London
December 10, 2006
Draco felt completely out of his element as they walked through the Corps' London Headquarters. Hermione, much more at ease, squeezed his hand, attempting to comfort him in this place where they were surrounded by the very people who had, not long ago, hunted them.
The building itself was spartan. There was no grand entrance or atrium, just a simple lobby where Harry and Ginny were waiting to escort them. Other than a few curious glances, most of the Corps personnel seemed completely apathetic about their presence as they made their way towards the back of the building.
Draco was too nervous to speak. Hermione tried to make some small talk with Harry and Ginny, though something seemed off between the normally chatty pair. Regardless, Draco appreciated their presence, especially now that he understood the influence Harry was able to wield in the WEA.
The hallways they passed were unremarkable. Practical posters and maps adorned the walls between doors that held various Colonels' and Generals' names on them. Finally, they reached a large metal door with two Sergeants standing guard outside. The Sergeants nodded at Harry and opened the door.
"Here we go," Hermione whispered in Draco's ear and gave his hand another squeeze.
The rest of the building had been plain and unremarkable, but this room was bursting with energy. This was the 'war room,' and, Draco had to admit, the name seemed fitting. The room was enormous; he suspected it was magically enlarged, based on what he had seen of the building so far. One wall was covered in TV screens that displayed WEA news and some static-filled newscasts from other countries. On the other side of the room, a giant digital map displayed the topography of the Death Eater territory, surrounded by Corps Officers who were analyzing its landmarks.
Empty desks were scattered throughout, covered in computers, phones, and papers. But what caught Draco's attention was the massive circular table in the center. It probably seated 20 people, and as they crossed the threshold, people had begun to filter into seats. Harry helped them find chairs before excusing himself to speak with some of the magicals milling about.
"This is incredible," Hermione told Draco, her eyes wide and alight.
"Hmm?"
"There are six generals here. Probably every magical general in the Corps! And look! That must be Harry's dad." Hermione nodded towards where Harry was talking to an older man.
Draco jolted at the sound of someone plopping into the seat next to him, relaxing slightly when he recognized Sirius Black leaning back in his chair. The man seemed only a little drunk, and he gave Draco and Hermione something of a conspiratorial wink before taking an oversized gulp from his flask. "Hey kids! Glad you didn't die." He smirked.
"Sirius." Hermione leaned forward. "You must know who all the Order members here are. I recognize Remus, and I assume that—" she pointed discreetly "—is James Potter. But who is everyone else?"
Sirius frowned and took a moment to scan the room. "Well," he started, motioning to people across the table, "those are the Longbottoms."
Draco almost jumped, surprised he hadn't noticed Colonel Longbottom immediately.
Sirius, oblivious to Draco's discomfort, continued, "And that's Nymphadora Tonks with them. She's a bit of a long story, but she was an Auror right around the time when the Event happened."
"But she can't be much older than us!" Hermione pointed out.
Sirius offered another smirk. "Interesting story. Apparently, Harry and Ginny discovered that she and the Longbottom kid had been in stasisunder King's Cross Station for the past fifteen years." Sirius paused before mentioning to Draco. "She's your cousin, by the way."
"Hmm?" It seemed to be the only thing Draco was capable of uttering.
"Nymphadora Tonks — she's the daughter of your mum's sister, Andromeda. Speaking of Andromeda," Sirius nodded towards a woman who was standing besides a Corps Colonel. "That's her talking to Kingsley Shacklebolt — he's a magical, if you couldn't tell."
Sirius went on, occasionally interjecting bits of gossip that Draco didn't understand. He noticed a few late arrivals, including a couple of oddly dressed Corps Captains and a man in all black lurking in the corner. "Oh! It looks like Gawain Robards is here," Sirius said. Draco vaguely recognized the name. "He wasn't an Order member, but he was one of the investigators on Harry's recent case. I'm assuming that's his non-magical partner next to him."
One of the Colonels called out and everyone still standing moved to the table, though there were far more people than chairs. Many of the non-magical Corps officers remained standing, including the two strangely dressed Captains Draco had noticed earlier, who were now rolling a large white board to the front of the room.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a booming voice called over the crowd. Draco turned and practically came to attention himself. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Major General Schmidt. I'll be in command of this operation. Captains McGee and Philips," he pointed to the two officers hovering around the board, "will be leading the development of our strategy."
