Disclaimer: I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes.

—CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX—

The Next Plan of Attack

"Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack."
- Sun Tzu ("The Art of War")

Hermione Granger

16th January, 2004

"We need to be on the offensive," Alastor said from the back of the room. Everyone else was seated around the large kitchen table, but Alastor chose to stand away from everyone else, leaning on his staff with his one good arm. "Don't think the attack at the Fogarty home wasn't some kind of warning to us. It was, and it's showing the Death Eaters that we can't protect our own."

"He's right," Bill said fervently. He was seated to Hermione's right and she could see his fist clench as he spoke. "We can't let this slide. We have to take it to them, and we need to do it soon."

"Take what to them, exactly?" Hermione asked pointedly. Bill shot her a glare. "I detest them for what they did to Charlie as much as you, but how do you propose we attack them right now?"

"When the Death Eaters were trying to take power nine years ago, they weren't anything massive," Alastor pointed out. "Yet here we are."

"Are you saying that we should act like the Death Eaters did then?" Hermione asked. "I think that's pretty much out of the question. Even if we were prepared to take the Ministry by storm, which we aren't, what about all of the innocent bystanders? How do we distinguish them from the Death Eaters?"

"Hermione's right," Hestia said. "Trust me, I want to get right in there and end it now, but we're not ready."

"When will we ever be ready?" Bill snapped. "We've been hiding away for almost six years now and the minute we decide to stick our head out we end up being completely and utterly found out. We will never be in a good position, so now's as good a time as any."

"Now that people know there's a sizable resistance, they might consider turning on the Ministry," Hestia replied. "If we can get some more people we might be able to fight head-on."

"And how exactly are they going to contact us to get involved?" Alastor asked. "Their owls won't be able to find us, they don't know where we are and we have no conduit in their community."

"That's not necessarily true," Draco said suddenly. He was seated with Astoria on one side and Katie on his other. "We have Hugo Brantell."

"Who won't stick his neck any further out for us," Alastor growled. "No doubt the man's been helpful, but his help can only extend so far."

"What about Umbridge?" Alicia asked.

"She hasn't managed to quite get herself back into the Ministry yet," Dedalus said. "She managed to get a job at the Leaky Cauldron as a part-time bartender. Old Tom Dodderidge is getting on a bit, so he was happy for the help."

"Tom's still there?" Bill asked in surprise.

"He never outwardly opposed You-Know-Who in either wars," Dedalus shrugged. "I asked him once before the Second War why he didn't get involved in the First. He said that he hated You-Know-Who but he had more to think about than just hate. I can't say I blame him."

"Obviously Umbridge isn't being herself," Ginny said. "Who is she impersonating?"

"A French witch," Alastor said. "She went to France and posed as a hairdresser and was able to get some hairs from a French Muggle who she is now impersonating as a witch. Her story is that she was so impressed by the British Ministry that she moved from France to see it for herself. It seems to be working well enough. It's not as good as Lockhart, but she should be able to get some information. It will come as no surprise that there are a lot of alcoholic Death Eaters."

"So, has she come across anything?" Hermione asked.

"I have," Umbridge said from the door. Hermione jumped slightly at her voice. "Sorry I'm late. I only just got away."

"It's no problem," Hermione said, indicating to an empty chair. While she still couldn't stand the sight of the woman, she still felt the need to be polite. She had helped them after all.

"I won't be staying long," Umbridge replied. She then looked to Astoria. "I stopped by to tell you that I just heard something about your sister."

"Daphne?" Astoria asked, standing up. "Is she okay?"

"It doesn't seem so," Umbridge said. Hermione still wasn't used to seeing her express any kind of empathy, and it actually made her flesh crawl. "She and … Zacharias Smith, I believe it was, had a trial yesterday."

"What?" Astoria asked hurriedly. "What did she do?"

