Harry Potter and the Raven

by 19lams5

What if, in a darker world, Harry was swept up by the Cold War and dragged behind the Iron Curtain? In the harsh winter of unforgiving Russia, under the watchful eye of the proletariat revolution, follow his journey as he rises above every challenge and becomes an agent of the Union, and perhaps, just perhaps, something more. M for a reason

33. A Summer of Work

"So, what do you want to learn about?" Jade asked as she led Sarah into her personal gym, one of the benefits of being a high ranked official.

"Whatever you feel is important, I guess," Sarah shrugged. At Jade's surprised look, the girl chuckled. "When I learn with Harry, he lets me explore and fail. I've learnt to trust his judgement, it's saved me time, energy and humiliation. Besides, you learn a lot from the things a person chooses to say."

"You really don't sound like a fourteen year old," Jade chuckled, shaking her head. "Though considering Harry, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Let's start from the beginning, then. My father, bless his heart, is a good man but a terrible politician. He would have been fed to the wolves. That's why I made it my life's goal to advance through the ranks of the security apparatus. I was first an auror, then I transferred to the security bureau, where I rose through the ranks, progressively getting more and more access to information. Using that, I managed to make opponents disappear or tear them down, paving the way for dad's rise to power. For a long time, I culled the opposition, ensuring that the weeds could never grow back, but Harry...well, he convinced me a change was in order."

"I see," Sarah nodded. "How do I be like you?"

"Oh?"

"Harry...well...you know about him being Raven, but he has a dark past he's trying to atone for. I fear that one day this may cost him dearly, and...I need to be ready to do what must be done," Sarah affirmed resolutely. "He told me of the NKVD and the KGB, how they were so effective at keeping the Communists in power...that...I need to be able to replicate that."

"A police state?" Jade frowned, "Whatever for. My impression of Harry was that he wanted freedom and liberty, not...this."

"Look at the BMU," Sarah chuckled sardonically. "Already the outer regions are ghettos filled with crime. Just the other day I went with Harry, and we were attacked by four robbers. Even the bloody cobblestone path has been cannibalised!"

"Surely it isn't-"

"Have you ever visited the outer regions?"

"No," Jade admitted. "I...I knew there were problems, but...for it to be this bad…"

"I suspect he planned it," Sarah shrugged, laughing at the older woman's shocked expression. "Please, do you think he really intends to give up power in the BMU?"

"Well, he...he could have easily took over as founder and been in power...he already has the wealth and the connctions…"

"You're not seeing the bigger picture," Sarah chided, startling Jade. "He could do all of that, yes, but would we see the willingness of the population to comply? Unlikely. No, he needed to bait them in first, lure them in with the promise of liberty, security and opportunity. Who could resist? Once they've established their roots here, they invest everything into building the BMU up one business at a time...but of course, Harry controls most if not all the major ones, and many of the minor ones. You also can't easily just pack up and leave…"

"So he's trapping them? But…"

"I can only speculate," Sarah shrugged, "but I believe there will be a coup in the coming years. It's the same thing Harry did at Durmstrang, engineer a crisis, swoop in as the savior, and in exchange, people willingly sacrifice their freedoms in exchange for security and opportunity."

"But...but…"

"Which is why I need to learn, Jade. I need to understand just how to work behind the scenes to ensure his vision comes to fruition, just as you did for your father."

"How did he earn your loyalty?" Jade queried curiously.

"I'll tell you if you tell me," Sarah proposed. Jade gave an exasperated sigh.

"What makes you think he even holds my loyalty?"

"Perhaps not fully," Sarah conceded, "but you respect, listen and defer to him. Your mannerisms, the way you refer to him, it all adds up."

"Observant little brat, aren't you?" she sighed bemusedly. "Fine, he fascinated me when we were working together during a meeting when Harry's boss, General White, came to Xi'an for an exchange. We struck up a conversation, and became good acquaintances. When my father went to Moscow for an exchange trip, he reciprocated the effort, and I got to see first hand his skill in martial demonstration. I decided that I wanted to...get to know this individual better, you see, as White's favoured, I believed him quite likely to succeed the man, and it's useful to have a connection. I was arranged to train under him...and during that time…"

"You fell in love with him." Sarah pointed out knowingly. "Perhaps not in the romantic sense, but on an intellectual level you grew fascinated with him, didn't you?"

