Chapter 46

THE COUNTDOWN

It was a relief to me when the summer holiday and the end of my temporary employment approached, both because I yearned to do something more important and because I was so fed up with Dolores Umbridge. She certainly felt the same towards me, but despite my continuous failures to teach 'child-friendly' potions, some other teachers had earned her ire much more than I had. Professor McGonagall had been a constant thorn on Umbridge's side the entire school year, and Umbridge seemed to have a personal crusade against Hagrid and Firenze, the strange centaur who had replaced Sybil Trelawney as the Divination teacher after Umbridge had made a demonstration of her power. Umbridge probably tolerated their presence only because she wanted to collect as many eccentric examples as possible to be used as justification to oust Dumbledore from the position of Headmaster before the beginning of the next school year.

I only had vague plans for the summer, because I knew so frustratingly little about what was going on. Lucius and I were in contact frequently, and he was equally frustrated about how little Voldemort let him know about any plans of takeover. The bright side was that at least Lucius had no reason to feel involved in my brother's doings. Still, I had to plan a place for Draco, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle to spend their holiday as my hostages without knowing why they could not go home.

Finally the examination season arrived and I was relieved from having to waste time teaching in class. As the end of my short teaching career was near, I gathered motivation to finish all the paperwork most of which I had delegated to Karkaroff. He had marked all homework essays and would be marking all the written exams, but I had to combine his evaluation of each student with my own observations of their classroom performance.

One day at lunch I felt how the Order's Communication Parchment radiated warmth in my pocket, signalling a new message. As the parchment could not be read by outsiders, I did not hesitate to take it up, read the message and groaned. Moody wanted the Order to convene in the evening, this time at his own place, once again for one of the useless status updates. After Snape's death I had skipped many of the meetings and missed nothing.

"I think I won't bother to go," I said to McGonagall as we left the Great Hall. "What are the odds that today would be the first interesting status update?"

"Not good," she commented unenthusiastically. "However, I have to be there, because I need to ask Arthur about the Ministry's plans for the future of Hogwarts. If anything interesting comes up, I will tell you later."

"Thanks," I said, and we parted ways.

McGonagall and Dumbledore left Hogwarts discreetly some time later. The risk was minimal that Umbridge would pay attention to their absence, because the Wizarding Examinations Authority was in the castle overseeing the last of the OWL and NEWT exams, and Umbridge had eagerly offered to host them.

I withdrew into the office that I had inherited from Snape along with his position and looked at the discouraging pile of parchments that I had to go through. It was annoying how the path to power went through such menial tasks that were nothing but a waste of my potential. Was there, by any chance, a spell that could do all this work for me? Probably not, because it would have been terribly convenient, and there was an unwritten universal law that magic was useful and convenient in every respect except when it came to administrative paperwork. Bureaucracy was some kind of dark anti-magic over which no one had power. It had to be done the hard way.

And even harder it became when someone started running down the corridor. Then that someone pounded on my door violently and burst inside without waiting for me to summon him in.

I was about to snarl angrily, but then I realised that the unruly intruder was Harry, panting heavily and looking frightened in the way that had become very familiar to me.

"Tom! Voldemort has taken Remus to the Department of Mysteries!"

"What makes you so sure about it?" I asked, rushing up from my chair.

"I saw it myself!" Harry yelled frantically. "It was a vision, similar to the one I saw just before Christmas when Mr Weasley was bitten by the snake!"

Ron and Hermione had followed Harry into my office. They looked frightened, but not hysterical. Especially Hermione eyed Harry with scepticism.

"Did this vision tell you why Voldemort took Remus there?" I asked.

"Yes! Voldemort wants him to remove something from the Department. It fits the earlier vision I saw. He wants to steal something from there. Broderick Bode was Imperiused to do it, but it didn't work, and now Rookwood has told Voldemort how to get it. That's why the Order has been guarding the door to the Department ever since he returned."

"You're in the Order, Tom," Hermione said. "Do you know what they are guarding?"

"I don't, because Moody refused to tell, to me at least. But as you know, I have been interested in the Department of Mysteries for a long time, and I have gathered titbits of information anywhere I can. It's obviously the place where the Time-Turners are kept, as well as more Atlantean texts than any other place. However, Voldemort certainly wants many other things too. There is some speculation about prophecies being stored in there. In the 18th century one Minister for Magic tried to force the Unspeakables to let anyone hear a prophecy concerning them, but nothing became of it. However, it suggests that –"

"Can you skip this lecture?" Harry shouted. "Remus is there, Voldemort is torturing him!"

