Chapter Twenty Eight: Perspective
April 19th
7:19pm
Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire
Voldemort
The high ceilings of Malfoy Manor were a welcome change to the harsh mountain range of the Austrian Alps. Scouting the famed Nurmengard for weeks had made Lord Voldemort accustomed to the treacherous terrain and magical traps laid out for any nosy visitors. They were not the traps of the ICW though, the depths of depravity imagined in these traps could only be designed by a person of a similar disposition.
When Grindelwald was defeated in nineteen forty five, the ICW in a display of humiliation moved to imprison Grindelwald in his own castle. The large diplomatic party sent to oversee the task left with much fewer numbers because of what was known as Grindelwald's last atrocity. Men and Women from twelve major wizarding communities met their end to dark creatures, horrifying wards and devices designed to end the lives of intruders as violently as possible.
In the end the majority of the castle was left untouched, a small route to the cells was cleared and is armed with ICW peacekeepers day and night. Forty of their highest trained operators stood guard for one man in one cell. Anyone born in the last couple of decades would argue that it was an over-assignment of force but the rest of the world knew the persisting danger that Grindelwald remained to be.
And so Voldemort had taken great care in finding out how to enter the prison, unwilling to give up one of his failsafes in pursuit of someone who might have possessed the elder wand. In consideration of who could've had the mythical weapon he almost immediately theorised Grindelwald. Whilst it was true that someone without the wand could accomplish great power, the upheaval of the entirety of Europe was reserved for the singularly gifted… or someone with legendary help. No matter, soon he would know the truth, nothing stayed hidden from Lord Voldemort forever.
The large hall entrance doors parted at his will and he strode towards his throne. His followers bowed deeply as he walked past them, most of them not daring to raise their eyes until he took a seat. The assembled men and women were the last of his senior members, the rest rotting in azkaban or the ground. Having been meticulously scouting the old fortress for weeks, he required several updates on the operations of his servants.
"Lukas," Voldemort addressed, with no patience for pleasantries, "were you successful in bringing the vampires of the Derwing Clan into the fold?"
The large Scandinavian man stopped forward from the crowd of supporters and spoke in a rough voice, "the vampires did not receive the rat well. Many of my men were killed in an ambush set by the ministry and the retaliation of the night creatures."
The declaration would've usually angered the powerful lord but before he could voice his displeasure an angry growl rose for the back of the room and people were pushed to the side as a man stomped through his ranks.
"So you failed, is that it Waters?" a tall mercenary from the Giant's Fist called out daringly, "my brothers died for your failure?"
"No." Even a blind man could see not to press the issue further. This man's brothers were in a dangerous game, they knew that well enough. The third seemed to be in a different dangerous business, threatening his betters.
"No?" the tall mercenary asked in disbelief. "Why did they die then?"
"Because they were weak, but not as weak as you Trefor."
At this point the two men were squaring off close to the centre of the room. Voldemort watched with interest, the custom of the Giant's Fist was the strongest lead and it seemed as though a challenge was beginning to be made. The men stared at each other, barely half a metre apart. The tall man, Trefor, was inching ever so slowly to his belt whereas Lukas stood still as a rock.
Trefor snappily pulled his wand free and across his body but Lukas was faster. Not even drawing his weapon, Lukas stepped forward and whacked Trefor's wand from his hands making it clatter to the floor uselessly. Trefor's eyes followed his wand's trajectory meaning he missed Lukas step in behind him, grab the sides of his face and twist violently. With a crack and a thud, the challenge to Lukas Waters' position was over and he didn't even need to use his weapon, proving his earlier statement.
Lukas stepped over the dead man and spoke to Voldemort, "apologies my Lord. As I was going to explain before I was interrupted, I believe the vampires will join us soon enough."
Voldemort stared at Lukas for a moment, surprised at the nonchalance the man maintained after killing a man with his bare hands. Looking off to the left he clicked his finger at a young death eater and nodded towards the body. The death eater briskly walked over to the corpse and levitated it, flying it out of the room for disposal.
"Explain Captain," Voldemort intoned seriously.
"My Lord the ambush was well struck, the ministry and the vampires had a height advantage and a numerical advantage too. However, even with our numbers quickly thinned, our defiance forced the ministry forces to resort to more drastic methods. After the battle was over, some of my scouts informed me that many of the vampires were brutalised by Potter and Greengrass."
