A/N: Hello all, I'm back and doing just fine. Don't have any chapters pre-written, but I do have a general plan of how the story is going to end. I'd count on maybe 3 more chapters, give or take one or two. I'm going to finish the story before going back through and updating the chapters with the ones my muse helped me with (fixing basic grammar mistakes and the like). Shouldn't be too much longer, though! R + R, I love to hear feedback. Thanks for sticking with me!
The shrieking shack was once again full as the members of the alliance met to discuss the previous night's attack. Even the students were there, still yawning after leaving their beds at such an early hour. Harry had wanted to call the meeting before the news broke and people became suspicious. Blaise had reported that no one had noticed their absence, but there was always the possibility that someone would figure it out.
Yawning himself, Harry stood and tried to shake the sleep out of his eyes. He and his friends had slept exceptionally well thanks to Dreamless sleep potion, but that same potion also left one feeling groggy upon wakening. Having taken it before, Harry knew that those effects would wane within the hour and was rather looking forward to it.
Swallowing another yawn, he shook his head once more and called the meeting to order.
"Good morning everyone, thank you for coming, especially at this hour." Bleary eyes glared at him in response. "Right, I know it's early but I promise you that what I have to say is important. Yesterday a group that consisted of me, Daphne, Susan, Neville, Fred, and George attacked Malfoy manor in what was the first move of the grey party."
The faces surrounding him suddenly looked more awake as the importance of the situation penetrated their tired minds. Several who had already known of the attack, such as Blaise and Snape, were simply nodding, while others who hadn't known but had noticed some strange events were slowly beginning to understand.
"The six of us had heard of a mass gathering of death eaters at said location and had begun to plot a stealth attack that would hopefully diminish the Dark Nutter's numbers. Apparating nearby and crossing through the wards, we snuck into the ballroom of Malfoy Manor where we were met with a mass of almost three hundred death eaters. Not waiting for an invitation, we instantly attacked, going for maximum damage. When they finally began to regroup and respond, we fled, taking only minimal injuries that have since been healed. The aftermath will be reported to us for the first time by Professor Snape."
Harry nodded to the dark haired professor, who stood and began to recount the aftermath of the attack.
"I had been warned a week in advance that the Dark Lord was planning to take advantage of the removal of Dumbledore from office in order to wreak havoc on the magical world. Unfortunately he has grown slightly paranoid and refused to tell us the time and location of the meeting until the day of the attack. Being a member of the inner circle, I was at least made aware that the meeting would be at Malfoy Manor and passed this information along. When the call came to assemble at three o clock, I passed that along as well.
Before the attack the Dark Lord was just getting into his attack plans. He was going for multiple big name targets at one time. These included St. Mungos, the Ministry, and Hogwarts."
"How was he planning on getting through Hogwarts' wards," Cyrus asked curiously?
"He had been made aware of a set of vanishing cabinets that created a pathway between each other. One piece was located in Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn alley, the other somewhere inside Hogwarts. He had charged several students with fixing the cabinet on their side."
"So that's what they were up to," Blaise exclaimed. Seeing the curious looked aimed towards him he explained further. "I noticed a while ago that Pansy and her ilk, that's Crabbe and Goyle, by the way, seemed like they were up to something. They were entirely too cocky for the situation. I'd been watching her all week but hadn't discovered anything new. Then, yesterday, Neville presented me with a way to follow them undetected and we stalked them up to the room of requirements.
Inside we found them surrounding a wooden cabinet and discussing its importance for the upcoming invasion. We had no idea what it did, mind, but couldn't risk leaving it there so we shrunk it and brought it to Harry and the others. They didn't know what it did either. I'd never even heard of a vanishing cabinet before. Are they rare?"
Snape nodded. "Very. It was pure luck that the Dark Lord happened upon a complete pair. It'd been sitting in the shop for years collecting dust, useless without it's pair, when one of the children of the Death Eater's reported seeing a similar cabinet in Hogwarts. While he is crazy, the Dark Lord most certainly is not stupid, and he quickly put two and two together."
