Chapter 50

TAKEOVER

On Saturday morning, some thirty-six hours after Voldemort's Second War had begun, I presided over a meeting in which the leaders of my army brainstormed on attacking against Voldemort's headquarters and ending the war. We did not know where the headquarters was, and so we tried to combine all our clues. I used my intimate knowledge of how Voldemort thought, Harry contributed by sharing all glimpses he had seen through Voldemort's mind, the defected Death Eaters informed us of all little details they had heard, Remus of what the Order of the Phoenix knew or suspected and Sirius Black shared his vast knowledge of what was happening in the criminal underworld.

We did not get far before Flint burst into the room and declared without preamble,

"Hell's gonna get loose."

He tossed the latest issue of the Daily Prophet on the table, and we gathered around the paper to read.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC DECLARES WAR
MARTIAL LAW CHANGES BRITISH INSTITUTIONS
CROUCH REPLACES FUDGE AS MINISTER

Cornelius Fudge resigned from the position of Minister late on Friday evening and was replaced by Bartemius Crouch. The Ministry of Magic held an emergency press conference in the evening, addressing the violent incidents that sparked across Britain on Friday and shedding light on the rumours that have circulated for a year.

"It has become evident that a group of powerful individuals has been plotting to undermine our political system in order to seize power," says Minister Crouch. "This group is led by Lucius Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Robert Jugson, all patriarchs of rich and influential families. It is clear that they miss the days when the Ministry was merely a façade used by a group of aristocrats to create a semblance of inclusive administration. The Ministry has made it its greatest priority to defeat this sorry rebellion that is based on nostalgia of the privileged."

Many witnesses have reported that the rebellion uses Harry Potter and Tom Valedro, champions of the Triwizard Tournament, as its pin-up boys. Another concerning observation is that the mass murderer Sirius Black is in league with his fellow pure-blood patriarchs. Britain has not experienced a threat like this in almost fifteen years. Minister Crouch reacted to it with a declaration of war and martial law.

Alastor Moody, recently appointed Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Head Auror, gave the public more detailed information about the revolutionary activities.

"Through a lengthy reconnaissance mission, I have found out that also Albus Dumbledore is harbouring hopes of seizing power to himself. For a whole year Dumbledore has recruited people to fight alongside him in a paramilitary group called the 'Order of the Phoenix.' It is hereby declared a terrorist organisation and all of its members are outlawed."

The Daily Prophet enquired about the rumours about mass resignations from the Ministry.

"It pains me to tell that Dumbledore had managed to infiltrate his pawns into the Ministry, especially the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," says Director Moody. "The previous Department Head, Amelia Bones, has vanished without a trace, as has Arthur Weasley of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, and we assume they have joined Dumbledore at Hogwarts. Several Aurors have also deserted the Ministry, and they are now considered a national security threat equal to that of Sirius Black. Their names are the following: Rufus Scrimgeour, Gawain Robards, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Pius Thicknesse and Nymphadora Tonks. Other notable officials gone missing include Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister; William Bancroft, Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes; and Sophia Whitgift, Head of the Department of Magical Transportation."

As the Ministry prepares to fight a two-front war against these two insurgent groups, certain institutions have been forced to adapt to the difficult situation.

"The Floo Network is being regulated more than before in order to complicate the logistics of the insurgents," says Minister Crouch. "Moreover, since the Ministry's forces will be stretched thin, we will not be able to ensure the security of the Wizengamot. The council is temporarily disbanded and its authority transferred to a new governmental body."

This new, smaller council will consist of Bartemius Crouch, Minister for Magic; Alastor Moody, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Henry Avery, newly appointed Senior Undersecretary to the Minister; Albert Runcorn, Head of the Department of Magical Education; and Corban Yaxley, newly appointed Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.

"Er… I think we just got a new, huge problem," Remus said.

"Voldemort took a page from our book," I said. "I guess he didn't like it when we used the press to discredit him."

"Can we fight the Ministry too?" Harry asked.