"They were there for two reasons," Umbridge continued. "The first was a divorce hearing. Their partners, I'm not sure who exactly they are, claimed that the two of them were having an affair together. From what I can gather, both marriages were ended yesterday. The second reason is worse. Their ex-partners also claimed that they were involved in the attack last week."

"But they weren't," Astoria said. "Daph will be fine, won't she?" There was silence for a moment, and Astoria sat back down and Draco immediately put an arm around her shoulder.

"If what I've heard is correct, it's Joan Richardson who is presiding over the case," Umbridge said quietly. Draco swore.

"Who is she?" Hermione asked, voicing the question on everyone's lips.

"She went over to the Dark Lord three years ago," Draco explained. "There are rumours that she tried unsuccessfully to overthrow the Magical Congress of the United States of America. After that she allegedly faked her own death and fled the country. While she was abroad she heard about what the Dark Lord had done in Britain and decided to go to him. She's not quite his right hand, but she's closer than most."

"So, she's dangerous then," Ginny said dryly. "What does that mean for the trial?"

"Well, Malfoy has things pretty much correct," Umbridge replied. "She's ruthless. Chances are she's only bothering with a trial to satisfy the wider community. If she has made up her mind, it might as well be over."

"I thought you said the trial was yesterday," Astoria said. Her eyes were glassy as though she was on the verge of tears.

"It was," Umbridge said. "They got through the divorce proceedings and then they were interrupted. It is being completed today."

"Do you know when?" Alastor asked quickly.

"No," Umbridge replied. "Although the Leaky Cauldron was pretty empty earlier this morning. It could be that it is going on right now or is already over. I'm sorry, but I really do need to go. It's almost lunchtime and Tom wants me to help with it. I'll find out what I can."

"Thank you," Astoria said. Umbridge nodded. Before she turned to leave, her eyes darted quickly to the other end of the room where Dennis sat watching things unfold. She lingered for just a second before leaving the room.

"Can we do anything?" Draco asked when Umbridge was gone. Astoria drew in a shaky breath.

"No," she said. "We can't do anything."

"If we can help Daphne, we should," Draco said quietly. Astoria shook her head.

"We can't though," she replied. "We don't know what courtroom it is. Or how many Death Eaters are there. Or when it is supposed to be on. We have nothing to go on."

"Who was the other person involved?" Katie asked. "Did she say Zacharias Smith?"

"Well, we can rule him out of defying the Ministry," Ginny scoffed. "He'd piss himself if he got anywhere even close to doing that."

"Maybe they'll just put them in some cells at the Ministry," Angelina suggested. "Like the ones we were held in. We might be able to do something about it then."

"If they think that they're helping us they won't just keep them in a cell," Alastor pointed out. "Especially after what we did to Azkaban."

"Wait!" Draco said so suddenly that Astoria jumped. "The letter! Daphne gave me a letter at Christmas. It was not to be opened unless something drastic happened to her. I made sure to take it when I was at Spinner's End last week." Draco flicked his wand and a moment later a bag flew towards him which he easily plucked out of the air.

"She must have thought that this was a possibility," Astoria said, looking decidedly more optimistic as Draco opened the letter and handed it to her. Everyone was quiet as she read it over to herself. When she was finished, she handed it to Draco and indicated for him to read it aloud.

"Astoria and Draco,

I am writing this in the very sincere hope that it will never be needed, but I cannot deny the possibility that it may eventually be important that you know some things. Of course, if anyone but the two of you lay eyes on this letter it says something entirely different. Can't be too cautious these days.

I'm playing a very shaky and volatile game right now, and I can't say for certain that it won't all blow up in my face, so here's the details. Use what I tell you how you will. If I know you, Astoria, you will know the right thing to do. I also trust both of you to not put me first, because in the big scheme of things I am not all that important.

I'll start with Blaise. I'm certain that Astoria knows that Blaise and I don't have the warmest of relationships, but I do suspect that Draco has seen something there as well. If he hasn't, I'm afraid he would be rather a bad Slytherin. Well, truth be told, Blaise has been cheating on me for some time with Pansy Parkinson. I've known for a while but before now I haven't really had the chance to do something about it.

