Harry Potter and the Shadow Legion
Part 2
Chapter 36
The morning after the Wizengamot meeting, the Daily Prophet had the headline of the century, and the titles of the other main stories where all eye catching as well.
BRITAIN EXCOMMUNICATED BY THE I.C.W.
MINISTRY BANKRUPT AFTER HIGH LADY EMRYS CALLS IN ALL DEBTS
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN PRISON
DUMBLEDORE SACKED AS SUPREME MUGWUMP
MINISTER FOOLISHLY DECREES DEMENTORS ARE TO PATROL ALL MAGICAL COMMUNITIES
HIGH LADY EMRYSS FORBIDS THE DEMONTORS FROM ENTERING HOGWARTS
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF QUIDDITCH SAYS; 'WORLD CUP FINAL WILL STILL BE PLAYED IN BRITAIN'
HIGH LADY EMRYS OFFERS TO FUND QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP FINAL SINCE MINISTRY CAN'T PAY
"Hmm," Aurora mused to the rest of the kitchen after she finished reading the headlines out loud, "It would seem that Rita went all out against the Minister, I'm glad to see she can listen when properly 'encouraged'."
"What did you do to her?" Hermione asked with a smirk to which Gabrielle replied,
"We told her that, as long as she writes bad things about Pudgy, Umbitch and the rest of those idiots, her job is safe and she will get 5% of the Daily Prophet's profits." They all shared a laugh about that, as if there was one thing Rita was good for, then it was to dig up dirt on people and destroy their name in the most outrageous manner.
"What was that with the Quidditch World Cup mom?" Harry questioned after a short while, his interests were peaked at this subject as he was a bit bummed out that his moms had forced him to quit the Gryffindor Quidditch team for the coming year. He understood that with the planned private lessons he would no longer have the time for Quidditch practice, but he would miss the excuse to go flying none the less.
"Well Harry," Aurora began, "during the end of our meeting with the I.C.W. yesterday, it was brought up that the Quidditch World Cup was planned to be held in Britain next summer. I offered to sponsor the event myself since the ministry is no longer able to do so. A location and design for the stadium have already been chosen. But with the money no longer available from the ministry, the Quidditch Association wanted to know if they would have to find a different country to host the event. With any luck, we'll be able to fetch a decent profit from the tickets sales and sponsorship fees."
"Talking about sponsors," Emma interjected with a thoughtful look on her face. "Don't you two own the biggest broom-making company in the world?"
"We do," Gabrielle replied a bit confused, she could sense that neither she nor her wife had any idea of why Emma would ask this, she absolutely hated brooms after Harry and Hermione had nearly killed themselves chasing Sparky in the ballroom only to collide in mid-air some 20 feet above the white marble floor. Only a bout of accidental magic on Hermione's part had saved them from serious injury.
"Well," Emma continued hesitantly, having noticed the looks of Aurora and Gabrielle, "I thought that if your goal is to improve your own standing within the international magical world, then maybe you could offer to sponsor each participating national team with brand new racing brooms."
The others all looked a bit impressed with this idea, especially since Emma was probably the least involved with the magical world of all of them.
"That would be an excellent publicity stunt for the Firebolt, as it is done and close to release." Gabrielle mused softly more to herself than to the others.
"IT IS?!" Both Harry and Ginny said at the same time. Both had been anxiously waiting for a chance to fly after Harry's less than entirely safe first test flight the previous summer.
Over the year it had mostly been those two who had tested the Black Bolts they had been given last summer and their reports about the performances of the Brooms had helped greatly in fine-tuning the designs of both the Black Bolt and the Firebolt. In fact, the Black Bolt had already been officially approved for mass-production, though the existence of the model was kept secret and the first 600 brooms were reserved for the MSS to create a special aerial assault corps.
"Yes kids," Gabrielle nodded gently, "It's ready and the first models are already being constructed as we speak." Turning to Emma she added, "But as for your suggestion, I'll put the offer out to the Quidditch Association and if they accept, we'll start shipping them out all over the world within a fortnight."
Emma nodded with a grin on her face happy that the idea had been accepted.