"Lieutenant Granger and Mr. Malfoy." Draco almost jumped when the General's attention turned to him. "We thank you both for your cooperation. Your first-hand accounts of the Death Eaters and the current situation in Hogsmeade will be critical to the success of this mission."
The General nodded towards one of the nearby magical officers. A number of screens appeared, filling with information. "Our objective is to reclaim all Death Eater territory without allowing Hogwarts to be substantially damaged in the process. We intend to capture Voldemort and any enemy combatants. And we plan to do this with minimal casualties on both sides."
Draco blinked, surprised by both the General's candor, and the fact that they were only looking to captureand not kill.
"Before I turn this meeting over to the Captains, does everyone understand our mission objective? If there are any concerns, speak now."
Draco looked around at the Corps and Order members. Most of the room was nodding in agreement, though a few older Order members seemed troubled.
"Why are we only capturing Voldemort?" Tonks asked.
The General answered calmly, "The WEA has an explicit Human Rights policy. Regardless of crimes, we do not condone murder in any form, with no exceptions." He paused and looked around the table, before elaborating further. "For those of you who don't remember, after the Event, we as a people lost our humanity. Our society was built on rubble and anarchy. The first line of the WEA's constitution confirms the explicit and unconditional right to life for all — magical and non-magical."
"Sir," one of the older magicals spoke, "perhaps, in this one instance, we can make an exception? Voldemort is, after all, exceptionally powerful."
The General gave the man a calm smile. "There will always be those who are exceptionally powerful, or those who are exceptionally evil. The minute we allow ourselves to make one exception, we open the door to others. Voldemort is powerful — and that is why we have assembled you all here today." His voice boomed, clear and sure. Most of the older wizards still looked dubious, but none spoke out. General Schmidt took a seat, apparently satisfied there were no more objections, and he nodded to the Captains.
The Captains didn't look like soldiers; neither appeared particularly fit or physically capable. He wondered how they became Captains, given Hermione's long-ago explanation of the difficulty in climbing Corps ranks.
The taller one spoke first, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose before beginning. "As the General mentioned, we have limited knowledge of the current situation in Hogwarts. We need to understand everything—" the Captain made eye contact with Draco, who shrank slightly, "—including people, wards, and other defenses, particularly anything about the area that might have changed in the past 15 years.
"To do this, we will be asking a series of questions. Those of you in this room were selected for either your knowledge of military strategy or your knowledge of the Death Eaters. Anything said in this room will be held under strict confidentiality. But we need to know everything," he enunciated the last word, giving Harry a meaningful look.
Draco wondered what information Potter had left out in his previous explanations to the Corps.
"For this mission to be successful, we need to have the best strategy possible, which we can only have if the information is complete," the Captain finished.
Draco turned to Hermione, catching her nod in agreement; these were her people, and she clearly trusted them.
Without preamble, the questioning began. "How many Death Eaters are in Hogsmeade?"
Everyone looked at Draco. "Around 500," he answered.
"How many are soldiers?"
"About 150." Draco noticed that as he spoke, the information he gave started to appear on the white board and papers in front of them.
"How many of them will fight us?"
Draco frowned. "I believe all of them."
"Will any others fight?"
"Um..." Draco waffled, blinking.
The man lurking in the back walked towards the table. Many of the magicals shifted uncomfortably, and Draco recognized the man who had rescued them in Bath — Minister Snape. "I would expect Voldemort will command all men and women of age to fight."
Draco nodded. "There are about 400 men and women over the age of 17 in Hogsmeade."
"Will they all fight?"
Draco shifted and Hermione spoke up, "I don't believe so. There are two women I met there that I believe, if given the opportunity, would choose peace."
"How many others do you think will leave peacefully?"
All eyes were back on Draco. "I don't think you should expect any more than 80 people to be willing to disobey the Dark- V-Voldemort," he stuttered out.
"What weapons does he have?"
"Besides wands? None that I'm aware of."
"What defensive measures are in place?"
"Wards surround Hogwarts and Hogsmeade," Draco confirmed.
"What else?"
Draco frowned. "I believe that's all." There was a momentary murmuring amongst the non-magicals.
"What is the nature of the warding?"
"I'm not certain—" Draco started.
"Hogwarts wards are quite complex," an older woman interjected, "they are intrinsic to the castle itself. Each Headmaster has added their own unique signature over the years; they are extensive and cannot be broken with ward disruptors."
The Captain nodded and moved on. "What is a magical nexus?"
Hermione answered, "It's a convergence of old magic."