'Brutalised… Harry you continue to surprise me,' Voldemort with a hint of pride. "You believe this will drive the creatures to our side in an effort for revenge?"
"Yes my lord."
"Good, the vengeful are easily manipulated," Voldemort spoke, pleased with the fortunate turn of events. Had the vampires simply accepted the terms they would be more likely to negotiate for months on end, now… well now they'd accept anything given the chance for retribution. "Send envoys with gifts, a few ministry workers will do."
Lukas nodded and left the throne room to coordinate the abduction of the unfortunate wizards. It was as Lukas was leaving that Severus stepped forward and knelt before Voldemort. "My lord, a sealed letter from Draco Malfoy."
Voldemort flicked his hand to beckon Snape forward and plucked the letter from the pale man's hand. Ripping open the seal he read the small message addressed to and signed by no one.
The shopkeeper has good news, the cabinet you ordered should be ready before June's end. The relic remains out of reach however, despite numerous attempts to persuade it to its rightful place.
Voldemort once again found himself pleased, the plan to infiltrate Hogwarts looked to be more promising than before. "The sins of the father are not laid upon the son," Voldemort muttered to himself. "Narcissa," he hissed, taking a moment to spot her in the crowd, "it seems your son is more competent than your husband. Lord Voldemort wonders if the husband is worth liberating."
Narcissa's face maintained a small frown for a moment before her bottom lip began to quiver slightly and her eyes watered. 'Weakness passed from husband to wife, or the other way around. As long as Draco succeeds then putting up with such pitiful people will be worth it.'
"Milord there is more," Snape silkily spoke. "Wormtail has not been seen since the ambush."
This news angered him and the death eaters felt the room drop in temperature. "Amycus, fetch your sister and find the rodent. The rest of you prepare yourselves for a battle, I want potions made and skills sharpened for we will be in for a hard fight." The death eaters in the room all scrambled to fulfil his orders without showing how much they wished to be out of his line of fire.
Sanoe too attempted to leave but Voldemort called quietly, "Severus," and Snape halted his retreat. "You are to ensure young Draco's success, his failure would be most displeasing in light of recent progress. Do so discretely but know, his failure is your own."
Snape made no show of fear as he was threatened by the Dark Lord, not that Voldemort expected such emotion from the slippery spy. He merely bowed and reverently replied, "I live to serve," before descending the steps to Voldemort's throne and leaving the hall.
Voldemort retreated to his mind, drawing together plans that would effectively topple all resistance in one night. 'You can't be everywhere at once Harry, I do wonder what you will choose to save though, what do you value more…'
April 24th
9:22pm
12 Grimmauld Place, London
Albus Dumbledore
The kitchen of twelve Grimmauld Place was more packed than it had ever been, men and women were crowded around the seats due to their lack of vacancy, besides the head chair of course. The message Dumbledore had circulated had made it clear that this would be the most important meeting in the order's history and not one of its members wished to miss out.
Dumbledore had arrived under the guise of the disillusionment charm as he always did, observing those he considered his closest friends squabble and bicker in his absence. 'Had there always been so much conflict?' he asked himself as he watched Remus and Sirius glare at Severus, a hint of murderous intent in Sirius' eyes.
He knew this meeting would create a further schism in the already fractured group, he only hoped that none of them met as enemies in the future. Not a single person in this room would he wish bad fortune upon, they had all needed his call when he asked them to fight for good and each of them had displayed admirable courage.
'And now they will be tested once more. Will they be able to find the courage to make peace and move on… time will tell.'
A blackened hand waved across his body, revealing himself to his gathered compatriots. The chatter died immediately with sentences left unfinished at the sight of their tired leader. Some even stood in respect but not as many as he remembered.
"Please," he said, halting some in their ascent, "do not stand for this old man, take your seats."
As the rest got settled in, Dumbledore squeezed through the men and women there to support him and found his seat at the end of the table. Many faces looked down the table in his direction, some confused, some annoyed and some who gazed at him with passing interest.
