Fenrir Greyback paced in front of his followers. He had gathered over a dozen werewolves to his side, all of whom were angry and bitter towards humans—both muggle and wizardkind. They had sided with Lord Voldemort because he had promised them free rein to feast and free rein to kill.

"We hit Thornton-le-Dale," Fenrir said. "As soon as we turn, we strike. Kill everybody we see. The Dark Lord wants blood. We will give him blood. The Dark Lord wants muggles lying dead in the street. We will deliver muggles lying dead in the street! We will prove to the Dark Lord that we can be counted on!"

The werewolves cheered, some more enthusiastically than others. Fenrir made a mental note to keep a close eye on the more reluctant members of his pack.

"Thornton-le-Dale is a small village, we strike from all sides. Kill everything we can."

"What about the Aurors?" one Werewolf, a man in his 60s growled. Fenrir knew him by reputation—Pierre Sauvage. He was a born killer.

"The Dark Lord is planning a diversion," said Greyback. "He has given Dumbledore information that he plans to strike Saint Mungo's. That will keep the Order out of the way. He will also carry out a diversion raid on Hogsmeade to distract the Aurors. Then, we will strike while they are distracted. Don't worry."

The werewolves laughed.

Albus Dumbledore

The news that Dumbledore had received from Severus Snape about the upcoming werewolf attack was disturbing. It was a smart move by Lord Voldemort. A werewolf attack, even on a muggle village, would strike fear through the wizarding world. Dumbledore had wondered when his rival would utilize his shock troopers.

Now, how to counter. He had the same old problem, how to counter Lord Voldemort's actions while not giving away that he had a spy within Lord Voldemort's ranks. It was a tricky situation. He did not want to see innocent people murdered, not if there was a way to prevent it. But, his plans all hinged on Severus Snape being close to Lord Voldemort. Plan B was for Severus to murder the dark wizard. He could only manage that if Lord Voldemort trusted him.

"You know where the werewolves are hiding?" Dumbledore said.

"I do," said Severus. "Fenrir ... contacted me. He knows I am one of them. He wanted me to join the attack."

Dumbledore ran through the ideas he had in mind. He could have Severus Snape use the imperius curse on Greyback, but that would compromise him. He could strike first, apprehending the werewolves before they made their move, but again, that could compromise Snape.

"The Order will, of course, have to guard Saint Mungo's. Lord Voldemort must believe we fell for his ruse ..." he mused. He took a deep breath, finally coming to a decision. "We need to get in touch with Minister Lockhart," he said.

"Him?" Snape said, in disgust.

"Believe me, Severus, I wish there was another way, but there isn't. We need to tip Lockhart off ..."

"He can't be trusted," Snape said, flatly.

"No, he can't," Dumbledore admitted. "But Gilderoy's biggest weakness is his ego. He would love the world to think he is clever enough to have a spy within Lord Voldemort's inner circle. We will instruct Gilderoy Lockhart to tell the world his spy tipped him off about the attack personally. Gilderoy will tell the world he got the information from his spy, and your own disguise remains attacked."

"All while Lockhart takes credit," Snape said in disgust.

"It will also serve the purpose of making Lord Voldemort doubt his followers. If we can make him suspect Yaxley of being a double agent ..."

Gilderoy Lockhart

Lockhart was fit to burst with excitement at the news he had just received. Albus Dumbledore had just contacted him via the floo network with some information about an upcoming werewolf attack, AND, had asked for his help! Lockhart was only too glad to help. It only made sense that Dumbledore would start to turn to Lockhart in times of need. He had proven himself to be an extremely capable wizard by now, hadn't he? He knew Dumbledore had always been a little suspicious of him, but now Hogwarts' headmaster had requested his help for a second time.

"You called, Minister?" Kingsley Shacklebolt said as he entered. He looked tired, and really, Gilderoy was understanding. The Aurors and the rest of the Ministry were working hard.

"My agent within You-Know-Who's forces has just tipped me off with some very valuable information," Gilderoy said. Albus Dumbledore had told him what to say, and Lockhart was only to glad to claim credit for spying. It made him look very clever to have an agent within Voldemort's inner circle.

"You have an agent among the Death Eaters?" Shacklebolt asked, stunned.