"Why is the fact that Hogwarts was built on a nexus significant?"
"The founders were able to harness the nexus to effectively control magic on Earth," Hermione explained.
"Where on Hogwarts is the nexus?"
Hermione frowned. "I'm not sure if it's in a specific location. But I was able to access the magic of the nexus in the room of requirement on the seventh floor." A small diagram of Hogwarts appeared next to the board and the referenced room had a dot next to it turn red.
And so it went. For every question Draco answered, the Captains seemed to have two follow ups. They asked about everything – what spells the soldiers used, what was their military strategy, what was their hierarchy, what time of day did people meet, what did people do in their free time. It was exhausting, and all the while the Captains and a few Lieutenants updated papers, boards and maps.
"Let's take a break," Major General Schmidt announced a few hours in, nodding at Draco.
Draco immediately slumped in his chair and Hermione gave his hand a supportive squeeze.
"You're doing great." Hermione beamed at him. A Sergeant came through and dropped off some sandwiches for them, but they were otherwise left alone.
"I'm exhausted."
Hermione bit her bottom lip before responding, "Unfortunately, I believe it's going to get worse. So far, they've asked about fairly impersonal things. Soon, they'll start asking details about what we were doing, about the Prophecy, everything."
"Why does that matter?" Draco frowned.
She raised her eyebrows. "See that Captain?" Hermione pointed to the one who had done most of the questioning, the tall one. "That's Captain McGee. He is a veritable genius, known for developing strategies using the most obscure knowledge. I don't know how the information we have will help, but I'm prepared to be as transparent as possible. I don't want to be responsible for any more death, intentionally or not."
"What are we all doing here together? Wouldn't it make more sense to talk to us individually?" Draco questioned.
Hermione explained, "It's a tactic. It can be helpful if, for example, I say something and you disagree — this way, we can address it right here right now. You must have noticed a few times they expected you to answer a question, but since someone else was able, you were off the hook. So it both allows for transparency in the process, as well as ensuring the information is complete."
He nodded and considered the scene before him; he had been trained as a soldier his entire life, but he had never seen anything like this. He understood now that these Captains were trained and worked exclusively to handle strategy. The WEA had put their smartest people in a room together for the task of liberating Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.
He realized something else at that moment; Voldemort was most assuredly going to lose. Draco didn't fully understand everything about the Corps but he knew they had access to incredible weapons. And now he understood that behind those weapons was a magical/non-magical force that was thoughtful and massive.
This wasn't going to be a battle like he had ever prepared for; this was going to be something entirely different. They weren't spending time and resources trying to figure out how to defeat Voldemort — they were concerned with removing him while limiting damage to people and property. While Voldemort was playing checkers so to speak, the Corps was playing chess.
He finally understood why Hermione was so reluctant to lose faith in the Corps and why she was seriously considering retraining as a magical officer. The Corps was more than the thugs who chased them; they were the military defense of the WEA. And if what Draco experienced in the last few hours told him anything, it was that they were incredibly good at what they did.
Draco had pointedly tried not to think about the situation they had left behind back at Hogwarts. He had learned a couple of days earlier that Hermione had likely notkilled his father, and had only disarmed him. Draco felt uneasy about the situation; as horrible as it may be, he had been somewhat relieved by the thought his father was dead. But another part of him desperately wanted to show the man that he was wrong.
"Ms. Granger?" Draco turned and saw James Potter approach her nervously, Harry a few feet behind him.
"Yes?" Hermione responded. James took a seat next to her while Harry plopped down next to Draci.
"You're doing good," Harry told him, distracting Draco from the other conversation taking place.
"That's what she said." Draco nodded towards Hermione.
Harry laughed and Draco narrowed his eyes. "It's a – never mind." Harry shook his head.
"Thank you for being here," Draco said. Harry smiled and nodded, like it wasn't a big deal. "I mean it."
"You did a lot for us. It's the least I could do."
Draco noticed Ginny sending subtle glances their way. "What's going on with you and Weasley?"
Harry frowned. "It's – uh – complicated."
"Oh?" Draco raised his eyebrows.
Harry exhaled sharply. "She's unsure about how we work in the real world."
Draco nodded sympathetically. "I get that." Because in a way, he and Hermione were in a similar boat with one difference. "Piece of advice? Die and come back to life. Once you do that, the girl can't keep away."
Harry laughed, shaking his head. "Thanks. Really helpful."
"I'm here to help." Draco smirked.