"Yes, I suppose you could say that," Jade conceded. "I...always had the impression that he would be one for freedom, rather than authority."

"Then you don't truly know Harry, I suppose," Sarah mused. Jade looked defiant at this assertion, but did not verbally contest it. "It's amusing how much he knows about you...all of us really."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jade queried, a tinge of danger on her voice. Sarah raised her hands in mock surrender.

"Just that Harry is remarkably good at reading people. You'd be surprised what he told me."

"Oh?"

"A friendly exterior hiding deeper insecurities. A fierce independent streak tempered by experience on the field. To approach with traditional methods will incur scorn, demonstrate ability without arrogance to earn an inroad, from which broach topics such as resentment towards authority, frustration towards traditionalist cultural views, magical combat and philosophy. Gifts should be of a practical nature yet of high craftsmanship. Prefers more secluded and private environments for conversations, seeking an intellectual equal to emotionally open up to. Reading on Chinese culture is a prerequisite for prolonged discussion. Will try to throw you off with strange displays, show that you aren't deterred to earn an inroad," Sarah recited, watching as Jade's mouth dropped progressively lower.

"We've...how…we've spent, maybe fifty hours with each other, tops. There is no way...that's..."

"As I said," Sarah shrugged, "Harry is good at reading people. I think he has files on nearly everyone he considers important. I'm genuinely curious what mine says, I suspect it will be about exploiting my past trauma for sympathy to build inroads."

"How...won't Harry get angry at you for sharing this?"

"On the contrary, he suggested that I do so. The information is of little value to him now that he is already a close relation to you, and by presenting it as a token gesture I can hopefully make inroads with you," Sarah explained airily. "Besides, these are the obvious bits, I'm sure he has more...sensitive information kept to himself. It's what I would do, in any case."

"I...you two are perhaps the most frightening fourteen year olds I've ever met."

"I'll be sure to pass on the compliment," Sarah grinned, causing Jade to give her a withering smile. "Harry does have a flair for the dramatics at times."

"That he does. That he does. Now enough of this, let's see just how much he has taught you."

-Break-

"Attention!" Ira snapped to attention, her rifle raised up as her heels clacked together and her back was perfectly straight. Dressed crisply in her uniform, she was one of eleven cadets hre because of their loyalty to the Raven. Among their year was over three hundred other muggles, all led by the drill sergeant Wojck. It had been quite the transition completing so much physical exercise, and she had quickly developed a respect for muggles' training techniques. They were now assembled in parade formation, outside the field of the military academy. "And...march!"

Immediately, the cadets' feet began moving in unison, advancing forward as a single unit to an invisible beat. They marched around the field thrice, before coming to a stop back at the academy entrance. "And stop."

Immediately, the rhythmic stomping of the boots ceased, and all the officer cadets stood stiffly to attention as they awaited further instructions. "At ease!"

The soldiers all widened their feet to shoulder width apart, their guns dropping to waist level. All were forced to stand motionless as the drill sergeant circled them, looking for the slightest bit out of place. Finding none, he barked, "Head to the shooting range. Double time!"

"Hoorah!" the soldiers chanted, beginning their march again, this time through a slight patch of woods rather than circling the fields, until they managed to reach the large shooting range. Marching in place, the drill sergeant once again circled them, looking for mistakes.

"And stop! To your stations!" Immediately, they broke from formation and hurried to their assigned shooting boxes. Diving to the ground, she raised her rifle, lining up her sight with the target, waiting for instructions. "Fire!"

Ira unleashed a short burst of three bullets, all of them within the inner ring of her target. It took several seconds for the sound of gunfire to finally stop. "And fire!"

She repeated the process again. The kalashnikov's butt slammed against her arm, but she had grown used to the pain, feeling nothing more than a dull throb. The process continued, until their magazines were empty and they were ordered to reload. Meanwhile, several runners moved up to observe the targets hit.

