Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Chapter 8: The Last Marauder
The room was really smaller than what most imagined. Certainly, for what power it represented, a medium sized room for a senior executive seemed not fairly enough. For decades the office had witnessed decisions made that had saved and killed millions of lives. Some were made out of desperation, some out of anger, but mostly the decisions were made after complete deliberation. Indeed, for what moral evolution man had achieved throughout the ages, such things should have been easier. But alas, man is a creature ruled by its emotions. For a man of such power, such decisions had terrible consequences.
For minutes the man had not moved from where he stood, his tired eyes staring through the thick windows made of bullet-resistant polycarbonate to the extensive lawn of the White House and yet not really seeing anything. His fraught mind was dominated by the contents of the thick envelope on top of his wooden desk that had once been a part of the British ship HMS Resolute.
The President of U.S.A. couldn't contain his troubled sigh.
The situation in England had just gotten worse. The threat had spread from London to the neighboring cities, slowly but surely taking almost all of England. Thousands of refugees were flocking towards north, towards Scotland. And yet, the national border had been blocked, trapping all of those people. On whose power and authority, nobody knows.
Worst still, the identity of the threat was still unknown. How could America retaliate or help those in need if they do not know what they were up against? How could the President send his armies to an enemy territory without correct and precise intelligence? Indeed, how could he risk American lives on a mission doomed to fail?
But act they must. Not only people were being oppressed, they were being butchered. When the freedom and the very lives of the people were being threatened, those who have power should do whatever they could to help. For it was not only their moral responsibility. It was their obligation.
Beep. Beep.
"Mr. President, National Security Advisor Jeff Helfman is here sir, with a Mr. Charles Chamber."
"Let them in."
The door that led to the corridor opposite the Roosevelt Room opened and closed noiselessly.
"Take a seat," ordered the President without turning around.
"Mr. President, I have information with regards to England," Jeff Helfman begun.
At last, the President thought, some answers. Turning around, the President finally saw the man that accompanied NSA Jeff Helfman. "What the hell is this? Is this some kind of a joke?"
For indeed, the man beside his advisor was a tall man wearing blue robes.
"First, let me introduce myself," said the man in blue robes. "My name is Charles Chamber, Minister of the Ministry of Magic (U.S.A). And I came here to tell you, Mr. President, about a wizard named Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort."
oOo
"Who the bloody hell are you?" demanded one of his men. Jugson managed to hide his scowl. These new recruits were far too eager and do not have the proper discipline. He will have to teach them a lesson later, but first, the girl. The Dark Lord had made it painfully clear that apprehending the girl was to be the utmost priority.
The stranger didn't reply. Instead, he removed his hood and mumbled something to the girl, visibly calming her.
Jugson quickly realized who the mystery man was. The Marauders was two years below him when he was still a student in Hogwarts and everyone knew them, especially the Slytherins who were always the target of their pranks.
"Lycan," he growled menacingly, capturing the attention of Remus Lupin. He was surprised to see deep rage in the eyes of the werewolf, whom he had known to be calm and composed.
"Jugson," he acknowledge tersely.
"Give the girl here."
"And what if I refuse?" said Lupin.
"Then you'll die," he replied- then added as an after thought, "painfully."
"Then so be it," Lupin said then drew his wand out. He whispered something to the girl and then she ran behind a large garbage dump, away from the oncoming fight.
Jugson couldn't believe that Lupin was actually thinking of fighting. He was outnumbered five to one! Even being a werewolf wouldn't be able to help him now, especially as they were in a narrow alleyway, limiting Lupin's maneuverability. But Jugson knew enough not to underestimate his enemy. He was after all a Marauder. Signaling his men, he ordered them to spread out and approach him. Lupin was known for his wide-range spells. Being near him and far from each other would prevent him from using such spells. Jugson watched as his men move towards Lupin cautiously, obviously waiting for Lupin to make the first move. Right, Jugson thought, let him make the first move. We've got all the time we need.
Lupin was glancing around the four Death Eaters approaching him, obviously thinking for a battle plan. Jugson didn't give him any chance. He signaled his men to attack, which they obeyed immediately, sending curses simultaneously. Lupin blocked them all with one powerful shielding charm.
"Attack alternately! Don't give him a chance to rest and retaliate!" Jugson ordered. It turned out to be a sound choice as Lupin's shield was becoming weaker and weaker with the onslaught of the curses. No one dared used the killing curse as it took a few seconds longer to cast it than most simple curses. Those few seconds were far too important as Lupin could use it to perform a counterattack.
Minutes later, the shield gave way and Lupin was thrown to the near wall from a complex banishing spell.
Jugson didn't wait for him to recover; he immediately sent a disarming spell to Lupin. Lupin was once again thrown back to a wall while his wand flew to the waiting hands of Jugson.
"Well, well, well. How the mighty have fallen," Jugson smirked, standing above the beaten body of Remus Lupin. He could see from his peripheral vision that one of his companions had grabbed the girl. At least, thought Jugson, some of them have potential.
"Leave the girl alone," wheezed Lupin. "She's just an innocent bystander."
