J K Rowling owns all the rights to the books and the amazing characters she created. I write only to satisfy my imagination and use my creativity and make no money from my writings.
Chapter 12 – Treachery
When Roddy/Harry regained consciousness, he was immediately given a calming draught, a cup of hot sweet tea and a tuna salad sandwich since he had missed dinner. Nothing more was said about the…garden…as he referred to it in the privacy of his mind and he just wasn't ready to ask any questions. He should have gone for Slytherin instead of Gryffindor as not only might things have been different, there would be an excuse for his current cowardly thoughts in not asking more about his new found children.
Susan said nothing more and instead (to his great relief) talked about the great matter that was the Deluge. He and Susan had already volunteered as did most of the magical staff at the clinic. The clinic had announced being closed from December 7th through the 16th for "repairs" so that the magicals could be briefed, perform the rituals, cast the spells and then (hopefully) recover from the stress and strain.
Susan's house had only three bedrooms: 1) one for her and now would be sharing with Harriett; 2) one for Hal; and 3) the largest for her two other girls and Alice and Augusta. "No, I can't enlarge this place as it is Muggle-built and 300 years old and it cost me a lot to get it fitted out for modern living. Neville will have to bunk up with you or sleep on the couch" Susan said looking at Roddy. In other words, Roddy would be having a roommate whether he wanted one or not.
Neville asked Roddy to check him for trackers, curses and spells, even though Susan and both her elves had already done it to Nev and his girls. Once it was again determined that all were "clean" Roddy took Neville to his house and caught up with things.
"Just so you know, Ginny Weasley's second marriage was dissolved by her husband's family – after they found out she was constantly cheating on him. In that culture, HONOR IS EVERYTHING and especially purity and faithfulness in a wife. She is lucky to alive, but she is complaining that all she got to take with her were the things she brought into the family, such as the clothes and jewels she had left over from her marriage to Malfoy."
"She had gotten rid of most of the clothes because they were old, out-of-fashion and her new hubby had taken her to the best Magical and Muggle designers in Italy and let her have as much as she wanted. Rumor has it that in the 2½ years of her marriage, she had spent roughly G100,000 for a Magical wardrobe and £250,000 for designer Muggle clothes."
"That sounds like something Ginny would do" Harry added. "What did she end up with?"
"Only what she had brought with her and since she had gotten rid of most of the Malfoy clothes, except for the very expensive gowns and robes, her new elderly mother-in-law had an elf present her with a burlap bag containing those things and the jewels – Ginny had the good sense not to get rid of the jewels. Naturally she screamed bloody murder and demanded a settlement only to be told that the only settlement she would get was leaving with her life and not having her face cut up."
"Did she move back with her parents?"
"Yes, as she had no other place to go, no money and no job or hopes of getting one. I think it is quite sad – except that it happened to someone who truly deserved it" Neville said and Harry/Roddy agreed.
"A lot of Muggleborns went back to their original world due to the normal conditions of things and some just left the country, which is also normal. What really annoys them is that if they have a magical child, the child MUST attend Hogwarts. For some strange reason" Neville said using air quotes, "the Pure-blood birth rate is as it always was in our time, Half-bloods are doing a bit better but not by much so now, despite the terrible conditions and strong distaste for Muggleborns, their fees are the only thing keeping Hogwarts open."
"How are McG's new courses working out?"
"They were fine for the first few years but due to budget cuts and other things not clearly explained, things are almost back to Dumbledore's time. Professor Sprout retired when I took over BUT, there was trouble with her pension, meaning she would only get ¼ of it due to those unexplained circumstances and to get that she would have to live at Hogwarts and help out with classes, caring for the greenhouses but not paid."
"What? How can they do that?" Harry/Roddy asked.
"Because the ¼ pension is considered a salary and she still has room and board and extra perks for living at Hogwarts, although said perks are the same as in Dumbles' time. However, the pension plan was changed without the teacher's knowledge and instead of getting the amount they were supposed to get at retirement…well let's just say that a lot of money from the pension plan was missing and had been since the 1960's. Also, Dumbles forgot to mention that the Ministry was taking taxes out of the pension every year. With the way the cost of living has soared in the past ten years, poor Pomona couldn't survive on the tiny amount she would receive."