"No, I don't think Remus is there, nor Voldemort, for that matter. What I was trying to explain is that most likely this vision you saw was purposely transferred into your mind so that you would rush into the Department of Mysteries; the exact reason why Dumbledore wanted me to teach you Occlumency. A Death Eater is there waiting for you. If Voldemort wants you to the Department of Mysteries specifically, it may have something to do with a prophecy concerning you. Only you can touch a prophecy about yourself, that's why Voldemort needs you to do it. Remus is not any more useful in such a task than Broderick Bode was."

"But what if you're wrong?" Harry pleaded. "I'd like to be certain. Can't you try to contact Remus with – whatever you Order members do to communicate?"

I took the Communication Parchment from my pocket. There was Moody's message about the status update.

"All Order members were summoned to Moody's place for a meeting," I said. "Usually he doesn't have anything interesting to say, so I decided not to go. However, Remus should be there."

I wrote Remus's name on the parchment. Moments passed, but there was no reply.

"You see?" Harry said. "Remus might be in danger after all!"

I tried to contact Moody and then McGonagall, but neither one replied.

"Of course," I muttered. "Moody has warded his place so securely that the Protean Charm can't contact anything on the other side of the wards. That's paranoia of an unhealthy level."

"You mean the entire Order is out of contact?"

"Yes. One could think Voldemort is aware of it and used this opportunity to trick you. I'll have a word with Moody about this. Things such as this can be exploited by a cunning enemy."

"So, we'll do nothing," Hermione concluded. "This is a trap, and we avoid it."

I pushed my chair back and took a few steps towards the door.

"Nothing? Hermione, you should remember Salazar Slytherin's words: Anything can be an opportunity. If there's a Death Eater in the Department of Mysteries, or more likely several of them, we will not sit idly and wait for them to get bored and go home. We can offer the world proof about Voldemort's return if we use this opportunity like a competent Slytherin. The school year is soon over. This may very well turn out to be the little incident that forces Umbridge to leave the school. The curse on the Defence professorship will aid us in a matter much larger and more important than school."

"All right, sounds good," Hermione acquiesced. "How are we going to do it?"

"I'll contact Lucius Malfoy," I said and took one of my many two-way mirrors from a pocket.

"What? He's a Death Eater!" the three Gryffindors cried in unison.

"I'm aware of that. However, as you know, his son is loyal to me, not Voldemort. Months ago I made a bargain with Lucius: Draco will remain unharmed if Lucius betrays Voldemort at the moment of my choosing."

The Gryffindors looked horrified.

"You… you're holding Draco hostage?"

"No, Draco is using me to force his father to follow the real virtues of Slytherin," I lied. "Please, wait outside. I'll talk to Lucius in private."

They left. I cast the Anti-Eavesdropping Charm and activated the mirror.

"Lucius! What is going on?"

His face appeared in my mirror, looking quite uneasy.

"Mr Valedro," he said. "I was expecting you to call. The Dark – hm – your brother successfully sent a false vision to Potter. I take it the boy told you at once?"

"Yes, he did. What is my twisted brother up to?"

"He wants a prophecy concerning Potter from the Department of Mysteries. Wormtail assured him that Remus Lupin is Potter's good friend, and the vision showed him there…"

"I know. What's the next step of the plan?"

"We are to go to the Department of Mysteries and take the prophecy from Potter after he has removed it safely. Rookwood and I have been appointed the leaders of this mission."

"Perfect! This is the day you openly renounce Voldemort and pledge yourself to me instead. I hope I don't need to remind you of what happens to your son otherwise. Take as many Death Eaters with you as you can. Theodore, Charles and the bodyguards of yours have to be there."

"They are here with me," Lucius said and turned the mirror left and right to show me the faces of the four other Death Eaters whom I had blackmailed to become traitors.

"I will go to the Ministry with Potter, but the trap will be on your former Death Eater comrades. When I give the signal, you will open fire at them." Lucius nodded with a resigned sort of expression. "I want Rookwood alive and his mind intact, but he doesn't need to be in one piece. Kill the others."

Then I remembered my friends Ethan and Sara.

"And spare Jugson if you can," I added.