"Fool! The girl is more important than you think. The Dark Lord has some specific plans for her." Jugson saw that blood was dripping from the side of Lupin's mouth. It appeared that Lupin's wounds were far more serious than he first originally thought. You're death is assured Lycan.
"What? She's barely fifteen! What use can she possibly have to your Dark Lord?"
"The Dark Lord doesn't tell his great plans until it is necessary. But I assure you, the death of all impure bloods will be certain. There will be no escape from the wrath of the Dark Lord!"
"The plans of your Dark Lord will not be fulfilled. The Order will not allow it! Even the Ministry will not allow it!" he spat as he tried to stand but only managed to lean on the brick wall behind him.
"Ah, how naïve can you get, Lycan? The Ministry had been generous to the Dark Lord's plans. They had been helping us all along," Jugson smirked.
"What? What do you mean? Fudge is under the Imperius control?" stuttered Lupin as he coughed up blood.
"That's the beauty of it, we didn't have to. Fudge thought that he had been doing all the right things against us but the truth was he had been helping us on the long run. He had taken Hogwarts and disbanded the Order and now he had set up a blockade against refugees heading north. Now tomorrow we can completely purify England!"
"Purify England? What the bloody hell does that mean?"
"I know what you're doing Lycan," muttered Jugson calmly as he sized Lupin up. "You're just trying to delay your death. Well, it ends now!"
To Jugson's utter amazement, Lupin suddenly stood up erectly then grinned at him. "Well, I guess the game's over." Before Jugson could react, Lupin drew another wand from his back, pointed it upwards, and then shouted "Lumos Maximus!"
A bright white light suddenly covered the whole alleyway, temporarily blinding the Death Eaters. When the light dissipated, and their eyesight went back to normal, Jugson quickly saw that Lupin was gone along with the girl. The Death Eater that was holding her was lying on the ground, completely unconscious.
"Bloody hell!" shouted Jugson angrily. "I've been played!" The Dark Lord was not going to be happy with him. And what was worst, he had just revealed some of the plans of the Dark Lord to a known and dangerous enemy.
oOo
"What is this?" asked Mr. Granger as he looked at the large wall that didn't seem to have any end at all at all sides. There were supposed to have a border checkpoint in where they were standing but all they could see was a sturdy-looking wall that goes on and on for miles.
"It's magical," Hermione whispered. "I could sense magic tingling in every rock of this wall."
"Well, that doesn't help us any," complained Mr. Granger. "How are we supposed to get past this?"
"Herm-own-ninny!"
"What? Where?" Hermione glanced around, looking for the owner of that familiar voice and accent. But then she looked up and saw him, gliding down towards them in his Firebolt broomstick.
"Viktor! What ever are you doing here?" Hermione exclaimed, completely bewildered why Viktor Krum was here.
"I vas vollowing you," he answered, looking extremely embarrassed.
"And why would you follow me?" Hermione asked shocked. It seemed a bit creepy of thinking somebody had been following you unbeknownst to you.
"I haff made a promise and I haff to keep it!" Krum replied, confusing Hermione even more. "Look, that's not the point. I vent up there and there vere Aurors guarding up there. I asked how a muggle and muggleborn should be able to pass and they told me that there vas a gate fifty to sixty miles east from here."
"Alrighty then," Hermione's father exclaimed cheerfully. "Viktor, why don't you accompany us? You can sit at the back."
Viktor accepted wholeheartedly.
oOo
The loud sound echoed throughout the Burrow, waking all of its occupants from their deep slumber. Hurriedly, they grabbed their wands, already prepared for any type of battle. As one they climbed down the stairs and went outside, their wands at ready and eyes roving the darkness. The sound was familiar and yet, unfamiliar too. It was kind of a rumbling, like a thunder hesitating. The sound was getting louder and louder. And after a few seconds, Ginny let out a gasp and pointed to the sky, her left hand covering her mouth. Wands swiveled upwards, hands trembling and hearts pounding. The rumblings were getting louder and louder, a bright light heading directly towards them. Seconds later, they found out what exactly it was.
It was a big black motorcycle and riding it was none other than Remus J. Lupin. He landed just a foot away from them and immediately got off, everyone noticing the girl with him.
"Remus!" Arthur Weasley exclaimed. "What happened to you?" His clothes were obviously tattered and there were patches of blood on his robes and face.
"Arthur, can I talk to you in private?" Lupin said without preamble and then turned towards Molly. "Molly, can you look after her for a minute? I think she needs a bath and a fresh batch of clothes," He said indicating the girl with him.
"Oh, alright," Molly agreed readily. The girl had obviously just been in a horrible experience and the mother in her had just completely taken over. "C'mon then pumpkin, let's get you all tidied up."
The girl, already tired and knackered, went with her without any hesitation, leaving Remus, Arthur, the twins, Ginny and Ron outside.
"Kids, can you leave us alone for a second?" asked Arthur. The teens left, albeit reluctantly. They made noises as they trudged back inside. When he saw that they were indeed out of earshot, he turned to Remus. "So what's going on Remus? Who's the girl? Tonks had been worried about you, you know."
