A/N: Thanks to Firedancer885 who reviewed... Fine, fine, I'll post.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 5
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of terror,
victory however long and hard the road may be:
for without victory there is no survival."
- Winston Churchill
Albus Dumbledore was a man who always had several aces up his voluminous purple sleeves--and a couple of extra in his robe's secret pockets just in case.
The Order of the Phoenix was seen by the general population--the few that have even heard of it--as a mere ragtag group of vigilantes, occasionally allied with the Ministry of Magic but usually working outside it. Their resources seemed limited, and they didn't have the approval of the wizarding world to go as they please.
But despite his reputation, many underestimated Albus Dumbledore, thinking him a mere aging glory-hound. Nevertheless, he managed to rally to him several different sympathetic groups that have been formed during the period of chaos.
One of them was the Poxes, a group of half-blood wizards and witches who were poor or even homeless after the rest of the wizarding world shunned them for being 'filthy' or 'easy targets.' Some of them were Hogwarts students who dropped out because they were afraid, or because they couldn't afford to stay.
Albus made allies among them by offering them small jobs in Hogwarts and through the other Order members. He also allowed an old property of his somewhere northeast to be used as a home. The old manor was large enough for all of them, and the grounds sufficient enough to be farmed for their food.
Other groups--outcasts of society such as werewolves and hags, even gangs of street children, as well as some small business men who wanted to help secretly--also contacted Order members to ask for and to offer help.
Added to the top minds of his former and current students, and brilliant professors in his employ, Dumbledore had a formidable army indeed.
Remus shook his head while reading reports inside his nearly bare room. Nobody but Dumbledore even knew them all, the spies in their employ, the people supplying their projects, the places where they trained their recruits in dueling or in undercover work. Sometimes, Remus felt more and more like a tiny cog in an elaborate gigantic clock ticking down in slow-motion towards That Day.
But it was coming. Slowly, messages were trickling towards the far reaches of Europe, calling on werewolf clans in Ireland and Finland and half-giants in Africa. Their contacts in the ministry were also bringing in groups of specialized French and Spanish agents, overtly following ministry orders but also aware and loyal to the Order. Dumbledore's reputation spread far and wide.
Remus blinked down at the parchment in his hands. A French agent had replied to his request a couple of weeks ago regarding the horcrux. 'Got it. Will send jewel over as soon as possible.' He smiled sadly. If only Peter were around to see what was going on. His missing friend had been becoming more and more pessimistic about the war efforts just before he disappeared. Something twanged in Remus' head, a thought that he immediately denied and repressed.
Never mind that. Remus tried to focus on the future instead of his gloomy thoughts. Things were beginning to happen. The headmaster's plans were coming to fruition. And they only had three more horcruxes to track down.
Albus had told them not to destroy the things immediately. The Dark Lord was still somehow intimately tied to the pieces of his soul and would know at once if one of them ceases to exist. But he was theoretically unaffected by the objects being moved, since they were already scattered so far.
Remus thought about a way to protect the jewel yet keep it close. Perhaps he could ward it through knots like what the Indians could supposedly do. He could wear it as a necklace, while letting the cord itself keep it and him safe.
He shuffled through the other notes on his desk, trying to find the ones on rope magic that he received from James. After he could ward it, he could concentrate on finding the other one. Severus had told him that the two other horcruxes that they were seeking were hidden by the Dark Lord's two most trusted supporters: Lucius Malfoy and Igor Karkaroff. Since Igor was now a professor in the Wizarding school in Bulgaria, that was where Remus was headed next. Snape was going to shadow Malfoy for hints of the remaining object.
Someone knocked at his door. Remus looked up in distraction. He wasn't expecting anyone, so his jaw practically dropped open when he saw the person on the other side.
"Moony!" James launched himself at his friend, his blinding smile making him look even more dark-skinned. Remus could only hug back. James was still lean, but there was something different in his eyes.
"Fatherhood seemed to have agreed with you," Remus stated as he pushed James away to look him over. His childhood friend was dressed in light canvas pants and a simple white shirt, quite unlike the embroidered jewel-toned robes he used to favor as a teen.
James looked down at himself shyly. "Yeah, Harry and Ellis have taught me more than McGonagall has ever done. And not just how to change nappies and the like."
Remus took James by the arm and pulled him inside. They spent the rest of the night talking about India, Lily, his sons, Peter, Sirius' injury and the situation back home.
"So what are you doing back so soon, anyway?" Remus asked when the conversation lapsed for a few minutes. He could barely keep his eyes open.
James just smiled at him with a hint of his old mischievous ways. "Do you even have to ask, Moony? I've come home to fight."
Lily looked up from the notes her husband left behind. "Mum, is there something I can do?" Harry softly asked from the doorway.
Lily smiled at her almost nine-year old son. "You just mind your brother, alright? Thanks, dear," she replied distractedly before diving right back into James's nearly illegible handwriting.
She had to work on something so her mind would not be plagued with worries about the battles back home. More than a year had passed, and Ellis was already three years old. But still the war waged on all over Europe in small skirmishes. Remus and James were now both contacting her through the radio to give her updates, but they told her to expect more time in between calls as soon as the battles start in earnest.
It helped Lily's studies that the notes her husband left behind were fascinating. James was convinced that the object was in a temple somewhere, as he chronicled young Voldemort's pilgrimage to all the Buddhist temples in the area. And Lily remembered clearly the mention of Nirvana in the prophecy that she helped to decipher. Her research told her it was a Buddhist concept of heaven that follows self-sacrifice. It was sketchy but still strengthened the connection to Buddhism.
Now the only problem was whether Voldemort picked a major temple, or a minor, nearly forgotten one to hide his essence. And what object he would place his soul inside? Would he put it in an actual statue of Buddha? Or another object commonly found inside a temple? Lily rubbed her eyes as she went through the list of possibilities. None of the witnesses James interviewed were really helpful. They were still used to the policy that outsiders and foreigners were not to be trusted.
Lily would have to see them for herself. She thought about the tiny snake egg locked and warded inside her jewelry box in her dresser, and shuddered. Despite her interest in finding the horcrux, she was not looking forward to being in the presence of another piece of Voldemort's soul.
In the kitchen of their small home, Harry stirred the saucepan with his tiny hand holding a wooden spoon and sighed. He wished his mother would snap out of whatever obsession she was in soon. He really missed not cooking his own dinner.
Harry sighed some more as Ellis began to cry from his playpen. He covered the chowder, and stepped off the stool. His little brother probably needed to be changed again.
