Chapter 29 – Ten Firetraps

Friday 4 October

While the Hogwarts students were coming down to the great hall to have breakfast, Augustus Rookwood stopped by the large manor in Blackpool. Ogden's call for a no-confidence vote had given Rookwood and the rest of the Death Eaters just the motivation that they were looking for. The ex-ministry employee was certain that Bones and Scrimgeour and all of the others whom he perceived as having wronged him would be gone, or out of the way by the end of the month. He had a large operation planned that would leave the mansion empty for the evening and did not want to leave it unprotected. Being an expert at warding, he spent an hour casting the Fidelius charm on the grounds near the main building and a separate charm on the main home itself. As the others came in, he told them the location of the grounds, so all of the marked Death Eaters could only see the servant's quarters and the grounds themselves.

He met with Lisa and asked her about the condition of the prisoner. She replied, "He's well enough, but is always hungry. It seems that he demands to be fed four times a day."

Rookwood laughed. He had been a bottomless pit as a teen too. He asked, "Anything else?"

"Alecto Carrow killed the house elf after it spilled tea on her."

Rookwood nodded and replied, "I'll buy another one tomorrow. Narcissa had a few extra that were for sale after she left. Anything else?"

Lisa replied, "No. Almost everyone picked up their pay envelope. What should I do with Smirnoff's?"

Rookwood was about to tell her to put it back in the chest, but changed his mind and replied, "Keep it. You've done a good job the last month." He looked her up and down for a moment and added, "You've earned it. The Dark Lord will be pleased with your work."

Rosier replied, "Thank you, Sir. When will the others arrive?"

Rookwood replied, "About seven. Get some rest today. It will be a long night. I'll be back by six."

… -- …

As Rookwood was leaving Blackpool, a lorry pulled up to a run down section in Central London. The driver checked his address and noticed an ancient looking man step out of a tailor shop and asked, "Are you delivering to MoM Ltd?"

The driver replied, "Aye, Gov, but you'll have to sign for all of this. It says that it is for the attention of Amelia Bones."

The old man displayed his identification which consisted of a photo ID and a gold M1-6 badge. He signed for the crates and watched as the delivery man unloaded them onto the sidewalk. The delivery man commented, "That's quite a load, Gov. Would you like me to help you bring them inside?"

The old man smiled and replied, "No thank you, good man. I'll manage. Have a good day."

The deliveryman nodded and closed the back door of the delivery vehicle. As he was driving off, he slowed the lorry, gave a last look in his side mirror to see if the old man was really okay and was surprised that the sidewalk was empty! A moment later he'd somehow forgotten about the incident and drove off to his next stop.

… --…

At eleven, Rufus took the nearly unprecedented action and ordered the Ministry building closed to the public for the rest of the day. Five minutes later, he called a meeting of all the employees in courtroom one. It took ten minutes or so to pack everyone into the courtroom that was only designed to seat 250, but by the time Amelia stepped onto the main floor and shut the doors, everyone was there and the room was silent.

As they had arranged, Anna Daily rang Amelia's number and the small handset, which she had previously turned up the ringer as loud as possible, made a loud noise. Speaking clearly, she answered, saying, "Amelia Bones." A moment later, Bones spoke into the cell phone again and said, "I certainly will."

She looked up and saw Connie by the door and in a loud voice asked, "Connie, could you open the door? Anna called and she and Minister Scrimgeour are standing just outside in the hallway."

As scripted, Connie opened the door and the two walked in. Rufus walked to the main floor, stood by Amelia and greeted everyone, "Good morning."

Most of the people muttered a greeting back, but morale was obviously quite low. As they were exchanging greetings with Scrimgeour, Anna walked up to the jury area in the balcony. She had previously transfigured several of the juror seats into a comfortable sofa, a board into the wall of a small home, complete with a glass window and had two life sized wooden figurines wearing Death Eater garb standing twenty feet or so on the other side of the glass.

As most people were looking at Bones and Scrimgeour no one noticed Auror Wilson and Master Auror (retired) Alastor Moody step up on the balcony. Wilson pointed his wand at the wall and shouted Incendio just as Moody fired Avada Kedavra at the window shattering the glass, but going nowhere.