I did a bit of digging into Parkinson family, hoping to find something to use against her at some point, and I discovered that there were plans in place to have her marry one Zacharias Smith. I got a few ideas and decided to follow Zacharias around for a few days.

This is where my plan is going to fall apart if, in fact, it does.

I discovered that he has been hiding Justin Finch-Fletchley away from the Ministry for years and I pieced together that they have been romantically involved for some time. I then talked to Justin, and told him my plan.

My plan is to have Zacharias and Pansy married for a few months and then to have Zacharias 'notice' that she is cheating on him with my husband. When he discovers this, my plan is for us both to get divorces and then marry each other. Yep. Marrying a gay guy. Astoria, you must be thrilled. The way I see it, I will have my freedom, no one suspects Zacharias and Justin are together and Blaise and Pansy, much as I loathe to even imagine such a thing, will be allowed to marry and breed to their heart's content. Everybody wins. It's a thing of beauty.

Which is precisely why I need this letter to be in your possession. Such beautiful things never work out flawlessly. And I'm the first to admit that this plan is not flawless by any stretch of the imagination.

As I said earlier, if something terrible does happen to me and you are forced to read this letter, I am highly doubtful that you will be able to do anything for me, and nor should you. The envelope to this letter is a Portkey which will take you to the front door of Justin Finch-Fletchley's home. Tell him what has happened, and warn him that he should perhaps stay away from his house for a time. Torture is, unfortunately, a possibility. While I am almost certain that Zacharias will never give up Justin's location, I cannot say the same for me. I am not a fan of pain, as you well know Astoria. I'm sure you remember the last time I was in pain, dear sister. I certainly do.

I have no idea where things will end up for me after this. I go into it fully aware that I may well lose my life. That is my choice, and I make it of sound mind. Blaise has inhibited me in so many ways that I simply have no choice but to do this. The only people who know about my plans are myself and Justin. Zacharias does not know. Nor do our parents. When this is over perhaps we can try to become one big happy family. It's what keeps me going.

With all my love,

Daphne."

By the time Draco was finished reading the letter, there were tear tracks on Astoria's face but she was no longer crying. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Maybe I was wrong about Zacharias," Ginny said. "Perhaps he isn't as spineless as he seems."

"How are we supposed to use the Portkey?" Angelina asked. "Obviously it doesn't work by time or touch, so it has to be a password."

"I know what it is," Astoria said. "Charms don't last forever, so Daph hinted at it to protect him further. It's 'greyscale'. She contracted it the summer after my first year, and it was so painful for her. It's the only time I can remember her being in pain."

"We shouldn't go," Alastor grumbled. "A random Portkey is never a good thing."

"Daphne gave this to me herself," Draco said, glaring. "This came from her."

"Who's to say she isn't working for them?" Alastor asked. Draco scoffed.

"Did you not listen to Umbridge?" he asked. "They're being convicted. Doesn't sound like something Death Eaters would do to other Death Eaters."

"So they think she's a double agent," Alastor said with a shrug.

"That's ridiculous, Alastor," Hermione said shaking her head. "Why would she do that to her sister?"

"They've done worse things," Alastor replied. "You-Know-Who can be persuasive."

"She's not a Death Eater!" Astoria snapped and snatched the letter from Draco's hands. "I'm going. Who's coming with me?" She stood from the table and held the letter out. Draco immediately grabbed it.

"Of course I'll go," Hermione said and grabbed it as well.

"I'll go," Dennis said, speaking for the first time during the meeting. Suddenly there was a burst of flame and Fawkes came into view with a vibrant trill that lifted Hermione's spirits instantly. "There were two people from this world who I saw after Colin's death. The first was Justin Finch-Fletchley and the second was Zacharias Smith. Zacharias might actually have saved my life when he saw me because he covered for me with his parents. I have to do something."

