Chapter 12: A Fool's Hope
The discovery that Voldemort was immortal sent the quartet into overdrive. Harry made it extremely clear that the acquisition and destruction of Voldemort's horcruxes was priority one. Also, anything pertaining to Horcruxes in general was also high on the priority list. Harry had read out the passage to them, so they understood what they were up against and what avenues to pursue for more information like Herpo the Foul and magically significant objects.
This was two and a half weeks ago now. Those of Hogwarts age were all sitting in compartments and halfway through their trip to the castle. It was Harry's responsibility to inform the Greengrass family of the horcruxes. The debate that ensued when Harry brought that up was fierce with surprisingly Tonk's being the one to back him up.
"The alliance is still early, we have no idea if we can trust them" Remus had argued.
"They were the first to declare for Harry besides family, if we cannot trust them then who can we trust? We will need their resources to find these damned things anyway." Tonks had said with finality. Despite her reasoning, the argument had come up nearly every day until Harry had enough of it.
It was a few days into the new year when it happened. Sirius and Remus were bickering about the merits of telling the Greengrass family whilst Tonks and Harry were researching magically significant objects when Harry became fed up with it.
"Alright that's it!" He shouted. "You're all bickering about a decision that frankly isn't yours"
"But Harry-"tried Sirius
"No, you all said that you'd follow me, correct?" At their nods they continued. "That means, whilst I really appreciate your council, the decision is mine at the end of the day. I have decided to bring them in the loop to a certain extent because I do not believe us four will be able to complete this task. Especially if you spend half your time arguing about a decision that has already been made. Now if you do not believe my decision-making skills to be sound then I suggest you either suck it up or leave because frankly the task at hand is too important for every single call I make to be second guessed."
It shut them up thankfully, but it did create an awkward atmosphere for a short while afterwards. They got over it before the term commenced and they all said their goodbyes in good spirits which Harry was grateful for. Now he was sitting in a compartment with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom as they talked about their Christmas.' Luna has just detailed her and her father's exhaustive efforts to prove a creature's existence only to find out that it was hiding for its own survival as it was extremely endangered. Apparently, they set up a warded area in the forest near their house to house these animals until they could be reintroduced to the world. A lot more wholesome than his Christmas, that's for sure.
"So, Neville mate, what did you get up to?" Harry asked
"Well, I visited my parents in Mungo's like every year. My mum gave me this wrapper" he said with a wide smile. The joy in his eyes was unparalleled by anything Harry had ever seen and it made him feel a small measure of it. Neville had confided in him the grim fate that befell his parents at the hands of the Lestrange's and Barty Crouch Jr and it had filled Harry with such an unbridled rage that he had to go blow some things up for an hour in the Chamber. The fact that Neville could feel slightly like a normal kid for even a moment was a mere fraction of what he deserved but it was impossible not to share in his happiness.
'Those Lestrange bastards are just sitting in Azkaban waiting for their master to break them out and when he does, the after effects of dementors are going to be the least of their problems.' He thought grimly. The dark musings of his mind were interrupted when Harry noticed the tell-tale sign of a disillusionment charm outside their compartment door again.
"Excuse me guys, I need to use the bathroom." Harry excused himself.
As he was getting up Luna airily asked, "when did you get a snake?"
'A snake? What the bloody hell is - oh so it's Daphne out there. I doubt she'd like being called my snake so I'm going to keep that to myself.' He thought before saying quickly "Okay I've got no idea how you do that, but you and I are going to have a chat later Luna."
He stepped out of the compartment and followed disillusioned Daphne into a male toilet where she dropped the charm. She looked like she had when he caught her on the train at the start of the year but this time, she was wearing a black coat instead of the leather jacket.
'Probably cause it's bloody cold out, more than usual.' He figured.
"Not very ethical this eh? Or hygienic." Harry said, referring to the fact that they were using one of the few toilets on the train.
"Shut up, I have information that couldn't wait for sensibilities and a clandestine rendezvous. The Dark Lord, he's making a play for Azkaban, tomorrow." She said slightly frustrated at his light-hearted nature. However, that quickly dissipated for a tempered focus, adversity is where he excels after all.
"Where'd you get this information from?" He asked. He had his suspicions of course but it would help to know for sure.
"Who else do you think would be dumb enough to tell me? Draco Malfoy."
"Hi Daph, how was Yule?" Tracey asked. Tracey Davis was her best friend or as close to that as she allowed. She had short brown hair and a round face, her nose was slightly above average in size and it led to some bullying from Pansy in their younger years. Daphne put an end to it with some particularly malicious avenging involving locking charms and laxatives. From that point on Tracey was one of the few Daphne let into her life. Tracey provided a measure of entertainment that Daphne appreciated in her downtime and she was a repository of information regarding the student body.