'A far cry from the looks of admiration, no doubt my presence has been missed,' a glance at some of the more loosely associated members in his company confirming his suspicions. His analysis of this cohort seemed to be another misstep for the old headmaster for it created more expressions of frustration and impatience as time went on.
"I have called you all here tonight to first apologise," Dumbledore started, the tension was heavy as he paused, many wondering what the fable infallible man had to apologise for. "In the recent months my lack of leadership has brought discord and discontent within our ranks… something I wish to rectify as soon as possible."
"I'm sure you had good reason Albus," Arthur dismissed. The sentiment was not shared with some.
"My reasons, however justified, should not put me above the need for explanation, something I've come to understand lately." Dumbledore clasped his hands together and as he did so the concealment charm over his affected hand dissipated revealing the curse.
Gasps of surprise went up around the room, some of the more learned had looks of recognition and the general feel from the room was surprise. "Albus, you know what that is surely!" Bill Weasley cried out in a tone not unlike fear. Whether he feared losing someone familiar to him or just the Albus Dumbledore the headmaster did not know.
"I do William, a withering curse for which I will meet my end, very soon in fact."
Chaos erupted, men and women shouted over each other to be heard. The tab;e rocked with people standing up and chairs were thrown to the floor in the same motion. Dumbledore instead observed those without explosive reactions; Sirius, Remus, Nymphadora and…
'Alastor? My old friend betrayed me. He was always a man of action and he was terribly cold after the TriWizard fiasco. What did he call me? "A blind old fool that couldn't see past his crooked nose." Perhaps he was right.'
It seemed the grizzled old auror had some sort of loyalty left to him however and mistook Albus' stare for an indication to quiet the mob. Moody banged his staff on the floor and yelled "shut ye yaps!" in a booming voice. The shouting died off quickly and the people who stood up retook their seats without protest.
"Thank you Alastor," Dumbledore said, nodding his head gratefully. "Yes my condition is unfavourable and I should have notified you all immediately. I would like to say, this affliction came with a great victory and did further our good cause."
"What cause is there anymore? You're the only one he feared," a man at the back called out. Mundungus, Dumbledore guessed.
"The wizarding world doesn't die with Dumbledore, there are still people and ideas to fight for," Remus said in rebuttal.
'Well done my boy, well done indeed. To turn the hopeless cynic into a hopeful optimist is perhaps your greatest triumph so far,' he silently thought about Harry.
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "You can consider this meeting my resignation as leader of the order. However, I do hope many of you will continue the fight after my departure, the ministry–"
"The ministry is on the brink of being overrun, if we don't act soon then there will be nothing left to defend," Shacklebolt interjected. The senior auror had been an advocate for a joint task force to be negotiated from the start with real fighters to project strength for the order. However, his desire for such an idea did not surpass his loyalty to Dumbledore so much like many of the better ideas from order members, it went nowhere.
"Act?" Sturgis Podmore questioned in disbelief. "Our untouchable leader just resigned, without him we're a motley crew of nobodies and good hearts."
"Speak for yourself Sturgis," Nymphadora hotly replied. "I for one would be right keen to bring it to Voldy's lick spittles."
Tonks' enthusiasm was countered by Dedalus Diggle who diplomatically said in rebuttal, "this comes from the fully trained auror. Many of us agreed to join the order for information sharing, most of us coming from managerial and clerical roles. Need me to watch someone's movements? Sure… But to storm the ministry or take part in pitch battles I and many others here, would be a liability."
"Well put Dedalus," Remus complemented, "but you miss one crucial aspect of war."
"Do enlighten us Remus," Dumbledore addressed him, eager to see where this was going.
"The aftermath is arguably more important than the war itself. Someone said to me recently that what would the point of this war be if we didn't ensure there wasn't a civil war right after?" Remus continued. Albus could see the recognition in the eyes of Harry's followers almost immediately.
'Even this old fool can read the signs. Harry was always capable of greatness but not like Tom, never like Tom. Mayhaps more like myself and Gellert,' he thought worriedly before glancing at the people who fondly remembered what Harry had said, 'but with good men and women to guide him where we had none.'
"When the people of Britain aren't safe in their homes, who directs them to safe houses? When displaced camps pop up across the country, who organises food and shelter? When the people we're fighting for look to us for safety, who will offer a hand to raise them up? It won't be the warriors, they'll be in the thick of it. It'll be a bunch of nobodies with good hearts."