"I'll go if I'm needed," Katie put in, staring at Fawkes.

"Thanks Katie, but four should be enough," Hermione said. "This isn't likely to be a Death Eater trap, despite what Alastor might want us to believe."

"On your head be it," Alastor said gruffly.

When Dennis had hold of the letter they were ready.

"Greyscale," Astoria said quietly. Hermione felt a sudden pull at her navel and soon she was spinning. Hermione braced herself just moments before her feet hit solid ground once again. Dennis had not braced himself well at all. Hermione held out a hand and pulled him up.

"We'll have to teach you how to properly use Portkeys," she said with a smile. Dennis smiled back.

"I haven't had much chance to use them," he replied. "Muggle-borns don't use them much, and nor do people forced back into the Muggle world."

"We'll go through it when we get back to Number Twelve," Hermione said.

"We're too late," Astoria said quietly.

"Death Eaters got here first," Draco said angrily as Hermione walked towards the window.

"Oh, God," she said. What she saw in the window was destruction. The entire room was covered in scorch marks and there was one particularly large spray of blood on the far wall, next to a door. She could just see enough to see a body slumped on the ground below the blood, its head bowed, unmoving with a slit throat. Fawkes trilled from his perch on Dennis' shoulder, but Hermione felt no different. "We need to call someone. The police."

"We can't," Draco said quickly as Hermione struggled to pull her gaze away from the destruction in the room. "If they killed him like this rather than a public execution, it means it's probably a trap. Plus, there's no Dark Mark above the house. Again, a sign of a trap. Most likely they've set up wards inside the house to detect when someone with magic enters. Then they show up and, lo and behold, they find yet another rebel to kill."

"Why does that mean we can't call the Police?" Hermione demanded. "They're not magic."

"If you did call them, what would they do?" Draco asked. "They would make us wait until they got here. What happens if one of us is asked to go inside? It's too risky."

"So we just leave him here like this?" Dennis asked, looking decidedly sick. Fawkes tilted his head and looked at Dennis before nipping him on the ear in what Hermione supposed was an act of empathy.

"Draco's right," Astoria said, not looking much better than Dennis. "This smells like a trap. We need to go now. For all we know, we've already triggered some kind of ward warning them of our presence."

Hermione looked through the window once again and felt her stomach turn. She wanted to yell at Draco and Astoria for their callousness. Berate them for not caring about the dignity of another human being. Yet she realised they were right. Constant Vigilance, Hermione thought sadly.

"We need to go back, Dennis," she said quietly. "Fawkes can take you back, can't he?"

"No, we can't just leave him here," Dennis said with a pained look on his face.

"We have to," Hermione replied, reaching out and grabbing hold of Dennis' arm before he could react and turning on the spot. Moments later they were outside of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place once again.

"No!" Dennis said angrily as Fawkes appeared on his shoulder in a blaze of flame. "This isn't right."

"You're right," Hermione admitted as there came two pops in quick succession to her left. "But we need to ensure our survival so we can win. Sometimes we have to make tough decisions."

Hermione looked into Dennis' eyes willing him to see the truth of it. For a moment, his eyes blazed in a way all too familiar to Hermione, but it was extinguished all too soon, replaced by what she hoped was resignation.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said quietly.

"So am I," Dennis replied. He then turned and walked towards the front door of Grimmauld Place, followed soon by Hermione, Draco and Astoria.

When the four of them got inside, they were greeted by Alastor's wand in their face. Hermione sighed.

"You just told us off for wanting to take a Portkey," she said quickly. Alastor's wand lowered and he turned and walked back into the kitchen and the big table.

"Death Eaters got there first," Draco reported when they were back seated where they had been before they left. "They killed him in his house and didn't use the Dark Mark. It smelled like a trap, so we left before we could spring it."