"It was uneventful as usual. We hosted a party for our extended family and I was regaled with their tales of being bored on their various chateaus and gaining weight doing nothing but lounging in their manors. They are a mind-numbing lot." Daphne said. She didn't often complain but, gods they were pathetic. If she could, she'd never associate with them again. "What did you do over break?"
"Not much, ma and I stayed in and drank cocoa and played board games pretty much all night. It was nice and chill." She said with a fond smile. Tracey was a half-blood who lived with her muggle mother, the little time they shared together was often noticeably appreciated by Tracy who sometimes felt like they were drifting away due to their different lifestyles.
Just as Daphne was about to respond she heard their compartment door open which revealed the blonde ponce himself, Draco Malfoy. He walked in and took a seat without asking permission, thankfully his two goons weren't around as they would have taken up the whole compartment.
"Greengrass, Davis"
"Malfoy"
"Good holidays I take it?"
"Well enough, yours? Daphne replied
"Enriching" was the sullen response.
"What's got you in a slump Malfoy? Isn't it time for your traditional 'annoy Potter on his way to school' visit?" Tracey teased.
"No thanks, I'm not really interested in that anymore. Besides, he's going to be more annoyed tomorrow" he said with a forced smile.
"Why?" Daphne queried
"Because he's going to have more mass murderers after his head besides Black" Draco said with a bitter laugh.
"What do you mean? Is someone trying to kill him?" Tracey asked, confused.
'More murderers? What the hell does that mean… Oh Merlin.' Daphne thought, connecting the dots. 'Why is he saying anything? This could get him killed in horrifically painful ways. Either way, Potter must know now."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Draco said in a panicked tone before standing up stiffly and exiting the compartment.
"Trace, I need to use the bathroom. I'll be back soon." Daphne said distractedly. Millions of thoughts racing through her head. The most prominent being 'find Potter' considering he was basically their elected commander now. Stepping out of the compartment and applying a disillusionment charm she took off towards where she found him last time.
"That was weird" Tracey said to an empty compartment before digging into a chocolate frog from the trolley.
"That's uncharacteristically helpful for the Ferret. Now, what to do moving forward? We don't have the numbers, experience or power to do anything ourselves, that much is obvious. So who to warn…. The ministry or Dumbledore?" Harry pondered out loud, inviting Daphne to speak. It was time to see if her father's words were true about her value as an advisor.
"The choice is obvious, is it not? Dumbledore is the only option. The benefits are three pronged. Dumbledore has the power to mount a defence on the island, with this we can also gauge how proactive his side will be in the coming conflict as well as keep a rapport going between the two of you. The longer he considers you a follower and not a leader, the longer we can move unseen." She finished
'Interesting. She's right of course, the decision is obvious but her reasoning is impressive' he thought.
"I agree, the ministry doesn't even believe he's back, so it'd be hard to convince them of an attack in the first place. Dumbledore at least trusts me enough to check my story and hopefully do something about it if it's true." Harry replied
"If he remains inactive then my family can be sure that they made the right decision. Just tell him that you overheard it or something on the way to the castle and you felt the need to let him know" Daphne advised. It was a weak excuse and they both knew it but if Dumbledore gives half as many shits as he says he does then he'll at least prepare something.
"Alright I'll go to him tonight, I think I know how to get his attention during the feast, but I'll need to talk to a pair of troublemakers first."
"Good, what's the plan for getting rid of Umbridge?"
"I was actually hoping we could brainstorm some ideas sometime soon?"
"Sure, come to the seventh floor tomorrow morning at six. Wait around the left corridor opposite the-
"The tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy?" Harry interrupted smugly.
Shocked but not electing to show it Daphne just replied "yes. That's the one" before applying her disillusionment charm and leaving the bathroom. Harry turned to the mirror and ran his hands down his face.
'Fucking Azkaban. If he frees his most fanatical followers it's going to make things a lot more complicated for us. Right now he's not too effective but with his top death eaters back then he's going to be able to strike multiple targets simultaneously with ease. I hope Dumbledore is up to the task because right now we can't do anything about it.' he thought as he exited the bathroom. The second he opened the door however he nearly collided with leak himself, Draco Malfoy. The boy had large bags under his eyes and was slouching where his usual holier-than-thou posture was expected.
"Potter"
"Malfoy"
"Good holiday?"
"Well enough, yours?"
"Brilliant"
"Good for you"
Harry stepped past him slowly, both of them eyeing each other suspiciously as the switched places. Their stare was only cut off when Malfoy slammed the toilet door in his face.
'That was so bloody weird. He looked like absolute shite but hey, maybe it's his turn to have a shitty life. Well shittier than being a Malfoy already is I suppose. Whatever, time to find Fred and George, I'm in need of a bit of chaos'
The Great Hall was full to the brim with students catching up with their mates and enjoying the lavish, elf made meals sprawled across the tables. The teachers at the head table looked on in the hall to see such joy before it would be quashed by Umbridge's crusade. Many of the students at their tables were focused on trivial matters such as the Cannons' poor performance over the break or how their study planners weren't effective enough and needed to be revised a twelfth time.