The audience looked up in fear. Moody and Wilson had flattened themselves on the floor so no one could see them. Anna picked up her cell phone and in a calm but loud voice called, "This is Anna Daily. My home is being attacked by Death Eaters. I'm home alone." She then picked up the shotgun that was on the floor by the couch, aimed at the first figurine through the window and fired. The number 0 shot, approximately the size of BBs ripped a hole through the window and knocked the figurine over. A moment later, she fired the lower barrel at other figurine with similar results. Connie walked over, cast a spell to put out the fire and another to circulate the air.

The noise in the closed room had been deafening, but all who had seen it would remember the ten-second demonstration for a lifetime. Less than a fourth of the witches and wizards in the room had ever seen a firearm discharged before and less than a tenth had seen a cell phone in use. Most of those who had were Aurors.

Scrimgeour cast Sonorus and called, "Everyone please sit down. The demonstration is over for now."

Half a minute later, Anna walked down the stairway, carrying the Holland and Holland 12 gauge over and under, a box of shells and her cell phone. She placed them on the table in front of Scrimgeour and Bones, then stood off to the side by Connie, Moody and Wilson.

Scrimgeour looked at the crowd. "The last time anyone was gathered in this room was the sixth of August. The Death Eaters saw fit to sneak in like cowards and attack the good people of the wizarding world. Some of our friends and family were killed that day, though in fact, we gave as good as we got."

There was a smattering of applause, but it didn't catch on.

Scrimgeour continued, "Since then, the last month hasn't gone so good. Nineteen of our side were murdered, most of them were killed in their own homes like Auror Wilson and Master Auror Moody demonstrated. Nineteen good people died because they had no way to call for help and weren't sure how to fight back."

Someone in the back shouted, "No more!"

Scrimgeour looked out to the audience, shook his head and smiled for a moment at the enthusiastic cadet. He called, "Auror Cadet Nib, please come up to the table."

Nib, walked up to the table, silently questioning if his idea of an unsolicited reply was really so great. Scrimgeour commanded, "Cadet, pick up that cell phone and pull on the little wire. Daily walked over and whispered in his ear for a moment. Scrimgeour corrected himself, "Cadet pull on the antenna wire, press the button that has a 1 on it then press the talk button."

Nib did as he was directed and Anna suggested, "Nib, hold the phone like this and talk into it at a normal inside volume."

Anna picked up the other phone on the table that was ringing and answered. There wasn't another sound in the room as everyone watched with rapt attention.

… -- …

Meanwhile, Harry was having a busy day. Michelle had been called back to the ministry for the day. His portion of the defense classes had been exhausting and he had offered to fill in for the day for the Friday afternoon open office hours that Michelle normally kept from one until three. It allowed students to walk in and ask questions or get additional assistance in a subject.

The first quidditch game would be played the next day. Harry would most likely miss it because of the scheduled Wizengamot meeting. He wondered if Ron was still alive and his thoughts drifted to the last game that they had played in together, nearly a year ago. Momentarily he grew angry that Dumbledore had allowed that hag into the school and had taken so many good things away.

… -- …

Headmaster Flitwick looked out of his classroom window and saw Hagrid leading the cart filled with Hogsmeade goods as it came up the front path to the castle. This afternoon would be the first of the Hogsmeade merchant visits - this one from Rosmerta of the Thee Broomsticks pub. He glanced out the window from time to time as Hagrid unloaded the 32-gallon kegs with ease and the stacks of crates of bottles while Rosmerta and her helper arranged chairs around tables in the courtyard. Based on all of the cases of bottled butterbeer, apparently Rosmerta was trying to make a go at the take-away business. As Flitwick finished his last class, he decided to go see if they needed any help.

Flitwick truly enjoyed the publican's company. When she looked at him, she saw a brilliant, kind man, not a boring schoolteacher trapped in a dwarfish body. As he was making his way into the courtyard, he silently cursed his luck as he heard McGonagall call, "If you have a minute, Fillius."

… -- …

About 4:30, Hermione found Susan and Hanna visiting in the hallway. She asked the two teens if they and Harry wanted to go have a butterbeer.