"So who is left?"
"McGonagall is still Headmistress, Vector is Deputy Head – Filius was relieved of that position after two years as someone high up in the Ministry and/or Board of Governors noticed that a – and I give you a direct quote – 'There is a filthy Half-breed in a position of power and that cannot be allowed to continue'."
"WHAT? Filius Flitwick is one of the best teachers in Britain, a world famous dueler, has the Magical equivalent of two . and…."
"And that doesn't matter as this is the same old, same old Britain we knew and loathed" Neville sighed. "The way it stands now, the only reason why he is still allowed to teach, is because they can't find a qualified replacement. People might have the proper credentials but no one wants to teach at Hogwarts due to the 'pension problem' and the now almost non-existent salary. The 'prestige' of being a Hogwarts teacher is a thing of the past. One could say that most of the teachers are now prisoners because at their age they would never find another job and have nothing to live on."
"But you are a teacher and…."
"And because I am a rich Pure-blood, it was decided by the Board and Ministry that I don't need a salary and thus 'donate' my services as a matter of pride."
"Nev, who decides these things?"
"I don't know for certain as it is not widely known, but there are one or even two, very powerful cabals who control everything. Just so you know, despite my heritage, wealth and inherited political power, my opinion is not sought and no attention paid to as it hasn't ever since my #*& *#&&^ father-in-law became Minister of Magic. According to Gran, the Longbottom name and marriage to Abbott's daughter greatly helped in getting him elected."
Harry/Roddy was too shocked for words and Neville noticed. Besides it was very late and both of them needed sleep, so Neville promised to tell more gossip tomorrow.
Although Roddy had the next day off, an emergency meeting of the Deluge Committee was called. Neville went wearing a hood to cover part of his face, until he was assured by Albrecht Ziegler, the Head of the Committee, that as long as he wasn't a spy for the British or European Dumbledore faction, he was safe. However, safety being what it was, Neville had to take Veritaserum to make certain he was him and not lying about anything.
Ziegler addressed the crowd. "As you well know, Britain is not participating in the rituals to save the world. Apparently, that #*#&*#(&!* Dumbledore had made unchangeable laws regarding the use of dark magic, or what he considered dark magic which was most of magic. Therefore in 'honor' of the old #$*#^^&, all decent, noble and Light Magicals will not sully their hands doing such dark magic, however, they have been trying to recruit wizards/witches of British decent who are dark and will use that magic to save them."
The assembled people sighed in disgust, especially as Ziegler continued. "Unfortunately, they have not been successful in luring back such 'dark wizards' as the infamous Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood and others to do the deed for them. Of course, it is no surprise, since this is Britain we are discussing, that if any of the so-called dark wizards are stupid or insane enough to return to the land of their birth not only would their magic be exhausted for a few days after doing the rituals, but they would be sent to Azkaban, Kissed and/or their bodies thrown through the Veil."
"For some strange reason, none of them have volunteered to return and many British Magicals have fled the country, even though it means leaving their money, heirlooms and property behind to be immediately confiscated by the Ministry. Even those who have returned to the Muggle World, are going on holiday en masse. Whether they return, no one knows. Their possessions cannot be seized by the Ministry as Muggleborns who live in their original world, don't have accounts at Gringotts, but earn Muggle money and use it to buy property, goods and services, pay Muggle taxes and considered themselves to no longer be subjects of the Magicals or Ministry. Thus the Ministry cannot seize their property or bank accounts."
"The good news is that many are coming to the Continent to participate in the rituals, hoping to save not just the world but their own country. They will be concentrating in France, Germany, Denmark, Norway and some in Iceland and forming a magical ring encompassing the British Isles and Ireland. They are participating not only to do their duty to the planet but in the vague hope of saving Britain."
The assembly broke out in loud applause until Ziegler held up his hand for silence.
