pointing to a random place on a map and traveling there.
Harry had listed to both Ron and Hermione argue for half an hour while he sat and looked through his note book and added notes here and there and jotted down his thoughts on where to look next or comments on Voldemort. They were trying to decide where they should go next as they were due to move on from their current bolt hole.
Finally having enough of their bickering, he pocketed the book and grabbed each of them firmly and took them by side-long apparition.
What made Harry pick their destination he couldn't say, however as he looked on it, he found it somewhat fitting.
They had landed on a spur of rock out at sea where a two-story shack sat swaying in the wind and the waves crashed against the rocks.
"Where in the name of Merlin are we?" Ron said aghast looking at the shack with distaste and he turned and saw that they were out at sea and how they were apparently trapped on the island. "How can you keep finding worse places to stay than the day before?"
"Because unlike you, I can make do." Harry said stiffly, he had stayed here before and it wasn't so bad and with magic it would be much better. Hermione coped better than he had thought she would, sure her temper became frayed occasionally but compared to Ron she was a saint. "Come on"
Harry remembered the last time he had been here and remembered it as a much simpler time in his life, although he had been unhappy, even compared to how he felt now. At least he now knew who he was and that he had a place in the world.
The Shack was empty, which was hardly a surprise giving its dilapidated state, it had deteriorated since Harry had stayed there six years previously.
"It will do." Hermione shrugged at Ron and quickly followed Harry towards the door and looked around keenly no doubt wondering how he knew it was there.
"Does it even have plumbing?" Ron asked grumpily.
Harry didn't bother replying as he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The shack was much as Harry remembered it. Cold, dank, stinking of seaweed and covered in a thick layer of dust. However, when Harry had turned eleven, he had no use of a wand or magical education. In fact, back then he hadn't known he was even a wizard until late in the night.
With their magic and experience of cleaning Black House and the other places they had found to stay recently they removed all the dirt and grime, a big warm fire danced in the fireplace. They blocked out the sounds of waves hitting the rocks outside and created an invisible barrier around the shack which stopped the cold wind blowing through the cracks in the walls.
The island itself was hidden from the prying eyes of the muggles on the shore by a web of protective magic which Harry and Hermione had reinforced more thoroughly than they had before as Hermione said that they would stay in the shack for a few days to rest up and come up with a plan for what they would do next.
Harry sat in a corner of the shack with the Flamel Journal on his lap out of sight of Hermione and Ron who were attempting to make something to eat for lunch and Harry was using the time to get some space away from them both.
The duel with the Death Eaters and Voldemort had taken a toll on Harry. His injuries hadn't been too serious, and Ron had healed him soon enough, but the true toll had been the exhaustion from the use of so much magic. Normally Harry would recover quickly enough given a night of sleep, but sleep was just another enemy of Harrys now.
A powerful headache had been Harrys constant companion since the duel, and it pressed painfully on his mind and it made it difficult to read and even see straight. It was a physical pain manifested by the connection he shared with Voldemort and one that no amount of occlumency had been able to push away.
Harry didn't share his concerns with his friends, but he was acutely aware that the duel had been one of most demanding experiences he had ever had. For all his training he had been unprepared for the power of Voldemort, however he thought the cause of his headaches was due to Voldemort attempting to invade his mind.
The book Nicolas Flamel had given him was the perfect book to distract Harry, he found its contents incredibly interesting and intriguing as it not only listed certain magical practices but alluded to different areas of study and other magic.
This section was an account of a Persian mother who had been cursed with a blood malediction and had unknowingly passed it on to her only daughter and tried to find a way to cure the curse. It was a fascinating read and the mother had delved into ancient magical practices that were both ritualistic and considered dark in modern times.
Harry was sitting wondering who had added this entry to the journal when Hermione came over with a cup of tea.
"Hey. I thought you could do we a cup of tea." She said handing him the chipped cup, she frowned at the journal not recognising it but didn't comment. "Ron is outside trying to catch fish. We burnt the soup we tried to cook."
"Thanks." Harry sighed.
"The two of you need to resolve whatever these issues are between you." She told him, "if you don't then it will only end in a confrontation or cause a disaster."
"Like that trip to Gringotts?" Harry asked pointedly, daring her to contradict him and he saw her flinch and immediately felt bad. "Sorry, you didn't deserve that, you got us out of there. But we should never have gone, and it was his fault that we did. I don't care if we follow dead ends but that was a fool's errand and we could have died. If we die who else can destroy the Horcruxes? What would have happened to the other Weasleys had he been discovered?"