Remus' elaboration moved the minds and hearts of many, Sturgis' and Dedalus' previous scepticism had morphed into a resolute look of acceptance. Then a cry went up for the end of the table, "motion to install Remus as head of the order as Dumbledore's successor," Hestia Jones proposed to the resounding agreement from the rest of the order.
Remus stood and raised his hands in an attempt to quieten down the rising excitement for him. "Thank you for all of your support but I can not act as head of the order."
The disappointment and outrage didn't reach the levels of major interruption which allowed Dumbledore to speak. "For you do not speak for yourself, true?" Mistrustful stares were levelled at Remus when he slowly nodded the affirmative. Dumbledore took this opportunity to continue his earlier thoughts that were interrupted by Kingsley. "Remus spoke true, there will be a world to hold together and rebuild whilst people fight the dark forces but I do not believe they were Remus' own words." He paused and allowed everyone a moment to think on who Remus worked for before continuing, "over the past year the ministry has earned few victories, certainly not enough to outnumber the disappearances and the loss of life at St Mungo's. But, as Kingsley and Nymphadora could attest to, Harry Potter secured many of them."
The mention of Harry Potter initiated a round of muttering and whispering amongst each other. Words like "child" and "puppet" were thrown around which brought a disappointed frown on Dumbledore's face.
"Potter is a puppet for the ministry he works for Scrimengour!" a male voice shouted from the back. He did not come forward to speak which made him that much more cowardly.
"He got my boy killed, he's no leader, he's just an arrogant child," Molly Weasley cut in, voice dripping with venom.
Of course they didn't know him like Dumbledore did but Harry has been nothing but a war hero for the past year and if he could he would hear no more wretched rumours about him. "He tasked you with scouting the order for potential allies, correct?" Remus turned to Moody who somehow nodded gruffly before giving the same slow nod from before. "Tell them, tell them why Harry is the next and only step forward."
Remus stood from his chair again and looked around at the ensemble of people who had dedicated themselves to Dumbledore. Some of them were only there for Dumbledore and would run the moment they left this house but if there was ever a time to win them over then it was now.
"You've all seen the photos, he and Daphne Greengrass defied the most powerful dark wizard of all time and thwarted the plan to steal the weapon in the ministry. Since then he's continued training to face the very same dark wizard again, aiding the ministry in taking down giants, vampires and mercenaries across the country. Not only that but he's appointed someone with the task of making sure our country won't be forced to fight for the scraps once the war is over. He's not just a skilled warrior but a man who is determined to see this country thrive."
"Do you believe it possible, a Britain without Voldemort?" Elphias Doge asked desperately.
Sirius stood next to his best friend and looked Doge in the eyes before turning to the rest around him. "The past few months I have been struggling with the same question, Elphias. I couldn't find a scenario where we didn't lose everything… everyone. I've been frightfully useless as of late which didn't help either but what got me out of that funk was seeing my godson fighting, bleeding for this community which includes everyone at this table." He paused and took a moment to breathe before answering the question, "if there is any one person who will defeat Voldemort it is Harry Potter. If not for his personal strength then the ability he has to give others the strength to fight for themselves."
Dumbledore watched satisfied as the two marauders brought life back to the order and was content that the fight would continue after him. Some people left, Mundungus the first of them, but many stayed behind to hear about Harry Potter's growing faction and offer their help to the young man who had once again had proven his exceptionalism to an ancient relic of a bygone era.
April 28th
3:21pm
Hogwarts, Scotland
Daphne
It wasn' often she missed the obvious, a trait she prided herself on but on this account she had failed herself. Scouring the knowledge of all wizarding kind was a hefty task, one she would undertake for very few in her life. For Harry it was a no brainer, but was terribly time consuming, especially when done alone.
But as she had reminded herself today during her own training, she wasn't alone. Harry had tasked Hermione and Blaise to keep an eye out for horcrux works in the Black family library in their little information packet from the summit. But they had already gone through many of the books in that repository so no luck was to be had there.
The search for Harry's unique problem was becoming ever so demoralising. Daphne knew she'd never give up but it wasn't as if they had an infinite amount of time. Even though she didn't know how long she had left, but he day was creeping up and there was no way around that.
