Author's Note: I had hoped all of you liked Sirius' latest prank. I've been dying to tell it since the idea for this fic popped into my mind.
Any suggestions for future pranks? I'm struggling to keep stringing Voldemort along until he totally cracks, but Sirius has a few more tricks up his sleeve, believe me.
Leaderless
For 3 days, Fudge hid in his office after the revelation of Voldemort's return.
3 days he had been hounded by the press, concerned members of the Wizarding public, and his own Ministry.
3 days planning his next move, alone, as Lucius had refused to reply to his owl's.
And now, after 3 days, he would be forced to face the world, as a special session of the Wizengamot had been convened.
Where the hell is Lucius? I'll lose my hold soon, if he doesn't reply!, thought the Minister.
Steeling himself, he grabbed his bowler hat, and walked out to face the public.
"Liar!", said the first person that saw him, as he walked through the packed atrium.
"It's Fudge!", said another, pointing directly at him.
"Can you tell us of what you have planned, in the face of You-Know-Who's return?"
"What are your comments, now that Lord Potter and Dumbledore have been proven correct?"
"The fool's doomed us all!"
"Off with his head!," came a rather enthusiastic member of the crowd.
"What of the budget cuts you have been pushing through, reducing funding to the Aurors? Is this your declaration of support for You-Know-Who?", came another member of the press.
"Coward!"
"Traitor!"
Sensing the change in the mood, with the help of his Auror bodyguards, he pushed and shoved his way safely into the chambers of the Wizengamot.
"Order, order!", Dumbledore boomed. "This emergency session of the Wizengamot, called by Madam Longbottom, will now begin".
"Minister, what do you have to report?", questioned Dumbledore.
Pale, he rose slowly, "Erm, yes, members of the Wizengamot, thank you organising this special session. The rumours of His return have been shocking no doubt..."
"Stop stalling, and answer the question!", yelled a voice.
"Is Lord Potter and the Daily Prophet correct? Has he truly returned?", asked another. Harry, at his own seat next to Sirius, kept an impassive face.
"I'm not sure how to answer that, my Lords", he stalled again, "it is not that simple..."
"Enough", dismissed Madam Longbottom, "let's ask someone who is eminently more qualified than you are. Madam Bones, what has the Department of Magical Law Enforcement know?"
Rising, the middle-aged Witch bowed and replied simply, "I do not know, Madam. I have conducted investigations, but nothing seems to have turned up. I have approached the Minister numerous times over these past few days, but he has been indisposed in assisting me with further direction, or assigning more resources for me to further my inquiries", came the terse reply.
A rumble of disapproval rose, especially from the public gallery.
"So you have done nothing, Minister?", demanded Lord Black.
"Now see here, we cannot go around wasting resources on chasing down every shadow we see, even if the words do come from your Son".
"Enough!", roared Dumbledore, "there will be no insulting the Lords Black or Potter, Minister, what you are insinuating goes far beyond Wizengamot protocol. Answer the question."
"Thank you, Chief Warlock," Sirius interrupted, before Fudge could respond, "for the record, it is not just Lord Potter's words that you seek to condemn and ignore, but photographs and the reports we have all seen in the Daily Prophet. So answer me this: what have you done to address the issue of Voldemort's return?", he asked, with righteous indignation.
He was trapped by the words he had continually uttered throughout the past few months. Knowing his political career was on the line, he side-stepped the question, hoping that no one would notice.
"I will make available all resources to tracking down this rumour," he said pompously, "we will see this problem to its conclusion".
With an un-ladylike snort, Madam Longbottom retorted, "so you really have done nothing, and are still in denial?"
Having his ploy been seen right through, he could only nod his head.
Speaking for the first time, the young Lord Potter rose, "I am willing to have my memories of the night of Voldemort's resurrection available to all for inspection, including any member of the press, " he said, as the entire hall gasped collectively, "in addition, I am willing to undergo Veritaserium, to show that what I have been proclaiming thus far is completely honest".
That got the crowds attention.
"Let's see it!", came a voice from the public gallery.
"No more lies!", came another.
"Enough!", Dumbledore roared. "Lord Potter, we thank you for your offer, but that will not be required, seeing as the Daily Prophet has provided enough evidence we need."
Harry nodded, and sat down.
"Now, Minister, as you have committed yourself to a course of action, let's reconvene at a later date to hear the progress you have made", he smiled at a pale looking Fudge, who merely nodded again.
"Very well, since the Minister has nothing further to add, we will reconvene in 2 days to hear his report before we meet again. This session is now dismissed."
Noise erupted all around, as Fudge slunk out of the Chamber.
At least I'm still Minister.
Chaos reigned at Hogwarts too.
There was fear, fear that once again, they would experience the horrors had experienced. Fear of the change that all knew would come, now that He returned.
The Slytherin's were insufferable, although Draco did not seem to participate in their enthusiasm, probably because Daddy's all worried about Lord Vader, Harry chuckled.
Old hatreds seemed to have resurfaced, as students who had experienced lost in the last war attacked the children of suspected Death Eater's along the corridors.
