Rookwood Mansion 0100 hour
Lee and his team were at the tree line of the Rookwood Mansion, scouting the area using thermal binoculars. He quickly scanned the area around the mansion, counting the men he had. One Lupo and five squads of four mobsters against who ever is inside the mansion. Lee counted at least eight wizards guarding the place and assumed there were more inside. He pressed a finger to his headset.
"Kurochi, get your team inside the mansion, eliminate the guards, and find out what you can. You have an hour. If we don't hear from you, we're coming in," Lee whispered.
Using the thermal binoculars, he watched as Kurochi's team of Kage units easily scaled the mansion wall and slid inside the window. One of them snuck up on a wizard and easily broke the unsuspecting man's neck. Lee watched as the group easily tracked all eight guards and assassinated them with various methods. Lee was impressed as Kurochi simply tapped a man in the neck before the poor man exploded into blood.
"Guards eliminated. Going inside," Kurochi whispered with a Japanese accent.
Lee sighed as he leaned back against a tree waiting for Kurochi to come back. Beside him, Sawtooth gave an agitated snort. Lee chuckled and petted the raptor.
"Easy buddy. We're going to get 'em. Just wait a little longer."
Ministry of Magic. The Minister's Office.
Fudge staggered to his desk and pulled out nearly 100 year old bottle of Firewhiskey that he had been saving for special occasions. He shivered as he poured a generous amount in the glass. Fudge's hand shook as he downed the glass. Yet the strong liquor did not distract him from remembering those blazing green eyes, promising pain that would last for years.
In his time in politics, he often had to deal with death threats, many times shouted by people in straitjacket as the Aurors escorted them out. But this time it was different. Fudge knew that Corvo was the one holding all the cards. He shivered as he remembered his conversation with Corvo Corleone.
Flashback
Fudge whistled merrily as he entered the Ministry holding cells. Near him was an Auror known as Davie Smith, hiding under an Invisibility cloak. He motioned to the guards standing near to be dismissed. Fudge opened the cell and let himself in. Across from him, Corvo was in the same clothes he was arrested in, shackles on his arms and legs. He glanced at Fudge curious before smiling.
"Well Minister Fudge, nice of you join me. What warrants a visit from the most powerful man in the Wizarding World?" Corvo asked smoothly.
Fudge puffed up. "Well young Harry. I wanted to come here and see how you were doing. My subordinate Madam Umbridge is a bit zealous in her quest to keep the peace in Wizarding England."
"By terrorizing the school children? The woman's a mad bitch on the loose. Arresting me over some petty grudge."
"Well I trust my subordinate must have had a good reason to."
Corvo chuckled. "Can I speak freely?"
"Of course."
"Without guards."
"We are without guards," Fudge said. Corvo chuckled darkly.
"Let me ask you again. Are we alone?"
"Of course," Fudge lied smoothly. He jumped as the shadow behind Corvo began to move independently. The shadow glided across the wall and ripped off the Invisibility Cloak from Davie. Davie aimed his wand at the shadow but Corvo's shadow slashed at Davie's shadow. Three deep slashes appeared on Davie's chest, spraying blood across his face. Fudge watched in shock as the shadow dragged Davie's prone body out of the cell and away.
"You shouldn't have lied to me Fudge. Didn't you mother ever tell you that honesty is the best policy?" Corvo asked.
"You. You-"
"Well now that the sneak's out of the way, let's get down to business," Corvo replied briskly.
"You're a monster!" Fudge roared. Corvo glanced at Fudge.
"Really? Well in a way, I should have expected you to lie. Politicians all the same. Not one without a lying tongue," Corvo replied. "Now that the sneak's out of the way, let us speak like equals. Like men."
Fudge took several deep breaths as Corvo's shadow reattached itself to Corvo. Corvo closed his eyes momentarily.
"Your man is stable. He'll be in St. Mungo's a couple of days but he'll be fine," Corvo said. "Now that we are alone, is there anything you'd like to tell me? That is the reason you are here, isn't it?"
Fudge nodded. "I wanted to see how you are. Ask you if there was anything I could do for you before you go before the Wizengamot. While I may be the Minister of Magic, I am on your side. Albus Dumbledore is residing as judge and after that article, I am sure he will push for Azkaban and the harshest sentence as possible."
"So you expect me to spill my guts out to you?" Corvo asked incredulously. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"I was not implying that-," Fudge said hurriedly but Corvo interrupted him.