Hermione looked at him for a long moment before she spoke.
"There is a silver lining." She said hesitantly, "Your fought him in a duel and you fought him to a stalemate. Not many other wizards can claim they have done that."
Harry snorted disdainfully having already mentally gone over that duel to make sure he was prepared for the future and came to a conclusion. "I caught him by surprise, he did not know the extent of my powers, but he will have a good measure of them now. He knows more magic that I do, he has honed his skills for decades. That might have looked like a stalemate, but it wasn't, if that duel had continued then it would have ended differently. I am just lucky we share wand cores."
She considered his words but didn't seem to believe him which irritated Harry, they never believed him when it came to his abilities. "That might be so, however that duel was witnessed, word will spread, and it will inspire hope."
"Just what I need." Harry said ruefully, "I was the boy-who-lived all my life and now I am the Chosen One who will vanquish the Dark Lord. I hate the ridiculous prophecy! I just want to be a normal seventeen-year-old who attends Hogwarts and is worrying about NEWTS."
"That is the dream of all children." Hermione told him, and she looked far away now, as if picturing herself at school. "You know its September First don't you, the train left three hours ago. It feels odd."
Harry realised that he hadn't kept track of the date, it made him conscious of time and how long they had been out in the world without accomplishing anything and it made him feel Ron was right. But now that he knew he felt a type of loss at the thought of not starting school and missing the sight of the ancient castle that was a home to him.
"I wonder what Neville and the others are doing right now." Harry said taking a sip of his tea and wishing to have a cold glass of pumpkin juice from the trolley, "They will have to look after each other now, with Snape as Headmaster things will not be like they were."
Hermione wrapped her jacket around her for comfort, and Harry saw that she too longed to return to the school where she had so much knowledge yet to devour. She then looked at Harry and looked like she wanted to ask a question but seemed to think better of it.
"What is it." Harry asked her raising an eyebrow, "I can see you want to ask something so ask."
He caught her by surprise, but she asked the question anyway.
"How did you know about this place?" She asked, "You brought us here directly, so you must have known it was here."
Harry was surprised by the question but should have known that she would be curious about it.
"I told you years ago that when my Hogwarts letters came that my aunt and uncle tried to hide them from me to prevent me becoming a wizard." Harry explained, it seemed like so long ago now, but he oddly found it funny to remember the lengths his uncle had gone. "The letters kept arriving in large numbers, so the Uncle tried to run from the owls. We travelled for days but wherever we went the letters always found us and then eventually he found this shack and brought us here."
Hermione laughed, "He tried to out run and hide from a post owl?"
"I know." Harry smiled, "He was ignorant to their magic of course, so too was my aunt I think, or she just kept quiet and hoped it would all go away. It was here in this shack that I found out I wasn't some orphaned kid around who weird things happened, but I was a wizard and part of a different world."
Hermione understood him better than anyone, she knew his relationship with his muggle relatives was strained and there was bad history but she herself remembered the day Professor McGonagall came and explained that she was a witch and it was a key moment in her life.
"It was Hagrid who came wasn't it?" She asked, "I remember you saying it was Hagrid who brought you to Diagon Alley."
"Yeah it was." Harry said fondly, "He created quite the impression on a young eleven-year-old I can tell you. In a way it was quite apt for Hagrid to bring me back to the magical world when it was him who took me from Godric's Hollow and took me to my aunts. There is a certain symmetry there, like it was fate or something."
The door to the shack creaked open and Ron stepped in and held up three large fish with magic in front of him, when he saw Harry and Hermione sitting drinking tea his face fell and became sour and he stomped over to the stove and left the fish on the side.
Harry stood up and dusted himself off and took his cup and book towards what passed as a kitchen which was basically a table and metal stove and looked over the fish. He didn't know if they were even edible and truthfully wasn't that fond of fish.
"Can you cook them?" Ron asked him.
"I can try." Harry shrugged, and he pulled out his wand and began to prepare them as best he knew how.
As Harry worked Hermione sat herself on the old sofa and flicked through the pages of notes which detailed their research into Voldemort and places that might mean something to him and hoped to see something, she hadn't in the hundred other times she had look through them.
Ron had taken Harrys place in the corner and set out a chess board in front of him and was looking at it critically but made no attempt to play and was deep in thought. When lunch was ready, they quickly ate the grilled fish, it wasn't much but it was edible and filled a hole in their stomachs and they returned to their various tasks.