"I'm assuming it didn't work, given that Hogwarts wasn't attacked last night," Amelia said.
Snape scowled at her impatience. "I'm getting to that." The monocle witch remained unaffected by his glare and motioned for him to continue, which he did after a short pause. "Right, the attack. He was just describing how he'd get into the ministry, through the public floos, by the way, when the door burst open and those six," he waved his hand towards Harry and his friends, "started casting left and right."
"The Dark Lord was furious and moved to respond when he was pushed to the floor by a scrambling wizard." By the smirk on Snape's face, that wizard had had some assistance in that motion. "Thanks to an ingenious potion of my own invention and the carrying container devised by the twins, the Dark Lord subsequently found himself stuck to the floor face first." Gales of laughter rang around the table as Snape painted the humorous image, smirking smugly the entire time.
"So there he is, stuck face first to the floor with no nose to break his fall and only a tiny corner of his mouth able to take in air. Stupidly the idiot tries yelling for help, only for some unnamed wizard," he smirked again, "to 'accidentally' stomp on the back of his head. Who knew that he was that easy to silence?" The laughing had only increased around the table and some were now gasping for air. "What was even more amusing was that everyone was so afraid to wake him that they just left him there, foregoing an enervate for the natural process." Harry was now on the floor, Neville close behind him, both clutching their stomachs and crying tears of laughter.
"Yes, well, it was a full hour before he woke, and another before the sticking spell wore off. Then he pops up and in his anger takes out a dozen of his followers before realizing that he probably couldn't afford that, what with recent losses."
Slowly the laughter died down and the group grew somber. While the situation had been amusing, no one had forgotten that six children had been forced to kill that night. That was six souls forever scarred by the burden of taking another life. It was Amelia that asked the question they all wanted answers to.
"How many?"
Snape seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and made his face into a neutral mask. Looking Amelia dead in the eye, he replied, "Ninety seven in battle. Thirteen were trampled to death while stuck to or fallen on the floor. Another dozen were killed by their fellow wizard who were hallucinating. The silver grenade took out twenty four. The Dark Lord killed another dozen when he awoke. Twenty seven were killed instantly by curses from the attackers and another nine succumbed to their injuries before help could be obtained. Another fifty were injured in the fray but survived.
In addition to this, the Dark Lord was furious that he had been bested by Potter and sent as many able followers as he could through the cabinets. It's estimated that another thirteen were lost before the others realized something was wrong and fled backwards through the tunnel, only to be met with the Dark Lord's wand. He killed another four when he heard that news. We still aren't sure what happened to them." He sent a questioning look at Harry, who surprisingly enough looked to Ragnok in response.
Ragnok grinned ferally and told them all that, "our dragons were most happy with their meal. It had been ages since they'd been given wizards as a treat."
Silence reigned for a few moments. "You…fed them to the dragons?" Lupin looked confused and a little disgusted.
"Yes," Ragnok replied. "We were contacted that morning by an owl bearing a shrunken cabinet along with a note explaining that the cabinet in questioned was believed to be a threat to the safety of Hogwarts. We were asked to put it somewhere where it could be monitored safely. Unlike you wizards, we immediately recognized it for what it was and connected the dots. Ironfist had the lovely idea to set it up in front of the dragon pens. Later in the afternoon several wizards came charging out, wands drawn, only to instantly be barbequed." He turned to Neville. "You'll be pleased to note the Bellatrix Lestrange was leading the charge and was deemed delicious by a very happy Norwegian Ridgeback."
Neville's face was a stoic mask, but Harry could see tears gleaming at the corner of his eyes as he nodded to the goblin in thanks.
"So that was what, one hundred and ten death eaters when all was said and done?"
"Yes," Snape said, nodding, "with a few more expected to drop off overnight from critical injuries. In addition several more fell to the various traps spread about the property while pursuing the fleeing attackers. I personally shoved Dolohov into a spiked pit," he said with a touch of pride.
Cyrus whistled in appreciation. "A third of his forces, gone in one night."
