Chapter 9: The Turnaround Victory

In the comfort of his luxurious hotel room, Dr. William Hanson leaned against a glossy wooden desk and sipped on a glass of white wine. It was late and he was planning to go to bed as soon as he finished his drink. From what he knew, the village of Hogsmeade was conquered and the humans were one step forward in the war against the wizards. Chuckling to himself, he took out his phone and started to scroll through the many updates that were sent to him.

His amusement didn't last long. His phone started to ring and he answered it quickly.

"This is Dr. Hanson. What is it?"

"Doctor, I suggest that you look at the security footage that views the courtyard porthole," said the hesitant voice of his assistant, Nicole Davis. William quickly opened his laptop and began to skim through the security footage. He froze it when he caught sight of a lone cloaked figure that snuck through the porthole.

"Who just walked through the porthole?" asked William.

"Just keep watching sir."

He watched as the dark figure emerged from his hiding place and started to shoot lightning at the porthole. The portkeys that powered it were destroyed with little effort. The soldiers then noticed the wizard and began approaching him as he made the whole frame collapse. William took a large sip from his drink; clearly shook.

The wizard then pointed his wand at the tower but was shot down into a kneeling position. William took a reliving sigh which quickly turned to a quick intake of breath. The wizard sent a lightning bolt so large to the control tower that it exploded into a charred pile of medal. William realized that if he accepted the invitation to a party that was being held there after a battle, he would have been dead like his fellow scientists. His fascination with the wizard was stronger than the grief he felt.

The wizard then fell on the ground after another round of bullets hit him. It then occurred to William that he saw that wizard before. A smile of recognition crosses his face as he put the figure to a name.

"Severus Snape…" he muttered.

"Excuse me, sir?" Nicole sounded a bit frightened by the tone in her boss's voice.

"Nothing, Mrs. Davis." William watched the footage as the soldiers put an anti-magic band on Snape. "It's just that we may have obtained the key to winning this war."

—-

Back at Hogwarts, everyone was still hovering over the radio since there was nothing better to do but try to sleep. It was roughly 2 am yet most of the students couldn't sleep. All of the teachers were awake rushing around trying to provide comfort in any way possible. Harry was lying on a cot in the corner of the hall with Hermione on the cot next to his; reading a book. Ron was pacing in front of Harry which was out of nervous habit.

As if someone flipped a switch, loud cheers were heard over by the radio. Harry bolted upright and Ron was already striding toward the middle of the room. Hermione calmly put a bookmark in her book and followed after Harry. Nevile ran towards the three with a big smile on his face.

"Did you hear?! The gate to the muggles base was destroyed!" exclaimed Nevile. Ron sighed.

"You know they will just keep trying to get back here." Ron said solemnly, "Besides, they must have a wizard on their side if they acquired the portkeys in the first place to make the gate."

Harry spoke up, "Well at least this gives the ministry time to re-group and form another army." Hermione huffed at this.

"The only army we had was the first stand at Hogsmeade and look what happened then. All of them were either captured or killed," stated Hermione. "We just don't have the numbers."

Shuffling over to the group of friends, Luna decided to join the conversation.

"Since the gate closed, some of the muggle soldiers must be stuck in the village," she said.

"So?" asked Ron. "Should we attack now while they have no backup?"

Luna's eyebrows lowered, unimpressed. "Not at all. I would think now would be a good time to try to do some negotiation with the muggles. Give them a real perspective on what wizards are really like."

"Are you mad!?" Neville was taken aback. "After what they did, you think it's fine to just talk to them?" Luna nodded.

"She has a point," said Harry. "They probably would be low on food and supplies soon and there is no telling when the muggles will fix the gate. I say it would be worth a try to get at least some of the muggles on our side." Overhearing the conversation, Dumbledore made his way toward the group.

"I see we are making plans already," he said. Everyone but Luna stayed quiet.

"That's right, headmaster. We, or just Harry and I, were thinking about how now would be a good time to get a few muggles on our side."

Dumbledore stroked his beard. "Yes, I would think so. Professor McGonagall was also talking about going down to the village at dawn with Hagrid."