It was late in the evening now, Harry had managed to get some sleep which had made him feel better and his headache had receded enough to allow him to sit outside surrounded by the ocean and work on his occlumency skills to try and close himself off from Voldemort and to seal away his guilt over Sirius.
He placed a metal bowl in front of him and conjured a ball of fire to sit within it and reached out to the bowl mentally and used wandless magic to make it levitate in the air and began his control exercise.
Breathing deeply in and out he turned his attention inside and closed his eyes, visualising his mental landscape and worked to sort through it and restore the barriers that had seemingly vanished. A cold shiver passed through Harry suddenly and he felt a darkness leaking through a crack in his defence.
Pushing the connection away and forcing it closed was not easy, it was like trying to stop your blood pumping around your own body through a mental command. There was a flicker from within the darkness and Harry felt a flicker of Voldemort's emotions, he felt fury and hatred flow into him.
Suddenly there was a clang of metal and Harry felt a wave of heat on his face.
Opening his eyes Harry saw the bowl rolling away on its side and the fire had burnt out, sighing he flicked his fingers towards the bowl to summon it to him, but it rolled further away, and he was forced to summon it with his wand.
"You know you really should be careful you don't burn your eyebrows off." Ron said making Harry jump having not heard him approach, "but you should come back inside. I have had a thought."
Harrys face fell as Ron finished speaking as those last words registered and Ron noticed immediately, and he went red about the face and ears.
"Just come inside." Ron snapped, and he stormed away from Harry without another word.
Taking a few minutes to work through another calming exercise to make sure he didn't curse Ron when he went inside and to make sure that his mental barriers were intact after the last exercise failed. Once he was sure that he was somewhat calm Harry stood up and stretched and went back inside.
"What did you want?" Harry asked joining them in the living area.
"I told you before we need to ensure that we get a message out to the people and try and inspire hope." Ron said, "It was my idea to place the message in the ministry to try and inspire an insurrection there or to spread rumours of an underground fight against the Dark Regime."
"I remember." Harry said, "I delivered your message myself as we left."
"That was just one message." Ron said simply, "We need to spread that message across the entire country. We need to remind people that we are out here. We need to grab the attention of the Regime and give people the breathing room to fight back, the order could use that breathing room too I would imagine."
Harry looked between his friends expecting another shoe to drop but none did. He took a seat with them and got comfortable.
"Did you have something in mind?" Harry asked.
"Yes." Ron smiled, and he placed his chess board on the table and began to explain.
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The sun was setting, and the sky was darkening as the Hogwarts Express continued its journey north passing the large green fields and hills and crossed over valleys on old bridges. It was a familiar sight to all who attended Hogwarts, but it was a slow way to travel and the scenery soon lost its charm in the tedium.
Surprisingly it had been an uneventful journey so far. The members of the DA had been left alone in their carriage and hadn't been challenged at all. When the prefects and Head Boy and Girl patrolled the train, they had not lingered in their carriage and just ensured that everyone was settled and made no comment on the wands in people hands.
It had not been a surprise to anyone to find that Draco Malfoy was appointed Head Boy along with Pansy Parkinson as Head Girl. But when Draco passed through the carriage he had looked around and moved on without so much as a word or a look of contempt. Parkinson however sneered at them nastily as she hurried to catch up with her partner.
She looked like she couldn't wait to make their lives hell, the only reason she was Head Girl was that she was a Slytherin student. Neville thought Daphne would have made for a better choice but thought that her association with Harry prevented that.
Neville was sitting looking out the window deep in thought as he had for most of the journey so far when in the distance, he saw something bright heading straight towards them.
"What is that." Neville pointing out the window, "is that a muggle flying machine?"
Ginny leaned forward to see where he was pointing and frowned, "No…. I don't think that is."
Everyone moved to the windows on one side of the carriage to get a good look at the light that was growing larger and they noted its bluish hue.
As it soared towards them, they tried to discern what it was, and the light got brighter and brighter and it grew much larger and its shape became visible the closer it came.
The train took a bend on the track and the light banked with them and suddenly they could see what it was, and they stood watching it wide eyed.
"But that's…" Ernie said.
"It can't be…" Parvati gasped.
"It is." Neville said firmly his eyes glinting and his heart hammered in his chest.
The light charged towards them managed to catch up with the speeding train and it moved itself parallel with the carriages and they could be no denying what it was now.
A majestic brilliant blue-white stag was bounding next to the train, its large antlers lifted high into the air.
