A/N – Again, I own nothing, literally. Well, I own my computer, and my car....kind of. I guess the bank really owns my car, but I have exclusive usage rights to it. I don't even have that with this story. JKR is the queen of my fantasy world...she owns it all, and I am just writing down what my over-active imagination tells me about the characters she has created.
Review, review, review! Thanks!
CQ
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Chapter Four – The Prophecy
They moved into a room off of the kitchen, where a long table was surrounded by plushly upholstered chairs. Harry took Maura's arm and led her to the far end of the room, where he held out a chair for her. Maura smiled up at him before sitting down.Were men in the wizarding world naturally more considerate? Or was it just this one? She glanced around the room to see several of the men helping the women present to sit down. Ron helped Ginny, while both Bill and Charlie assisted witches she hadn't been introduced to yet. Perhaps it was just the Weasley men and those that Molly Weasley had had influence over, she grinned, wondering if Harry had really become as close to Molly and Arthur and their family as the books suggested.
Harry was still standing, looking down on her short blonde curls, until Snape caught his eye. With a tinge of pink on his ears, he moved to his own seat at the head of the table.
"Everyone, thank you for coming, especially at such short notice," he spoke as everyone settled. "I've called this meeting to make an announcement. Information has been made available to me from the Department of Mysteries..."
There was a collective gasp around the room.
"A prophecy. It was concerning myself and several others. It concerns our future, that of the magical world, and also that of the muggle world.
"As many of you know, the Muggle world has been experiencing some terrorist activities. Several muggle nations have sworn to exterminate those responsible. What isn't commonly known is that all of the major terrorist attacks of recent years, including those in Bali, Madrid, New York, and Munich, have all displayed a magical signature."
More gasps. Maura looked around the large table, her eyes taking in the shock apparent on most faces. The only ones not showing such a reaction were those that, Maura assumed, were already party to the information that Harry was giving them. Namely Ron, Ginny, Kingsley and Tonks, Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape.
"Harry, how..." Bill Weasley began.
"In a minute, Bill," Harry raised his hand. "Let me finish."
"When I was called to the Department of Mysteries, I was told that there was a prophecy concerning these events. The prophecy was concerning the principal person in the conflicts in the muggle world."
Harry paused, took a breath, then continued.
"The person involved is a wizard. A very powerful wizard living in the Middle East. People, we have a new Dark Lord, and he is more powerful than any ever before seen."
The sudden rise in conversation was deafening. All stopped abruptly as a slam was heard. Everyone turned to see Minerva McGonagall with her hand on the table.
"Quiet, everyone! Harry is not finished." She turned to look at the younger wizard. "Harry, what did the prophecy say?"
"It was very long and convoluted. Prophecies are never straight forward, are they, Professor?" Harry smiled ruefully at her.
"No, Mr Potter, they are not." She shook her head. "Go on, please."
"Well, several lines have to do directly with...well, just listen," he took a piece of paper out and unfolded it. He began to read:
A great dark snake in the East rises against all light.
Muggle and Wizard, man and child,
Only together will they prevail; alone, all will be lost to the dark.
All children must learn the ways of our world, the magic must no longer be held
by those of magical birth alone.
The one who will unite, writes alone, with death overhead. Her life, beginning and ending four times.
She alone can unite all to fight, the world of magic and non, for she alone knows both, and must choose again.
And when the third war for both worlds ends, she will take her rightful place by his side, to die together, as was meant to be, from the beginning of time.
Everyone in the room was silent. Ron cleared his throat, and watched Harry closely. Harry wondered how many of them truly understood.
"Harry," Charlie Weasley spoke quietly, glancing between Harry and Maura. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
Harry considered Charlie for a moment, his eyes full of sadness. Then, he nodded. "I don't know how many of you are familiar with muggle history, but the muggle world has experienced two, what it calls, World Wars. Wars that involved their entire world in some capacity or another. Should another major conflict arise, as my contacts in the muggle world advise me this could well turn into, it would be their third war. You all know how many wars we have had against the Dark. So this would qualify as a third war for both worlds.
"'A great dark snake in the East', the muggle world is uniting against certain factions in the middle east, where they feel the terrorists are based. In our world, most of the dark wizards have come from the Slytherin house, or it's equivalent from the other schools, all of which have a snake or serpent in their crest. 'Rises against all light' seems to suggest that this power will take on both worlds, as Grindewald did.