The Fire Team, knowing that they were the cause of, and at the very nexus of, the coming storm, stood together silently, concentrating only on their studies and training.
Umbridge, unaware that her political career was at stake, continued teaching to an increasingly hostile student body. Detention after detention was handed out by her cheerfully, as the students demanded that they be taught the practical aspects of Defense.
Finally, it was her clear denial of Voldemort's return that turned the student body into open revolt against her.
Although the Twins, to the surprise of everyone, did not participate, they did unload their complete arsenal of pranks onto the student body. Their stash was astounding, as the Twins had caches hidden throughout the Castle as a precaution against being searched by suspicious Professors.
The combined news of Voldemort's return, together with Umbridge's oppressive presence and news of her bloody detentions was a powder keg waiting to explode. All it took was a single spark.
Harry had planned it with Dumbledore and Sirius.
They all knew Umbridge was using a blood quill on students, and had slowly collected evidence and statements on its use.
They decided not to do the political assassination personally, lest they show their hand, but through the Daily Prophet. They had timed it to be released just before Fudge was due to give a press conference, updating them on the 'progress' he had made.
The Dark Lord spent days seething, in his private chambers at Malfoy Manor.
Who is he to command me? Amuse him? How dare he.
None of his contacts had heard of this Dark Lord Vader, but there was no denying the man's power and insight into Voldemort's world, after having been so grievously injured by a single Spell.
He had spent days analyzing the letter itself, for any magical traces, but could not find anything.
Whoever this Dark Lord was, Voldemort needed, no craved, to find out more. The promise of such Dark Magic was too much to resist.
Truth be told, Voldemort was afraid. His mind was now occupied not only by that accursed Prophesy, but by another Dark Lord he knew nothing of.
He planned and plotted anew, rearranging his plans in light of this new enemy.
Summoning his inner circle, he too had a strike plan that would bring the ministry to its knees.
He would have to execute his next move soon, it was time to begin his reign of terror.
"Lucius, delegate your mission on locating this new Dark Lord to someone else", ordered Voldemort. "Concentrate on recruiting every Wand you can".
"Yes, my Lord".
"And prepare a strike team of 200 Wizards, for our next mission".
"Two Hundred, my Lord", Lucius said in surprise.
"Yes, though I doubt we will need them. I have other creatures I can summon", he replied cryptically.
He had plans, and he was going to cow the Wizarding World into fear and submission.
The Terror of Hogwarts
Proclaimed the morning edition of the Prophet.
'Shocked, reporters of this newspaper received numerous complaints and accounts from dozens of students of the august institution, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that within it's hallowed hall lurks a vile creature that would dare torture the future of our world. Delores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, and appointed by the Ministry as Professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts, has been verified by numerous accounts of her use of Blood Quills in detentions against students...'
Unperturbed by what she had read in the papers, simply assured in her position, she smiled at the students, as they slowly made their way to breakfast.
"How can that cunt continue with that smug smile", whispered a Gryffindor.
The whispering, which by now, had crossed House lines, grew louder and louder.
Dissension and anger was heavy in the air, fueled faster and further by her continued smile.
Harry and his Team noticed it, watching for the spark to ignite. Ron was the first to spot it, while Dumbledore was making some administrative announcements to the School.
Nudging Harry, Ron pointed.
"Hem, hem", came the irritating interruption, "Headmaster, may I interrupt, as you seem to have lost the attention of your students, seeing as they are all whispering away," as she gave her patently false smile.
"Students...", she started.
"Torturer!"
"Bitch!"
"Silence! I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Mag..."
Someone launched a dungbomb at her, which broke the floodgates, every manner of prank and firecracker that the Twins had accumulated throughout their career, was launched at her.
Dumbledore cast a shield protecting most of the Professors, save for Umbridge, while Snape lazily deflected any stray prank towards her.
Mcgonagall, unflappable as always, merely continued eating her breakfast, while reading the news.
Taking her cue, Dumbledore returned to his own meal.
"Headmaster, do something!", screeched the Toad.
"I'm sorry Madam Umbridge, but it appears you're right, I seem to have lost the attention of my students, but since you have caught theirs fully, I'm sure you will have everything under control. Feel free to discipline them as you deem fit," Dumbledore said dismissively, with a dangerous glint in his eye. "Now if you'll excuse me, the House Elves have made a delightful batch of muffins that I am eager to sample".
She turned blue, purple, yellow, expanded in size, grew feathers, her tongue was know larger than her torso, it was truly an impressive sight.
She whimpered and tried to scream, but to the Professors, as long as she did not appear to be dying, they simply continued on with breakfast. Her past attitude amongst the staff had earned her no favours, and made her no friends.
She half-crawled, and half rolled herself out of the Dining Hall, before Dumbledore had the School cease their pranking. "My, that was a delightful breakfast was it not?", his asked, eyes twinkling, "now, remember children, we have a very strict policy on bullying in this School. All of you, this is your final warning. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Headmaster", came the jubilant reply of chuckles and cheers.
