THE NEW ORDER

By

Padfootjr23

Chapter Sixteen: State of Emergency

Dumbledore sat in his office while he massaged the sides of his head. Currently his office was full of his colleagues and various Ministry officials, all demanding to know the identity of the mysterious fighters who stopped the attack on Diagon Ally. While he always delighted in knowing what others did not this was one situation that he was forced to play ignorant on. He could fully understand everyone's confusion and their demand for answers but they were really beginning to get on his nerves.

"SILENCE!" He roared and within an instant the office seemed to have fell victim to a rather powerful silencing charm. Of course that was only because no one wanted to anger an already annoyed Albus Dumbledore. "Now, as I said before, I have no answers to offer you. This is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you. So if you are here simply to demand these people's identity you might as well leave now, because I don't know." Moody and McGonagall stood off to the side and wore identical smirks as everyone began shouting more and more questions despite Dumbledore's denial. Knowing full well who they were, they were more than content to sit back and watch their boss get mobbed by those that thought he knew everything. Remus stood towards the back of the room and looked at Albus with a curious expression. Being that he and Moody were the only ones present when Harry suggested making battlerobes out of the Basilisk skin, he was naturally suspicious concerning the 'magnificent' battlerobes the fighters in question were reported to have been wearing.

"ALRIGHT NOW THAT'S ENOUGH!" The Headmaster shouted as the questions seemed to have no end. "Now, I will kindly ask you all to bugger off." He said irritably causing most of those within the room to look at him in shock for his use of language and the only sound that could be heard was Moody's loud bark of laughter. "Alister, Minerva, Remus and the two of you," he said while looking toward the two hooded figures standing in the corner. "Please stay behind." It seemed that with the mob of people within the office these two people had avoided Moody's attention. Now that everyone else was leaving and Dumbledore basically pointed them out they now held his full attention. As his magical gaze focused on the pair he saw through their dark hoods and his breath caught in his throat and his eyes went wide in disbelief. The moment the office door slammed shut the man shot out of his chair and aimed his wand at the two of them.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" He demanded loudly causing McGonagall to jump in surprise and Remus to look at the two in suspicion as he slowly put more distance between them. Albus seemed to find the situation humorous and looked on with the customary twinkle in his eyes.

"Why don't the two of you sit down and join us?" McGonagall and Remus looked between Moody, the two unknowns and Dumbledore in confusion while Alister stared at the Headmaster in disbelief at his apparent acceptance of the situation. James and Lily looked at each of the people around them in trepidation before lowering their hoods. Had it been under any other circumstances they would have found their reactions quite humorous but given the situation that humor was replaced with fear.

McGonagall actually fainted but the real surprise was Remus. At first his face had gone chalk white but that had quickly given way to rage. After waking McGonagall and ordering Moody to lower his wand Dumbledore with the help of the Potters once again explained what had happened and where they had been for the last fourteen years. Like everyone else that had been told, each of them were very angry at their deception and their 'cowardice' as Moody put it. Remus' reaction was surprising, though not altogether unexpected. When James finished telling their story he seemed to lose control of his normally tightly leashed temper and damn near beat James into the ground before storming out of the room. But as angry as they were, none of them felt the same deep sense of betrayal that Harry had felt.

XXX

Geoffrey Stevens stood at the head of the meeting hall within the Department of Mysteries with an unreadable expression on his face. After the initial shock, panic and anger over the attack on Diagon Ally he had called a full meeting of the Corps of Unspeakables. This included recalling all field personnel and commanders. To make sure that no one was tipped off about the true nature of this meeting his secretary has orders to send out the required paperwork to both Fudge and Dumbledore just as the meeting got under way.

He watched quietly as his Unspeakables began to filter in after depositing their wands at the door, as was their custom, speaking to each other in hushed whispers as they tried to determine just what their boss thought was important enough to recall all of their forces. Nearly ten minutes later everyone was seated and he looked out over the nearly three hundred faces staring back at him. He paused for a moment on the twenty or thirty figures in the back that were wearing dark clothing and hoods that were charmed to hide their appearance. But unlike most charms not even Moody's magical eye could penetrate their disguises. These were the best the Department of Mysteries had to offer and they were trusted with the most sensitive missions and assignments. Unlike the rest, these men and women sat in absolute silence and made no movements or gestures that could possibly aid those seeking their true identities. No one with the exception of Stevens was permitted to know who they truly were.