Hannah thought about asking Megan or Ernie to come with, but something in Hermione's voice indicated that this would be a business meeting, simply having a beer with friends.

When they got there, there were no more empty tables. Hermione took a few sticks out of her bag and in a moment transfigured them into a varnished high top table and five chairs. When she was done, Harry smiled and proclaimed, "These are great. Thanks!" The others nodded and they sat down.

Rosmerta watched the teen easily perform magic that, if the truth was known, was well beyond her own ability. She walked over to them, smiled and asked, "What would you like, Ducks?"

Harry glanced at everyone at the table and replied, "We'd all like a butterbeer please." As Rosmerta was returning, he noticed Dennis Creevey digging deep in his pocket to find a few sickles for a butterbeer for himself and his girlfriend. Feeling a bit guilty, Harry waited until Rosmerta brought back their butterbeers and in a low voice, said, "I'll pick up the tab for everyone for the night. Just let me know how much it is in the morning."

Rosmerta winked at him, nodded and walked off.

Hermione knew that a lot of the young witches and wizards weren't given much money to spend when they were sent off to school and in a soft voice commented, "That was a really nice thing to do Harry. Thanks." She knew that he could easily afford it, but didn't want to make a big deal of it.

"No worries," replied Harry. Looking at her for a moment, in an equally quiet voice, he asked, "Did you get your owl yesterday from Randi?"

"About tomorrow?" asked Hermione. She saw him give the smallest nod and nodded herself. She wasn't positive that he wanted to turn it into a table discussion in front of Susan.

"I don't think he has the votes," announced Harry. "According to the announcement that I read, Ogden would need to convince 32 other people."

"He doesn't need to," suggested Hannah grimly. "If he's anywhere close, he can demonstrate that Minister Scrimgeour and by implication, Amelia don't have the support to go forward with, and all but force a resignation."

"But they're doing everything that they can to win the war," pleaded Harry.

"I don't think that this is about the war, Harry," suggested Hannah. "I think it's about Pansey. Ogden was her uncle, and to him it's become personal. Dad pleaded with the Minister to stop sending the prisoners through the veil, but he wouldn't stop."

"How many people did the Death Eaters kill after Riddle broke them out of Azkaban?" asked Harry, thinking about how Bellatrix killed Sirius.

"It doesn't matter to Ogden," countered Susan.

"True," agreed Harry, "but it matters to Mrs. Longbottom."

Minerva stood a ways away as she watched the next generation of the wizarding world wrestle with realities that were anything but black and white.

… -- …

Scrimgeour sat in his office watching the employees leave for the day. They had kept everyone in the courtroom for the day. Everyone had used the cell phone and been able to fire a few shells from their shotgun and reload it. Shells, bullets - they both did the same thing, but had different names – it was highly confusing. Arthur Weasley had practically driven him nuts when he tried to take the cell phone apart, but finally everyone had the basics down and were issued their new equipment.

Amelia mentioned that the phones would need new batteries after a few days, since most of the employees' homes didn't have electricity to somehow re-power them, but if he was still in office in a week, they would resolve that too.

Scrimgeour wasn't really worried about Ogden's call for a no-confidence vote; frustrated would be closer to the truth. Certainly the war had gone for the worse in the last month, but Rufus felt confident that in time, things would come back again.

The air in the building still smelled from the smoke that the shotguns gave off when fired. It would probably linger for days, as there was no maintenance crew to get things cleaned up. It was different from the usual smell of the mostly underground building. It smelled like… he couldn't think of the term; instead, he poured himself a glass of malted whiskey for dinner. There was no real reason for him to return to his home. He would wait out what would most likely be his last night as minister down in the Auror room.

… -- …

At Blackpool, the Death Eaters began arriving just before seven. Rookwood saw that everyone had arrived. The Fidelius was obviously working because no one asked where the large manor home was. Lisa had set up wooden picnic tables and had set out some stew, bowls, loaves of bread and urns of hot tea. The food may not have been to everyone's taste, but no one complained.