The next few minutes were silent as everyone focused on their breakfast until they were disturbed by Furya, who flew into the kitchen through the large open window. The small dragon landed carefully before Aurora and rose on her hind legs, offering easy access to the metal tube strapped to her chest. Aurora took the scroll from the tube and after offering Furya a small plate with crisped bacon, she broke the seal and began to read.
Her face soon turned serious before passing on to thoughtful. After she finished she looked at Gabrielle who nodded, she had read along through their link and so knew what the letter held.
"What's wrong?" Dan asked, a bit worried. More bad news was not exactly what they needed right now.
"Nothing wrong exactly, but things did become a bit more interesting." Holding the letter up she continued, "This letter comes from Robert Bruce the 15th and current Lord Bruce. He heard about what happened at Azkaban and he requests if he can be present at the entombment of the fallen."
"What could he want?" Dan asked, now sharing their line of thought. "Neville is nowhere near ready to take up the Longaxe. And as far as I know, no one has informed him, or any of the clans for that matter, that we have a wielder for the Longaxe."
"Exactly Dan," Aurora replied, "Which is why I said that it just got more interesting, as we don't have a clue what he might want. I'll allow his request though, as two of the fallen were Scottish, and knowing him he'll come to offer a proper salute."
Silence reigned for the rest of breakfast as all thought went to the funeral ceremony, which was planned for the next day, the 31st of August. Today, Harry, the girls and Luna would go with Aurora and Gabrielle to Avalon to get fitted for their dress uniforms, something they did not have yet as they had not expected them to need it before they were fully grown.
Fitting the dress uniforms was rather easy as they were available in pretty much all sizes, so it was just a matter of finding the right size and then have the proper name plates made and attached. The uniforms were exactly the same as the ones they had seen Aurora, Gabrielle and Dan wear, just far less decorated and with a simple black beret instead of a peaked cap.
After the fitting they went to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies for the coming year. Most of it was rather straight forward, books, potion ingredients, new school robes and other small knickknacks.
The alley was not the same as the previous times they had been there though. It was far less crowded and the people that were there did their shopping hurriedly and in tight knit groups. Teams of aurors patrolled around the alley and no less then 24 armed and armored goblins stood guard outside of Gringotts. Large posters with mugshots of the escaped Inner Circle members hung in several of the shop windows, with warnings not to approach them but to notify the ministry at once if one was spotted.
Upon their entering Ollivanders, the old shopkeeper sighed dejectedly upon recognizing Aurora. When she gently pushed Luna forward, he muttered softly to himself before addressing Luna, "Ah Miss Lovegood, what can I do for you, is there something wrong with your wand? Beach and dragon heartstring, if I remember correctly, 11 inches and rather flexible."
"No sir, everything is just fine with my wand." Luna replied cheerily while pulling out her wand and showing it to him. Next, she showed him her ring and added, "But haven't you heard, it's Emrys now."
As Ollivander's eyes were drawn to the ring, an understanding and somewhat resigned look spread over his face and he said, "Please come to the counter then Miss Emrys, let's get you a proper wand." Luna smiled angelically as she skipped towards the counter, brimming with enthusiasm.
Ollivander walked up and down the gangway as he collected a pile of boxes. Placing them on the counter before Luna he said, "Please pick the ones that feel the best to you." Luna quickly picked a rectangular and a round box, but not a square one.
Before Ollivander could remark on this Luna said, "I will have these two and the feather my mom has in her pocket."
After a short silence both Aurora and Gabrielle burst out in laughter and Gabrielle removed a rectangular black box from her robe. Handing the box to Ollivander she said, "Be careful with this, it might well be the last of it's kind."
Ollivander made a small bow and when he carefully opened the box, a beautiful golden feather was revealed. With a soft gasp Hermione asked, "Is that what I think it is?"
Gabrielle nodded and replied, "It is Hermione, this is a tail feather of Tempestea, the only one Merlin managed to talk her into parting with."
To the surprise of the kids, Ollivander sat down at the counter and summoned his tools before beginning to shape the block of Ash wood. When Hermione asked Gabrielle why Ollivander made Luna's wand at the counter as he had with Harry's instead of going to his workshop like he had done with the others.
"That, Miss Granger," Ollivander spoke without looking up from his work, "is because I am working with core materials that are not mine to begin with and are priceless if sold on the black market. To make sure my customers cannot accuse me of withholding some of the material, I use it in front of them and show them that I use it all in their ordered wands."