"The prophecy tells us that all muggles and wizards, adult and child, will fight. Along with other lines from the prophecy, we have interpreted this to mean that the wizarding world will take muggle children and attempt to train them in magic, at least in basic defense.
"The prophecy speaks of a woman of the muggle world. One who will unite our worlds, who writes 'with death overhead', I'd like to introduce you the Maura Kennedy, she is a foreign correspondent for the muggle press. She is the one about whom the prophecy speaks. She will unite our worlds."
All hell broke loose. Everyone spoke at once, and Maura stared at Harry, dumbfounded. How on earth had he figured out it was her? How did he know it was her? It seemed like an awful long stretch to her, there were many female war correspondents in the muggle world.
"Please!" Harry shouted over the noise. "Please listen! We have much work to do. The prophecy tells us we will stand together or fall. We must unite with the non-magical world to accomplish this. We cannot do it any other way!"
"Harry," a deep voice spoke, calmly. "Who is it?"
Harry turned to look directly at the black-robed figure seated beside McGonagall.
"Severus, I don't know. Not for sure."
"Have you had...?"
"Yes. I know several who are in service to him, but I have yet to see his face."
"Who?" Snape asked, still calm.
"Malfoy, Nott, Goyle."
Severus nodded, as thought he had expected this.
"Pettigrew." Harry stated quietly.
Several gasps echoed around the room.
"Wormtail?" Snape's head snapped up, looking Harry directly in the eye. "So he has surfaced again."
"I should have killed him when I had the chance," muttered Lupin.
"If the prophecy is accurate, Remus," the dark man spoke again, "you couldn't have. You probably wouldn't have accomplished anything more than getting yourself killed."
"Regardless," Harry said firmly, looking between the two men. "We know what must be done."
"Do we?" Lee Jordan spoke. "Do we really? How do we know, Harry? You've had your war, our war. We've all done...lost...so much! Why another, now?"
"Because we didn't finish it the last time, Lee." Harry turned, looking at the other Gryffindor. "Voldemort was killed, yes, but his followers, those who believed in him, many were left to retreat, and it now looks as though they have gathered their reserves and found a new leader...and frankly, this one makes Voldemort look like a boy scout."
Harry looked around the room, making eye contact with every witch and wizard in attendance. Exhaustion showed in every face. Most here had lost their childhood in the last war, his war. They'd never had the opportunity for a carefree youth, they'd been too busy fighting the Dark Lord, or preparing to fight him. Preparing to defend family members and strangers alike. Every single one seated here had lost loved ones, no wizarding family had been left untouched. Many had been decimated. Hermione Granger's parents had died a fiery death which had been reported as a house fire, but really had been a fireball the size of a bus hitting their home while they slept. Lavender Brown was the only member of her family left alive. Seamus had lost his father, his mother had been subjected to torture, and was now in St Mungos, probably never to recover.
Dean Thomas' entire family had been wiped out, as had Angelina and Alicia's – Fred and George's then-girlfriends whom they had later married.
Katie Bell-Wood had lost an older brother, and a younger sister. Oliver Wood's grandparents, all four, had been picked off all in the same night.
Lee Jordan had lost his sister, who was only six years old at the time, and who he had watched be tortured in front of him. The deatheaters had hit him with a paralyzation spell before starting their nefarious work that night, and he had been forced to watch everything they did, unable to stop, or react to, any of it. Neville Longbottom's long-suffering grandmother had been given the Dementors Kiss and left for dead.
Harry made eye contact with Bill, Charlie, Ron, then Ginny. No, even the Weasley's had had their share of loss. Arthur had been attacked in the Department of Mysteries, and had survived only because Harry had had a vision. But Percy...
Well, Percy hadn't been so lucky. And Molly and Arthur, the entire Weasley family, still felt the pain of his loss. They had had their differences, and, in Harry's opinion, and Ron's, Percy had been a first-class stuffed shirt. But in the end, he had seen what was going on. It had been Percy who had notified the Order of what what really happening in the Ministry of Magic, and he had made the ultimate sacrifice to get that information to them. He had known full well that he couldn't get the information out without leaving a trail for the dark wizards to find. Voldemort had known exactly where the leak had happened. Percy's days had been numbered from the moment he made that choice, and he had known it, even if Molly and Arthur had been in denial.
And Dumbledore had done his best to hide him, but everyone knew that, no matter what manner of magic you used, if someone was determined enough, anyone could be found. Harry's entire life had been living proof of the Dark Lord's ability to find those he wished to find, no matter what measures were taken to protect them.
