Harry Potter and the MI7
Chapter 1: First Contact
Agent Croaker woke up a few minutes before the wand alarm was due to go off. Refusing to move before it was absolutely necessary; he considered the games being played by the major power factions in the wizarding world over the last few months. Dumbledore had been on the run since his problems with Madam Umbridge & Minister Fudge at Hogwarts; however he was still insisting to anyone who would listen that Lord Voldemort had returned and was gaining strength and power. While he may have lost some creditability, the 'Leader of the Light' still held some sway with some people and his 'Order of the Phoenix' believed every word he said. The Order was also still floating around the entrance hall of the Department Of Mysteries in shifts as though they were expecting something to happen in that area of the Ministry.
The Ministry, on the other hand, were denying any and every shred of possible evidence that Lord Voldemort had indeed returned and were still publishing the idea that Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore were completely insane, deranged and possibly dangerous via the Daily Prophet newspaper. Minister Fudge had adopted the 'bury my head in the sand and hope it all goes away' methodology, causing the Ministry to be completely underprepared for the inevitable attack by Lord Voldemort.
Lord Voldemort – aka Tom Riddle – had been very, very quiet since his return to the living world last summer which was unexpected and dangerous at the same time. It was believed that Dumbledore was correct in that Riddle was amassing his forces in preparation for an onslaught that the wizarding world would be unable to repel. The two major questions as far as Riddle was concerned were where was the initial attack going to take place, and when?
And then there was the wildcard group: Harry Potter and his friends, who had been training themselves very seriously over the last few months if the reports were to be believed. Their short-term agenda was not completely clear, but it appeared on the surface that Harry was gaining people together in preparation of taking the fight to at least one of the groups, possibly two or even all three!
Of course Croaker's Intel let him know the one thing that could change the playing field considerably should its contents be disclosed. The damn prophecy that was the catalyst to the end of the first Voldemort war and the possible turning point of the second Voldemort war that was about to about to begin.
S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D.
Dark Lord & (?) Harry Potter
One group already knew the contents of that prophecy, or rather one member of said group; as Dumbledore had a reputation for holding his secrets close to his chest and not disclosing information if he could get away with it. It made sense that he wouldn't inform the Order of its contents in case one of them were captured and tortured for information. Croaker knew it was only a matter of time before one of the other groups made a move to obtain the Prophecy and attempt to use the information in some way. Of course only Harry or Tom could actually remove the orb from the shelf so the players in the game were limited somewhat, but he would have to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the Department Of Mysteries.
His wand alarm rang on his bedside table only once, as Croaker reached over and cancelled it in a swift, well practiced move. 7am was a disgusting hour, but he had a feeling today would be an important day. He had no specific reason to believe this, but years on the job told him his instincts were normally correct so he best be prepared for anything today.
^...^
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====w=w===
Spell fire exploded behind them as the Death Eaters rounded the corner into the corridor the group stood in. "RUN!" Harry shouted, and the students split up, running for their lives. Harry and Hermione broke left and sprinted down that corridor, while the others broke right and headed for the door back to the circular room they were in previously. Harry and Hermione reached a door at the end of the corridor just as the Death Eaters reached the junction between the 2 groups. Almost all of them set off in pursuit of the larger group, thinking they could take down that group and wait at the only exit for Hermione, Harry and the prophecy orb they were to obtain.
Vincent Crabbe Snr. and Gregory Goyle Snr. had other ideas though. They both turned left and ran after the smaller group, thinking of the fame and glory they could achieve if they were the ones to hand over the prophecy to the Dark Lord. No longer would they be the laughing stocks of the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord would reward them with all of their desires.
Harry and Hermione ran through the door, slamming it behind them. Hermione shouted "Colloportus", locking the door and continued running towards the door at the other end of the room. 2 loud thuds at the door suggested their 2 pursuers had hit the door and bounced back of it. "Nice one Hermione, but now what?" Harry asked, looking around the room. It was an odd room that appeared to be almost empty, except for the doors at each end and one large portrait of a well-dressed muggle woman on another wall.
Hermione took in her surroundings, before replying, "Well, there's no cover in here and Colloportus is easily countered with Alohomora so I suggest we go through the next door and hope there is something we can use to take down the idiots following us."
Harry nodded his agreement as he opened the next door, having a look before entering. Nothing but darkness was beyond the door; even the light from the room they were in didn't appear to penetrate the darkness past the doorframe. "Well, it's a good thing we don't have a choice or I wouldn't want to go in here." Harry said, sounding worried.
Hermione grabbed his left hand with her right and moved toward the new room; "Come on, we've got to go." They entered the room and 2 bright red jets of light hit them in their chests. The darkness engulfed their consciousness as well as their sense of sight, and they both fell to the ground with their hands still clasped together.
Crabbe Snr. and Goyle Snr. had regained their own sense of sight after nearly knocking themselves out after running at the locked door. "Uh, what's the unlocking spell again?" Crabbe asked, as he tried to push the door open with brute strength. "Err... oh I know, it's that one that starts with 'A'" Goyle looked deep in thought, which appeared to be painful for him.