"Has that happened a lot?" Harry asked curiously as he watched Ollivander split the carved shape of the wand in two and began to carefully chisel out a hollow for the feather to fit into.
"Not since my ancestors began doing it like this, Mister Potter, but before that it did happen regularly yes."
They waited in silence for the next 10 minutes until Ollivander sealed the two halves back together with the feather locked securely within. After cleaning it thoroughly, he attached a large sapphire to the handle with molten silver. After a final polish, he placed the wand in a velvet lined box and offered the box to Luna with the words, "Here you are Miss Emrys; Ash,12 inches, a black and golden Opal as focus, and the tail feather of a Guardian Spirit as a core."
When Luna took the wand and held it up, a large fountain of golden and silver stars shot out of the tip and Luna smiled, utter joy written on her face as she whispered to the wand, "And now you're mine, if you look after me, I'll do the same for you."
"That is as it should be miss, the connection between wand and user is a two-way partnership." Ollivander said with an approving nod while he produced two dragon hide wand holsters from beneath the counter.
Turning to Aurora, who had already taken out her trusted Gringotts Gold Card, he added, "That will be 250 galleons for the wand and 50 for the holsters for a total of 300 galleons." With a nod Aurora paid him and the group left the shop to a by now very familiar dark corner.
"Yes, yes, I know," Luna said with a grin, "Don't get caught with a battle wand unless it is a life or death situation. Harry already told me the rules." Harry nodded to this, also with a big grin on his face and they followed the two adults toward the Leaky Cauldron.
Upon reaching the pub, Gabrielle called Daisy to take their bags while they went on into muggle London to buy new sports clothes for all of them, as according to Aurora, they would be needing them for their private lessons. They ended the day by eating at a McDonalds, which was a novelty for Luna and she poked rather suspiciously at the Chicken McNuggets Gabrielle had suggested she order.
The next morning when they woke up, the kids found their new dress uniforms hanging on the closet doors. With a resigned sigh they got up one by one and headed for the showers, the girls going first as they needed more time with putting their hair up. Just as they were about done, and Harry was in the shower, there was a knock on the door and Luna entered. She was already dressed but her silvery hair was a mess and she looked rather frustrated while holding a brush and a comb. "I can't get my hair right."
The girls invited her to take a seat on the bed and Ginny, who's hair was already done, took the brush and quickly made it right for her. When Luna was also properly dressed and done up, they only had to wait a minute for Harry to exit the shower. He was likewise dressed and had his shoulder-length hair in a simple low ponytail. As he saw Luna he gave her a quick hug and then led the four girls to the elevator and then down to the kitchen where they found the others already at breakfast.
Aurora, Gabrielle and Dan were all dressed in similar dress uniforms, while Emma wore a simple black dress. Being a non-combatant member of the Legion, but one of the civilian employees, Emma did not have a dress uniform, nor was she allowed to wear one.
Breakfast was a rather quiet affair as all felt the subdued mood that usually precedes a funeral. Of the kids, only Luna had ever been to a funeral before which was her mother's. So they were not entirely sure how to act at a funeral for people they hadn't even known by name.
"Mom," Luna said softly after placing her spoon in her empty porridge bowl. When Aurora and Gabrielle looked at her with a gentle look she continued, "What will we be expected to do at the funeral?"
Gabrielle placed her hand over Luna's and said reassuringly, "Nothing at all sweetheart." Looking at the quartet before turning back to Luna she said a bit louder, "When we arrive, Lieutenant Saint-Clair will be waiting for you. She will stay with you, so just stick with her and do as she says. Aurora, Dan and I will be with the rest of High Command, so we can't keep an eye on you."
"Will Aunt Lizzie be there as well?" Harry asked next and Gabrielle nodded.
"She will, as will Thomas, President Rostock, and half a dozen other government leaders, every country who had soldiers amongst the fallen have agreed to come. We have sent them portkeys so they will arrive half an hour before the ceremony begins."