"Not the Ministry," Lucius snarled. "Corban Yaxley is a Death Eater, and Henry Avery could just as well be one; his brother and nephew were Death Eaters, and he surely wants to avenge their deaths. Albert Runcorn was one of my closest contacts within the Ministry, and nominating him into this new council is a clear sign of its political alignment. But Moody…"

"I think he was the spy in the Order who leaked all information to Voldemort," I said. "You weren't there to see it, but he attacked the Order from behind in the Department of Mysteries – and killed Henry Avery's nephew, even if it was an accident. But what about Crouch?"

"The Imperius Curse, I imagine," Lucius said. "He has not been well recently. His resistance to mind control may have weakened enough for a strong mind to be able to dominate his. Whatever the case, I am absolutely certain that Tom Riddle sneaked into the Ministry yesterday when the Aurors were watching us and seized power!"

"Well, there is only one thing we can do right now," I said. "We will overthrow the Ministry – right away, before they are able to prepare for our attack. Before the sun sets today, I will have declared myself the Lord Ruler of wizarding Britain!"

There was one good thing about Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry: new people flocked into my army in large numbers. Arthur Weasley came in a hurry when the army was assembling, inciting cheers from his children, and he was followed by his two oldest sons, Bill and Charlie. Bill had also brought his girlfriend, one familiar to me: Fleur Delacour, who smiled warmly at Harry and me. Not long afterwards the whole group of Triwizard champions was present as Viktor Krum arrived as well and gave a hug to Hermione.

"Hermione told me vot is happening here," he explained. "Now I vill haff my revenge on the fiend who dared to use the Imperius Curse on me!"

Dozens of family members of my study group members arrived as well, including Amos Diggory and Augusta Longbottom, who was perhaps the most formidable witch I had ever met. But of the new arrivals the one who surprised me the most was an old wizard with a long beard and bright blue eyes.

"Aberforth Dumbledore," he grunted his introduction. "I'm not a fan of my brother's, and I've heard that you've taken the role that I played for a while. I always told him that we ought to fight and not wait, but he never listened."

"Interesting," I commented. "Do you know any reasons for his behaviour?"

"I can only guess," Aberforth said, shrugging. "The only thing I know for sure is that my brother returned changed from his duel with Grindelwald… changed from one of the brightest wizards of all time into a phlegmatic shell of a man. The fight must've shaken him to the core. He never told about it to me, and I never asked. We're not actually close."

Some of the newcomers told me that the Ministry was in a much worse chaos than the Daily Prophet had told, because the massive resignations had continued after the newspaper had been printed, especially after people had read the news. Our initiative was getting even better, and I addressed the army, now a force of over three hundred.

"Voldemort has taken over the Ministry," I said. "At the moment, he has his hands full with solidifying his power, but if he is given even a little time, he will turn the Ministry against us with all its might. For a short while we have an advantage, because many Aurors and other officials have deserted the Ministry. Voldemort will surely replace them with mercenaries like those we faced yesterday. That must not be allowed to happen. Prepare for battle! We attack the Ministry in ten minutes!"

"You do realise that Voldemort may be there?" Harry said.

"Unlikely," I disagreed. "He wants his takeover to look like a justified reaction to our offensive, and he also wants to put his return into question again by making people distrust Lucius's statement in yesterday's Prophet. If he was seen in public, almost every remaining Ministry official would abandon their positions and join us. No, it is Moody who is pulling the strings at the Ministry now. Be prepared for very constant vigilance. No doubt he is expecting us to attack soon, which is why we must be fast if we are to surprise him."

A couple of the new members of my army worked in Magical Maintenance, and they knew exactly where the Ministry of Magic was located. We broke into the basement of one of the Muggle buildings above the Ministry complex, went as far down as possible and used a crateful of dynamite to create our own entrance into the Ministry.

One of the walls of the Atrium blew in, and while the Ministry employees were running around in panic and horror, I led the army through the newly formed hole.

"Secure the Department of Magical Transportation!" I commanded, and a group led by Theodore rushed to obey. "Do not use lethal force!"