There were all forty-five Death Eaters there, divided up unto their crews of four or five each. For the night Lisa would pair up with Rookwood and the two newest recruits, Lewis and Reggie. She hated the way Reggie leered at her as if she were a common muggle bint, but in the spirit of helping Rookwood and her master, kept her thoughts to herself.

With ten killing teams out that night, each with two homes targeted, a total of twenty families of those friendly to the current administration would feel the Dark Lord's wrath. Rookwood estimated that fifteen of the twenty homes would be occupied by the intended targets when the Death Eaters came to call. He had read the Prophet the day before referencing Ogden's call of no confidence. Rookwood estimated that striking such a large blow would finish off Scrimgeour once and for all.

He was careful not to announce the plans prematurely. He was confident that there were no spies within the organization, but there was no need to take an unnecessary risk. At the same time there were no longer any true spies remaining within the ranks of the ministry employees, though there were still a handful within the Wizengamot who remained loyal to the cause. Effectively, both sides were blind to the others plans.

He had selected targets from all over the UK, in part because of who they were, or to pay off a previous vendetta and in part because of logistics. Most witches and wizards were severely limited in how far they could apparate at a time. Even those few who could go a hundred miles tired after two or three rapid apparitions. As such, he knew the Aurors would waste most of their time and energy that night responding to attack scenes where the Death Eaters who committed the killings were already gone and the intended victims already dead. It was his hope that the Aurors ended their shift exhausted and completely demoralized.

Rookwood was confident that with the fall of Scrimgeour and Bones, a new MoM could be called that would hold more of an ear to their message. He expected the Dark Lord to come back by the end of the month, December at the latest, and be pleased with the progress. Besides, with Scrimgeour's publicized policy of a death penalty for convicted Death Eaters, there really was no other course of action available to them. In effect, whether or not the Dark Lord was still alive, Rookwood and the others had nowhere else to go.

… -- …

In the gathering darkness, Ron Weasley felt very alone. Lisa had brought him a large bowl of a very nice stew, some bread and a large glass of water for dinner. He hadn't seen the house elf who usually brought the meals and took away the trays each day.

… -- …

After they had eaten, Rookwood stood and began. "Crew one. Lewis Nott. It is time to strike back after the murder of your brother. Your first target will be of Goblin relations. Cresswell lives in Grimsby. Here is his address. A break between the ministry and Gringotts will help the Dark Lord have access to more of his funds. Choose your second target from the list that you have, based on whoever is closest."

Nott and the three others at his table nodded and began planning their dark mission.

Rookwood continued, "Ronald Avery. Your actions tonight can help destabilize those who took your son away. Alastor Gumboil works in Bones' office as an administrator. Here is his address in Dover. He will be weak whereas your crew is strong. If the opportunity presents itself, the Abbotts live nearby in Folkestone." The elder Avery gave Rookwood a grim nod and began planning their attack.

"Mrs. Flint and Mr. Felsenthal. Your crew's will target Phillip Manky of Magical creatures in Linconshire. Here is his address. Two of the others on your list live nearby."

Rookwood continued, "Alecto Carrow, young Terrance Higgs on your crew has done very well in the last weeks. Show him the anti-portkey ward and he will be ready to lead his own team next time. Your crew's first target is Gilbert Wimple who lives in Westmorland at this address. His work in experimental charms has been especially bothersome to our cause. Your second target is only a mile or so away." Rookwood saw Higgs' excitement as he glanced at his notes.

"Thorfin Rolle, your crew's first target is Wilber Plonker. Plonker lives in the west end of London at this address. Plonker is a lab technician who could hurt our future plans. It will be good to hear your success story when we meet again."

"Lyle Borgin, Miles and Bletchly shall team up with you tonight along with one of our new friends, Lector. Your target works in the improper use of magic office, Anita Quim. Her spellwork could be used to detect us while we attack and she needs to be eliminated."

After he was done, he heard one of the Death Eaters from a nearby table mutter, "Who doesn't?"

Rookwood shook his head a bit and continued, "Rolondo Lestrange, it is time for you to exact your pound of flesh from one in the ministry who has done you much wrong. Arthur Weasley and his brood of blood traitors have long tried to thwart us. He lives in Ottery St. Catchpoll in Devonshire. Be certain to approach his home with care, as Dumbledore had placed anti-apparation wards around the area before he died."

