A/N: Chapter 34 Review Responses are available in my forums.
Chapter Thirty-Five: The New Ministry
They came to Hogwarts in a small trickle at first. Arthur and Molly Weasley were among the first, and they only came for help from Poppy. Arthur took a cutting curse to his shoulder during his escape from the Ministry and despite Molly's best efforts she could not stem the bleeding. With Ginny and the twins in tow, they took Arthur to the hospital wing with Minerva's blessing, though she was as aware as the rest of the terrible, terrible risk she was taking. No one even knew where Ron was.
Unfortunately, Arthur was the first of many.
The Ministry of Magic employed a total of seven hundred witches and wizards, being the largest single employer in the magical United Kingdom. Another hundred or so served on the Wizengamot. When Gawain Robards arrived, bloodied and pale, he said he personally saw a hundred bodies lined up in the atrium of the Ministry.
"Most of the Aurors died defending Amelia," he said, tears in his eyes. "The rest…they were killing the Muggleborn employees right in the atrium, in front of the rest of us. Thicknesse made us watch. They made them all kneel down with their hands behind their heads, then they cast petrifying charms on them before Yaxley just walked down the whole row, casting severing curses point blank at the back of their heads."
Minerva listened with her hands to her mouth, horrified by more than just the description of her former students dying. She was horrified because those were the same tactics Grindelwald and his Nazi allies used.
After hearing what was happening, Minerva could not turn anyone away, despite the risks. Most that came were Muggleborn or Half-bloods, while still others were known light-side families. The day after the Ministry's fall, the Daily Prophet released an edition that lavishly, and with an abundance of spelling and grammatical errors, praised the elevation of Pius Thicknesse to Minister of Magic, while vilifying the wicked Amelia Bones and her followers, who were justly and mercifully brought to justice.
"They made her watch as they killed Susan," a tear-struck Percy Weasley said. "How did they even get her? She screamed so much…." He could not continue. He arrived later that second day, a once proud young man so thoroughly broken by the horrors he witnessed that he could not even find words. His family, from whom he had been estranged, welcomed him back without any comment.
Late the afternoon of that second day, Minerva called a meeting with Gawain Robards, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Augusta Longbottom (who arrived with Neville and several of Neville's friends from Potter's training group), and the rest of the staff to try and discuss next steps.
"We can't fight," Robards said. Being the former head of the DMLE, a seasoned auror and one of the few aurors not to be killed instantly because of his pureblood status and quick thinking, such a statement was chilling. "I witnessed You-Know-Who wipe out the entire Auror corps without even using a wand. We can't fight that."
"Then what do you suggest?" Arthur asked. "He's going to kill all of us—my family and I for actively supporting Dumbledore, and you for even coming here."
"I don't know," Robards admitted. "No, our best bet is to leave. We need to evacuate the UK. Perhaps to America, or Australia. I know how we could get out of the country safely."
"I refuse to let that monster take my home without a fight," Augusta Longbottom said. "The Longbottoms have stood for the light for the past thousand years, we will not stop now!"
"Well said, Augusta," Pomona Sprout said.
"The castle's defenses are strong," Minerva said, "but I'm not sure would fare any better than the Ministry should You-Know-Who come here."
"I'm telling you, we have to flee!" Robards said. "We can't fight him like this!"
"Then flee, you sniveling coward!" a new, gruff voice said. Those gathered around the faculty table at the end of the Great Hall looked up in surprise as Alastor Moody stumped in, flanked by Remus Lupin and his entire pack of werewolves. "Potter here yet?"
"Harry?" Arthur said, perplexed. "No. Are we expecting him?"
"I am," Moody said. He reached the table and nodded gruffly. "Minerva, Arthur. Robards, I have one thing to say to you. Stupefy!"
The others stared in surprised as the Auror flew back against a wall. Remus made a motion with his hand and a pair of his weres grabbed the man and carried him out of the hall.
"Bastard made a deal with Thicknesse," Moody explained. "He was going to lead you into a trap and get the whole lot of you caught."
"How did you know?" Arthur asked.
"Potter has spies in the 'new' Ministry," Alastor said. He jumped then for no apparent reason, and then cursed. "Bloody contraption." He fumbled in his robes before he removed a black box that fit snugly into his hand. "This is Alastor, go."
The box squawked before a man's voice said, "Potter is on his way in."
"Right. I'm here with them now."
"Understood."
"What is that?" Arthur said, fascinated.