"Could I come to sir? They might be more hesitant on a child if they do attack us," said Harry. Dumbledore pondered this for a second then nodded.

"I guess. It would also be good for the muggles to realize that it is also children that they are hurting. Maybe it will spark some form of humanity." Dumbledore then called over to McGonagall who was leaning against a pillar in exhaustion.

Hagrid was also called over and Dumbledore told both of them the plan. The three of them were ordered to sleep until morning. Then, they would head out for Hogsmeade. Towards the enemy.

--

Awaking with a throbbing headache, Snape slowly opened his eyes only to quickly shut them as a flood of bright fluorescent light rushed in. The room he was in was bright with all the walls painted white and a rectangular light that took up over half of the ceiling.

As Snape slowly came to his senses, he noticed a small bench which was also painted white in the corner of the small room. The room was small enough that it would only take two steps to reach the back of the room. A large metal door that had a small window and a slot for food stood at the front of the room.

Getting up into a seated position, Snape felt the throbbing in his head turn into a sharp pain. Wincing, Snape brought up a hand to touch the metal band that was secured around his head.

To be expected, thought Snape as he went to wrap his cloak around him but found that his cloak was gone. They left him in his black long sleeve and pants. Cursing, Snape backed himself into the far corner and rested his banded head against the wall.

He was given no time to rest since the small window in the door opened and a muggle was staring right at him. Snape was too tired to come up with a sharp remark. The muggle spoke.

"So you are one of the powerful ones? Must be thinking you're heroic by destroying my porthole," said the muggle. "The name is Dr. Willaim Hanson. I am the lead scientist to this project and I think you will be a big help to my cause."

"Why do you think I would help you after what you have done?" Snape scowled.

"I don't expect you to do anything willingly that is why you have the band around your head." William smiled. "It is about time that magic is put into the right hands."

Snape was confused at this. "Muggles can't control magic. That is a known fact."

"Yes, but we can control the wizards that can."

"But there will always be rebellion."

"Not unless we contain all of your kind. There will be some who would enjoy helping my cause." William turned to talk to someone from behind the door. "Someone is here to visit you."

As if this prison could get any worse, Umbridge's face popped up into the window. She barely got in a word since Snape abruptly jumped up and strode one long stride toward the door. Umbridge took a step back.

"You writhing little toad! I will have the ministry to lock you up in Azkaban for this!" Snape spoke softly but his words were cold and sharp.

"I thought you said he was half-sedated! The band must be faulty, get him another." Umbridge spoke to William with a tad of fear. She was ready for Snape to apparate out of the cell and kill them all. William was not fazed.

"Just wait," said Willaim. After a few long seconds of Snape giving Umbridge death glares, he put a hand up to the band and winced. Sliding against the door towards the floor, Snape curled in around his head. William peaked at him through the window.

"See? What did I tell you?" said William. Umbridge still had concern on her face.

"You said it has control over the magic, not the physical body. Why is he feeling pain, unlike the others we captured?"

"I wasn't going to take any risks with this one, so I made a band that suppresses both. If he moves too much, the amount of blood transported to his brain activates a pain response. He just needs to keep his heart rate down and he's fine." He stopped looking at the motionless wizard and turned to Umbridge. Umbridge nodded. As much as she wanted to see that wizard in pain, she was uneasy about the methods of doing so.

"What are you going to use him for?" she asked. William smiled.

"Just to test equipment. If this wizard can't destroy my equipment, a lot of wizards can't." William then frowned. "You said the most powerful wizard you know is this old man named Dumbledore."

"Yes, that is correct. But I don't think he would just walk into our hands as Snape did."

"Hmm, That also concerns me. They must have a plan up their sleeve."

"From what I know about Dumbledore, he would be the one planning this."

"Then let's find this Dumbledoor and put an end to this. We'll call up the troops that are stuck in Hogsmeade. I have a mission for them."

As the two talked, all Snape could do was listen from inside his cell. His head still pounded but he could make out what they were saying.

This is going as planned. Thought Snape as he decided to drift off into sleep to ease his pain.