In the end, Percy had met his end with true Gryffindor bravery, walking out into the street and away from the safe house that he had been put into, because Ginny and Molly had been there with him, and he knew full well that the only way to protect them, the only chance they had, was if Voldemort found him before he found the house.
No one in the Order but Harry knew the full extent of his torture, because only Harry was capable of getting into the Dark Lord's mind, and vice versa. By that time, Voldemort had only limited ability to make Harry see what he wanted him to see, but he was determined that Harry should be witness to Percy's pain. It had been horrible, and Harry still woke up, eighteen years later, sweating in the night, his minds eye having replayed the scene over and over again while he slept.
He had shared the details, not all of them, with only three other people. Dumbledore, Snape, and Ron. Even then, he had left out the truly gruesome bits. Dumbledore and Snape were able to piece what he left out together, but Ron was mercifully, Harry hoped, oblivious. What Harry had shown him had been bad enough, Ron would never have thought to suspect that Harry had held anything back.
By mutual agreement, they had decided that Ron's family would never know that Harry had been witness to Percy's death. Molly would insist on seeing what Harry could show her, and Harry simply could not do that to her. He was quite sure, as was Ron, that it would kill her to witness what one of her children had gone through. So Harry carried the burden alone, and happily, knowing that this family that had been like his own since he was twelve years old did not need to know what he knew, or see what he had seen.
"This time," Harry said, his voice strong, and firm. "This time, we must either eradicate the Dark entirely, or accept that there will always be another willing to step up and lead. In which case, constant vigilance will be our only defense in future."
"And what about Maura?" asked a young witch. "How does she feel about this? Is she willing to help?"
"It's my world, too." Maura answered. "My world and yours will suffer. I've been to war, to muggle war. It's not pretty. I doubt that a wizard war will be any less gruesome, probably more so. But if it is what we must face to stop this, well, I'm no coward."
"A true Gryffindor," McGonagall said, smiling at her. "Yes, we may win this yet."
"Maura, you understand what the prophecy says, what could happen?" Bill Weasley asked.
"'Take her rightful place by his side to die together'?" Maura smiled. "Well, it's not exactly subtle, is it? Or is it? It doesn't say when, just after the third war. Could be the next day, could be a lifetime. No guarantees, but then, there aren't any guarantees in life, are there? It's just, well, doing the best you can with the time you've got, right?"
When the witches and wizards present understood that this woman, this muggle, was willing to fight, it seemed to change the feeling in the room. Suddenly, everyone wanted to begin making plans.
"The key," said Harry, "Is preparation. We must prepare every adult and child, wizard and muggle alike, to fight. We must expand Hogwarts, we must make contacts in the muggle community, and we must prepare to train many more than we have ever trained at one time before.
"I think that the primary focus must be Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions, with those who show any talent at all moving on to Transfiguration and Charms. More students means more teachers, anyone who is able must teach. Professors, I would appreciate it if you could come up with lists of your most able students over say, the last twenty years. We will have to contact them and arrange to have them prepare to take classes.
"In the meantime, Maura must do what she can to convince people in her world what is really going on." Harry turned his eyes to her. "It won't be easy."
She smiled, "Nothing every is, Harry."
The meeting went on for most of the day. By four o'clock, everyone knew what needed to be done immediately, and everyone had their tasks.
As people disappeared, Harry sighed and looked at Maura.
"You look tired," she said.
"So do you."
"I've never done anything like this before. It's exhausting." She had been very impressed with his ability to take charge of the room and keep people focused on the task at hand. She'd never really seen him as anything but the person who must do the final act in the battle against Voldemort in the book. This was a person, with talents and skills that perhaps, had only been gained because of that other experience in his life.
"I have done this before, and you're right, it is exhausting," he smiled at her. "Why don't you go and have a nap until dinner is ready?"
"Are you going to?" she asked.
"No. Ron and I have things to discuss."
"Can I...?"
"No. You need to rest. Go and lie down and we can speak after dinner."
She considered this for a moment, then spoke. "You're the head of the Order, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"What happened to Dumbledore?"
Harry stiffened, then sighed. "He died in the final battle against Voldemort."
"Voldemort killed him?"
"Indirectly."
Her eyes narrowed, "Who killed him, directly?"
"Someone," said Harry, "who wasn't Voldemort. Now go have a nap."
"Ron is your general, isn't he?"
"We don't have distinctions such as that in Dumbledore's Army."
"Ah, the DA...."