Lucius and I spoke for another few minutes, planning some signals and command words so that we could coordinate our actions while still pretending to be on opposing sides. Afterwards, I put the mirror back in my pocket and took out another two-way mirror belonging to a different pair.

"Karkaroff," I called, and soon the old wizard's face appeared in the mirror.

"Yes?"

"A group of Death Eaters is sneaking into the Department of Mysteries tonight, including Rookwood. Among them are also Malfoy, two Notts, Crabbe and Goyle who will betray Voldemort and join us. That means the war will begin soon, and I intend to make it swift. Gather your things and go to the rendezvous point. I'll need much spell power, and you're probably the second most powerful wizard in my conspiracy. You're coming with me and a group of others."

After the second mirror call there was a third one.

"Flint! Stop whatever you're doing even if it means decisive defeat for the British Army. Your time in the Muggle world is over. Get Derrick and Bole, get all your gear and go to the rendezvous point where you will meet with Karkaroff. He will explain the situation."

"Yes, my lord."

When Flint's face disappeared from the mirror, I happily left the pile of paperwork on my desk unfinished and left the office. In the corridor, Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting impatiently.

"Lucius confirmed my suspicion," I said. "Remus is not in the Department of Mysteries and the vision you saw was just a trick by Voldemort to lure you there."

"Am I supposed to trust Lucius Malfoy?" Harry muttered mutinously.

"You don't have to. We're going to the Department of Mysteries anyway. It'll be a crippling blow to the Death Eaters, and we will win this war very soon. And… I wouldn't mind sneaking a peek at what the Unspeakables are doing there." Maybe the opportunity would present itself for me to grab some inconspicuous little time machines…

"How are we going to get to the Ministry?" Hermione asked.

"I think I can manage enough Side-Along Apparitions from outside the gate to London, or we can go to the Three Broomsticks and take the Floo to Diagon Alley. But not yet. I've not trained hundreds of students for nothing. We're taking more people with us."

Hermione had presented the idea of my study group using fake coins as a means of communicating, similar to the parchments used by the Order. I tapped my coin with my wand and sent a message to every student to go to the Room of Requirement.

"I am going to tell them that Voldemort's Second War will begin tonight," I said. "They must know and be prepared. Now, Harry, go and find Cedric; he's one of our best fighters and I'd like him to come with us. Ron, find Fred and George; their creativity is a great asset. Hermione, fetch all the equipment we've hoarded. I'll go find Montague, Warrington and Bletchley; they have an important mission here while we're gone. When we're all done, we'll go to the Room of Requirement with the rest."

Finding my three servants was easy with the help of the Marauder's Map. Draco, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle were on their way from the Slytherin common room to the Room of Requirement, but we met them when they were going up the marble staircase.

"Come here," I said and led them to less used corridors. "I'll talk to the commoners about something to be kept in mind during the summer. I'd prefer it if you actually practised something useful."

Draco and Theo smiled with satisfaction, still oblivious to how I used them as leverage against their families. Once I had taken them to an unused classroom, I pressed the magic badge in the palm of Montague's hand again and whispered,

"This will pay off tonight."

As they began their futile fighting practice, I headed upstairs to the seventh floor. There, close to the Room of Requirement, there was a small unused room which was unknown to most people because its door was hidden behind a tapestry. I had used certain spells on the tapestry so that only I and a couple of others could access to room, and ever since the room had served as our storage. We had brewed and hoarded potions with military potential such as Essence of Dittany as well as all those which Umbridge had disapproved, but there were also Muggle things such as bullet-proof vests that I had 'borrowed' from a British Army depot with the help of Flint.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were carrying the equipment out of the room. They had already brought Cedric, Fred and George with them, and Ginny was there too.

"All students will soon be in the Room of Requirement," Cedric said. "What is going on?"

"The first battle of Voldemort's Second War will take place soon," I said. "I want you six to accompany me on an important mission in the Ministry of Magic. Several Death Eaters will be caught and the Ministry alerted to what is happening. Are you in?"

"It is what we've been training for," Cedric said. "I'd be honoured to fight by your side."

"We're always ready for mischief," the Weasley twins said in unison.

"Tom, I want to come too!" Ginny said angrily.

"You're too young!" Ron snarled.

"I'm as old as Harry was during the third task of the tournament!" Ginny pointed out. "Besides, I've got a personal reason to fight You-Know-Who. He possessed me during my first year and forced me to do horrible things!"