Lockhart felt very pleased at the effect this news had had on the Head Auror. "Of course, I have eyes and ears everywhere," Lockhart bragged.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Shacklebolt look irritated.

"Need to know basis," Lockhart winked. "I'm sure you understand. Anyway, I'm telling you now, aren't I? I have an agent in You-Know-Who's inner circle. He's tipped me off about an upcoming werewolf attack.

Shacklebolt listened intently as Lockhart told him all of the information.

"It would be better to strike now," he said, once Lockhart had finished. "Before the full moon. A transformed werewolf is much more dangerous."

"My thoughts exactly!" said Lockhart. "Why, I was going to order you to do that very thing. Strike now and we can avoid senseless bloodshed! Why, I remember my duels with werewolves—as you say, much more dangerous when transformed. Although, they are nothing wizards like you and I can't handle, eh, Shacklebolt?" Lockhart winked.

"I'll assemble a strike force," Shacklebolt said. "Though I will need to drag Aurors from other duties."

"Numbers still an issue?" Lockhart asked.

"Of course," Shacklebolt said. "We were few in number anyway, and Madame Bones had us stretched thin with guard duties."

"We can't really leave Hosgmeade and Diagon Alley undefended, can we?" Lockhart asked.

"No, Minister," Kingsley admitted. "I can see why we are stationed there. We're the best there is. It just makes operations like this tough."

"I ..." Lockhart began and then beamed, suddenly. He had just had an idea—a great idea. One that would solve the issues of the Aurors low numbers immediately.

"What, Minister?" Shacklebolt asked.

"Nothing, yet, Kingsley—just an idea that's all. You go and assemble a strike force to hit the werewolves. I'll get in touch with Dolores about containing them, and leave the issue of the Aurors numbers to me. I have a plan. Trust me, Kingsley. Trust me."

The Raid

The Aurors hit fast and hard. Severus Snape had told them the position of Fenrir Greyback's pack. They were holed up in a farm on the outskirts of Thornton-le-Dale, waiting for tomorrow's full moon. Shacklebolt had ordered the raid at dawn—a textbook time to strike.

With other a dozen werewolves, this had been a big operation to organise. As far as he knew, none of the werewolves lacked formal training in defence, but any wizard with a wand was dangerous, so he wanted numbers on his side. It was a shame that the Aurors were few in number.

He led the operation with John Dawlish as his deputy. Other Aurors in attendance were Savage, Proudfoot, Tonks, Flint and Belby. Shacklebolt didn't like Lockhart much, but he had to admit, his idea to bolster the Aurors forces for operations with members of the Dark Force Defence League had been sound. The DFDL was mainly composed of ex-Aurors and ex-hit wizards, so, although old, they were capable.

Shacklebolt had directed the DFDL to cover the perimeter and get any runners while his Aurors apparated into the farm itself. He had also requested a number of Hit Wizards to assist. The Hit Wizards were a step below the Aurors, but still very capable.

With the Aurors, DFDL and Hit Wizards he had higher numbers than the target—just the way Shacklebolt liked it. He also had some of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol on stand by.

The Aurors apparated into the farm grounds and fired smoke spells into the farm's windows. It was a simple operation, as the werewolves rushed out of the house, coughing and spluttering, the Aurors struck them down with stunners. Very few of them were combatants—at least, very few of them had training in combat even the equivalent if the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol.

The exception had been a French werewolf named Pierre Sauvage, he had disarmed Proudfoot and had been about to finish him off when John Dawlish hit him with a stunner. Unfortunately, the priority target, Fenrir Greyback had managed to escape. He, it turned out, had been scouting the nearby village when the raid took place.

Still, 13 werewolves had been apprehended on suspicion of planning an attack against muggles. It was a good night's work. Shacklebolt was proud of his team.

The Burrow

"I think it's going to be fascinating," Hermione said, once Dudley had told his group of friends about his extra lessons next year. "I wish I could attend."

"I'll tell you everything," Dudley said.

Hermione beamed at him.

"I still reckon spells would be more useful," Ron argued. "If You-Know-Who is gonna come after Dud, it's going to be spells that see him off-not Dudley telling him he knows what OWLS he got or who his favorite teacher was."