They all nodded and when Aurora finished her third plate of eggs, bacon and toast, they all stood up and said goodbye to the elves who continued to clear up the table. After following Gabrielle to the travel room, they each took a hold of the length of rope she handed out and held on tight when she activated, and overpowered it with the word, "Avalon,"
They were whisked away and after half a minute of dizzying swirling, they landed in the steel-clad travel room on Avalon. As soon as they landed, Hermione whipped out her wand and created a yellow bucket which she handed to Fleur. Luckily though, and quite surprisingly, she did not have to throw up for once. She was slightly green and feeling rather queasy for sure, but she managed to keep her breakfast where it was supposed to be.
When they left the travel room they found a pair of Humvees waiting to take them to the castle where the first part of the ceremony would take place. During the trip they saw all kinds of last-minute preparations taking place; Squads of Legionnaires were setting out rows upon rows of white folding chairs next to the mausoleum. A large platform had been built and covered by black velvet carpet. Nineteen white wooden tables were standing on the platform, waiting to bear their load.
Closer to the castle they saw a small fleet of black Humvees and other personal vehicles that would transport the guests the six miles from the travel point to the castle when they arrived for the ceremony.
When the drivers stopped before the massive castle gates, they were awaited by Anderson, Ivan and Francine. The former two were dressed in dress uniform and Francine wore a simple black dress. For the occasion she had used several glamours to hide her piercings and the visible parts of her tattoos. Her hair had been done in such a way that her mohawk covered her entire scalp and the black dress showed her figure perfectly while still being very modest and occasion appropriate.
Anderson led them into the castle and towards the great hall where the fallen Legionnaires had been placed after they had been prepared for the wake. Being placed upon a raised platform below the Banner, the nineteen plain oaken coffins were closed and were each covered by a large black flag showing the Mark of the Legion. Placed on each flag where large pictures of the fallen and stands with the medals they had earned over their careers.
As an honoring from their respective governments, each had posthumously received their nations highest award for valor. Present where 7 American Medals of Honor, 5 British Victoria Crosses, 3 French Legions of Honor, 3 Russian Orders "For Military Merit", and 1 German Großkreuz of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
One medal which had been awarded to all was the Legion's own award for Valor, The Order of Honor. It was a blackened-gold winged skull surrounded by a white golden laurel wreath hanging from a black ribbon.
The non-Legion loved ones and next of kin of the fallen had arrived at the island the day before and had been given the chance to say their goodbyes in private before the coffins had been closed and prepared for entombment.
Part of the recruitment process of every Legionnaire was the question of where they wanted to be buried if they were killed in the line of duty, and almost without exception everyone chose to be entombed in the mausoleum. To make this choice easier, there was an arrangement for their next of kin that they could come and visit whenever they wanted. All they needed to do was give a two-week notice so that airplane tickets could be arranged to Heathrow Airport and for any further arrangements to be made. A Gulfstream IV airplane had been acquired and given a complete overhaul to make it safe to cross the wards of Avalon and this would pick them up at Heathrow to bring them to the island.
After they all paid their respects to the next of kin, Aurora sent the kids off to find Boltrock at the Vault, as he had something for them, while the adults involved themselves with the last preparations.
"I'll send Saint-Claire to you when it's time to come back." Aurora said after them before Gabrielle added,
"And try to stay clean if you would."
They promised they would and then made their way out of the castle. They entered a Humvee which then brought them to the airport and once there they used the smaller personnel elevator to descend into the Vault proper.
Upon the doors opening they were immediately aware that it was remarkably quiet compared to the hammering on anvils they had heard the previous times they were there. The only sound came from Boltrock's workshop and was a soft melody played on a violin. Following the sound, they found the Master Engineer playing the instrument himself while seated on a simple wooden chair and looking at the framed picture of a female goblin with a child before her and a baby in her arms.
They listened in silence for a few minutes to the hauntingly beautiful music until Boltrock stopped playing and placed the instrument back in its case. He stood up from the chair and taking the picture frame from its place on the wall, he placed a tender kiss on the glass and whispered, "By the Earth Vader I miss you, it's been so long."
"Are… are you all right sir?" Fleur asked softly after Boltrock had placed the frame back on the wall and let out a deep sigh.
"Yes, children, I am all right. Just a bit melancholic, funerals always have this effect on me. They remind me of the fact that I never had the chance to say a worthy farewell to my family."
"What happened to them sir?" Luna asked when Boltrock came away from the wall and walked towards them.