"Lisa Rosier, you will lead our two newest recruits, Gordon and Tucker to the Isle of Wight. The meddlesome Investagative Auror, Anna Daily's mother lives there. Anna may well be living there as she wasn't at the last address that I had for her. I will accompany you. This is the address. There is an Auror Cadet who lives a few miles away that we can look up later in the evening."

Rookwood checked his notes for a moment and continued. "Rachel Mulciber, Bole, Derrick and one of the more experienced recruits, Skyy will accompany you tonight. Your first target is Cutbert Mockridge, also from the Goblin Liaison office. Mockbridge lives in Leeds at this address. You have another target living in Leeds from your list. Good hunting."

Gibbins and Pucey, you will lead these two recruits, Beck and Busch to hunt for a very important target. Malfalda Hopkirk lives at this address in Surrey. Do not stay on site longer than you need to, but it is necessary that you confirm your success."

After the targets were announced, each of the crews went back to their individual tables to discuss their individual assignments. Rookwood had made certain that each of the crews had a least one person who was skilled in setting the anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards to keep the intended victims from fleeing.

… -- …

About nine, Hermione and Hannah waved at Harry, hugged Susan and kissed her on the cheek for luck, as the two went back to their suite for the evening. They would all have a busy day tomorrow.

Cormac McLaggen eyed Hannah and Hermione still sitting at the table after Professor Potter and Susan got up to leave. He was certain that they would be pleased that he took the time to notice them.

McLaggen had a natural arrogance; fueled by a dozen of the free butterbeers that Rosmerta was giving away for the night. Objectively, Cormac was more than a little intoxicated. For some inexplicable reason, he believed that it added to his charm.

After he hit on the two witches, Hannah was ready to hex his bits into peanuts, but surprisingly, Hermione offered to escort him back to the Gryffindor tower instead.

Hannah shook her head, and called, "I'll see you tomorrow at seven for breakfast. Goodnight Hermione. Goodnight, Barmpot."

… -- …

At nine Rookwood opened four bottles of Single Malt and passed them around with the toast, "We will deliver justice in the Dark Lord's name, until he returns to reward us for our work." Some of the men drank deeply from the bottles as they were around the group, others had just a sip in the spirit of comaraderie.

Rookwood re-summarized his instructions, "Attack your primary targets between eleven and midnight. Set up your anti-apparition and portkey wards, douse the chimneys, fire the house and put imperturbable charms on most of the windows, blast the others and flame the inside of the dwelling. Fire six to ten incendios each to get a big fire going quickly. Stay close enough to the entrances to stop anyone who tries to break out until the fire has become fully engaged. Fire the Mark just before you leave. Get off the premises within five minutes. Be at your secondary targets by one. We'll meet back here the evening of the fifteenth."

Whether the Death Eaters personally believed in the cause, or simply were there for the money or the killing, they were ready. Shortly after ten, the teams began to leave.

… -- …

Back in their suite, Harry and Susan were watching the moonlight out of their window in the darkened room. She loved having him hold her.

As they were sitting there lost in their own thoughts, Susan whispered, "I wonder how Auntie's doing?"

Harry wasn't certain to say. He was positive that the Aurors were trying so hard, but according to the papers and letters that they'd received, it wasn't always enough.

He whispered, "It will work out." They sat in comfortable silence as Harry massaged Susan's beautiful breasts in the moonlit room.

The silence in the room was broken by the words, "It's okay Harry, I want to."

… -- …

McGonagall was livid. "Mr. Crow, you have violated every standard of decency that we have worked so hard to put in place. You are certainly aware of our policy regarding cliffhangers. The department of care and mistreatment of the less fortunate will certainly be contacting you regarding your description of the mistreatment of that poor house elf." She was obviously just getting started, so the old scribe decided to ride off into the sunset as soon as she turned her attention."

Crow noticed the latest report regarding Growing up Granger from one of the lesser known scribes, Mattd12027 and asked McGonagall about it.

As she glanced at it to refresh her memory, he slipped out the door.

… -- …