Here Snape shook his head. "Not quite. There were only wizards and werewolves in that room. His army of creatures was undamaged. I imagine he'll be looking to beef up those numbers now that he has less wizards."
"And what kind of creatures are we talking about?"
Snape shrugged. "Giants, trolls, werewolves, vampires, dementors, the usual nasties. Rumor has it he even managed to recruit a nundu."
"Vampires, you say," Ragnok asked in concern?
"Indeed. Quite a few of them, actually. He's managed to convince an entire clan to join him, however many that may be."
"Depends on the clan," Ragnok replied. "You didn't by any chance happen to catch their name?" Snape shook his head. "Damn. Very well, we shall look into this. We are on better terms with most creatures than you wizards anyway." A round of nods met his statement.
"Very well, is there anything else to be addressed here today," Cyrus asked.
"What about the legalities," Blaise asked.
"All six of them are officially reserve aurors," Amelia began. "Since the death eaters are an illegal group known to use deadly curses on innocents and they themselves caused a majority of the damages, I'm inclined to rule that they were acting within the interests of their jobs and their country and as such will face no legal or disciplinary measures." The entire group gave a collective sigh at that statement and a tension that no one had recognized flew out of the room.
"However," Amelia began, "I expect to be notified in the future of any planned attacks. Susan can attest to my dislike of surprises." Susan nodded vigorously at that. Her aunt absolutely hated being surprised and wasn't afraid to let you know it.
"Right then, if there's nothing else I'll need to get to work. Ragnok, I'm assuming you'll be splitting the vaults of those killed with the ministry?"
"Only for those not killed on Gringotts soil. For those killed by our dragons, their entry into the bank was illegal and therefore punishable by goblin law. We will confiscate their fortunes and inform their heirs. In all other cases, though, current law states that the goblin's take thirty percent and the ministry forty, leaving thirty for any surviving family."
"Excellent. I'll get the paperwork started. In the meantime I encourage you six," she looked at her niece and her friends, "to talk to somebody, anybody, about what happened last night. Taking a life can be traumatic for anybody and keeping things bottled up inside won't help. I think I speak for all of us when I say that you can come to me or anyone here with your concerns and feelings." The entire room nodded in agreement, even Snape, and it was on that show of support that the meeting ended.
By unspoken agreement, the group of six headed back to Hogwarts and made their way to the ROR. Amelia was right, they needed to talk about what they'd done, not because they could be affected by it, but because they'd need to do it again, possibly several times over.
Hogwarts seemed to know what they needed for when they arrived in the seventh floor corridor a door was already present. Shaking off the oddity the teens piled inside to find a warm cozy den with plush sofas surrounding a roaring fireplace. Still lost in their thoughts the teens absently sunk down onto the furniture and stared into the fire. Many minutes passed in contemplation before one of them spoke.
"One hundred and ten," Susan said clearly, no discernible emotion present. Neville, who was by her side and had his arm curled around her shoulders, nodded. "Do we have a list of who?"
Harry nodded and pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket. Snape had slipped it to him before the meeting that morning but he hadn't had the chance to examine it yet. Flicking it forwards, he asked the room to project it onto the wall. A screen appeared in front of the fire with the list of names on it. The size was staggering.
"Recognize anyone," Fred, or was it George, asked the room. Well, he'd been addressing the people in the room, but it seemed the ROR didn't interpret it that way. In response to their question a name was highlighted, the third name down on the list: Lucius Malfoy.
"That's one of the inner circle down," Harry said solemnly.
Another name was highlighted, the black ink once more shining gold: Alecto Carrow.
"And there's another," Daphne added.
Slowly the show continued, names shining out of the parchment one by one, each recognized by the students.
Marcus Flint.
Alexander Yaxley.
Bellatrix Lestrange.
Fenrir Greyback.
Antonin Dolohov.
Garrett Goyle.
Carle Crabbe.
Nikoli Nott.
Peter Parkinson.
The list went on and on and on. And then something new began to appear. Newspapers, and old ones at that, highlighting the reign of terror when Voldemort was at his prime back during his first rise joined the list of names on the wall. Bits of those began to highlight as well.