Finally figuring it out, he shouted "Alohomora" and the door unlocked just as Crabbe was about to ram the door in an effort to break it down. Crabbe crashed through the door and hit the floor face first, breaking his nose. Goyle pulled him up and they looked around. "Where are they?" Crabbe asked, holding his face.
"Dunno. Let's check that door." Goyle strode over to the next door and yanked it open. A booming voice echoed out the door, "You are not welcome here. Leave now or you will be eliminated. This is your only warning." The two Death Eaters looked at each other, and a moment later both of them said "Fuck this", turned around and left.
^...^
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====w=w===
Neville & Ginny found themselves pinned down behind a table, trying to figure out a way to get themselves out of their current predicament. Padma was unconscious, hit with a spell that knocked her into the wall behind them as she stood up to return fire. Luna was bleeding heavily from several cuts she had received at the hands of the Death Eaters while running into the room and was slumped against the wall next to Ron. The only two things going for them was their position at present; behind a metal table that appeared to be magically enhanced as it was repelling any spells hitting it; and the layout of the room meant they couldn't be hit from behind in here.
"Ginny?" Neville said.
"Yeah?" Ginny replied.
"How the hell are we going to get out of this? There's too many of them. Stupefy!" Neville shot blindly over the metal table, hoping to hit someone.
"For a start Nev, you can start throwing some heavier spells. Reducto!" Ginny threw the spell into the crowd and heard a scream from the opposite end of the room.
"I think I hit someone?" Ginny said, as the two listened intently for any sign of movement from the enemy. After what felt like an eternity passing with no noise, Ginny and Neville looked at each other with expressions of matching confusion.
"You didn't hit all of them, did you?" Neville asked.
Ginny shook her head uncertainly, "Nah, at least I don't think so? Let's have a look." They slowly rose, ready to duck for cover in case the Death Eaters were waiting on them to move, but nothing happened. There was no-one there, either in the room or in the corridor outside it. "What the hell is going on?" Both said simultaneously.
^...^
/ o,o \
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====w=w===
Harry woke with a start, sitting up he screamed, "Hermione!" hoping nothing had happened to her. "I'm right here Harry." came a familiar voice from beside him. Harry turned to see Hermione lying beside him on what looked like a bed found in a hospital. "Oh thank goodness, I didn't know if you'd been hurt, or taken away. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt following me into the trap that you pointed out was probably waiting on me. I should've listened to you. You all shouldn't have come with me; it's too dangerous following me anymore. It's my entire fault we're in this mess." Harry finished almost in a whisper as he looked down, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. Tears of frustration, tears of fear or tears of self-loathing he wasn't sure, but he didn't really care at this point.
Hermione sat up, reached over and lifted his head so that his eyes met hers. "That is nonsense and you know it. Don't you dare imply that we were all sheep, willing to follow someone blindly without using our own brains to evaluate the risks! I knew there was always the chance of a trap but if you thought I wasn't going with you then you are a complete idiot! I would follow you to hell and back if I have to Harry Potter." Sensing his mood improving slightly, she let go of his chin and smiled slightly; "Or at least to Mount Doom."
Harry chuckled, knowing that he was probably the only other one of their group who would even understand the reference, let alone the humour behind it. This train of thought kick-started his brain to process the situation. "Thanks 'Mione, and you know I'd do the same for you. Now we need to figure out where we are so we can find the others and get the hell out of the ministry before Tom shows up. Any ideas on what happened to us?" Harry asked while looking around.
Hermione looked around as well; "I have no idea where we are. I remember going through the door, then seeing a couple of red lights coming straight at us. No-one said any spells so I'm only guessing but the red light I saw normally indicates one of two spells, either we were hit by two Expelliarmus spells or we were hit by a pair of Stupifies? Since we were knocked out by the spell I think the Stupify option is the right one, not that it helps us any."
The door on their left opened and a man walked in, wearing what looked like a very expensive 3-piece suit and a bright smile on his face. "Excellent Miss Granger that is exactly what happened. We moved your bodies in here after we knocked you out; and you can stop franticly looking around for your wands as I have them right here." The two teens stopped patting themselves down to see the man holding both their wands in his left hand. Harry noticed that he wasn't holding his own wand, nor was he pointing their wands at them. He wasn't even holding them the right way as the handles of both wands were pointing at the floor. Taking this as a good sign, Harry found his voice; "Where are we, and who are you?"
The man nodded, "Ah straight to the point Mr Potter? Very well, you are currently in a sub-division of the Department of Mysteries; a sub-division which I am fairly certain you would never hear and/or know about had you not come to us. You see we do not openly publicize the fact that we even exist, let alone tell people what we do. As to who I am, well I am not going to give you a name yet so for the purposes of this conversation please call me Roy. Now if you are both able to walk, could you please follow me. We have much to discuss."