Harry for the most part had supported her search but said he couldn't help without infuriating the horcrux which seemed to know he wanted it dead and gone. Beyond handing her stacks of rolled up parchment from a location he wouldn't reveal, he had mainly been focusing on how to conduct the war and gathering allies.
The order meeting had been a great success, or so she had heard. Remus was currently vetting all of the people who had offered their support but it was a slow process. Harry had been very adamant that the people who were given the location of the chateau had to be fully trustworthy because they had very few back ups.
The parchment stack had been a monstrous thing, thousands of scrolls that she could barely understand with some of them even being in different she was secure in her intelligence, she knew her limits and also knew how to delegate well enough.
A trip to the library of Hogwarts was what she found herself doing on a cold afternoon to meet with the resident intellect. With the scrolls resized to be small in her bag she passed through the library door and Madam Pince's desk, her target in plain view surrounded by towers of books. She briskly walked over to her and took a seat across from the bushy haired bookworm. Hermione looked up sharply but relaxed when she saw who it was.
"Hey Greengrass," she said pleasantly. A glance down at her parchment showed that she was working on a runes essay which prompted the realisation that daphne hadn't done an inch of homework that year. A thought for another day.
"Good afternoon, Granger. Do you have a moment?"
It was polite but not much of a request, Hermione instantly recognised this wasn't a social occasion and put down her quill, giving her full attention to Daphne. "How can I help?"
Daphne put the bag on the table and slid it a cross to her. Hermione looked inside as Daphne spoke, "inside are thousands of scrolls that I simply don't have the time to read. I need you to read them and look for any mentions of you know what in every single one, even if it is a different language. Can you do that?"
Hermione bit her lip and pulled out one of the scrolls. "These are ancient… where did you get them?"
"Harry gave them to me and it's for him I need you to check them," Daphne replied quickly
"You don't have to convince me to read ancient scrolls, Greengrass, you couldn't have gotten a better present if you tried." Hermione smiled at her own joke, Daphne smirked a little and wondered why she didn't think of this sooner.
"Just bring whatever you find to me or Harry," Daphne said, getting up to leave.
"Ah Greengrass just one moment," Hermione said nervously, halting her retreat. "I just wanted to thank you for checking in on me whilst Harry was gone, you didn't need to do that and I appreciate it."
Uncomfortable with the genuine nature of Hermione's gratitude Daphne replied bluntly, "you're Harry's friend, he cares about you."
"I know," Hermione dismissed, "but you let me talk to you about random magical theories and you also introduced me to Blaise so… thank you… again."
'Blaise? Gods be good I thought I advised against that.'
"You're welcome," Daphne finished shortly before making a hasty exit from the awkward situation with a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders. Hermione would be able to go through those papers faster than her and if something was hidden behind magic or language barriers, the brightest witch of their age would find it.
A/N: Helloooo everybody it has been a little while hasn't it. We are back though just after a week of inaction. A shorter chapter but it covers some perspectives we haven't gone back to in a little while.
Old Voldy has been patrolling the Nurmengard grounds, nefarious deeds on his mind. The smart bugger has deduced Grindelwald was a part of the "trail of blood" that follows the wand and wants in on the secrets. Not an easy feat though, a task requiring the dark lord to use his brain and not just his brawn. Hope you liked that gruesome little tidbit of history behind the castle :)
I also wanted to give more life and threat factor to Lukas Waters, Voldemort's main enforcer now that most of his top Death Eaters are imprisoned. He's a big guy and isn't afraid of brutality, he's also the guy whO escaped the ambus if you didn't guess.
The Order is in the fold… kinda. You'll see how that plays out more in the next sequel but for now we can count them as Harry leaning rather than part of Harry's group. Props to Remus and Sirius for bringing them over and Dumbledore for stepping up and doing the right thing. Some of you might be unhappy with how Dumbledore sorta got pushed to the side at the meeting but remember that he had been absent for so long that many were losing faith in him already. That's why Hestia was so quick to declare for Remus and listen to Sirius.
Hermione's got a helluva task ahead of her but I do wonder what she'll find…
Tune in next chapter for Ancient knowledge and a bit of bonding
Hope you all enjoyed :)
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