"Krakowski! Where are your eyes! You completely missed two of your six shots! Nobody is leaving this firing range until everyone hits their targets!" the drill sergeant barked. Over and over again they fired, until finally, as the sun began to set, the exercise was finished and they were dismissed so they could attend their academic classes.

Hurrying back along the path to the academy, she cursed inwardly upon realising that they were already ten minutes late. The professors did not take to tardiness kindly, regardless of whether it was your fault. Casting a quick cleaning charm on herself and straightening her uniform, she entered classroom 6-B, to see that none of the class was present yet.

"Drop and give me twenty!" the professor barked, and Ira, resisting the urge to sigh, obeyed, falling to the ground and completing twenty pushups. As the rest of the class filled in, they too were made to complete their twenty pushups, until thirty minutes after the class was meant to start, they finally had the full cohort.

"Now that you are all here, we can begin," the professor sighed. "Today we will be covering an overarching grand military strategy. Open your books to page three hundred and seventeen. Now, who can tell me about the Second Battle of Kursk?"

Ira raised her hand. "Ivarin!"

"It was fundamentally an attempt to drive a wedge between the German Northern and Southern armies. To achieve this, pincer movements achieved through deep battle doctrine, in which a high concentration of troops punctured a small area of the front, was employed to great effect, allowing for the near elimination of Army Group Centre. This allowed for the advance of the baltic front and the encirclement of Army Group North, effectively neutering any hopes of a German stalemate or counteroffensive."

"An apt summary," the professor allowed. "Today, we will be studying the principle of deep battle doctrine and defense in depth. The former originated from German stormtroopers, deployed in 1918 during the Ludendorff offensive. Had they not been supply constrained, it is likely the offensive might have achieved its intended goals of encirclement. The latter developed in response to trench warfare, where prior the tradition was a single layered hard defense. Who can tell me about this? Stubbs?"

"It is principled on soft and multiple layers of defense, conceding ground and slowly grinding down the enemy by blunting their momentum until a counteroffensive can be launched. The Germans used this to great effect, creating a stalemate for much of the war until the creeping barrage and the advent of such technologies as tanks."

"Indeed, armoured warfare very much plays the role of cavalry of old: unable to hold ground on their own and not meant to engage in attrition, these units are highly mobile and meant to launch fast and hard attacks before being relieved by traditional units. Who can tell me the distinction between motorised and mechanised units? Lebedev?"

"Mechanised units are equipped with motorised transports designed to operate in combat situations, providing fire support and protection for its soldiers, while motorised units are merely equipped with civilian motor transports not designed for front line combat use," the girl answered easily. The professor gave a pleased nod.

"Good, it seems maybe I have crammed something in those thick skulls of yours. Now, let us look at the concept of pincers…"

-Break-

"Alana!" a voice called out, causing the soon to be seventh year girl to sigh. "Dinner's ready!"

"I'll be there in a minute," she shouted back, quickly returning to her work. Just three more runes, and she will be finished with this branch! Slowly carving them out, she barely paid any attention when the door opened, lost to the world. When she finally finished, she let out a sigh of relief, her trembling hand putting down the ritual knife to the side. Still, her excitement far outran any exhaustion she felt as she tapped her wand on the runic sequence, and instantly felt a vacuum around her, as though there was a strange emptiness.

"Alana," a soft voice called again, this time more insistent, causing her to turn to see her father looking at her sternly. Giving a sheepish wave, she felt slight relief when his lips curled upwards. "Dinner is ready, your project can wait for thirty minutes. It's the holidays, and it's like I've barely seen you!"

"Fine, fine," she conceded, following Lord Croft as they wandered through the corridors of the manor, arriving at the dining room where her mother, Lady Croft, was already waiting patiently while happily chatting with her two younger sisters.

"Ah, Alana, so good of you to join us," the woman chuckled. "Look at you, your skin is so pale, all day you're just holed up in the room doing merlin knows what."

"I'm working on stuff for a friend," Alana explained as she forked a helping of steak onto her plate. "It's very fascinating stuff you know."