After looking into the eyes of everyone present he decided that even if they all turned out to be loyal this night would still serve a purpose. Potter found a flaw in their security and he pointed it out, a flaw they should never have allowed to grow into what it was today. Taking a deep breath he stepped up to the podium that had just risen out of the floor at the head of the hall. Despite all his experience talking to groups he was certainly not looking forward to this speech.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, for centuries the Department of Mysteries has been held as the most honored and celebrated department in the Ministry. And among its many employees the Unspeakables stand out as its shining star. The only thing that eclipses your dedication is the honor in which you go about your work." Here he paused for a bit as many within the room stood up and cheered at his words or praise. After a few quick moments he raised his hands and called for silence.

"For sixty years I served as an Unspeakable and it was this Corps that held Grindlewald at bay until Albus Dumbledore could defeat him. It was this Corps that took the fight to the enemy when Voldemort first tried to gain power, and we will do so again. Unfortunately, the honor and respect fought for and earned by those that came before us has recently come in to question." The room was absolutely silent for some time before many began protesting this statement and demanding to know who dared to question their loyalty.

"Unfortunately three of the most prominent members of magical Britain have either straight out accused us of illegal activity or have acted in a fashion that would lend credibility to these claims.

Harry Potter, as you know, killed twelve of our number single handedly. He claims that the men he killed were Death Eaters that were holding him and others captive and of course Albus Dumbledore believes his story. And Cornelius Fudge continues to hold Adam McNair at an undisclosed location to prevent him from talking to anyone. These are the facts and I don't like what they have added up to. I regret the actions I must now take but I see no other alternative." With his last somber word the doors at the back of the hall slammed back open and Amelia Bones strolled in with Kingsley Shacklebolt at her side. However it was the mass of armed Aurors that held the Unspeakables' attention.

Madam Bones and Shacklebolt reached the front of the room as the Aurors lined the walls with wands drawn incase anyone attempted to leave before being question. As if rehearsed the entire hall erupted at the same time shouting questions and demanding the removal of the Aurors, or at least their weapons. Stevens cast a sonorous charm on his throat and was able to get everyone under control in a matter of moments before continuing in a more somber voice.

"I regret that it has come to this. It has recently been brought to my attention how the Death Eaters could quite easily plant spies within the department. As a result of this new information I decided that everyone, agents and commanders alike, must be tested on a routine basis, myself included. Given the fact that I was planning on investigating corruption within the Corps it is quite obvious that I could not ask any of you to assist so I was forced to look for outside help. But before I could get that assistance I was forced to do something that hasn't been done in over four hundred years.

Less than five minutes ago the paperwork was sent to the offices of Minister Fudge and Chief Warlock Dumbledore explaining the situation and informing them that I have declared a state of emergency within the department." This time instead of the big boom of shouts and demands he had already received twice he was met with stone silence as everyone looked at him with dumbfounded expression. "From this very moment until the end of our investigation Madam Bones has direct control over the Department of Mysteries and her Aurors have the authorization to view any files pertinent to this case. Considering the seriousness of the situation you must cooperate with them or you will be treated as a possible Death Eater and await questioning in a holding cell.

You will all be questioned extensively under Veritaserum to determine your loyalties before you leave here today. The results will be placed in your records with those of your other interrogations. That is of course where we must make some exceptions for some of our other members." He said while looking at the hooded figures in the back once again. "You will all be question by only me, Madam Bones and Chief Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. If you are proved to be innocent your transcript will be destroyed to keep your identities and the details of your 'projects' safe. They will both be placed under the strictest of secrecy charms to make sure that they can not reveal your identities to anyone else. Is that acceptable?" The cloaked figures seemed to look at each other for a moment before looking towards their boss and nodding slowly.

"Now, as for their wands," He began with a sigh when he saw many of his men still eyeing the Aurors with rage. "Since this wing of the Ministry was built over seven hundred years ago no weapon has ever been allowed to pass through that door. It is a tradition that we observe to show our respect and to honor those that have fought and died for the same cause that we still struggle with. However, all of the respect and honor in the world will mean nothing if we allow Death Eaters to infiltrate our ranks. I will admit that there is a very strong possibility that our interrogations will yield nothing. But for the sake of those that came before us and for those who will come after us we must make sure that this department is always secure." When he was finished he turned and nodded at Mrs. Bones who then signaled her Aurors.

About fifty of the men and women stepped forward to escort the twenty six commanders out of the room to be questioned. It was decided to start with them considering they would be the ones in the best positions to aid Voldemort. If they found a Death Eater among them it would stand to reason that he may have recruited others in to his own team so it shouldn't be very hard to track them down.