At least Umbridge, despite her supreme arrogance, had the opportunity of judging the public's mood.
Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, did not, as he hurriedly prepared for his morning press conference, before his afternoon report to the Wizengamot. He had hoped that by being the first to speak to the press that day, he could gain the upper hand in his political scheming.
He adjusted his suit for the fifth time, practiced his prepared speech, and put on his famous bowler hat.
He strode confidently towards the main Atrium. Manipulating the public, that was what he was good at, he claimed, delusional about his influence that had been eroded and blunted so much by the Lords Potter and Black.
"Good morning everyone," he graced them with a smile.
The Atrium to the Ministry of Magic was packed, bustling with Ministry workers heading to their offices, along with curious members of the public, as well as the press.
"I have been working hard to address all of your concerns about You-Know-Who, and trust me when I say that He has been contained and that we are pouring every effort into any remnants of His followers. Rest assured, Magical England is safe", he replied confidently.
"Have you?", came a whisper that cut through the noise generated by the crowd.
Everyone turned towards the enchanted voice, there were collective screams and gasps.
He had arrived.
Voldemort, Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, strode towards the podium Fudge was on, resplendent in dark red robes of the finest cut, supreme confidence and power radiating from him. The crowd parted instantly for him.
The Aurors and guards assembled were killed with a negligent wave of His Wand.
"I'm afraid, my dear Minister, that the news of my death have been greatly exaggerated, as you can clearly see".
In silence, Fudge paled, fearing for his life.
"However, I must extend my thanks and gratitude to you, Minister", Voldemort, "for your ignorance has allowed me to consolidate and prepare my armies."
Turning to face the crowd, "let there be no mistake this time. Bow before me, there is no saviour for any of you. My powers have increased ten-fold in the time you last saw me", he said, while casting a whip of fire, killing dozens in his path. "Bow before me", he repeated, "or see each of your pathetic little worlds burn".
Through the screams of horror, he turned towards Fudge. Eschewing his usual Killing Curse, he wanted to send a darker, bloodier message of terror. He sent a cutting curse at the Minister, cutting him cleanly in half.
Strolling back to the Floo fireplaces, He disappeared into the chaos followed by the screams and howls of terror.
At that same moment, in a remote part of England, a fearful Lucius lead a strike force of 200 Death Eaters. They drifted silently into the impenetrable fog.
Death and gloom hovered over the air.
Some of the younger Death Eaters shuffled their feet uneasily.
The guards at the dock were brought down easily enough.
Suddenly, he felt the mood lighten. That was his signal.
Holding himself back, he ordered his men to charge the heavily Warded gates, breaking them with brute force.
From above, he saw guards slowly making their way from the top of the depressing building.
Ordering 50 men to contain any guards, the wards of Azkaban were soon overpowered and crumbled.
The Dementors, ever hungry and no longer under the control of the ministry, had eased its downfall, having been ordered by Voldemort to consume the souls of the guards.
Lucius paled as he saw guards being Kissed, glad that he had pledged his life in service of the Dark Lord.
Death Eaters stormed Azkaban, it was a historic event.
For the first time in centuries, Azkaban had fallen.
The mood in the Headmaster's office was dim.
The Aurors of the Fire Team did not arrive in time to witness Riddles arrival, and were only present for the aftermath.
"Bastard, bloody fucking bastard", growled Moody.
News had slowly trickled in regarding the fall of Azkaban, which was confirmed by a few bloodied Aurors, who had survived the invasion.
"We knew this would happen", Sirius said, evenly.
"Yes, and it would appear that he has much more Wands than previously estimated," said Dumbledore.
"As I have warned," Snape said, "the Dark Lord seems to have changed, he is more paranoid since he's return, especially since our first attack. He has pushed Lucius to the breaking point. It took him only half a day, to plan and order the take-over of Azkaban, which I did not know about".
"He showed his hand too soon", Dumbledore concluded, "but at what cost? He is now in the open, clearly angry and on the war path".
They all agreed.
"So what next?", asked Tonks.
"We rearrange our planning, and recruit as many more Wizards as we can. We still have the element of surprise", came Avery authoritatively, "Shacklebolt, could you act as the liaison between us and the Aurors? We could use the widely known name of the Order of the Phoenix instead. We'll need information and troop movements of the Death Eaters".
Shacklebolt nodded.
"Also, we'll have to plan and come up with a quick response team, ready to move once notice of an attack", Avery continued.
The Team agreed.
"There'll be no censoring of the press this time," Sirius said, "better a panicked and cautious public, than an uninformed one".
Agreement went round again.
"So what now? What's our next move?", asked one of the Twins.
"We recruit, train harder, prepare and plan", came Sirius' grim reply, "any ideas, sound them out. Everyone else, back to work".
Author's Note: thanks again for reading. Updates will occur on a weekly basis.
I'm in the process of re-planning my story.
I recognise that the Death Eater population is unbalanced; but then again, so is the power of Muggle weaponry.
Indulge me by being patient, while I figure out what to do. I have the pranks and gags planned, it's the story in between that I have to work on.
Cherio.