"I was a known supporter of the Legion, so the Death Eaters went after them. One night when I came home I found the majority of my clan slaughtered and my wife, daughter and son taken. Both the Legion and the Goblin Nation searched every known hideout of the Death Eaters and hunted down everyone who could know where they were, but when we found them it was too late. Voldemort had personally dealt with them. They had been touched by Fiendfyre, and I watched them crumbling to ashes before my eyes.
I have set their ashes in our clan's tomb, but we goblins believe that the dead must be returned to the earth whole. If a body is burned, then it's soul vanishes in the void and can never return to the earth from which it came."
"Our condolences sir," Harry said solemnly, and the others nodded their heads in agreement.
Boltrock nodded in thanks before sighing again and squaring his shoulders. "Thank you kids, but my history is not why you are here. Come, I have something to show you."
He led them to a secluded corner of the workshop where a female version of the Mark 7 was standing with similar markings as the ones given to the quartet. Several spare parts were lying on a table next to it along with a small, black velvet jewelry box and four large objects hidden by a piece of cloth.
"Whose armor is that sir?" Luna asked a little hopeful as she recognized the markings.
As he walked up to the table, Boltrock picked up the jewelry box and turning back to the kids he opened it and said, "It's yours Miss Emrys." In the box was a control chip similar to the ones the quartet had attached to their spinal cords in their necks.
"Mine?" Luna asked a little unbelieving, "But mom said I had to wait at least ten more months before I got one."
"That is true," Boltrock agreed, "but the recent outbreak from Azkaban has changed that opinion drastically, as did their opinion of giving you these." At this last he pointed at the parts laying on the table.
As the kids inspected the items they couldn't discern any obvious function, so Hermione said, "Ehh sir, what are these?"
Now Boltrock gained a small grin and said, "These Miss Granger, are upgrades for your EXO's." He picked one up and showed it to them, it was a black colored rectangle of 4 by 12 inches and 3 inches thick and with an arm shaped indentation on one of the 4-inch sides. "This kids, is a foldable shield."
At seeing their disbelieving looks Boltrock walked over to the EXO and attached it to the left forearm. When it was attached properly, Boltrock turned the arm outwards and after opening the HUD, he selected the shield option and pressed the place marked as 'Activate'.
Immediately the shield transformed. It literally unfolded itself until it was 2 feet by 4 feet and half an inch thick. As it clicked itself shut, so it merged into one solid piece again, a soft glow came over it and with a grin Boltrock said, "Watch this kids," he plucked an unusually short wand from his belt and aimed it at the shield. He pushed a button on the handle and a blue beam shot out of the wand and hit the shield dead-centre. Instead of being blown to bits, the shimmering shield simply glowed a little before the curse was absorbed by the enchantments and runes on the shield and neutralized.
Looking up at the grinning kids he added, "These shields will protect you from everything short of an Avada Kedavra, as well as being fully bullet-proof. It'll take a tank cannon to blast a hole through these babies."
"Sweet," Harry said softly and the others let out an 'uh huh' in agreement.
Hermione's eyes though were drawn to the wand in Boltrock's hands and with a grin he held it up and said, "Pre-charged Expulso wand for non-wand-compatible magical beings. Excellent for clearing blockades, barricades and the like."
"That must be very useful if you can't wield a normal wand," Hermione said as she stared at the wand while Boltrock put it away again.
Boltrock nodded in agreement and folded the shield back up before showing them where to store it on the EXO, just above the place of the weapon case. He walked back to the table and took a hold of the piece of cloth. Giving it a pull, he revealed what had been hidden beneath it.
Five steel swords were laying on the table. They were simple and not much to look at but still the kids were excited. After Boltrock motioned for them to do so, they all took one of the swords and Harry being Harry, he immediately pressed his finger past the blade's edge. To his disappointment, and his wives' relief, the blade was as dull as could be.
"They're not sharp," Harry complained while rubbing his head after Hermione had pulled the sword from his hands and knocked him on the head with it.