Stunning Charms were fired, and most of the Ministry employees present were felled. I sent more groups to secure less important departments, but then, after less than sixty seconds, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement arrived. There were Aurors and Hit Wizards, most of whom had no idea who they were actually serving, and their leader was Alastor Moody, grinning in a way I had never seen before; it was as if he had stopped acting.

"Look who it is!" Moody said. "My most promising student is now a wayward revolutionary demagogue! It seems you took it a bit too seriously when I asked whether you have aspirations of being a Dark Lord."

"Aurors, Hit Wizards," I said, "you have been misguided. This is not the legendary Alastor Moody that you have always admired. He has turned evil and works together with Lord Voldemort who has put Minister Crouch under the Imperius Curse. Join us, and justice will be restored."

"You attacked civilians!" Dawlish the Auror shouted. "And that is Sirius Black in your ranks! I can see a few other Death Eaters as well!"

"I warned Dumbledore of accepting all kinds of riffraff into his Order," Moody said. "You, Valedro, have done the same mistake. The Ministry of Magic is the rightful highest authority in Britain. Your revolution is over."

"We shall see," I said and gave the attack signal.

The Atrium filled with red light as Stunning Charms were fired by the hundreds. I could see how reluctantly most of the law enforcers were fighting against an army with so many children, but some of them did not allow such a thing to trouble them. Dawlish, for example, fought with an unyielding poker-face, not caring about whom he fought against. Moody was visibly enjoying himself, and he was one of the only combatants who used truly dangerous spells.

The law enforcers were professional fighters and much more skilled than most of the members of my army, but they did not actually have many ways of using their skills; it was just wands blazing. Our forces outnumbered theirs, and one by one the law enforcers slumped down as their Shield Charms were overpowered.

Moody was unconcerned; he fired Blasting Curses left and right with sheer delight. I fought my way to him and occupied his attention with two Whips of Malice, and the most challenging duel I had ever fought began.

In every Defence Against the Dark Arts class during the last year at Hogwarts I had fought Moody, and every time he had bested me. I had learned much since then and I fought with two wands which had a strong connection to me, but it still came to me as a surprise how Moody did not seem such a formidable opponent. He retreated into a staircase and resorted mainly to defensive spells. At first I was afraid that it was just a trick to make me overconfident, but there was genuine strain and worry on his scarred face.

Alastor Moody, one of the greatest Aurors in history, had become old.

The rest of the law enforcers panicked after their leader had disappeared into the staircase, and some of them surrendered. Soon I was not the only one coming after Moody in the staircase, and the old Auror had to retreat even faster.

"This staircase leads to the Minister's premises!" Lucius said as he caught up with me. "It has one of the most secure Floos in the country. Let us hope Theodore has already managed to put the Network offline so that Moody and Crouch cannot escape."

We ran up, not getting tired thanks to the Strengthening Solution, and soon burst into a very luxurious room. The walls were gilded, there were several golden statues and exotic plants, a fountain that flowed soundlessly and an enchanted ceiling similar to that of the Great Hall of Hogwarts. It was as if clear blue skies had opened right above us.

In this room there were the five members of the new governing body of wizarding Britain, all pointing their wands at us. Bartemius Crouch looked ancient and even sicker than when I had last seen him, after the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. His eyes were glazed and indifferent, and I could not believe how I had not realised that he was under the Imperius Curse.

"Henry, Albert," Lucius said to the two people who might listen. "I do not want to fight you."

"You betrayed the Dark Lord!" Henry Avery said furiously. "My nephew died because of it!"

I had known Henry Avery in my first life; he had been three years younger than I, and clearly at some point he had become very devoted to Voldemort.

"If you want revenge for your nephew, direct your wrath to your boss," I said. "Moody, why don't you tell him what happened in the Department of Mysteries?"

"It wasn't a big loss," Moody laughed. "There's nothing I loathe more than Death Eaters who renounced the Dark Lord to save their own necks – such as you, Lucius."

"Quite a change of heart," I said. "Please, explain, and I will give you a moment more to live."