"For a politician, this wasn't a well thought out plan. Come in here acting like my friend, wishing to gain any dirt on me and possibly my father, in order to equal the field of power between my father and I. With the Daily Prophet out, you read it and saw how rich I was. Deciding it would be more profitable to go after me, you tried to get on my good side. Simple tactic really. Offer a hand in friendship while sharpening the knife to stab in the back."
"Of course not!"
"Don't deny it!" Corvo snapped. "Y'see we are actually a lot richer than you think. My personal wealth pales in comparison to my father's underground network. With his holdings in many major businesses, his resources in the underground, and stockpiles all across the world, his estimated wealth is up to ten billion dollars. And with that money, people are always after my father. Let me tell you something Fudge. The Corleones are like dragons. We hoard our wealth and guard it viciously. Armies of people have tried to kill my father and only has been able to put a scratch on him. Not only that, we steal and kill people over money simply because it is profitable. However there is one thing we value more than gold. And that is family."
"Y'see Fudge, Italian families have often engaged in vicious blood feuds over the centuries. The word Vendetta is a testament to our ruthlessness when it comes to protecting people we consider our own father. When family is involved, business be damned. We only want blood. During our time in New York, we tried to send peace to our rivals by sending a personal messenger. They sent us back their heads. Our family went to war completely destroying our rivals. I personally watched as my father had a man ripped to pieces by a million ravens, raining blood on the people below. He gutted a man with a meat hook before having his own heart shoved down his throat. Oh my father is extremely ruthless when he wants to. Could you imagine the vengeance my father would bring when he finds out his own son was shoved in a Wizarding Prison by a corrupt court? He would declare war on you. Forget everything you heard about muggles. He will find you even if he had to tear apart all of Europe just to get at the people responsible. He will reveal you wizards to the muggle world. Muggles will take you into labs and start experimenting you. And I will watch as you scream for mercy eating your precious truffles."
Fudge was catatonic. Corvo laughed harshly and it grated Fudge's ears.
"Now run along and get the courts ready. After all, Friday is a big day."
Fudge ran out of the cell. Behind him, he could hear Corvo's cackles echoing the stone walls. The sound seemed to cloud his mind as he lifted the lock and slam the door shut. Just as he slammed the cell, he stared into Corvo's eyes and in that instant, he swore that he saw his death projected in those glowing green eyes.
Flashback End
Fudge shakily pulled out a large tome and opened it. Inside was all the dirt he had collected on the Wizengamot members. It was time to cash that in. For his sake and the Wizarding World's.
Rookwood Mansion 0200
Lee looked down at his watch.
"It's been an hour. Kurochi, are you ready?"
Static was the only thing that Lee heard.
"Fuck it. All units storm in. Be careful. The wizards know that we are here," Lee whispered. "Thermals only."
The mobsters began to storm the mansion. However they were caught unawares as a noxious gas spread through the house. They had to resort to blindly throwing grenades and escaping the house. Once they were out of the gas, many began to use their thermal glasses to search for the Death Eaters. However the Death Eaters escaped through the Floo. Lee cursed aloud as they began to search the house. The Death Eaters left nothing behind except the bodies of the eight Kage units that were sent in. Lee knelt by the body of Kurochi and cursed in Japanese.
"Damn those wizards!" Lee whispered.
"Can anyone hear me? Can anyone hear me?"
Lee picked up his radio and switched it on. "What's going on?"
"Fucking ZOMBIES! They're everywhere in the dungeons!"
"All mobsters! Get down there and stop them. Felix! Maurus! We gotta find the kitchen and get all the liquor out into the dungeons."
Dungeons.
Thomas swore as he kicked another Inferi back, shredding its body with bullets. He looked around and saw a mobster being ripped apart. The man gave one last curse before pulling a pin off a grenade. The grenade blew him and the zombies around him.
"We gotta get the fuck out of here!" Thomas roared. He fought his way to another mobster and joined up with him. The man was staving off the inferi by using twin mini Uzis. He was spraying bullets everywhere.
"Artie we gotta get out of here!"
"And how do we do that smartass? If you haven't noticed! We're fucking surrounded!"
"Well let's punch through!" Thomas shouted. The two mobsters began to push their way through the undead swarm, grabbing every mobster they could reach, throwing grenades and flashbangs everywhere. By the time they got to the stairway, the small group grew to five and they managed to shut the dungeon door.