"Smart," Alastor said, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"A man has died," Hermione said angrily. "Don't smile. And you weren't right. The Portkey wasn't a trap. They never knew we were going to be there. So get over yourself, Alastor. Justin Finch-Fletchley was another person who didn't need to die, and someone who might very well have been able to help us, and you have the audacity to smile?"

"Twice in two days," Ginny murmured in agreement.

Alastor looked at Hermione for a moment, but both eyes turned away and he even managed to look slightly abashed. The room was silent for a long time. In that time, Dennis stood up and walked out, his footsteps ascending the stairs heard by all of them. When a door closed above them, Hermione thought she could hear the faint sounds of Fawkes' singing.

"Does anyone else have anything to put in?" Bill asked.

"I know my word isn't worth much at the moment," Alastor said, "but I did have a thought. What if we attack somewhere other than the Ministry? Malfoy Manor comes to mind since we have people here who know their way around the place well enough. If we could take it for our own, we could use it as a second base. A backup."

"I'm not sure that would be wise," Draco said. "Father is a high ranking Death Eater, which means that the Manor was given more protection when the Dark Lord won. More wards were erected, and others were replaced with better, more efficient ones. In fact, I would not be at all surprised if there were even guards at the Manor now just in case I show up there."

"It's not such a bad idea," Bill said thoughtfully. "I mean, obviously Malfoy Manor is out of the question. But what about the homes of other prominent Death Eaters? Do you know some of them?"

"Only one," Draco replied. "I visited Goyle once after Hogwarts. It's the only time I've ever seen his house. It was horrendous, as you would expect. I've been to Yaxley's home a time or two, but only through the Floo so I don't really know where he lives. Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange have visited Malfoy Manor, but I've never been to their home. I think they live near Hogsmeade now. I'm still just the son of a Death Eater, despite this stupid tattoo. They would never allow me to have such knowledge. Father does, maybe even Mother, but not me."

"Well, it's an idea nonetheless," Hestia said. "We might be able to revisit the idea somewhere down the line."

"Should we get a version of the Dark Mark?" Ginny said suddenly.

"The tattoo?" Hermione asked. "No, I think that might be a bit much."

"No, like the one the Death Eaters use after an attack," Ginny explained. "Except ours won't be so terrifying. We could use it as a way to show people in the magical community that we're here."

"That's not a bad idea," Katie said, smiling. "I have no idea how it would even work, but I like the idea."

"I agree," Alicia said enthusiastically. "What better way to throw the Death Eaters off than by using one of their tactics against them? Hermione was right earlier, we shouldn't do what the Death Eaters did, but this could be one thing we could do similar to them."

"Kind of like when kids mimic one another just to get a rise out of the other person," Angelina said, nodding. "I've seen it in class and it drives the other kid mad. And me for that matter. If we can find ways of doing this, Alicia's right. It would throw them off immensely."

"Alastor?" Hermione asked. The old man grunted.

"It's a good idea," he said. "It's simple. It's bloodless. And most of all, it will spread our message. Good thinking."

"Thanks," Ginny said, smiling. "Obviously it has to involve a Phoenix, but if anyone can think of anything fitting for it tell me. Hermione, could you make this work?"

Hermione thought about it for a minute. She had read a book from the Black Library once a few years ago that had something in it about a spell similar to the one used by Death Eaters to conjure the Dark Mark. It had seemed to her that it was probably how Voldemort had devised the idea for the Dark Mark. If I read it a bit closer, I should be able to rework it enough to fit our purpose, she thought, trying to remember the title of the book.

"I think so," she said finally. "I read a book with something similar. I'll look for it as soon as I can."

"If no one else has anything to say," Dedalus said after a moment, trailing off.

"Actually, I did have something," Hermione said. "If you don't mind."

"Go right ahead," Dedalus said with a smile.