"No Mister Potter they are not sharp," Boltrock replied while showing a sharp toothy grin, "and the reason for that has just been superbly demonstrated by you yourself. These are training swords, used by every Legionnaire when they begin their training in the art of sword fighting. These blades are charmed so that they will keep track with your level of skill. If you look closely, you will see that the fuller has a small silver bar at the bottom, just above the cross guard. That bar will grow as your skill increases. When the fuller is completely filled with silver, your skill will be high enough that you can be safely handed a real sword.
Your mothers will explain it further when your lessons begin, but the average Legionnaire takes between eight and ten months of two hours daily training before they move on to a real sword. I would advise not to get to attached to these as you will be required to give them back when you no longer need them."
They all nodded in understanding and placed the swords back on the table while Boltrock turned to Luna. "Miss Emrys, I will be coming by the Manor later tonight to install your control chip, as it is a momentous occasion and I'm sure your mothers will want to be present."
Luna made a small bow in thanks while Boltrock removed the weapon's case from its place on the EXO's back. He put it on the table and enlarged it before opening it. Taking a step back he motioned for Luna to take his place and said, "If you would, please show me if you remember how to assemble an assault rifle version of the MWS."
Luna nodded and dug in her memory for the short lesson Gabrielle had given her about the weapon. She picked the parts as well as she could remember and put them together under the watchful eyes of Boltrock and the others. When she was done she stepped back and Boltrock nodded before picking up the rifle.
He pointed it upwards and pulled the trigger, only to find it missing. When Harry let out a soft snigger, Boltrock raised his eyebrows and tossed the weapon to Harry with the words, "Well Mister Potter since you find this so amusing, please take it apart again and turn it into a machinegun."
Harry's face fell immediately, and he sputtered, "But sir, we haven't been shown how to do that yet."
"I don't give a shit," Boltrock replied coldly before grinning at the girls.
Over the next fifteen minutes Boltrock had Harry put the weapon in every configuration, before he showed the girls and a grumbling Harry how to do it properly. Over the next hour he let the girls try their hand at it, before giving Harry a second chance.
Just as Harry was struggling with the shotgun variation, Lieutenant Saint-Claire entered the workshop and cleared her throat. "Sir, it is time. The guests are arriving, and the Ladies asked me to bring you back to the castle."
Boltrock nodded and said, "Very well lieutenant, if you give me a minute, we'll follow you." He walked to Harry and after snapping his fingers, Harry handed him the weapon. He disassembled it, replaced the parts on their proper place and placed the case back on the EXO, all within one minute.
When they reached the surface again, they all climbed back in a Humvee, which Saint-Claire then drove quickly towards the castle.
They arrived just behind another pair of Humvee's, from which President Thomas O'Neill and his delegation stepped out. Along with the president had came the Vice-President, the Speaker of the House, the Secretary of Defense and half a dozen military commanders. To the quartet's pleasure, both General O'Hara and Admiral Newport where amongst them.
The only one amongst the American delegation who reacted to the kids' appearance was the man in the black suit flanking the president. Mike Banning tensed when he recognized Harry and Hermione and only relaxed when Lieutenant Saint-Claire cleared her throat to have them make room so Boltrock could enter the castle. When the kids followed him and Saint-Clair in, they were then themselves followed by the Americans who looked their eyes out at their surroundings.
When they reached the great hall they split up, Boltrock walked to the front, joining Aurora, Gabrielle, Anderson, and the rest of High Command. Saint-Claire led the kids to the side of the hall, close to the place where Ivan and the Black Angels stood in formation. The Americans took their place in the line of delegations that were waiting to pay their respects to the fallen.
Apparently, the Americans had been the last to arrive, as no others entered after them. When they looked around the hall, the kids could recognize several delegations by way of their escorts. Jean-Paul escorted a group of stiff Frenchmen, Sergeant Holstein stood with a group of Germans, and Ilona was standing next to her uncle and his delegation. Elizabeth stood nearest to the High Command, with Prime Minister Hodgins and Chief of Staff Murphy.
One group that stood apart from all the others, was the group led by a man with short black hair and an inch-long black beard. He wore the dress uniform of the Royal Scots Regiment and carried a sabre on his left hip. Flanking him on both sides were three highlanders in military dress uniform including kilts, and one bagpiper in full regalia. They thought correctly that this was Lord Robert Bruce, though the reason for his presence was still a mystery to both them and everyone else.