Harry was not focused on trivial matters. He was about to attempt the most blatant use of his power in front of hundreds of people. Thankfully, his business partners were able to figure something out to create a diversion at his command. In an odd twist of events, the DA had started seeing him as their 'boss' in efforts to oppose Umbridge and came to him with ideas for his sign off. Already the twins, Colin Creevy and Padma Patil had proposed ways to undermine Umbridge's iron fist rule.
Harry's mission was more important though. He needed to get Dumbledore's attention and give him instructions so that he could warn him of the Azkaban threat. Finding the twins down the table he noticed one of them giving him an expectant look.
'Now is as good a time as any' he thought. With a nod the twins discreetly pulled out their wands and whispered an imperceptible incantation. Almost instantly the Great Hall's fake weather system turned real and caused heavy rainfall to occur. Those smart enough to cast shields were saved from being drenched but the most important factor was the chaos of the student body, none were looking at the head table as they scrambled to get under the table or communicate with their friends as their voices were drowned out by the sound of rain on stone.
Concentrating on the space behind Dumbledore's chair Harry whispered 'proiectura' and saw a version of himself materialise behind Dumbledore. With great effort he poured more magic into the decoy to activate its fake vocal cords and spoke to Dumbledore.
"This is Harry. I have time sensitive information that needs to be delivered tonight. At nine o'clock send Fawkes to the second-floor bathroom, you know which one, and command him to teleport us to your office. This is not a prank, lives are at stake"
Dumbledore met his eyes as Harry dispelled the illusion behind the chair, the old wizard looked troubled but gave him a quick nod before standing to regain control of the hall.
'The meeting is set, now to convince him of the truth. I hope what everyone has been saying about you is exaggerated Dumbledore because you're the only one who can stop him right now.' Harry thought, casting a shield charm on himself.
A flash of flame landed Harry in the familiar office of the headmaster. The fact that it was so familiar to him made the comments about being Dumbledore's favourite make a little sense. But to be fair there haven't been many times he's voluntarily entered the office, it's mostly a necessity.
"Harry, I must say, I'm not accustomed to taking orders. Much less from someone nearly a century younger than myself." Dumbledore said with a slight edge to his voice. "However, that was an excellent display of illusionary magic, you have progressed quite far my boy."
'So you do have a spine, let's see it in action'
"I have dire news concerning Azkaban. Voldemort is poised to make an attack tomorrow night, if successful then he will free many, if not all, of his most dangerous followers." Harry explained quickly. The headmaster sighed and looked down at his desk before raising his eyes to Harry with a defeated look in his eyes.
'No fucking way'
"I know."
Harry knew it was coming but he still couldn't contain his shock. He hadn't sat down yet but at those two words he collapsed in one of the guest chairs in front of the desk. All of his work and it was for nothing, the irony in his life was becoming less amusing with each adversity.
"You know?"
"Yes Harry, Severus informed me two days ago that Voldemort would be making an attempt at an assault on the prison tomorrow night at seven. He, with several of his comrades, will approach the island on broom and when they're close enough Voldemort will dismantle the wards on the max security wing. Once this is done they will blow a gaping hole in the prison and start handing out one way portkeys that will transport them to their current headquarters which remains unknown." Dumbledore explained.
"Great. That's amazing intel, what's the defence plan?" Harry asked, glad that Dumbledore pulled through when it counted. At the revelation of all the information Harry had jumped to his feet and started thinking about ways to counter Voldemort's plan.
'We could station order members in the prison and subdue Death Eaters as they come in looking for their imprisoned buddies. Have flyers on standby to entrap anyone escaping the trick inside.'
"There isn't one. Should we enact any sort of defence plan then Voldemort will know someone betrayed him. Severus would be discovered and killed horrifically and we'd still have Voldemort to worry about with no spy on the inside"
At Dumbledore's proclamation Harry stopped and turned to him, a stare mixed with shock, confusion and rage directed at Dumbledore.
'A fool's hope it was then, Dumbledore has all the resources to enact a perfect counter to Voldemort's plan but he'd rather sit on his arse and worry about his pet death eater. Daphne knew, even though he was the only option, she knew he wouldn't do anything.'
Masking his anger and tempering his rage, Harry turned from Dumbledore and walked towards the door.
"I'm sorry for the theatrics Professor, it seems like you have it all in hand. Should you wish to punish those responsible then I'll happily take on their punishment as penance. Good night." Before Dumbledore could respond Harry left the office heading for the Room of Requirement.
'Your final mistake Headmaster, I've seen the man behind your titles and grandfatherly smile and I have found him lacking. I will win this war without your help and from the looks of it I'll be better off without it anyway. Fucking Slytherins and their propensity for being right.'