"She's twice the fighter you are, Ron," I said. "Welcome to the crew, Ginny."

She beamed radiantly. I wondered if being in contact with a Horcrux for so long had made Ginny somehow exceptionally proficient in Dark magic, because she was by far the best fourth-year student in the study group when it came to offensive magic.

"Everyone, put on these vests," I said. "They've been reinforced with the Unbreakable Charm, making them able to withstand even a powerful Reductor Curse, and they also have several automatically activating Shield Charms cast upon them. Everyone should drink a Potion of Salamander's Essence and carry a set on healing potions."

"We still have many fireworks," one of the twins said. "We might need a distraction, right?"

"Yes. We will need all skills we've learned and all accessories we have. When fighting a war, we must not hold back, but crush the enemy as efficiently as possible. Forget all flashy duels and the like. They only have a place in stories. Tonight's plan is this: we go to the Ministry, quickly crush the opposition we face and return."

Everyone had finished their preparations, but as we were about to head to the Room of Requirement, we faced a disturbance that we really should have known was coming.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a high-pitched girlish voice drawled with twisted enjoyment. I turned around and saw High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge walking towards me. She looked like a toad that was preparing to swallow a juicy, fat fly. "I came to investigate why so many students are suddenly heading to the upper floors, and what do I stumble upon? A Hogwarts teacher is preparing a group of students to fight against the Ministry!"

"Yes, quite perceptive, Professor Umbridge," I said. "I hate to tell you this, but there is wide-spread dissatisfaction with the official Defence Against the Dark Arts course. However, the demand for actual defence skills is very high indeed, and I have taken it upon myself to teach the defence methods that I've found useful. I'm sorry we couldn't tell you about this study group, because you might've been tempted to ban it."

"How long have you been doing this?" Umbridge growled.

"Since September. Yes, half a year before I even was a member of staff. Good thing we were able to keep this a secret from you for so long. We haven't done anything against the rules."

"Rules?" Umbridge shrieked. "This rebellion needs not be prohibited in school rules when it's breaking the law! You said you're going to attack the Ministry! This is treason!"

"Actually, you misunderstood –"

"Silence! Save your excuses for your trial! If I were you, I'd prepare a long speech, because it gives you more time before you'll be Kissed by a Dementor!"

"It seems my fate is already determined," I said. "Well, I've always admired an efficient judicial system. Would you like to address all the students who have participated in this illegal scheme?"

"Yes, absolutely," Umbridge said. "Lead the way."

We went into the Room of Requirement. Most Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were already there while some Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were still coming up from their common rooms. Frightened whispers broke out when the students noticed the presence of Umbridge, and she grew even more furious as she saw how many people there were in the Room. I took my place on the teacher's podium and Umbridge came to stand next to me. She seethed with rage as more and more students flowed into the Room of Requirement. Eventually, several hundred students were standing there, waiting for their punishment.

"You," Umbridge growled. "You have agitated this many children to join your rebellion?"

"Oh yes," I said. "They were quite enthusiastic to learn what you wouldn't teach them."

"And I thought Potter was the main troublemaker. While he has spread his propaganda, you have been preparing your little army to fight the Ministry! I do not tolerate such treasonous activity! I will have to expel each and every one of these rebellious brats!"

She turned to face at the students, glaring at them murderously.

"This will be a burden to you for the rest of your lives! Once I make your case an example serving as a deterrent to others, none will ever again dare to oppose the Ministry!"

There was a ringing silence as the students stared at her in dismay. I was sure she did not actually understand the magnitude of what she was trying to do. Expelling all but a handful of students would put Hogwarts and the entire educational system of wizarding Britain into unprecedented turmoil. And what could possibly decrease the credibility of the Ministry more in the eyes of the British wizarding community?

"You heard what she said, my poor rebels," I said sadly. "Once Professor Umbridge sends your names to the Ministry, your lives will be ruined forever. Your parents will be ashamed of you beyond words."

Umbridge smirked, thinking I had submitted.

"Unless, of course…" I continued, grinning diabolically. "You know… if Umbridge was to die, she would never have the chance to inform the Ministry about us."

Several hundred wands pointed at Umbridge.

It was at that moment that Umbridge knew: she screwed up.

Posted on the 22nd of June, 2021.

The next chapter will be posted on the 26th of June, 2021.