XXX

Everyone had decided to wait awhile before questioning the Death Eaters to give them time to rest and heal the wounds they had received during the fight. So with nothing else to do Harry decided to take a quick nap. When he woke and glanced at the clock on his bedside table he was quite surprised to see that it was already after two in the afternoon. Pulling himself out of bed he striped off his battlerobes and headed for his first destination. A hot shower.

An hour later Harry stumbled out of his room after sleeping off his fatigue for a few hours. Due to the grueling training Bill and Snape had been putting him through magical exhaustion was not really a danger except in the case of dueling for a very prolonged period of time. The same could be said for Blaise as well and Susan was making some outstanding progress. But during the attack Diagon Ally Harry had fallen victim to his greatest enemy. His own emotions.

Even after several weeks of having Snape and others 'attempting' to teach him how to control his emotions he wasn't making very much progress. Maybe it was a byproduct of his upbringing with the Dursley's but he had never been able to simply think things through when he was in an emotional state. This was the problem that left Harry so drained that afternoon. He had let his anger run wild and as a result many of his spells were drawing to much energy out of him and as the fight continued he was quickly growing weaker. When they arrived back at the house Snape, Steven and Juan escorted their prisoners down to the basement where they were to be held under guard. Steven and Juan were twin brothers that had moved to England four years before from Spain. They had many of the same odd habits as the Weasley twins but unlike their red headed counterparts they did not have a mind for pranks. Instead they usually passed the time by picking arguments with each other that usually escalated into a full out brawl. Needless to say, Snape wasn't overly fond of them. As he walked down the hallway a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Twinkle!" He called out and without a moment going by the little elf was at his side. Seeing that she still wasn't able to look him in the eye caused Harry to sigh. "Twinkle, I want to apologize for my reaction last night. I should have known that if you let anyone in this house that you had obviously had a good reason." He stopped as Twinkle looked up at him with wide horrified eyes.

"Master Harry should not apologize to Twinkle. I is your servant and does not deserve it. I put Master Harry and friends in danger by my actions." She sobbed when her knees seemed to give out and she feel to the floor and cried as if her world had just come crashing down around her. Not knowing what else to do, Harry dropped down to one knee before helping her up. He held her by the shoulders to prevent her from falling again before he spoke up again.

"I may technically be your master, but my 'father' is as well, or at least he used to be. At the time you had to follow his orders just as you much follow mine. You had no other choice. I was angry at you because I thought I knew what was going on but had no real understanding of the situation. You did nothing wrong." It took quite a few more minutes to calm the elf down but Harry breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she finally excepted the fact that he wasn't going to punish or dismiss her.

"I sent a wounded girl back here during the fight, was someone able to get her healed?"

"Yes, Beckle found her in the entrance hall just after Mr. Snape and the others left. At first we thought she was a bad witch that had managed to get through the wards but when we saw she was injured and had your portkey we set her up in one of the guest rooms and Beckle is seeing to her needs." At the mention of the strange name Harry suddenly remembered that there was more than one house elf on the property and decided that it would only be good manners to introduce himself as so as possible. After Twinkle told him which room Marietta was resting they parted ways and Harry headed to the guest room on the second floor. When he got to the door he was suddenly forced with a moral dilemma. Since it was in fact a girl that was currently staying in that room one would think it would be polite to knock incase she was awake and not properly attired. On the other she had sustained numerous injuries and knocking could wake her from a restful sleep. In the end he decided to forego being polite.

Opening the door slowly, to prevent the hinges from squeaking to loudly, he stepped in side the semi dark room and closed the door behind him. It appeared that Beckle was out of the room for the time being so Harry decided to just run a few monitoring charms over the sleeping girl to see how her injuries were healing. Standing next to the queen sized four poster bed he removed his wand and quickly jumped back when a loud shriek echoed through the room. Stumbling back in shock he tripped over the small chair that the elf had apparently been using and he went crashing to the floor, tipping over a small table as he went down. A sudden pop filled the air and Twinkle as well as another elf appeared in the center of the room and looked ready for a fight if it came to one. After quickly surveying the room the two relaxed and the unknown elf approached the bed.