Remus managed to look remorseful at the mention of Tonks' name but quickly shook it off. "The girl is important to Voldemort. I need you to keep an eye on her for a moment."
"Really? Who is she?"
"I don't know. Jugson didn't know either. I was lucky enough that he was somewhat talkative earlier. I was able to extract some information from him. Anyway, what do you know about Ministry's blockade?"
"Oh…. Yeah, that." Arthur murmured thoughtfully. "Fudge raised Augustus' Wall."
"What? What was he thinking!"
"Who knows? Probably trying to save his own skin. Why? What did you found out about it?"
"Voldemort is going to attack there tomorrow."
"Oh dear! Hermione! Remus, last time I heard from Tonks, she said that Hermione and her family were heading up there."
Lupin cursed. "Do you have any idea who's guarding the wall?"
"None whatsoever," Arthur replied gloomily.
"All right, I'm heading there straight from here." Lupin said then added in a small voice that Arthur almost didn't hear him. "I'm going to keep her safe. That's what Harry would want me to do."
"Perhaps I should go with you. As they said, two wands are better than one."
"No." Remus replied resolutely. "I need you to look after the girl. I don't know why but I've got a feeling that she has an important role to play in the war."
"Alright," Arthur sighed. He trusted Remus' judgment with these types of things.
"Have you made any contact with the other members?" Remus asked.
"Unfortunately, no. The last member I saw was Tonks and that was days ago. She was sent here by Fudge to deliver a message."
"And that would be?"
Arthur sighed. "That all Ministry officials would be living in Hogsmeade. Actually, we would be heading there in a few hours."
"I think that's an actually good idea. You can try and see what happened to the others."
"Yes, I guess so," Arthur sighed, rubbing his chin with his gloved hands.
"I guess I'm off now. I'll try to contact you tomorrow. Take care of the girl, alright?"
"You don't have to worry about her. You take care of yourself, Remus."
But Remus didn't seem to hear him as he trudged back to the motorcycle, not realizing that the teens had been listening with their extendable ears.
"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, quite panic-eyed.
"We should do something," suggested Fred.
"Yeah, but what?" asked Ginny.
"How about leaving right now with our broomsticks and fly there?" suggested George.
"Mom would kill us!" said Ginny.
"No." It was Ron.
"We would be going to Hogsmeade like planned earlier with mum and dad. We're not going to sneak of to a foolhardy mission without any sort of plans.
"Well then, ickle Ronniekins, why don't you tell us what you are planning?" asked Fred with a grimace.
"Well, first we would need help."
"Yeah?" George challenged. "That's obvious."
But Ron just grinned at him. "Yeah, and the other D.A. members are bound to be in Hogsmeade as well."
oOo
"So what am I supposed to tell the public?" the President of the United States of America asked the Minister of Magic (U.S.A.) as they walked on a hall that curiously enough was made up of some sort of metal. The man called Charles Chambers had produced a card that he called as a portkey and handed to him. When he touched it, he immediately felt a tug on his chest and the next thing he knew, he was being ushered around to what looked like something out of a Star Trek movie. He was still having trouble believing all of this magic thingies.
"Cover story is the easy part," replied Minister Chambers. "Tell them a rogue British General gone wild. Can't come up with satellite photos 'cause of the storm, which is true enough, and that you're going to send Marines for evacuation help. Which is basically true but instead of Marines, we would be doing that job. Ah, yes, here we are. Mr. President, I want to introduce you to Stingray 1 to 3. The very first of their kind."
Before them was a large docking bay that could fit ten football stadiums. People in diverse color of robes were running around waving their wands on various instruments. Men were shouting in unbelievably loud voice as if they were holding microphones. But at the dock area was the most amazing thing the President had ever seen in his whole life. Floating in midair was a vehicle shaped like giant stingrays, only thousand times bigger. Its wings were made of silvery material that he hadn't seen before. It was like metal and yet soft and flexible. He could see two more beyond the one in front of him. What are these people capable off?
"What- what are those things?"
"The very first techno-org-magical vehicle that wizards had been made to built. As you can notice, it is the synthesis of muggle technology with organics and magic. For years we were searching for ways of combining the three and now that we have, the possibilities are limitless."
"What can those do?" It was natural to ask. Devices more terrible had been invented before and he didn't know what could happen if such device were ever put into the wrong hands.
"The Stingrays are more of a mass transportation vehicle. Portkeys are limited in more ways than one. We had installed it with a new experimental device that is charmed with patronus. We haven't tested it as we are running out of time. You must understand President that the reason we approach you in the first place was because we would be transporting a high number of muggles into the country. Memory modifying on such quantities could be very harmful and we do not want to risk future problems."
"We are prepared to move out, Mr. President." Chambers added. "The only thing we need is your word."
The President took a deep breath and then looked at the Stingrays then back at the Minister of Magic. Then he nodded. "Move out!"
Charles Chamber smiled then saluted. The sirens went off, bright lights started flashing everywhere. Men were running to and fro shouting at one another. Charles looked one last time at his surroundings then went to board Stingray 1, leaving the President with a technician as the Stingrays took off.