"Magic radio," Moody said. "Mimics muggle wireless, but can be used anywhere in the world. All Potter's people have them now."
"How many people does Potter have?" Minerva asked.
Alastor's grin did not make any of them feel better. "Enough."
They heard voices from outside the great hall, followed by roars of approval and cheers. A moment later they saw Harry Potter step confidently into the hall flanked as always by his wife on one side and their lover on the other. Following him in came a phalanx of his lieutenants, including Arthur's own son Ron.
"Arthur," Harry said when he reached the table. "Glad to see you made it. Ron was worried." Ron nodded a strong affirmative from his position in line. "Moody, do we have a count of everyone who made it?"
"Not yet."
"See to it, please. Deskin's people are setting up the point defenses around the castle. I'll need a rough idea of how many occupants in the castle will fight, and what the castle's magical defenses are." Harry finally looked to Minerva and the others. "Ladies and gentlemen, an hour ago I was granted an audience with Her Majesty, the Queen. By her pleasure, and with the approval of the Prime Minister, I have been appointed as Minister for Magic in accordance with Article 26 of the Treaty Of Union of 1707. Pius Thickness is not recognized by the Crown as the legitimate Minister of Magic, and every member of his government, as well as You Know Who and his supporters, have been declared guilty of high treason against the crown."
"Your humor leaves something to be desired, Mr. Potter," Augusta Longbottom said.
"Laugh on your own time, we have work to do," Harry said, dismissing the old witch to her shock. "Minerva, please work with Hermione to outline the castle's defenses. Frankly I don't think You-Know-Who is going to attack immediately. He wishes to solidify his position at the Ministry first. That gives us time. Also, I have confirmed that his name is taboo. Do not say it aloud until I give the order."
As he spoke, more and more of the refugees were streaming into the Great Hall to hear what was happening. Harry turned, and with a Sonorus charm addressed them all. "I am Harry Potter, and by the pleasure of Her Majesty the Queen I have been appointed Minister for Magic. Those of you who looked outside no doubt saw my forces establishing defenses for the castle. Please offer to help where you can. Those of you who can fight, please find Alastor Moody. If you don't know who he is, look for the ugliest son of a bitch in the castle—the other one, not Filch. I know things seem bad, but I'm here to tell you that the war is not over—in fact it is just getting started."
People started to cheer, and Minerva realized that, whether Harry was telling the truth about the Queen or not, the people here had accepted him, and that would have to be good enough.
An hour later, touring with an attentive Hermione Potter while discussing the magical wards and defenses of the castle, she saw what Potter's "people" had done. Every twenty to thirty feet along the castle perimeter were holes dug large enough to house four to five men. And at the lips of each hole angled away from each other, were large Muggle guns.
"What are those?" McGonagall asked.
"Browning heavy machine guns," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Harry believes that Tom will have giants and trolls as well as dark wizards when he finally attacks. He calculates that a prolonged burst of fire from a .50 caliber heavy machine gun should be sufficient to take down even large magical creatures. We've also positioned mortars and heavy caliber snipers along the towers and battlements. Our defense wizards assure us that even a powerful, prepared wizard cannot shield against a .50 caliber sniper round. Since the weapons are mechanically driven rather than with electronics, the ambient magic of the castle will not be an issue."
Minerva stumbled. "Mrs. Potter, you're honestly planning on using Muggle military weapons against British wizards?"
"Professor," Hermione said, "Harry is planning on winning. He has no intention to continue with tactics that fail. He is going to utterly destroy Tom Riddle's forces, and then we are going to destroy Riddle himself. Make no mistake, Professor. Harry is going to win."
~~Broken~~
~~Broken~~
They fielded the Ministry Militia on the Quidditch pitch. Deskin's mercenaries walked among the hundred and ten volunteer witches and wizards willing to fight for their freedom. Some were off-duty Hitwizards or Aurors, a few were former Unspeakables. The rest were just men and women who felt strongly enough about their country that they were willing to fight for it.
Harry, meantime, was talking with Deskin and Moody. "Snape says the Ministry has established commissions to detain any Muggleborns on charges of magic theft. They're being sent straight to Azkaban and left to die. They have hunter squads in the field," Harry said.
Moody studied Harry's face. "I know that expression."
"We're going to use the Taboo," Harry said. "We say his name with a squad standing by for ambush, and take the team out. Hostile interrogations for the survivors. We're going to force You-Know-Who to attack before he's ready. But before that, we need to deal with the goblins."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Deskin asked.