"That was not really necessary now what it?" The elf, presumable Beckle, said in a stern fashion as she checked to make sure the girl had not reopened any of the wounds that were in the process of healing. After nodding in satisfaction at the progress the creature turned to Harry who just now getting up off the floor. "And you, I will not have you disturbing my patient. She still needs plenty of rest." She said sharply and Harry's jaw dropped open in surprise at the elf's attitude and he was suddenly having Madam Pomfrey flashbacks. Marietta was watching him intently the whole time and she couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about him. She knew that they had met before but she just couldn't place it at the moment. To give her credit she had just woken up after she was almost killed and the last time she saw him his face was not covered in scars and a scarf that crossed over his right eye.

"Sorry, I was just making sure she was alright. But if you ladies will excuse me I will be on my way." Harry bowed in an exaggerated way before turning and walking to the door. As he open the door and when the light from the hallway poured inside Marietta got a good look at him and her face went white as a sheet.

"Harry Potter!" She whispered loudly to herself in a harsh and frightened tone. Harry looked back over to her and raised his left eyebrow slightly. "Are you going to kill me?" She asked meekly as she diverted her eyes in fear.

"Yes, I'm going to kill you." He answered in a deadpan voice causing the girl to gasp deeply. "I saved your life and sent you here to get healed up because I like my victims to be in perfect health when I kill them." He finished sarcastically before leaving the room.

"Afternoon." Harry greeted grumpily as he flopped down into his chair at the dinning room table. His stomach let out a deep rumbling growl and he could only thank Merlin that he had not slept through lunch. Everyone greeted him in return but it was clear their thoughts were on something other than lunch at the moment but no one seemed to want to be the one to bring it up. Sighing in annoyance Harry put his utensils down and looked around the room.

"What is it?" He asked quietly but still no one answered. The dozen or so people present just looked around at each other before they all seemed to come to the same conclusion and turned their attention to Snape. The potions master looked confused for a moment before he realized that he had just been 'volunteered' to broach the subject. After grunting in anger he turn towards Harry.

"Potter, we were merely wondering when and how you managed to acquire that eye of yours when the only time you have left this house, before this morning, was when we went to confiscate the Dark Lord's supplies?"

"It was given to Dumbledore by Mad Eye. He cast a few charms on it so that it was the right size and color then he sent it to me. I received it just before Bill, Dung and the others arrived." He answered truthfully since he figured there was no point in lying about something so trivial.

"Well why couldn't you tell us about, what was the point in hiding it?" Blaise asked heatedly and Susan and a few others nodded in agreement.

"For one thing, I wanted no one to know because it would give me a big edge if every fight I went into, including those I fought with any of you for training, my opponents would underestimate me, thinking that my vision had been hindered. Secondly, if everyone knew about the new eye there would be no real point in me wearing this scarf any longer. And as you can see," He said as he removed the scarf exposing the serious spider web patterned scar that spread around half of his right eye and out to his temple and down to his cheekbone. "As you can see this scarf covers the ugliest of my collection. Now if you will excuse me, I have a few things to do. And I trust that you will never mention this conversation again, to me or anyone else." He finished waspishly when he realized exactly what he had just said. He looked at each of them for a brief time before picking up a sandwich and entering the sitting room to relax and eat by himself in peace. As he sat down he dropped his food onto the table. Before taking his scarf in his hand once again he ran his fingers over the scared flesh that he wished he could hide on a permanent basis. As a few tears rolled down his cheek he roughly tide his scarf around his head and tied it tightly before burying his head in his hands in the hopes of stemming off another breakdown.

Not long after Harry left the room Blaise followed after him to make sure he was all right. They should have all realized that he wasn't taking the disfigurement of his face as well as he claimed. She reached the sitting room door just as Harry was touching his face and was about to enter when his depression seemed to temporarily give way to anger. Seeing him struggling with his emotions she decided to just leave the room. Most would probably just charge in there and try to comfort him in some way but Blaise knew Harry well enough to know that company was the last thing he wanted or needed.

XXX

"What the devil is going on here?" Cornelius Fudge shouted as he stormed into the meeting hall just minutes after the Unspeakable commanders were taken away for questioning. Everyone looked at the irate Minister with a large amount of annoyance and even a bit of contempt. He was not highly regarded within the Ministry outside of his usual sycophants and the two departments that felt the most heat due to his ridiculous decrees and new policies was the Department of Mysteries and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. So it should go without saying that he was not about to win a popularity vote in that particular room. Aurors and Unspeakables alike just turned back to their own thoughts or to the conversations going on around them as long as it pulled their attention away from the pudgy little man at the back of the hall. Fudged huffed in anger before stomping up to the head of the room like a two year old intent on throwing a temper tantrum.