"Knowing how your enemy thinks makes sense," said Hermione. "Like Dumbledore said, nobody is going to beat You-Know-Who in a duel."

"It will be good to know how his mind works," said Dean. "If we understand how he works, we can figure out what he's planning."

"Unlucky though that you're going to spend more time with Snape," Ron said with a grin.

"I'm sure he'll come to like me," Dudley said.

Luna looked thoughtful. "So, Dumbledore picked Severus Snape because he knows You-Know-Who best," she said. "He was a Death Eater, so he knows how they work."

Dudley decided it was time to make an announcement, something he had been thinking of for a few weeks. "I think when I leave Hogwarts, I'm going to be an Auror," he said.

He was expecting his friends to be shocked or even make a cutting remark, but to his surprise, they all nodded. "Me too," said Dean. "Ever since Neville ... I've wanted to fight back."

"I don't think the war will go that long," Hermione said. "With Minister Lockhart and Dumbledore, I'm sure they'll be able to stop him."

"Lockhart?" Ron said, sarcastically.

"He's doing well, so far," Dudley said, defending his friend. "He's made a bunch of arrests-and Dumbledore is working on his own plan too."

"I suppose," Ron said, grudgingly.

"But, even so," Dudley continued. "I want to be an Auror to fight in the next war. I mean, Voldemort isn't going to be the last dark wizard, is he? There's gonna be another just like him. I want to fight against them."

"It would be cool," Ron admitted.

"I think we should make a pact," said Dean. "We all become Aurors after we graduate."

"I don't think I want to be an Auror," Hermione said. "I quite like the idea of joining the Ministry, I think I could do a lot of good there."

"How about you, Ginny, Luna?" asked Ron.

"I haven't thought about," said Ginny. "I could do it ... but there's years yet until I graduate."

"I'd quite like to work with magical creatures," said Luna. "If I could discover a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Besides, I wouldn't become an Auror if I were you. The Ministry adds mind-control drugs to their rations."

"Come off it!" Ron said, indignantly.

"Just us three then," said Dudley, stopping the argument as he saw Luna had been about to reply. "Us three make a promise now to join the Aurors together." he drew out his wand.

Dean furrowed his brow. "What's that for, Dud? Gonna hex us?"

"No, I thought we could kinda touch wands to seal it," Dudley said, blushing..

Ron smirked. "Well, I'm in." he pulled out his own wand. Dean did likewise and they all pressed the tips together.

"Let's become Aurors," said Dean.

Voldemort

Lord Voldemort stared at the sniveling brute kneeling before him. "You failed!" he said, raising his wand to deliver another crucio curse to Fenrir Greyback. He should have known better than to put his faith in werewolves. Idiotic, brainless creatures. They couldn't be trusted.

"It wasn't my fault!" Greyback pleaded. "The Aurors knew we were there, somehow. We covered our tracks ..."

"Then you had a spy in your pack," Voldemort said.

"No!" spat Greyback. "None of my followers would do that."

Voldemort stared at the brute and gave a small nod of his head. He actually believed Greyback. It was counterintuitive for a werewolf to betray the pack to the Ministry. Which could only mean, the Ministry had a spy within his own ranks.

"Go," said Voldemort, pointing at his door. Bowing and sniveling, Greyback backed away to the door and then turned to flee.

Voldemort stood up and stretched. So, the Minister had a spy within his Death Eaters. The question was, who? He thought about who might have contact with the Minister for Magic. Corban Yaxley was an obvious choice-he worked for the Ministry, could he have turned coat? Then there was Julian Avery II-he had worked for Lockhart, and it had been Lockhart who had had the man, the son of one of his loyal Death Eaters, arrested. Could that have been a ruse, Voldemort pondered? A way to insert a spy into his ranks. If so, then Lockhart was more cunning than anyone realized and was proving to be quite the adversary.

"Lucius!" Voldemort called. The door opened and Lucius Malfoy, his personal assistant entered, bowing as he did so. "My lord?" he said.

"Bring me Julian Avery II, I wish to talk to him ..." Voldemort said in a dangerous voice. He would get the truth out of Avery II, and if he was a traitor, the man would regret it.