When the Americans had finished paying their respects, Aurora stepped forward and spoke, "I would like to thank all of you for your presence today. If you would follow me, we will proceed to the mausoleum for the ceremony." When she finished, groups of Legionnaires stepped from the sides of the hall and in fours they took up the coffins and followed Anderson out of the hall.
Aurora and Gabrielle led the procession behind the pallbearers, with the delegations following them. Saint-Claire motioned for the kids to follow behind Ivan and the Black Angels, who were in turn following the delegations.
When they exited the front gates, they found the entirety of the Legion standing at attention on either side of the path as an honor guard. A trio of AS-90 self-propelled guns stood ready to give a 21-gun salute, and the Legion's own military band stood ready before the mausoleum.
In a slow procession, the coffins of the fallen were carried towards the platform where they were placed on the waiting tables. After the coffins were in place, the ones who had carried them retreated down from the platform and took up positions on both sides of it.
Once the platform was clear, the guests all took their places. The next of kin were on the first rows, followed by the heads of state and their delegations. Legion High Command was seated on a row that stood at an angle to the others and close to the platform.
When everyone was seated, Anderson stood up and approached the lectern that had been placed on a step before the platform. Letting out a sigh, he plucked a piece of paper with notes from his pocket and placed it before him on the lectern. "Hello everyone, I'd like to start with once again conferring my condolences to the families and loved ones of our fallen. I know when I speak for everyone here when I say, none of us can do what we have to do without the support of our families and loved ones.
I know that some of you might have questions about the circumstances in which your loved one has died, so I will tell you." This caused a few surprised looks as up until now, the Legion had maintained a strict secrecy policy.
"As you all know, a decade ago, the United Nations Special Forces were created to counter the threat of international terrorism and border-crossing major crimes. What some of you might not know is that before the U.N.S.F. were formed, we were merely a part of the British armed forces focused on internal terrorism. The last group we fought was, we thought, defeated a decade ago and the last members of it either killed or locked up.
Three days ago, there was an outside assisted breakout at the prison where those terrorists were held, and we were the first to be alerted. Each of our fallen was a member of our rapid response units. I want you all to know that they did their duty to the last and stood bravely and against overwhelming numbers. They died as heroes, and that is how we shall remember them."
Next, he named each of the fallen by name, where they had come from and who they were as individuals. When he was finished, he invited each of the governmental leaders to say a few words. Each of them did and when they were done, the band began to play the 5 national anthems in turn, as the pallbearers went back up the platform to take up their burden again.
They waited until the band finished, and when they did, the coffins were lifted and carried on the last part of their journey. Through the white marble doors, the coffins where carried into the mausoleum and placed on the simple marble tables joining the 73 already resting there. When the coffins had been placed, one Legionnaire stepped forward with a bugle and as all present stood at either a respectful pose or in case of the soldiers, a military salute, the Legionnaire played the Last Post before the flags of the Legion where removed and neatly folded into a triangle which was then presented to the next of kin by Anderson.
When the last flag had been handed over and the group moved back outside, the two pipers began playing and the tones of Amazing Grace where brought forth. Lord Bruce joined the melody by singing the words in his deep baritone voice. After the first couplet he was joined by Aurora and Gabrielle who added their voices as the doors of the mausoleum where slowly closed and finally sealed as the hymn faded into silence.
Shortly after, the three AS-90's opened fire with blanks and brought their 21-gun salute before the gathering slowly dispersed. The delegations returned to the travel room to get back to their respective countries, while the Legionnaires returned to their barracks. The families and friends of the fallen headed to the airfield from where they would be brought to Heathrow to return home.
Saint-Claire brought the kids to Aurora and Gabrielle where they were waiting at the viewing window of the mausoleum, going over the list of engraved names, now numbering 92. To their curiosity, but not unexpectedly, they were followed by Lord Bruce who stayed at a respectful distance until Aurora and Gabrielle were done hugging the kids.
"My Ladies," he said softly while making a small bow to them. "Firstly, I would like to once again offer my condolences, with your losses." Both nodded in thanks at this before he went on, "And secondly I wanted to offer my help."
This caused a slightly curious raising of eyebrows as he continued, "Despite what you might think of me, and the Clans, we are not stupid, nor are we unable to see when our world is threatened, and action has to be undertaken. I have my sources and from all that I have heard, I drew my own conclusions.