Moody grabbed his flask and threw it into the floor. I prepared for some toxic vapours rising from the potion that spilled out, but then I recognised the mud-looking substance…

"Polyjuice!" I cried out. "You've been an imposter all along! Who are you?"

"See for yourself," the imposter said and triggered some kind of enchantment. It was similar to the one that the goblins used in Gringotts: it removed active spells, including Polyjuice. Moody's visage changed in an instant. Suddenly, he was a slightly gaunt-looking blond man in his thirties. I had never seen him before, but Lucius had.

"Bartemius Crouch junior!" he gasped.

"Junior?" I asked.

"One of the youngest Death Eaters back in the day," Lucius explained. "And perhaps the most talented one. How are you here? You died in Azkaban!"

"Sirius Black was not the first one ever to escape the prison inescapable," Crouch junior said. "I was. Perhaps I should thank my father for it, but I did not particularly enjoy spending over a decade under the Imperius Curse afterwards. No, he will suffer the same enslavement – and in the service of the Dark Lord!"

Minister Crouch had not reacted to anything said in his office. He had been an accomplished Auror before becoming the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and one of the youngest war heroes of Grindelwald's Second War. Normally, I would have wanted to avoid fighting him, but now he was weakened and the Imperius Curse made anyone much less capable a fighter. Casting two Whips of Malice, I attacked.

Crouch junior fought with savage ferocity, and I got more and more impressed with him. Apparently, he had been no older than I was when he had been locked in Azkaban, and he had said that he had spent over a decade under the Imperius Curse afterwards. That meant he had not had much more time to learn magic and practice his skills, but we were still quite evenly matched. Lucius was right; Crouch junior was incredibly talented, probably with the potential of wizards like Dumbledore, Grindelwald and I.

But one thing he did not have was two wands. My Whips of Malice lashed at him with such speed that he had to use unorthodox ways of combat. The Minister's desk was hurled at me, and as I dodged, it flew right into the staircase, blocking it from my army. Henry Avery, Corban Yaxley and Albert Runcorn fought as well, but Crouch junior readily used them to shield himself. Crouch senior stood quite motionless and fired Stunning Charms. Sirius Black, incensed by having been denied a fair trial, cornered the Minister and kept him from the rest of the battle.

"This is what recruits are for!" Crouch junior said and tossed Yaxley through the air at me. The newly branded Death Eater screamed in terror until my Whip struck him, and he fell to the floor, gravely injured.

"You are as useless as your nephew!" Crouch junior yelled and took Avery as his living shield. "I wanted you to join our cause, Valedro! You would've been a great Death Eater!"

"Servitude is not my lot in life," I said. "Why become a minion of a Dark Lord when I can become a Dark Lord myself?"

"The Dark Lord is immortal!" he cried with some kind of twisted fervour and tried the cast the Cruciatus Curse on me. "We mortals are nothing compared to him!"

If only you knew, I thought and lashed at him with both Whips simultaneously. Avery screamed in pain and collapsed. Crouch junior let go of him and made an attempt to advance, but I forced him into a corner. My Whips were just about to outmanoeuvre him, so he panicked, dropped all attempts at defence and channelled massive amounts of power into a Blasting Curse. It collided with my Whip and went off, shattering the wall behind him.

Crouch junior lay on the floor, dead. That was what happened to Hufflepuffs who put their master's benefit before their own.

Crouch senior had also been defeated; he had collapsed, but was still alive. Albert Runcorn was groaning in a corner, and Lucius stood next to him, pointing at him with a wand.

"The Ministry is ours!" I declared. "We must let Britain know that Voldemort's rule was very short-lived."

Crouch senior was sent to recover; I wanted to interrogate him. Then we began to repair the damages caused to the Minister's office during the fight. While we were at it, Theodore hurried up the staircase and said,

"The Floo Network is under our command!"

"Excellent!" I said. "Now we must act quickly to get the most advantage out of our takeover. We should be encountering little resistance for some time."

"There are not many Aurors left here," Theodore said. "Most of them joined Dumbledore and are probably afraid to do anything."