Bellatrix Lestrange was indicated to be involved in the murder of a young mother and her eight year old daughter, who was forced under the Imperious to bludgeon her mother to death before being hit by a killing curse.
Lucius Malfoy was suspiciously missing from his own gala last night which coincided with the anniversary of You-Know-Who's rise to power. Over the course of the night seventeen muggles were raped and tortured. This paper refuses to print the specifics of their fates in order to avoid traumatizing readers.
Fenrir Greyback attacks muggle orphanage, kills ten and infects another eight. Two more expected to die from injuries. All were under the age of thirteen.
Yaxley implicated in the rape and murder of young half-blood socialite Rebecca Jones.
Lestranges attack Diagon Alley, kill thirty seven including expecting mother.
And the list went on and on and on. The room, it seemed, had been keeping a tally. One mark was put next to each name for each person they'd killed. As the papers grew more modern the tallies grew. It seemed that the castle was using outside knowledge as well since some names on the list that had tallies weren't mentioned in the papers at all. Daphne suspected that it had taken the knowledge spoken between students and staff.
It took almost an hour to get through the entire list and the results spoke for themselves. Every name on the list had at least one tally next to their name. Bellatrix Lestrange had one hundred sixteen; Neville had counted. Harry had counted the total tallies. There were hundreds. And each one was a person with a family and someone who loved them. Susan's parents were up there, so were Neville's. Fred and George's uncles were featured. Each of them recognized at least a dozen of victims' names, but for every one they did there were ten that they didn't. The muggles hadn't been investigated thoroughly since the wizarding world had enough to deal with on its plate.
"What do you see when you look at that," Susan asked finally.
It was Harry who answered. "I see one hundred and ten people that will never be able to take another life and add to the tally that's already too high. I see families and victims finally being avenged. I see death and pain and know that people can finally live without the fear that the names on that list will come for them. I don't see murder or morals or ethics. I don't see inner struggles and tainted kids. I see justice. And that's enough for me."
"I see a list of people that can never make another child an orphan," Susan said strongly.
"I see the woman who's frightened me all my life finally getting her due. I see my parent's being vindicated. I see their faces smiling down at me in my crib and not the ones in the hospital. I see what could have been, and that it's possible for someone else now," Neville said, tears in his eyes.
"I see victory for the grey side, a strike against evil, evidence that what we're doing is working," Daphne added.
"We see death eaters getting what's coming to them," Fred began, "and death eaters we still need to get," George finished.
"So it's decided," Harry asked seriously, "We continue our game plan, continue taking lives, in the hopes that we can end this war without adding to those tallies?"
He received five nods in return.
"Alright, then it's time to get down to business. Let's talk battle plans."
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The story broke the next day with the Prophet blaring the news loud and clear. Over one hundred death eaters had been killed in a massive attack by unknown forces. The bodies had been found when the goblins had gone to Malfoy Manor to retrieve Black family heirlooms that had been part of Narcissa's dowry. Every single body had a dark mark. It was a marked victory for the light, and one that caused much speculation. Just who were the attackers, and who did they represent? Should the public fear them or support them? What was the ministry's response? And how close was the war to ending?
Panicked yet hopeful, the public began to stir, buzzing with excitement. They may not approve of how it had occurred, but great strides had been made that day and they were cautiously hopeful that life would return to normal soon.
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Around the castle another scene was happening. As the public outside stirred in excitement, it was a different emotion that students, especially those at the slytherin table, faced. As the prophet was delivered students with ties to the darker forces began to nervously read the list of those killed, scanning for family members and loved ones. While their peers celebrated a marked victory for the light, some students quietly began to weep. At least six Slytherins had lost a parent or sibling and many more an uncle or family friend. The headmistress would slowly call them up after the morning meal to discuss the occurrence and their futures. She had Harry's blessing to offer asylum to all who needed it. They could take care of the details later.