"With some help, my friends."
~~Broken~~
~~Broken~~
Diagon Alley was empty. Shops were closed and boarded up, while those few that remained open had no business. Harry walked alone through the middle of the alley, invisible under his father's cloak.
In his ear, a piece of magic-hardened Muggle technology beeped at him. "Birds in-bound five minutes," a clipped voice said.
"Understood," Harry whispered back. He continued walking through the empty street until he reached a clear path to Gringotts bank at the very end of the alley. He crouched down behind the corner of a building and lifted a large laser pointer housed in a camouflaged green case. He slipped on a pair of charmed far-see glasses and pulled the trigger.
Although the laser was invisible in the air, he could see a red dot appear on the bank. "Target acquired," the voice said. "Fox 1 inbound."
Twenty seconds later, "Fox 2 inbound."
Twenty seconds after that, "Fox 3 inbound."
The goblin guards, looking fierce as they stood near the doors to the bank, barely had time to look up before the first 2,000 pound Paveway III guided, bunker-buster bomb slammed into the bank. Designed to penetrate hardened targets, the first bomb bullied its way through all the floors of the bank and into its sublevels before it explode.
The building shattered like a dropped egg. Before the debris cleared, the second bomb struck, piercing through the debris pile and even further into the sublevels before it, too, exploded. This time debris shot up higher into the air as the more focused explosion punched further down. The third bomb was not a Paveway at all. In fact, it was borrowed from the Americans.
The GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb fell like a tank from the air. Over 21,000 pounds of explosives fell into the heart of Gringotts encased in a 30 foot long shell. The bomb fell right through the shattered holes into the cavern that sheltered the true heart of the goblins. The explosion, when it hit, shattered every window in Diagon Alley and made the Earth shake as if it were a major quake.
Harry waited a few minutes before he removed his cloak and started running toward the debris. He briefly caught glimpses of terrified wizards coming to see what happened, but he ignored them as he continued running through the slope of rubble that surrounded the crater that was once Gringotts. He reached the lip of the crater, but with the billowing dust, he could not see anything. However, he could feel waves of heat billowing up from the fires that were still undoubtedly burning below.
He tapped his far-see glasses to thermal sensing, cast a Featherlight charm on himself, and then summoning the Force jumped into the abyss. It was actually Hermione that suggested the combination, and it was so effective it made him feel as if he were flying as he let himself float down into the chaos.
He saw four shattered levels under the bank proper where Gringotts kept its low-security vaults. Soon though he broke into the main cavern that not only contained the family vaults, but also the city of the goblins themselves. His strike was not designed to destroy the vaults—he knew from personal memories that the vaults lined the upper walls of the cavern and were accessible by charmed carriages. Instead, the whole attack was on the goblins themselves.
The goblin city was built up from the floor of the cavern, and was more of a vertical city than most human dwellings. Essentially the goblins lived in what might be described as a giant termite mound, a single communal structure—a structure that the largest conventional bomb in the world had just hit point blank.
Smoke filled the cavern, but after breaking through the chimney-effect the holes above created, the air in the rest of the cavern cleared enough for Harry to make his way to the far chamber passage where the older vaults were located.
He alit near the rail, seeing as he did that most of the rail system was shattered by the explosion. Debris littered the floor even in the passage, as well as a group of dirty, stunned-looking goblins. Harry did not hesitate for a second—the creatures screamed as Harry caught them in a Force-grip and threw them out into the seeming endless chasm into the fires that used to be their city.
With the passage cleared, he ran further into the cavern. He did not take ten steps before the Force warned him. He had both lightsabers lit and swinging when the first shots came; the goblins were using guns. Not archaic weapons, either, but modern automatic machine guns.
He waded into them, deflecting or vaporizing the bullets with his sabers while using the Force to knock them back. Because of their short stature and wide bodies, the goblins were amazingly resilient, but when struck by a lightsaber, they fell just like any other living creature.
Harry wiped out the squad of ten save for the last. This one he gripped by the head and ripped into his mind. He did not pull information out—he knew exactly where Lestrange's vault was from his attack on her the previous summer. Instead, he blurred all memory in the creature's mind and superimposed it with an image of Voldermort destroying everything around him.
He continued down the corridor without further resistance, until he reached the dragon that guarded the Lestrange Vault. The massive, pale, blind beast raised its lorry-sized head and sniffed the air.