He had barely finished his sandwich when the Captains returned and the questioning continued. As Hermione predicted, the questions were becoming much more specific and pointed.
"What is a Horcrux?"
The room was utterly silent. The magicals shifted uncomfortably.
Hermione eventually cleared her throat. "A Horcrux is a piece of a person's soul. A Dark Wizard is able to split his soul upon committing murder – in doing so, they can place a piece of their soul in an object or organism. So long as a wizard has a Horcrux, he cannot be killed."
"Has Voldemort made a Horcrux?"
"He did," Hermione confirmed.
"Did he make more than one?"
"He made six," Hermione started.
"No. He made seven," Draco pointed out.
"Did you destroy all the Horcruxes?"
Harry spoke for the first time, "We believeso."
"Can you confirm what Horcruxes were destroyed?"
"Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup and the Gaunt family ring were destroyed here in London," Harry confirmed, nodding to Draco and Hermione.
"I believe my Mother destroyed a book that was a Horcrux before I was born," Draco said softly, earning a surprised look from Andromeda Tonks.
"We destroyed Ravenclaw's Diadem and Voldemort's Snake," Hermione confirmed, looking panicked.
"Did you destroy the seventh Horcrux?"
Hermione froze so Draco answered, "Yes—" he swallowed "—I was the seventh Horcrux. Hermione stabbed me."
The room was once more silent. While it was common knowledge that Draco had been stabbed, Harry had only disclosed the specific details of what had happened to the WEA Council. Some of the magicals sent nods his way, while others stared at him in apparent confusion. The entire ordeal was making him uncomfortable.
"And you're sure that the Horcruxes are all destroyed?"
"The timing of women becoming pregnant suggests that's the case," Harry pointed out.
"Correlation is not causation." The Captain frowned and the word 'mortality' went from green to yellow on the board. "How long does it take to make a Horcrux?"
Many of the Wizards turned towards Snape who rolled his eyes. "I don't know, but I assume one cannot be produced overnight."
"Why did you leave the Death Eaters in the beginning of October?" Captain McGee asked Draco.
Hermione clutched his hand under the table. "I was ordered by—" he took a breath, "Voldemort to capture Hermione."
"Why?"
"He believed she would bring 'wizarding might' back to the world," Draco answered.
"Why did he think that?"
"He was aware of a prophecy," Draco said. "But it was incomplete."
The Captain frowned. "Can you elaborate?"
Harry spoke up, "Albus Dumbledore heard a prophecy and thought that if he allowed an altered version of it to reach Voldemort, it would cause him to make poor decisions." A number of the wizards whispered excitedly at the mention of Dumbledore, and Draco caught Harry blatantly roll his eyes.
"What is the full prophecy?"
Harry read it aloud and the prophecy was written on the board.
"Do you know what it means?"
"Yes," Harry answered. "But it's been played out. The events have come to pass."
The Captains looked to one other with matching looks of excitement. "Is Voldemort aware of that?" McGee asked.
Draco and Harry turned to one other, both frowning. "I don't believe so," Draco confirmed.
"So as far as Voldemort is aware, there's a prophecy which indicates Lieutenant Granger can bring wizarding might back. And it is still 'active'?"
"I believe so."
"Do you know how Voldemort thought Lieutenant Granger would be able to do this?"
Draco's gaze naturally sought out the three men in the room responsible for covering up the Event, all of whom appeared nervous.
Hermione looked to Mad-eye and he gave her a short nod. "I appear to have the ability to channel primal magic," she said quietly.
There were a few short outbursts of surprise.
"How?"
"I'm not sure."
"Then how do you know you can?"
She blinked. "I've done it twice before."
"When?"
The room was silent other than the soft hum of the furnace. Draco believed, based on the looks of horror springing up on their faces, that some of the older magicals had deduced what had happened.
"When I was attacked in Hogsmeade a few weeks ago, I was able to use it," Hermione started. "And I channeled it seventeen years ago on September twenty-ninth, when I saw my parents being tortured by Death Eaters when we were camping in the Forest of Dean."
"Shit," some young Officer mumbled, but the room was otherwise silent. Even the Captains looked affected, but they snapped out of it quickly.
"Are you able to use primal magic at will?"
"No," Hermione confirmed.
"Is Voldemort aware you cannot use primal magic at will?"
"Yes."
"Do you know of any other plans Voldemort had for you?"
Hermione had opened her mouth to answer when Draco answered, "My father said that Voldemort was intending to take the power from her." He squeezed Hermione's hand, smiling slightly. She blinked and nodded.