As always, there was a third side to things. Harry and his peers watched their fellow students' reactions closely, noting witch ones seemed the most distressed and, most importantly, which ones didn't. They anticipated that requests for asylum would begin to flow in. And indeed, it was only a few hours later when Blaise Zabini was approached by Theodore Nott. Uncertain as to his true allegiances Blaise had scheduled a meeting between the Slytherin and the fearsome foursome (the name made him cringe but he had to admit that it was catchy). That night after dinner Nott arrived at the door to an unused classroom on the third floor to find four of his peers watching him with interest.
Going with what he was most familiar with, he turned to his fellow Slytherin and began to speak.
"Look, I'm not an idiot. It's pretty obvious that you either were the attackers last night or that you know who is. I'm really here to say thank you. My father was a horrible, abusive ass and the world's a lot better off without him." The four simply stared at him, waiting for a question. "That being said, I thought I'd give you some information to pass along. My father was a paranoid man who hated banks. We didn't even have a Gringotts account until I started school. Instead all the family fortune was kept in a vault at a cottage in France. Now that my father's gone, I'm assuming some people are going to be attempting to retrieve it." His point was clear: Voldemort knew about the money and wanted it badly.
"And what do you want in exchange for the address," Daphne asked, following her year mate's thinking.
"Safety for my mother and sister. My mother has never supported my father's ideals and my sister is too young to understand what's going on. You put out the word that you could offer safety. I'm here to cash in."
"And the money in the vault?" Nott shrugged.
"I have enough holed away to support my family until I get a job. If you can get to it, it's yours." The four teens exchanged looks, mentally considering the situation. Finally they broke apart and Daphne nodded.
"We're not thugs nor are we poor; we don't want your money. We do acknowledge, however, that the situation presents a golden opportunity. That being said, we accept your offer. You give us the address, we'll move your family to a safe house. Furthermore, if you make an oath that you won't use the money to support the Dark Lord or his supporters, we'll make sure it makes its way into your vault."
Theodore nodded in agreement and made a wizard's oath never to support the Dark Lord in any way. Satisfied, the teens relaxed and got to work. They didn't want to keep the purebloods with links to the DEs in the same safe house as the muggleborns' families so they'd decided to rent out a series of muggle cottages in various countries and had the goblin's ward them heavily. Since this family was small they decided on a small cottage on the French Riviera. Harry gave Nott reusable portkeys keyed to his blood. They would only recognize direct family and work for them. Satisfied, Nott handed Harry a slip of parchment with the address of his father's vault house and went on his way.
The four teens looked at each other and grinned. They had their next target, and it was the perfect spot for an ambush, or if that wasn't feasible, a booby-trap.
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While discussing war plans earlier the previous day, the team had decided that a series of short but quick attacks would be the best plan. This would greatly damage the enemy and keep them recovering constantly while providing the safest option for the team. The sooner they left, the less chance of being injured.
In fact, Harry had broached the idea of revisiting Malfoy Manor the very next day and taking out anyone stupid enough to hang around. That idea was nixed by Daphne, who assured them that the goblins had searched the manor thoroughly in their hunt for any Black heirlooms and had reported no signs that the DEs were still staying there. It seemed that the attack had shaken their faith in the Manor's safety and they had moved their headquarters to a different location. Upon hearing that Harry made a note to talk to Narcissa about retaking the manor. If it was left to her or in her name they could possibly take it for their own and ward it so no previous tenants (cough cough Voldemort) could find it.
When he voiced his idea it got the others thinking. "You know," Neville began, "not all the wizards killed had heirs to pass houses to. We could see about buying up any properties that suddenly appear on the market. I bet Ragnok would even give us a deal on them."
"But don't we have enough properties already," Harry responded.
"Yes, but think how insulting it would be if the manors the pureblood bigots were so proud of were suddenly used to house the very people whose existences they hated. It'd be a right kick in the bollocks."
"Not to mention it would make a great statement," Susan added, thinking politically.
"After the war we could give them to families who lost their homes and fortunes in the war," Daphne added, the idea gaining her support.
"We could also sell all the stuff in them or even the properties themselves and use the profits for snake faces victims," Neville said.
