"Can't we talk about this?" Asked Nancy.
"Oh, no. The great leaders never discuss plans with minions. Did Caesar ever 'talk about' anything with lesser generals?" There was definitely something wrong with Allen. He'd been so much different in class and meetings, respecting the opinions of the older Order members, explaining why his plans were more likely to work, even compromising. They should have known when he laughed at George's pranks that he was too good to be true. All leaders know how to be folksy to gain power. Now things had changed. He'd gotten his first kill, and, bubbling with confidence, he'd let his brutal side seep through his friendly demeanor like the Amazon through a pile of sandbags.
Liza was furious, but she managed to remain calm for the remaining good moles. Now that Allen had turned out to be rather more ruthless than expected, it occurred to her that she was probably leader of this group, being the first approached and all. She clenched her fists and met his ecstatic, dancing eyes with a determined stare. "You can't do this, Allen. We won't go back if it means somebody could get killed."
Allen seemed to believe differently. "Oh, but you will. You wanted this government removed, didn't you? This is the only dependable way. What does it matter if some genocidists die?"
"No one should have to die unnecessarily! You said it yourself- we can let them meet the muggles! We'll de-brainwash them! We can... I don't know, turn them into children and reeducate them, something! But this isn't a group of murderers. You'll have to do that on your own." She glanced almost pleadingly around for the others, only to find that they were definitively standing behind their new leader. This seemed to please her, and she looked back at Allen to see how he was taking the new development.
He rebounded with a fresh wave of reason, but the damage was done. "You can't do this without me. Turn them into children? Not only is that impossible, it would be as bad as murder! This 'we' you speak of was nothing before me. I taught you wandless magic."
"'We' are the good moles," Said Estelle. "We're Liza's Moles; she's a better leader than you any day. We'd have figured out the magic without you, and we'll fix the Walpurgi, even if it means doing it without your help."
"Save the cute little patriotic speeches. Do you remember where the real power of this mission comes from, though?"
It was over in two excruciatingly long minutes. Estelle had thrown the first curse, and this time Jeremy wasn't here to break them up. Estelle and Allen seemed evenly matched, but with the other Moles' help, Allen was reduced to a pile of so many feathers and swastikas (Liza supposed the swastikas were from George, who'd served in the second World War).
"What now?" Asked Nancy nervously.
"Take out his memory and throw him in a muggle street somewhere," ordered Liza. It was really a shame. They were going to need all the help they could get in the upcoming weeks.
Two weeks saw a drastic difference in Nott manor. Once Liza had gotten become engrossed in Morals of Magic, Ethics of Enchantment, it was all she would think about after work for three days (though if she'd wanted, she really could have skipped the chapter defending love potions). Her Moles had set up makeshift prisons in some unused bedrooms. Though they'd managed to remove their inmates' magic powers en masse after one had tried to curse George into Mongolia, it hadn't had much effect on the prisoners' attitudes.
Because they weren't sure what would work, precisely, it was Estelle's idea to try 'experimental wards'. Instead of putting all the Walpurgi together, there were four to a room, and as many differences as the Moles could think of. There was the Straight Room, where they tried using reason on the Walpurgi, the Muggle Room- Control Unit, where muggles were brought in to talk to them, the Muggle Room- Variable Unit, where muggles were brought in, but the Walpurgi weren't told they were muggles until they'd made friends with the prisoners, and even a variation of the Hogwarts Room of Requirements. Only time would tell what happened next.
A/N Okay, I have no idea what to make happen next, though I have an idea of the ending. Therefore, you, the readers, get to vote on which experimental ward(s) work(s), if any. You can make up your own ward if you explain how and why it works. I'll wait about three days for reviews. Good luck!