Harry did not hesitate—with a short run he launched himself into the air until he landed on the creature's long, sinuous neck. Magically resistant scales could not resist the heat of Harry's lightsaber as he shoved it to the hilt at the base of the dragon's skull. He struck so quickly the dragon did not even have time to realize it was dead before it fell.
Harry rolled free before leaping up to the second level of the underground courtyard that housed Lestrange's vault. The enchantments on the door prevented him from touching it, but he was betting that the goblin's magic had never encountered high technology before.
He thrust his lightsaber into the edge of the circular vault door. The blade cut easily through the ancient iron, and continued to run smoothly through the seams between the door and the wall. He levitated himself to complete the circuit, until at the last he cut through every bolt holding the door in place.
He stepped back, and with the Force gripped and opened the door. It did so with a squeal not just of metal, but of severed enchantments. Because of his stolen memories from Lestrange, he was familiar with the curses on the vault. Rather than try to enter, he used the Force to levitate a large silver platter and floated it to the back of the vault, where the cup rested.
He guided the platter behind the cup, and then with all his might pulled the platter, striking the cup and sending it flying. It clattered to the floor at the edge of the vault, within easy reach of Harry's lightsaber.
The magical release of the destroyed Horcrux was much stronger than the diadem, but even so it only pushed Harry back a few feet. He levitated the shards of Hufflepuff's cup off the floor before swinging the door closed again, and began to run back the way he came. Not even halfway there he pulled out his cloak and hid himself again.
While levitating himself back up to the hole, he let the shards of the cup fall into the maelstrom below before he once more found himself in the midst of the smoke rising up out of the bank. He levitated off to one side and wrapped the cloak around him as he saw dozens of wizards and aurors gathered around the hole. Harry noted that the supposed aurors all had the feel of Voldemort's mark on their arms.
Seeing an opportunity, and still hidden by his cloak, Harry forced pulled half a dozen of the aurors into the gaping hole, listening to their screams as they fell. Given the banks ward scheme was destroyed, they could have apparated, and he suspected some at least would, but somehow he knew most would not.
The only Horcrux that remained was Voldemort's snake.
Harry apparated away, pleased with the day's work.
~~Broken~~
~~Broken~~
The True Ministry watched from Hogwarts as the Goblin Nation rose up in rage at Voldemort's False Ministry. The only Goblin to survive the assault clearly remembered Voldemort leading the attack. Given his recent demonstration at the Ministry, no one doubted the Dark Lord capable of such monstrous magic.
It was a gamble—Moody told him the attack would either infuriate the goblins into attacking, or cow them into submission. However, Luna simply shrugged and said, "You don't cow a scorpion from stinging you. It stings you, or you kill it first. The goblins are not capable of being intimidated—fear like that does not exist in their racial memory."
Luna was never—not ever—wrong about things like that, and as the Goblins of Europe put together the clues Harry left for them, Luna's words became prophetic. The bodies of the aurors found in the wreckage of the Goblin city—Aurors who bore Voldemort's Dark Mark—corroborated the eye-witness testimony of Voldemort's attack. The fact he attacked the Lestrange vault just a week after Bellatrix's death leant additional credence to the theory of the Dark Lord's role in the attack.
The fact that Voldemort was still a hidden power and could not publicly repudiate the claims just added fuel to the fire.
On July 2nd, three weeks after the attack, the Goblin Nation declared war on the British Ministry of Magic. The Goblins swarmed through a quickly evacuated Diagon Alley like locusts, burning down or destroying everything, even Weasley Wizarding Wheases, until they came to the Diagon entrance of the Ministry.
The battle in the Ministry lasted two days. Voldemort's supporters actually fought valiantly, if the honor of fighting goblins could overcome the evil of their past deeds, but the Goblins poured in by the tens of thousands, consuming Voldemort's Ministry in sheer numbers.
Until, that is, Voldemort himself arrived.
"Damned frightening thing," Moody recalled the next day in Grimmauld Place, where Potter held his executive meetings. "According to our spies, he called down Fiendfyre from the sky and just let it loose. Goblin magic tried to control it, but it was too powerful. There were so many Goblins that they filled ever foot of the Ministry, and he killed every one. A good sixty thousand or more. Took a good portion of the Ministry with them, but he's in the open now. The whole world knows it's Voldemort ruling the Ministry, since his stooge didn't last the first day."
"That's what we wanted," Deskin said blankly.
"Indeed," Harry agreed. "The world knows—now it's time for them to know who's fighting Voldemort. We're setting the stage for the future right now, my friends. Let's make sure every shot counts.