"No need to worry about them at the moment," I said. "I've got unfinished business with the Department of Mysteries. Send someone down there to tell the Unspeakables that their cooperation is demanded."

"I could not access the department," said a wizard of Magical Maintenance who had come up with Theodore. "I reckon they did not acknowledge the authority of Minister Crouch because of the circumstances in which he rose to power."

"Well, break the door and storm the department!" I said. "There are things there that I want."

"It will take time," the maintenance wizard said.

"In the meantime, I have other very pressing matters to do."

"What now?" Lucius asked.

"We need a puppet in order to create the illusion of continuity," I said. "Get me Cornelius Fudge."

Twenty minutes later, Lucius returned to the Ministry, Fudge held at wandpoint. The former Minister looked absolutely terrified.

"What do you want?" he squealed.

"To inform you that you're the Minister for Magic again," I said. "However, this time you will obey those better than yourself, namely, me. We are establishing a new unofficial level of hierarchy above the Minister. From now on, I am in charge. To put it shortly, I have all the power and you all the responsibility. I hope you are fine with this."

Fudge opened and closed his mouth soundlessly.

"This is not a good moment to grow a spine," I warned him. "I chose you as my puppet just because you don't have one. If, however, at some point I find out that you do have a spine, I will have to remove it."

"All right, all right!" Fudge cried. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to visit Mr Major, the Muggle Prime Minister, tomorrow. You will tell him that there has been a long-awaited change in wizarding Britain and that, as of today, tomorrow's yesterday, the Ministry of Magic has confiscated the entire nuclear weapon arsenal of the British military."

Since the Aurors had gathered at Hogwarts, it was easy for me and my servants to visit the Prime Minister and extract information about the British nuclear weapons from his mind with Legilimency. Then we infiltrated the high-security depot where some of the warheads were kept. Once again, we encountered no magical resistance, and soon I was standing before my prize: the weapons that surpassed every magic wizardkind had ever crafted.

"These are the super weapons?" Flint asked. "They don't look like much."

"The nuclear reaction works on a level beyond conventional physics," I explained, but suddenly I felt a surge of adrenaline. I had sensed something I had not hoped: a faint trace of magic.

"Revelio," I cast.

Glowing letters appeared into the air next to the warheads in a very familiar handwriting.

Hello, Tom

I am pleased that you have learned to appreciate the wonders of the Muggle world. However, these weapons are something you should never possess. Since I am not the fool you think I am, I have taken every single nuclear weapon in the world into the safe and responsible hands of myself.

Oh, and you should not bother going after the smallpox virus, either.

Albus

My thoughts upon reading the message were frantic and quite full of curses.

"He knew you'd come here?" Flint growled.

"Apparently," I mumbled, letting him believe so even though I knew the truth, the only good thing about the matter: the message was not meant for me, but for Voldemort.

We left, empty-handed and severely disappointed. There was no point in not admitting that I was afraid – but even more than afraid, I was indignant. More indignant than I had ever been before.

Dumbledore could have forced the Muggle nations to stop waging wars and oppressing people if he just had bothered. For a long time I had thought that the fear of nuclear weapons had been what had prevented him from interfering in Muggle politics, but this revelation laid bare the indescribable hypocrisy of his actions. Be it for the Greater or the Absolute Good, no moral system allowed someone in Dumbledore's position to look the other way while Muggles killed one another by the millions and devastated, polluted and marred the world in the process. He could not even justify his negligence by saying that he had no right to impose his will upon Muggles, because he had already done so by stealing all nuclear weapons.

It was said that with great power came great responsibility, but clearly Dumbledore had missed the part where that was his problem. He was EVIL!

My mind whirled back in time for almost sixty years, to the day when the Transfiguration Professor of Hogwarts had lectured to me about the wrongness of thievery. Something had changed drastically about him after our first meeting. He had defeated Grindelwald in a heroic battle, but afterwards he had abandoned the way of the hero and assumed the role of the old, obnoxious master who had tried to make other people do the hard work for him. No one had done so before I had taken the mantle of a hero, but then Dumbledore had refused to support me.