"For a friend, or a friend?" Lady Croft asked knowingly, causing Alana to scrunch up her face.

"Please, he's way out of my league, even if I wanted to, which I don't," Alana chuckled, drawing raised eyebrows from her parents and confused looks from her two younger sisters.

"A boy out of the league of my daughter? Now I'm intrigued," Lord Croft chuckled. Lady Croft shot him a withering look. "Don't tell me you aren't interested, Lara."

"You could have more tact," the woman chided, before softening her gaze as she turned to Alana. "Well?"

"Harry White," she answered simply, causing her father to choke on his drink and her mother to drop her fork in surprise.

"That boy? The very same person who sat in a board meeting and blackmailed us all into compliance by threatening to paint the walls of Durmstrang with blood?" Lord Croft asked incredulously. Alana merely nodded. "I forbid you from associating with such miscreants like that!"

"Fritz!" Lady Croft reprimanded.

"No, Lara, this is serious. The boy is dangerous, I won't have any of my family associating with people like him!"

"Then we have nothing more to say to each other," Alana huffed, slamming her utensils on the table and standing up.

"Sit down!" Lord Croft roared. Alana merely snorted, drawing incredulous, almost awed looks from the rest of the family.

"No, Lord Croft. I'm done here," she spat, turning on her heel and storming out of the room. She heard footsteps hurriedly follow behind her, but paid little attention, navigating through the winding corridors until she was back in her room, slamming the door behind her and throwing herself onto her bed, tears forming on her eyes.

There was a soft knock on her door, followed by the sight of her mother peeking in, a worried visage on her face. Seeing her distress, she quickly entered, closing and locking the door behind her before walking over to the bed, sitting on its side.

"Alana…"

"Are you going to give me an ultimatum as well?" Alana snarled, her head still turned towards the wall and missing the pained look that crossed her mother's face.

"No, Alana, I just want to understand," she whispered softly. "Tell me about Harry."

"He's smart, almost annoyingly so. Not in the traditional way, well, he still is, but his forte is definitely connecting points no one else can see. He managed to develop a translation rune...he...he's really something else, Harry will change the world, I know it...and...I want to be a part of it!"

"Harry White, the boy who managed to break armithicacy, right?" Lady Croft mused. "He's definitely a prodigy...but why him? He might be bright...but...there's something more, isn't there?"

"Yes, he's just...so inspiring," Alana breathed out, tethering on fanaticism. "Harry...he makes you believe the impossible to be possible...he makes you dare to dream...with him...I feel invincible...like the world is at my fingertips!"

"I see," Lady Croft acknowledged uneasily, "and you are his...friend?"

"For now," Alana nodded bitterly, greatly concerning the matron of the Croft family, "but I need to defend my place. So many others hunger for my place in his circle...I'm talented...but it's not enough. Literally a dozen of the graduating class are entering the muggle world because he asked them to, even Ira Ivarin is at his beck and call."

"That's...very surprising. You...don't think he is using you?"

"I'm not getting pumped and dumped, mum. If anything, I'm using him, with all the inspiration and lessons he's been giving me," Alana sighed, slightly dreamily. "I...I can't disappoint him, not when he's counting on me."

"Alana...I...I am your mother, and I'll always support you...but I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do, mum," she promised, hugging the older woman. Both had tears in their eyes. "I need to do this."

"I'll talk to Fritz...just...give me time."

"Don't make me choose, mum. It will kill me to do so, but I will choose to follow Harry."

-Break-

Albert sighed as he filed away the last pieces of paperwork for the day. Quickly changing into his formal dress robes, midnight black with a silver lining, he left his office building and walked the block it took to arrive at the Gallerina, a large Byzantine styled structure in the heart of Istanbul.

Entering the building, he waved off the drink tray offered by an attendant, passing several marble statues and fountains before he made it it to the atrium, where hundreds of VIPs mingled amongst each other, indulging in the finest wines as they laughed away the night.