"Harry." Ginny whispered breathlessly.
The stag didn't linger, it ran onwards up the length of the train and then diverted away and sped off over the hills and out of sight.
"What in the name of Merlin was that about." Hannah asked, "That was Harrys Patronus wasn't it."
"Course it was!" Parvati said rolling her eyes, "It must be a….
Outside something new has appeared heading towards the train, a black shadowy-smoke. Four of them surrounded the train while a fifth pursued the patronus that was disappearing into the distance.
Suddenly the train lurched forwards and the breaks screeched painfully as the train was brought to a juddering halt.
The occupants of the carriage hurtled forwards and Lavender fell out of her chair and landed on a Seamus. The luggage in the racks shifted and Sue and Michael caught the trunks and cases before they fell on anyone with a hasty spell.
"What is happening Lavender shrieked gripping Seamus tightly in fear.
All of them had their wands out and at the ready, they could all remember the only other time the Express had been stopped mid journey and all of them were ready to cast their own patronus should dementors swarm the train.
"Do you think its Harry?" Terry asked in a whisper.
Neville looked out the window and saw two black robed wizards on brooms were hovering outside and he saw their wands in their hands and metal masks on their faces and his blood boiled with hate and red sparks jumped from his wand making Ginny jump.
"No. This isn't Harry." He said in a low voice. "Get back in your seats now, the Express is being boarded by Death Eaters or Ministry Officials."
They all hastened to follow Neville's instruction, but their wands did not leave their hands and some of them shook in fear while others twitched nervously as their bodies reacted to the adrenalin pouring through their veins making them jumpy.
It didn't take long for the door to the carriage to open and three black robed wizards stepped inside and glared at them all carefully. Their wands were in belt holsters, but none wore the masks of the Death Eaters, but neither were they aurors for they lacked the red robes.
"Who are you and what is the meaning of this." Sue demanded.
"Sit down girl." Sneered one of the men, "We are here on ministry business."
"Your Looking for Harrison Black-Potter." Neville said simply, "He isn't here."
"How do you know we are looking for him." Another asked suspiciously, "Do you know where he is?"
"You're here because your following his patronus which was here moments ago." Neville said daringly, "I know that he isn't in this carriage, Harrison wouldn't be foolish enough to board this train."
"Is that so." The man replied, and he looked Neville up and down, "And who are you boy?"
"Neville Longbottom." He replied defiantly and smirked, "I am sure there are places to look under the seats if you would like us to move?"
The man lashed out at Neville then and hit him across the mouth.
"Watch your tongue boy." He snapped.
Neville wiped his mouth and blood welled up out of the split lip, but he did not lose his smile.
"Don't worry sir." He said daringly, "I am sure to remember you and this moment very keenly. I promise you that you will regret harming the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom."
The man looked at Neville uneasily now as the blood seeped out of the wound and he cast a look around at the other students all of whom held their wands by their sides ready to act should Neville order it.
"Be warned boy." The man said slowly, "Your blood might be pure, but it is not a shield."
They didn't linger any longer, they checked for concealment charms on them all and around the compartment but found none so they left and made their way to the next carriage.
Once the door was closed Susan shot a spell at the door sealing them inside and preventing sound to pass through the carriage.
"What was that about!" She demanded of him.
"I am standing up for what is right." Neville told her, and he winced as he touched his lip with his tongue. "If they think they will go unchallenged then they have already won this war."
"War?" Terry snorted, "What war? This war is over they have won."
"No, they haven't." Luna said quietly, "This war will not end until Harry or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead."
"Be that as it may." Ernie said, "You shouldn't try and provoke them Neville, what were you thinking."
Neville stayed quiet, not wanting to tell them exactly what had been going through his mind.
"Your trying to step into Harrys shoes." Sue said glaring at him, "That is the exact type of rash demonstration or defiance he would give. You are not Harry, you do not have to follow his example."
Neville looked at Susan for a long moment before he found the words he was looking for.
"I was thinking of Harry, but not in the way you think." Neville frowning as he tried to put his thoughts into words that they would understand. "Harry stands up to those who bully others, he protected those who have no voice. As a Lord that is his role in our community, to guide and protect. I too have the same duty and it is time I lived up to my name."
Sue looked uncomfortable now as she looked on Neville, she deflated slightly, and her eyes flicked from the ring on his finger to the one on her own hand.