"I know there are some of us who are annoyed that we aren't doing more than we are, and I understand why," Hermione began. "This is tough for us all, and it's only going to get worse from here. The Death Eaters had it easy when they were rebelling against the Ministry after You-Know-Who was resurrected. They didn't have morals to adhere to. They didn't care about innocent life. In fact, the actively tried to cause as many innocent casualties as possible. We are in their position now, and we will not do these things. I think even those of us who are, perhaps, more eager to get things done will agree with that sentiment. There is very little that we can do to harm them. We just have to be patient and think of something. When that opening comes, we need to be ready to strike. It we want to fix things, we need to be prepared. We can't run in headlong and hope everything will be okay. There's more at stake than just our lives. Let's be prepared."

"Here, here," Dedalus said, smiling broadly.

With that, the meeting ended and everybody started to get up and leave the room. Soon, only Hermione, Luna, Katie and Alastor remained. Alastor walked towards Hermione after a few moments.

"Being prepared is all well and good," he said, "but we can't remain idle for too long. If we do, we lose the attention of the Wizarding community and it will be more difficult to get them on our side. I know we aren't going to attack anyone, but Ginevra's idea was quite good. Imagine a symbol of the Order of the Phoenix above Gringott's in Diagon Alley. That could well be enough to change someone's mind or make them realise that they can fight back."

"Well, I should get to work to find that book as quickly as I can then," Hermione said with a smile. "Are we really the Order of the Phoenix, though? I hadn't thought about it."

"I've always been under that assumption," Alastor said gruffly. "We do have a Phoenix among us, after all."

"It doesn't seem the same without Professor Dumbledore," Hermione commented.

"No, it doesn't," Alastor replied. "But Albus wasn't the backbone of the Order, as he would tell anyone. It's the rest of them. He was just the man with the Phoenix, or so he said. Personally, I think he was just being deliberately humble, like always."

"Maybe we should have a vote to decide a new leader," Hermione said, with a laugh.

"I don't think we need to," Alastor said. "You seem qualified for the role." With that, the older wizard turned and left the kitchen.

"He's right, you know?" Katie said.

At that moment, Victoire came running into the room and ran straight to Hermione.

"What're you doing, Aunty Hermione?" she asked sweetly. Hermione smiled broadly at her.

"I was just going to look for a book in the library," she said. "I could use some help, if you want to."

"Yeah!" Victoire said. Hermione scooped her up.

"I'll help too," Katie said. "I've always had a knack for finding books. Maybe I'll help speed things up a bit."

"What about you, Luna?" Hermione asked. Luna was still sitting where she had been the whole meeting, though she had said nothing.

"No, I think I will find Dennis," she replied. "We need to go shopping, and he might like to come with me. If he does, we might take some of the kids as well. It does them good to get out and about."

"What about the meeting?" Hermione asked. "What did you think?"

"I tend to agree with you, rather than Alastor," she replied airily. "But, then, I never really wanted to be involved. I don't like the idea of violence, and I don't think I am very well suited for it. Of course, You-Know-Who must be stopped, and I do like the idea of settling down for life. We can't have that kind of thing during a war, can we?"

"No, I suppose not," Hermione replied, her mind wandering to Charlie, making her insides twist. She had imagined herself with him for the rest of her life, maybe even one day having kids with him, and yet he was taken from her too soon. Just like Ron was, she thought dully. She was beginning to think that perhaps that kind of love was not ever going to happen for her. At least not in the long term. Doomed to be a spinster, she thought. I should get a new cat.

"Who were you planning on settling down with then?" Katie asked in a cheeky tone. Hermione's reverie was broken as she was genuinely curious at how Luna would answer. Luna looked at Katie and her eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Someone nice," she replied simply.

"It would be nice if I could see the future," Hermione said wistfully. "Know what's coming. Sometimes I even wish I could believe in your Divination."

Luna stiffened and her eyes suddenly lost all sparkle.

"No," she said seriously, and Hermione felt a chill. It was almost as though she was back at Justin Finch-Fletchley's home, looking in through a window at the horrific scene inside. "You don't."

Luna stood quickly and walked away, saying no more.