"Alright," Harry said, convinced. "I'll owl Ragnok and ask him to buy up any properties that became available due to our attack. We can pay the goblins to remove any dark artifacts and to add new wards. Push comes to shove we can simply use them for storage or whatnot."
This conversation was still strong in their minds when Theodore Nott left with his knew portkeys.
"You know, I was planning on blowing the place up at first, but it just occurred to me that we could use the cottage holding the Nott money for our real estate takeover," Harry mused.
"Alright, so you want to ward it and be done with it or risk losing it in an attack," Daphne asked.
Harry though for a few moments before responding. "Let's risk it. The DEs are still weak and Voldemort will probably try for the money soon to bolster spirits. He'll be on guard but not too much since the cottage is supposedly a secret. Given that, he'll probably send a small but strong team to get the gold. I say we have something else waiting for them instead."
His response was met with three feral grins.
"Let's do it".
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Fred and George were geniuses, they truly were. The cottage had been exactly were Theodore had said it would be and was full of piles and piles of galleons. It wasn't even that heavily protected. The building itself was warded to hell and back, but the gold was untouched. The newly dubbed Ward Walkers were able to walk in, gather up all the galleons, and walk out. Then Fred and George went to work.
First they ripped up the floor, banishing the wooden planks away and exposing the cement cellar. In a grid pattern they then set up portable spike pits until the entire floor surface was covered. Then they transfigured weak plywood floors that looked like the originals and laid it in place. They charmed it so that when a group of three or more people (or three separate entities that each weighed more than 100lbs) stood on it, it activated a time delayed banisher. In ten seconds the floor would vanish. They figured that was long enough for the DEs to discover that all the gold in the cabin had been replaced with Leprechaun gold, which vanished when you touched it.
The best part, though, was a gravity charmed that they had invented. They lovingly called it "the vortex". When cast it sucked anything and everything in the vicinity towards a certain focal point, mimicking the pull of gravity. With another time delay charm the twins ensured that everyone on the property would be sucked ten feet about the fake floor. Then, when the charm ended, well, no one would be getting out alive. A simple alert ward on the floor would signal that the trap had been sprung. The twins would then pop over, banish the bodies (or send them to the ministry, they weren't too sure yet), and then reset the whole thing. The six of them had bets on how many times it would take before the DEs became wise enough to avoid the trap. The lowest bet was for three tries (after all, Susan was still a Hufflepuff at heart).
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Albus Dumbledore read the Daily Prophet in stunned silence. Potter and his friends had killed over one hundred death eaters in one night. That was just impossible. Perhaps they had used dark spells? But no, Potter would never turn to the dark. Dumbledore may have often said otherwise, but he was a politician and a horrible human being. Lying was just what he did.
Still, this news was troublesome. Dumbledore needed to be the one that killed Voldemort, to prove that he was still the leader of the light and that he was what the wizarding world needed. Then he could kill the Potter boy, killing the horcrux as well and ending Voldemort for good. To do this, however, he needed his magic back. That brat had convinced the court to block it from him, but Dumbledore was no fool. He knew that if they had a good enough reason they would release the bindings and return his magic to him. And he knew exactly what he needed to do in order for that to happen….
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As Dumbledore slipped out in the night, on his way to set his evil plan in motion, Hermione Granger tripped over a book in the library and fell onto her knees. Cursing her clumsiness she stood, only to stop halfway as something caught her eye. It was a stack of papers, simply clustered together and peeking out from behind a book that obviously hadn't been touched in years. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she pushed the book aside, absently wiping the dust on her robes, and leafed through the pile of papers. Slowly her eyes grew larger and larger until her resemblance to a house elf was almost comical. This was what she had been looking for, what she needed. But wait, did that say…no, it couldn't be…snatching a yellowing piece of parchment from the pile, she rushed back towards her study carol, pushing her books aside. This needed to be investigated more thoroughly. She couldn't stand to make a fool out of herself again, couldn't stand to let Harry down again. If she was right, though, which she almost always was, this was going to change the entire face of the war. She just knew it.