"The reason for this emergency meeting is because we have received intelligence from a reliable source. The British Ministry knows about these self-sacrificing individuals and even if they save the country from earthquakes, floods and the other predicted disasters, these Brits will be condemned as dark – after they have saved the country, of course – and in their weakened condition will be unable to help themselves and be at the mercy of the British Aurors and Hit Wizards who will invade the coasts of the five countries giving refuge to these potential saviors and carry out a death sentence, using whatever spells, curses or hexes, including the Unforgiveables and the use of the Dementors."
The assembly was too shocked for words, but only until the horror of it sunk in and then pandemonium erupted. It took Ziegler nearly five minutes to calm down the crowd to inform them of the steps that were being taken to counter the wickedness. New plans had to be made, instruction and training moved up and all had to be done immediately and in great secrecy.
"Therefore, instead of beginning the rituals at midnight on the 10th and pacing themselves through the 13th, and recovering on the 14th and 15th, everything had to be moved up to at least the 7th and slowly but surely the rituals would begin. It would take longer to do and hopefully wouldn't affect the rituals, but with the threat of invasion looming and all Magicals in a weakened state, we must make precautions and hope for the best."
Naturally, many people had questions and one guess who was one of the most persistent? I'll give you a hint. In school she had impossible and unmanageable hair. However, the years had changed Hermione Granger in more ways than thought possible. She now wore her hair in a short but attractive style, was tastefully dressed in a Muggle suit (no doubt expensive from the looks of it) and had an air of confidence and success about her. When Ziegler seemed as if he wasn't going to take questions, a little thing like that wouldn't stop the witch. She was beyond the frantic hand wave of her youth and simply stood up, sonorized her voice and asked her questions in her usual rapid fire way.
"Herr Ziegler" she began ignoring any condemnations or shouts to sit down and shut up, "I have some questions that I am certain others share and must be answered due to the importance of the issue."
In short, she asked who the reliable source was; had they been given Veritaserum; had any other reconnaissance been done to verify this information; had sufficient research been done concerning the effects of starting the rituals early; would the pacing weaken the rituals; and would have asked more but she was interrupted.
"HERMIONE, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" said the wizard who had been sitting next to her.
"But Justin, these are questions that must be answered so I am just…."
"How do you know that I wasn't going to mention what I was doing regarding the new plans I was making?" Ziegler spat out.
Without missing a beat and before anything else could be said by the Ziegler, Hermione temporarily ignored him and addressed the wizard sitting next to her and who was now bowing his head in an attempt not to be seen and failing as it seemed all attention was directed at them. He was not the only one as Roddy, Neville and Susan were doing the same even though they were sitting nowhere near Hermione.
"But Justin, these are the most important things which must have an answer and if he actually was going to impart the information, he is doing it entirely too slowly and as time is of the essence, it needs to be hurried."
Now Ziegler, was bowing his head (which suddenly started to ache) and trying to control his temper. Finally, he asked "And just who do you think you are demanding…."
"Oh pardon me, I do tend to forget to introduce myself. I am Hermione Granger, a/k/a Mrs. Justin Finch-Fletchley – this gentlewizard sitting next to me is my husband Justin. I had always intended to hyphenate my maiden name when I married but since Justin already had a hyphenated name…well one does not have a triple hyphenated name as it just isn't done!" Justin was now trying to slyly cast a disillusionment charm on himself with the hope of sneaking out of the assembly – but without success as Hermione grabbed his wand and then continued her oration.
"Now, Justin and I were classmates at Hogwarts – along with Harry Potter who really isn't a dark wizard just slandered by the MoRon Weasel, a very jealous, conniving and…."
"WHO THE HELL CARES?" Ziegler finally yelled out and cast a silencio on her. "Now back to what I was saying before such a rude interruption, I…where was I?"
Many people were trying to hide the smiles they now had while Ziegler's assistant reminded him where he had paused. It took a long time to get back on track but eventually, things were explained and assignments were given. It all had to be memorized to avoid falling into the hands of the perfidious British Ministry of Magic.
Everyone was given 10 hours to make arrangements for their families and jobs and to report back to begin the training. Time had always been limited and now they had even less of it and much more to do. All hoped it would work.