"Your right Neville." She said slowly, "But you have to fight smart. We haven't even arrived at school and you have already dared to challenge the new regime. You can bet Snape will hear of this."
A shudder passed through Neville at the mention of the former potions master and now Hogwarts Headmaster. He still hadn't been able to shake the fear of Severus Snape, and he imagined he would be facing him quite often this year and he wouldn't let him see that fear anymore, he wouldn't give him that control over him.
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Driftveil House was the ancestral home of the Danvers Family and lay in twenty miles south of Gloucester surrounded by trees and farmland. The local village was very old and while it is predominantly muggle several magical families also call the village home.
The House of Danvers had been destroyed two centuries prior in a great fire but had been rebuilt and followed the fashion of the muggles of the time with had caused a major controversy across the magical community and some labelled the Danvers as blood traitors as a result.
It was however very opulent, covered in gold and silver, large mirrors and marble and fine artwork and relief plasterwork or sculpted stone. The Danvers wealth was evident in their family home and the size of the estate much of which had been turned into farmland.
The drawing room had hosted a multitude of people and parties of differing sizes but tonight while the nations children ventures north only four people sat waiting on the fifth guest to arrive.
The door to the room opened and in stepped Andromeda Tonks.
"I must apologise for my tardiness." She said tensely, "I have a pregnant daughter, a depressed son-in-law, a wayward nephew and now my husband has taken up the notion to go on the run to avoid bringing the commission down on our house."
The room exchanged a look, all of them were purebloods however Andromeda was the only one of them with a muggleborn spouse. They also knew that if Lord Black were still with them, he would have stormed out of the room to deal with the foolish notion of Ted Tonks.
"Come Andromeda." Augusta said sternly, "Sit down and have a drink, I daresay you need one after the argument I don't doubt you have just had. I think all of us have needed one today after seeing off our children."
Jacob poured a healthy measure of amber liquid into a glass and went to add some water automatically but thought better of it and looked at Andromeda and held up the decanter of water and she shook her head.
Smirking as she took the glass and downed it in one.
"I apologise for being so dishevelled." She said and for once sounded defeated.
"Don't be." Jacob said consolingly he understood her grief, he had lost his sister all those years ago and it had felt like everything was going wrong then too. "You are not the only one struggling, Daniel here has a pregnant wife at his age! Lady Georgiana Greengrass is running him ragged."
Daniel shot Jacob a look of annoyance but didn't deny it, "I had forgotten how pregnancy changes a person."
Lady Georgiana Danvers smiled brightly, "I can sympathise with you Daniel, I drove Jacob mad during my own pregnancy."
Jacob smiled fondly at his wife and took a sip of his drink and was about to change the subject, but Augusta beat him to it.
"So, shall we get on with the reason we are all here?" Augusta said, "I am too old to waste time following niceties, these days' time is a precious commodity and we have very little."
It was a social faux pas to call out a host and not observe social etiquette, but Jacob didn't begrudge her the point, it was true and wasn't about to take offence to it. In fact, he relished the opportunity to speak freely and without worrying about ramifications.
"I am sure you all heard that the ICW convened in Greece to discuss the change of leadership here in Britain and to discuss their response to the direction our community has taken." He told them.
Andromeda was shocked by the news having not even heard of the meeting of the International Convention of Wizards but knew that it did not bode well when the met to discuss a single nation.
"I heard there was to be a sitting of the ICW in Spain to discuss a number of issues." Daniel said frowning, "I wasn't aware their focus was on our community here."
"They have tried to keep the agender of the meeting quiet to avoid antagonising You-Know-Who or encourage Death Eater activities to expand beyond the Isles." Georgianna added, "My cousin's husband is a member of the ICW and write to tell me of this meeting."
"So, did they come to some sort of decision?" Augusta asked, "knowing the ICW I doubt it was a good one."
"No, it's not." Georgianna said simply, "The ICW has decided not to intervene."
"You cannot be serious!" Andromeda said outraged, her features were enough to elicit a flinch from the dowager Lady Longbottom as she saw a ghost of Andromedas mad sister sitting beside her. "To what end?"
"They believe intervening here will only bring down the wrath of You-Know-Who on their countries." Jacob expanded, "So long as muggles remain oblivious to the magical community, the ICW will take no steps to restore our government or strike at the Death Eaters or their master."
"This cannot stand!" Augusta fumed, "Those pig-headed morons! I never expected them to sink to such a low! Why we ever thought helping to found the stupid congregation of self-serving rats escapes me."
Daniel and Georgianna exchanged a look between them.