"Yes."
"And here I thought it was called the Order of the Phoenix."
"That was who was here today. Dumbledore's Army is much larger."
"But Ron is your..."
"Second in command? Yes."
"You trust him."
"With my life. With the lives of the people I care about."
"And he you?"
"I would hope so. He could. I would never betray him."
"What did Snape mean...?"
"Maura, go. Rest. We'll talk after dinner."
She smiled, then stood. "Very well, can I ask you for some paper and a pen? I have some things I want to get down..."
"Of course, in the drawer of the desk in your room."
"There is no desk in my room."
"There is now," he said, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face.
Maura shook her head and then went out of the room, and up the stairs. Sure enough, when she entered her room, there was a desk, a chair, and a lovely reading lamp. Someone must have moved it all in while they were in the meeting.
Of course, that didn't explain why the room was now six feet wider than it had been that morning.
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"She suspects?"
"No, Ron." Harry rubbed his eyes.
"Don't assume, Harry. She's clever."
"She doesn't have a clue about this, Ron, trust me. Some of the questions she was asking... well, suffice to say that I know that if she had any idea then she wouldn't hesitate to question me."
"She's no coward."
"No."
The two sat in silence for a moment.
"You know, Harry, you have to stop blaming yourself."
"For what?" Harry scoffed. "For endangering her this way when I know it's the last thing she wants, if she really understood? Or for..."
"For Dumbledore's death." Ron cut him off. "You know as well as I do that he knew he wasn't coming back that day. He knew and he told you to remember what your priorities were. He told you that your concern had to be completely and totally Voldemort, and that people would be dying around you, but you couldn't let that stop you, or more would die."
"I should have..."
"No, Harry. He's been gone seventeen years. Let him rest."
"Does time assuage guilt, Ron?"
Ron considered for a moment, then spoke. "Do you blame Hermione?"
"What?" Harry turned to his friend, his disbelief at what he was being asked apparent on his face.
"You heard me. You blame yourself for not being aware, for having your attention on Voldemort and not being able to save Dumbledore. Do you blame Hermione?"
"How could I blame Hermione, Ron? She was..."
"She killed him, Harry."
"She was under the Imperious curse!"
"Yes. And she cried like a baby as she did it, Harry. She knew what she was doing, but could do nothing to stop herself. Do you blame me?"
"For what?" Harry was incredulous.
"For not stopping her. You know that I saw it all happen. You know that I was right there, beside her. If I'd leveled my wand at Hermione instead of Bellatrix, I could have saved Dumbledore. Do you blame me for not doing that?"
"No."
"Then why blame yourself?"
"Because we lost them both that day, Ron, and sometimes, it feels almost... sometimes it's very hard to face a day with neither of them in it."
"I know, Harry. Merlin, I know. But we have to do this. For Fred's kids, and George's kids, and Ginny's, and... Harry, I don't want them to have to do what we've had to do! Hermione wouldn't have wanted that, either. But we can't do it without you. And while you're focused on the past, and our losses, we can't move forward. We can't fight.
"This time, we have to do it without Dumbledore's power. Without his knowledge. This time, we have you, Harry. You're the most powerful wizard of our time, and that includes this new Dark Lord. Harry, you do things with thought. You wave your hand, and the world changes. It took you two hours to do what the Ministry has been trying to do for years, find Maura Kennedy. So accept your power, and accept that others are going to die, and lets take care of this problem so that our kids don't have to."
Harry looked into the face of the best friend he'd ever had, and knew that he was right.
"You're absolutely right, Ron. Let's get this done, once and for all."
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A/N -- well, there is another one. Two in two days, I must be on a roll! I have to say, though, that I'm really enjoying this!
So review! Good, bad or indifferent, I really want to know what the reactions are!
James Milamber: Thanks, I tried to put a lot of thought into his character -- I think it's a combination of what I think he'd be like at 35 and what I wish he would be like...hopefully it's accurate. Ron was a bit of a challenge, as I think he's a lot more intelligent than we often see -- I tried to get this across in a believable way. And Gred and Forge may have come as a surprise, but I wanted to really try to make it believable that the magical world really COULD exist and could be so ordinary that we don't recognize it for what it is, that JKR's books are merely one interpretation of what might really be there -- and JKR was merely the one chosen to be gifted with the telling of this alternate reality. Call it my little fantasy! And just to let you know, I started out fully intending to make it a H/G story, but my muse seemed to have an entirely different idea!
CQ