"Who's dead?" Artie asked.
"Greg and Bobby are dead."
"So are Benny and Robert."
"Danny-boy too."
"Let's get out of here!"
The five mobsters ran out of the stairway and ran as fast they could out of the mansion. They jumped through a nearby window and into the arms of their fellow mobsters.
"Lee!" Artie roared. "There's zombies in the dungeon."
"I know. We're burning the whole place. Get any explosives you have left and wait for my signal."
Artie nodded and pulled out two grenades. He handed them to a runner. The runner ran inside the mansion and met with other mobsters piling up a huge stockpile of explosives and liqour. They piled it against the locked door that Artie and Thomas had escaped out of. When the last barrel of whiskey was placed, Lee placed a charge of C4 on the huge stockpile. He ran out of the house and ordered everyone to hideout in the treeline. Lee made sure that all of the mobsters were safe before pressing on a detonation pin. The mansion exploded into a huge burst of flames. Lee could hear the shrieks of the zombies inside and sighed. He pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
"Yes?"
"Godfather. We raided the Rookwood Mansion but they managed to get the jump on us. They left a horde of zombies for us though. Nearly 20 were killed in the expedition."
"Give me a list of all the people we lost when you get back. We'll make sure those wizards pay back tenfold."
"Yes. Godfather."
Hogwarts
Blaise deftly cast sound silencing spells on his clothes and shoes as he pulled on an Invisibility Cloak. He also cast several spells that would eliminate his smell and just in case, he pulled a Notice-Me-Not charm on his face. Lastly he pulled on a ski hat that Corvo had provided. In the lining of the ski hat was several woven sheets of lead, making Legilimens impossible. If anyone tried to read his mind, it would be like reading the mind of a rock. Absolutely nothing. Blaise made sure that his pack was secure and climbed out of the Slytherin Common Room.
He stuck to the shadows as he ran through Hogwarts. He went through the cleanest pass possible, not wanting to leave any trails in the dust. He avoided Peeves and managed to sneak by Ms. Norris, resisting to give the cat a resounding kick in the rear. However he bumped into Filch.
"Eh? Who's there? Show yourself!"
Blaise groaned but pulled out a bottle and a cloth. He poured some of the liquid into the cloth and grabbed Filch. Blaise grabbed Filch's robe and covered his mouth with the cloth. Filch struggled momentarily but eventually stopped. Blaise dragged his prone body in a closet and locked it. Blaise sighed in relief and continued on his way. He coasted through the halls, slipping by prefects and teachers alike until he arrived in front of the gargoyle to the Headmaster's Office.
"Cockroach Clusters."
The gargoyle hopped aside and revealed the winding staircase to the Headmaster's room. He pried open the door and entered the room. He placed the strongest Notice-Me-Not charm on himself that he knew and opened the door.
He quickly went to Dumbledore's desk and pulled out his pack. He grabbed several small cameras and began to place them all over Dumbledore's office. Once he was finished he searched Dumbledore's desk. He pulled out a folder with Corvo's name on it and searched it. He pulled out two documents and placed the document back. With his mission complete, he ran out of the office and rushed all the way back to the Slytherin Common Room. With Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, and Corvo all away, Blaise had the dormitory all to himself. He pulled out the documents and a laptop. Blaise scanned the two documents and sent copies to several locations. One of them was the Corleone family lawyer. He tapped his wan on the document and made a duplicate of the documents. He placed them in an envelope and tied the envelopes to an owl. He smiled as the owl flew off to the sky. That owl was for the most vicious Goblin barrister that Gringotts had. Corvo was not only going to embarrass Dumbledore. He was going to tear him apart.
Ministry Holding Cells
Corvo sat in his cell calmly, planning his next move. Dumbledore's demise was close. With the demise of Dumbledore, there's going to be a political vacuum. Voldemort is soon going to have to act seriously against the mobsters. To Voldemort, if they were able to take out Dumbledore so easily, they were a threat to his power. Voldemort will have to start to emerge publicly and use his reputation as a weapon. Start recruiting the dark creatures like Dementors and Chimeras. Attack the marketplaces of Diagon Alley more aggressively. Start attacking the muggle world. Once Dumbledore was behind bars, the real war will start. A war that will prove to wizards that while they were in their own little world, the rest of the world had moved forward. No more were the muggles floundering in the mud. The wizards are the ones floundering in the mud while muggles are flying high in the sky.
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