"Now see here, when I ask a question I demand the answer immediately."

"Well why start off a conversation by demanding an answer that you already have?" Madam Bones asked as she raised an eyebrow, earning chuckles throughout the crowd, even a few from some of Fudge's personal guard.

"You did, after all, recently receive my report about my concerns and details about the steps that I intended to take. You did read it didn't you?" Stevens asked in mock concern while the Minister's face turned purple and he began sputtering like a fool.

"Of course I read it…" He was quickly cut off by Stevens' immediately reply.

"Then why did you ask?" He asked in confusion.

"QUIET!" Fudge yelled in rage. He clearly didn't like people making him look like a fool. "I demand that you cease this ridiculous investigation. The very idea of Unspeakables joining the Death Eaters is utterly preposterous. I will not have…" What he was going to say no one knew because his words were cut off when the side door slammed open and a rather white faced Auror rushed out.

"My dear boy, what is the matter?" Stevens asked in a grandfatherly way but he was extremely uneasy about what he had to say.

"We actually found one, two in fact. They both readily admit to serving the Dark Lord." The young Auror said in a shocked tone. Both Stevens and Madam Bones paled slightly at the news. While it was a possibility that needed to be investigated neither had any real belief that they would uncover anything that reflected negatively on the department. "And there's more Sir, Ma'am, you are going to have to hear this for yourself." He added quietly.

"Very well. Auror Shacklebolt, you are now in charge here, if anyone tries to escape this room you now have the authority to use deadly force if necessary. Lead the way young man." Stevens said and Madam Bones nodded in agreement. With this new information circulating through the room no one seemed to notice Fudge beating a hasty retreat. The Auror turned back around and quickly led the two through the corridors to the interrogation rooms on the other side of the complex. In no time at all the found themselves in a long corridor that's walls were nearly covered with transparent charms with guards standing outside the doors to each one.

"Which one son."

"Numbers eleven and twelve Sir."

"Thank you, you may return to your post." The Auror nodded and retook his place outside of the door marked by the number eleven. The two department heads looked through the charmed wall and Stevens lowered his head and sighed in sadness.

"Commander Tyler. He was a very promising agent." Was all he said before turning around to look through the wall behind him. At first the man didn't seem to register what he was looking at, he brain just seemed to shut down as he looked at the man sitting against the opposite wall. Senior Commander Jonathan Tomes was Stevens' top lieutenant and he had planned on recommending him to be the new head of the department when he retired. It appeared that that would no longer be the case. He quietly opened the door and stepped inside with Amelia right behind him. Without looking at his long time friend he got down to business.

"The young man outside said that there was something I needed to hear, what is it?" The Auror that had been questioning the man jumped slightly at the interruption but quickly composed himself when he saw who had entered the room without him knowing. He stood up and bowed to them both slightly in respect before answering.

"Well Sir, Ma'am, it would appear that Harry Potter is not as guilty as Fudge claims. And from what I was able to gather, the Minister has been acting with underhanded intentions. Commander Tyler doesn't think that Fudge is a Death Eater but he has obviously aided them on several occasions in exchange for either gold or for help in silencing some of his most outspoken critics."

"He was right!" Stevens mumbled to himself as he sank into the chair that Auror Green had just vacated. Although he didn't like what he found and he certainly didn't like the way the idea had been placed in his head he couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude to Harry Potter for getting this information to him even though he used very unconventional means. Placing his head in his hands the old Unspeakable sighed deeply asking the Auror to tell him everything he had discovered.

TBC

I know this chapter is rather short but if I kept going from here I would end up writing a twenty five page chapter. While that is fairly common in my other stories I plan to keep this one at or just above six thousand words per chapter so that I don't waste all my ideas on one big one and then have no idea how to proceed from there. I keep writing after I post this and hopefully will have another update in just two or three days.

BIRTH OF THE PHOENIX: I have not abandoned that story I have just had a severe case of writers block where it is concerned. I have already got a few pages typed up but I don't know where to go from there at the moment. Rest assured that I will continue and finish it.

LORD OF AZKABAN SEQUEL: I have been getting a ton of e-mail demanding that I continue the story beyond the four parts I have already posted. Due to the fact that it got a surprising response and the persistence of many of its readers I have decided to write a full length sequel. It will take some time to come up with a decent storyline but I promise I will get it done although The New Order and Birth of the Phoenix will remain my top priorities for the time being.