Forcing a polite smile to his face, Albert greeted several prominent business partners, old men walking around with women a third their age. Moving his way around the room, he found himself approached by Junipter Nightshade, perhaps one of the most infamous bankers of Western Europe.

"Ah, mister Warcraft!" the man greeted with a predatory smirk, extending his hand outward. Albert accepted it, giving a firm handshake.

"Lord Nightshade, a pleasure to meet you. Your reputation precedes you," Albert inclined his head in respect. The older man merely observed this gesture speculatively.

"As does yours, mister Warcraft. I've heard several of my colleagues say they've inked new deals with you," the man observed shrewdly.

"Indeed, smaller funds that required particular areas of expertise," Albert deflected with practiced ease. "A new client wanted things done very particularly, and I found myself in no position to deny, despite my recommendations to approach you for services."

"Oh. And who might this client be?" Nightshade asked lightly.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss," Albert replied calmly.

"Surely between old fri-"

"Albert! There you are!" Megan approached the two, wrapping Albert in a hug and placing a kiss on his cheek. "I've been looking for you all over!"

"Megan," he greeted, a relieved smile on his lips, "meet Lord Nightshade. Lord Nightshade, my companion Megan."

"Charmed," the older man replied with a thin smile.

"Likewise," Megan replied warmly, placing a possessive hand over Albert. "If you would excuse us?"

"Of course."

Albert took Megan's hands in his own as the two walked away. She shot him a wry smirk. "You're lucky I was nearby."

"Thanks Megan," he grinned in return. "You've taken to this rather well."

"What can I say, it's in my blood," Megan shrugged daintily. "Now come, there are several old coots with resources and information that might prove valuable. I'll make the introductions."

"Lead the way," Albert encouraged.

-Break-

"Right, Wells, Stoks, cover us. Everyone else, with me," Enoch commanded. The squad nodded as they strode towards the seedy bar. With a flick of his wand, the windows were blown open, and the four guardians leapt inside, wands raised as most of the patrons ducked for cover or froze in shock.

"Guardians! Wands down hands up!" Enoch barked, firing a cutting curse that grazed a woman's arm that itched for her wand. Rapidly, she abandoned that course of action, raising her hands in surrender.

Scanning the area, he smirked at the sight of two cowering woman. Approaching them, he announced, "Miss Evelyn, Miss Luxe, you are both charged with two counts of murder and three counts of fraud. You have the right to remain silent, anything and everything you say can and will be used in the court of law."

"This is an outrage! I demand to speak with my lawyer!" the woman with flaming red hair barked, glaring at him. Beside, the woman with green hair merely looked downcast. Enoch didn't let up, his wand tip glowing red. "Flint! Raz! Cuff the two."

The two guardians hastened to obey, taking the two women's wands and restraining them before frogmarching them out of the bar. The aurors marched to the nearest floopoint and returned to their station, where the chief guardian was waiting.

At the sight of the two women, he let out a belly laugh. "Ah, so we finally caught them. Well done, squad, I'll see you all promoted for this!"

Enoch merely smirked, thanking Raven for the tip in his mind. At this rate, he would soon be the chief guardian, and what a meteoric rise that would be.

-Break-

Harry crept inside the Werewolf facility, observing as the individuals caged inside were all lying down, spasming and in the midst of transformation. Taking his wand out, he made a sweeping gesture, causing the silver bars to temporarily transfigure into wood.

As a patrolling guard walked by, the moonlight passed through a window, lighting up the hall and causing the woman to look up in alarm. But it was too late, as several werewolves had transformed, and pounced at her, claws out and jaws open. She let out a scream, trying to make a run for it, but the werewolf's agility far surpassed a human's, and she was quickly beset upon by the wolves, who bit into her, before sniffing the air, letting out a howl and speeding out of the corridor.

As he heard more screams, Harry discreetly left the facility and disapparated, his work done.

Author Note:

Second chapter of the summer holidays, and we see Harry's circle hard at work. What do you think? One more summer chapter to seal the deal, or straight back to Durmstrang next? Leave your thoughts in the comments! As always, if you enjoyed, be sure to follow, favourite and share with others. Until next time, toodles!