The questions continued well into the afternoon, until they started getting painfully dull and Draco realized with glee, they were nearing the end. The board was now covered in data points in varying colors and sizes; he assumed it was all quite meaningful to the Captains who looked at the board critically.
Draco noticed on the paper in front of him that a list of 'assumptions' had formed:
1. Voldemort believes non-magicals cannot see Hogwarts*
2. Voldemort believes the prophecy is in play*
3. Voldemort will destroy Hogwarts rather than surrender
4. Voldemort will sacrifice or kill his own people if it means his own survival
Below the assumptions a list of 'variables' had formed:
1. The state of the Forbidden Forest is unknown
2. The extent of loyalty to Voldemort is unknown
3. The loyalty of magical creatures is unknown
4. Hogwarts' own loyalty is unknown
Draco turned to Hermione after reading the fourth variable.
She cleared her throat. "Sir?" she spoke, getting Captain McGee's attention. "I do not believe Hogwarts will be loyal to Voldemort."
He looked through some papers before responding. "Why?"
"I was able to interact with Hogwarts. It was how we got the sword." The Captain's eyes went wide.
"How?"
"I believe that the primal energy I can channel is similar, if not identical to, the nexus energy," Hermione explained.
They adjusted the variable to indicate how much Hogwarts would intervene on their behalf was unknown.
"Alright." General Schmidt stood and all eyes turned towards him. "We're done for the day. Thank you all for your time."
Draco exhaled, completely spent. He realized that this was the end of the line so to speak; he had no idea what would happen next. Before this, he had been so focused on Hermione's recovery, he hadn't spent much time thinking about his own future.
"Harry's dad said we can use one of his guest rooms for the time being," Hermione told him, likely reading the uncertainty on his face.
"Is that what he came to talk to you about earlier?" Draco frowned.
"Oh no." Hermione smiled softly. "He was apologizing, about all the Event stuff."
Draco nodded. "Do you think we can go now? And just — sleep?" He made a point to collapse on his hands.
Hermione shook her head in amusement. "Of course, you big baby. Let's go."
Harry watched Hermione and Draco make a beeline for the door, with two Corps Sergeants shadowing them for 'their protection'. A number of the non-magical Corps members left, but many of the magicals stuck around, leading to an impromptu reunion of sorts.
He smiled as he watched his dad tentatively approach Sirius, who appeared to be searching various cabinets for something (alcohol, Harry assumed).
"Mr. Potter."
Harry turned at the familiar voice. "Minerva McGonagall." He gave her a friendly smile. "I'm glad you were able to make it. Your knowledge of the castle I'm sure was invaluable."
"It was quite the experience," she responded. "It makes me wonder how different the Order would have been had we had strategists." She frowned thoughtfully.
"We have magic. It's not quite as intuitive for us to think of things the way the non-magicals do," Harry pointed out. "But I think it's why we need each other."
McGonagall nodded and looked ready to say something when she, along with everyone else in the room, froze. Harry himself felt his own jaw drop as the old wizard walked in, billowing robes and pointed hat and all. Harry was the first to recover and approached him.
"Glad you could join us, sir." He smiled at the one and only Albus Dumbledore.
"Yes, well, I met this stubborn young man—" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at Harry "—who made me realize that perhaps this world is worth fighting for."
Harry shook his head and watched Dumbledore reunite with the rest of the wizarding world, inwardly amused by the man's insistence on making an entrance.
"You seem to have quite the effect on people," McGonagall said to Harry.
He shrugged. "I just told him the truth."
"Yes," she looked at Harry thoughtfully. "I'm sure you did."
Captain McGee approached Harry, asking him about Dumbledore.
"He once led the fight against Voldemort," Harry confirmed.
McGee had a certain glint in his eye. "So he was the leader of the "light" so to speak?"
Harry frowned, having never really considered the fight against Voldemort as something as simple as light vs. dark. "If you look at the situation in binary terms, then sure."
The Captain shook his head. "It's not about how we see it – it's about how he does."
A/N: A quick note - since I just realized on FFN you cannot see how many chapter there are total... Finding Kallipolis will be 44 chapter in total, though Chapter 44 is the Epilogue. That means that the last chapter will be posted on March 31.
Thank you all for reading and as always thank you to my alphas/beta (ElizColl, Art3misia and Astrangefan). I appreciate any and all comments/reviews.