I know that Voldemort is not dead, and I also know that when he eventually comes back, we, the ordinary people of Britain, will be the first to feel his wrath. I don't want to face that enemy on my own, and neither do you I think, so I propose an arrangement. I have been told that you are short on manpower, but because of your extremely high requirements, those numbers are slow to grow."
Aurora nodded at this and Gabrielle said, "That is correct. Our requirements are so high because we only need the best we can get."
"I understand that," Lord Bruce said, "And exactly because of that I have a proposal. I have informed myself amongst the Clans about how many are in the armed forces, and willing to volunteer for a dangerous but crucial mission to safeguard our lands. Of those who replied, there are quite a number who, I think, could make a good addition to your forces, but they don't match your requirements… yet.
So here is my proposal; gather a platoon of the hardest drillmasters you can find and send them to Scotland to get those volunteers up to scratch. Give them say, six months, to get to where you want them and then have them do your selection course. I can't guarantee that they'll all make it, but I do think a large number of them will."
Both Ladies looked intrigued by the proposal and were softly weighing the pros and cons of this proposal and finally Aurora asked, "This all sounds good, but I have two questions. How many volunteers do you have. And what do you want in return." They both had enough experience in politics to know that an offer such as this did not come for free.
A slight grin spread over his face as Lord Bruce answered. "There are around 5,000 volunteers, and what I want in return is three things. I want a place in your High Command. I want command of a regiment of my own Highlanders. And I want the Longaxe to be returned to me, to be held by my clan from now on."
"Out of the question," Aurora shot him down without blinking an eye. "A place in our High Command has to be earned. The command of your Highlanders could be arranged though, if you complete our training course and excel during the selections.
About the Longaxe though, that's a definite no. Arnulf gave it to my House for safekeeping, to use when we saw fit to do so. It is not your place to demand it's return. And besides, it's useless to you as you have been rejected I seem to remember."
The real reason was of course that the Longaxe had already chosen Neville as its wielder, but they did not want that news to get out before Neville was ready to take up command.
Bruce was visibly displeased by her answer but before he could respond, Gabrielle intervened. Se held out her hand and said, "Give me your hand Lord Bruce." He looked a bit confused but did as she said. As soon as his hand touched hers, she brought the full might of her mental power to bear on his mind and broke through his mediocre Occlumency barriers in less than a second.
As soon as she had full control of his mind, she forced him to make a magical oath not to reveal anything he had heard or would hear that day and once that was done, she removed the entire thing from his memory. This left him unable to speak a word about it but he would not know why.
They usually tried to avoid solving problems in this way, as they hated having to mess with people in their most private thoughts, but sometimes it could not be helped.
When she was done she released his hand and snapper her fingers, bringing him back to his own mind. As soon as his eyes cleared, Aurora said, "We cannot give the Longaxe to you Bruce, because the axe has already accepted a new wielder."
"WHAT," he yelled in shock and anger, "Why wasn't… why… me… what… why did you not inform me about that!?"
"We did not tell you," Gabrielle responded calmly, "because the person in question is only 13 years old. He is in training along with our own children and we will introduce him once he is ready, but not a day earlier. I trust that you will respect our wishes and his privacy in this matter?" She finished with a slight mental nudge and he nodded.
"Of course my Lady. I will order all volunteers to assemble at a location of your choosing and we shall await the arrival of your drillmasters."
"Thank you Lord Bruce," Gabrielle responded while both she and her wife inclined their heads respectfully. He repeated the gesture before briskly turning around and marching of towards the city, followed by his escorts.
"What was that all about mom?" Harry asked curiously as he and the girls approached them.
"Doesn't matter right now Harry," Aurora replied off-handedly. "We'll tell you later, after we've returned home. For now though, let's go find Anderson, I have a job for him before we go home."
Author's note:
I am so sorry it took me so long to upload this, but the last part with the funeral took me about three re-writes to get it to where I somewhat liked it, though I'm still not entirely satisfied with it.
I hope you all liked the chapter, let me know if you did, I do love getting reviews.
As for further updates, I hope to get them out faster, as we're approaching an event I'm rather looking forward to so writing it should be easier.
Anyway till next time,
Medieval Maniak