Never had I wanted to give the old hypocrite his just punishment as much as at the moment. But he was sitting on top of a gigantic stockpile of nuclear weapons, ready to annihilate the world on a whim, and my threat estimate of him shot up astronomically.

There was one thing I no longer had any doubts about.

Dumbledore was the greatest, cruellest and most neglectful Dark Lord the world had ever seen.

When I returned to the Ministry, I went straight to the bedside of Bartemius Crouch senior. He looked very weak and weary, but there was a normal, personal liveliness in his eyes.

"Will he recover?" I asked.

"Somewhat," said one of the Healers who had joined the army. "But he will need a long rest."

"We have been unable to get into the Department of Mysteries," Lucius said. "The Unspeakables have sealed themselves in so well that I am afraid there is no magic we possess that could override theirs."

"At least someone is competent," I muttered and stepped closer to the bed. Crouch was looking at me as intently as he could. "Good day, Mr Crouch. Do you know where Lord Voldemort's headquarters is?"

"Yes," he whispered in a raspy voice. "He took my manor… he has been there for almost two years. I tried to fight against his Imperius… once I almost made it to Dumbledore… but I was caught."

"So, now we know our next target!" I said and turned to face my lieutenants. "One more battle before victory is ours!"

"Be… careful," Crouch groaned. "It will not be easy. He… he forced me to release all prisoners from Azkaban… and the Dementors… they are coming!"

I felt blood freezing in my veins. Reluctantly, I looked up at the enchanted ceiling. Earlier, it had showed clear blue skies, but now… dark clouds were coalescing and the temperature was dropping as Dementors were arriving on the shores of Britain.

Lord Voldemort looked at the hundreds of people gathering around Crouch Manor. Of his Death Eaters only Alecto and Amycus Carrow remained, and he let them deal with the petty criminals. Many of them were his loyalists, but there were also all kinds of petty thieves – even some Mudbloods, but he did not care. They were but cannon fodder to be used and then discarded.

"My armies may have been defeated, but I have the means to create new ones!" he yelled at the Carrow siblings. "Break into Muggle morgues and bring me corpses to be reanimated!"

"Yes, my lord!" the Carrows said and Disapparated.

Not wanting to even look at the criminals who were still half-mad from being exposed to Dementors, Voldemort went into the manor to sit on his throne.

He was plagued by a riddle.

He had been prepared to fight against Dumbledore once again. He had been prepared to fight against Harry Potter, a boy with an ancient magical protection. But now his greatest enemy was one he had not even heard of before. Tom Valedro.

Who was he? Who was this ruthless and frighteningly effective young man who had won the loyalty of the House of Slytherin and even a few Death Eaters like Malfoy, the Notts and the Jugsons? Who was this mystery man who had stolen the wand of Lord Voldemort himself?

Voldemort wrote the name Tom Valedro into the air with glowing letters. There was something about the name… some riddle hidden in it… the first name was unpleasantly familiar.

Lord Voldemort had fashioned his own name by rearranging the letters of the filthy Muggle name he had been given, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Could the riddle of Tom Valedro be answered using a similar method?

His wand flicked, making the letters rearrange themselves. He did it a few times, until he let out a gasp of shock when he got a result that made sense… frighteningly much sense.

TOM VALEDRO

A VOLDEMORT

There it was, the answer to the riddle – and it was Riddle. The upstart young man was a rogue Horcrux. Someone he could call his brother. But that brother had clearly decided to be the only Voldemort active – not 'a Voldemort' but 'the Voldemort.' It was a shame; the real Voldemort would actually have enjoyed having a younger brother as a right-hand man. But that was not to be, for neither of them could live while the other survived.

Albus Dumbledore sat in the Headmaster's office. News had reached him, and he put away the Potions papers he had been working with and focused on the chess board. With a flick of the Elder Wand, he sent more white pieces to join the grey army that closed in around the black queen. All but one of the black pawns were removed, but then many more returned to indicate the mass breakout from Azkaban.

The black king stood alone in a corner.

Posted on the 29th of June, 2021.