"What is it." Andromeda said pointedly, "Surely there isn't more?"
Daniel looked hesitant now, "Yes. They have also implemented a travel ban. No foreign witches or wizards are able to come to our shores without facing criminal charges."
The room was silent as this news was digested and additional drinks were poured and downed.
"How in the name of Merlin do they think they can get away with this?" Daniel said, "This decision is a major mistake by the ICW, and this will create severe backlash. Do they think we will forget this? Do they think that we will not seek restitution over this decision?"
Andromeda gave him a stern look, but it was broken with a deep sigh.
"They do not expect us to emerge from this." She said, "They think this war is lost and they are waiting for what amounts to a coup d'état or civil war to blow over, so they can make nice. Only they believe that the Dark Regime is here to stay."
"They might not be wrong." Daniel said, "The regime all but controls all of us now. They have our children."
Georgianna's glass trembled in her hand at this announcement and she looked distraught thinking of both her son and nephews. Her husband placed a comforting hand on her arm and threw a warning look at the sour Lord Greengrass.
"I am sorry, but it is true." Daniel said, "We have to be careful now or our children will suffer as they are held hostage at Hogwarts. I cannot be the only one to see the truth to the mandatory attendance?"
"No, you're not my Lord." Augusta said sternly, "We all have those we care for within the school!"
Daniel nodded stiffly and looked away awkwardly.
"So, Britain cannot expect to receive any assistance." Andromeda said putting down her glass, "I had hoped we could expect some form of aid. Thirty-five muggleborns students and their families were safely warned and placed into hiding to prevent them falling into the Regimes trap at Kings cross."
"The Order of the phoenix only saved so few?" Augusta said surprised, "Why did they not secure more?"
Andromeda looked uncomfortable talking about the Order so openly, but she knew the answer and so should they.
"At least twenty families declined Order protection and have gone into hiding on their own within the muggle world." She explained, "They thought they could do better on their own. Others didn't trust the Order. However, the biggest issue the Order has is that they do not have the gold reserves to house, feed or secure many more than they already have."
"So, you need a financial backer?" Daniel guessed uncomfortably, "You know the risk of this request."
"I do." She said, "You have heard that Gringotts is being closely watched since the duel with Harrison. Something has changed within the bank, they have entered into talks with the Ministry something they had refused to do until that duel on their steps. Rumour is that they have undergone a change in leadership."
"We can help you." Jacob said after looking at his wife closely, "However we need to be careful to avoid attracting attention from our withdrawals. Daniel?"
"I cannot be seen to be aiding the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel said seriously, "I will not endanger my daughters or my pregnant wife. My gold is tied up and I cannot readily access it for at least six months."
"So, you will not help at all Daniel?" Georgiana asked looking slightly shocked by his refusal.
"No, I will not help." Daniel said slowly, "However as you know the Greengrass Holdings are mostly for agricultural purposes. I have an abundance of produce which I sell regularly on the wizard's market. I cannot be seen to help you, but if some of my shipments were to go missing or stolen then of course I would be outraged but couldn't be held accountable."
Augusta smirked as she realised what he was saying, "I can help more directly. Hemlock Hall thanks to my grandson has very successful greenhouses. I can contribute food and medicinal plants too. I would give asylum at Hemlock Hall, but we cannot be so brazen."
"I would agree." Andromeda nodded, "If I had access to the Black family properties, I would also be hesitant to use them too, it is too risky as the Ministry has records of them all."
"So how do we evacuate them?" Jacob asked, "Does the Order have a plan?"
"No." Andromeda admitted, "But they have an idea. It will need to be amended slightly given the ICW ruling but it is workable, we just need a nation to shelter the muggleborns and the Order will do the rest."
"Surely no nation will help?" Jacob said, "They fear the Dark Lords attention."
"I imagine some our sympathetic to our fight here." Georgiana said, "European nations will understand what we face after falling to Grindelwald all those years ago, but I doubt they will bend the ICW Ruling."
"I wasn't thinking of a European Nation." Andromeda said her eyes glinting now, "Tell me, are you still in contact with Leonidas since you Hogwarts?"
Georgiana frowned, "I do, but I don't know what Leo can do to help the Order."
"I just need him to make an introduction to his mother." Andromeda said simply.
Everyone exchanged looks as they suddenly all realised just who the Order were looking to involve and thought if the muggleborns could be sent there they would both be safe but also readily accepted.
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Authors Note: Edited April 2019