Operation Ulysses

It took Harry a moment to regain his composure. He stared at an imaginary point on the opposite wall and slowly shook his head.

"I think I understand now why the Slytherin heraldic animal is a serpent ... This plan," he mused, "yes, with some modification, it could work." He was still staring into space, but began to smile as he did so. "That's brilliant!"

He imagined what his father would say. Or Sirius. He could just see the slightly dirty grin on their faces. Kidnapping the Minister for Magic from her own Ministry in broad daylight, and putting oneself in her place — yes, that kind of coolness would have been to their taste. And was to his.

"Do you agree with that plan?" he asked the group. The question was pointless, given the expectant glances the Incorruptibles were giving him.

"Of course we do" a six-voice choir answered him.

"I'd have to take the Invisibility Cloak," he reflected aloud, "Invisibility spells don't work close to her. We need to find a safe hiding place for her, preferably at Hogwarts, and I think I know one." He looked at Albus.

"Which one?", Albus demanded.

"Later, I need to thoroughly work it out. We must be prepared to detain her for quite a while, because I don't know how quickly I can crack the curse. Besides, I can't just concentrate on her because I'm working at the Ministry a lot during daytime. And at night I have to go home not to let Ron notice anything."

"Dad," Albus asked, "wouldn't it be better to let Uncle Ron in on it? Surely he doesn't want her to be under a curse either."

Harry shook his head. "Of course he doesn't, but I still have to keep him out of it."

"Why?"

Harry sighed. "How do I explain that? Look, if Ron were to take part in such an action, or even just was a confidant, he would have to abuse her trust. Even if it is for her own good and she may realise that in the end, I don't think she would ever forgive him. Whatever the outcome, their marriage would be ruined. So if I told him, I would be forcing my best friend to choose between betraying me or ruining his marriage. I've got no right to do that. As for me, on the other hand, she has finished our friendship, she no longer has any trust in me, so I can't abuse it."

"Hmm," Albus hummed. Being an adult was really complicated.

"Oh my goodness!" said Harry abruptly. "When I come home to him as Hermione, Ron will take me for his wife, won't he? What do I tell him," he asked, slightly distressed, "when he wants to get into my pants?"

Snorts of laughter answered him.

"For the fatherland no sacrifice is too great," Ares gasped between two laughs.

"Pack Polyjuice for nine months!" suggested Orpheus, earning another roar of laughter. After the laughing and giggling had died down to a chuckle, Julian said:

"It's easy, you'll just have a migraine. That's what my mother does."

When he saw the puzzled looks of the others, he added, slightly embarrassed:

"Er, well, the walls at home are a bit thin ..." Which again was answered with a laugh.

When everyone had calmed down, Harry continued: "Migraine is a good idea, that's how I'll do it. Nevertheless, we have a problem: Polyjuice potion only lasts for an hour, and I can't get up every hour at night to refuel. And at the Ministry it will also look strange if I am regularly taking a sip out of my flask – after all, Hermione isn't supposed to be a tippler."

"The Muggles," Roy said, "have pills whose active ingredients are only released gradually. If I could reproduce something like that with magical means ..." He was clearly starting to work out a solution in his mind.

"But Roy," Harry interrupted Roy's musing, "I need about a tablespoon an hour, that's almost a pint a day! Such a giant capsule is impossible for me to swallow!"

"Sure," Roy said slowly, lost in thought, "then I'd just have to make a concentrate ..."

They all looked at him expectantly and waited.

"I think I can do it," Roy finally said. "I'd have to do some experimenting, of course, and McGonagall's cauldron, which she promised us, won't be ready for another three weeks. But if I keep sticking to it, I think I'll be able to deliver something useful by January."

"All right," said Harry, "I don't need it sooner anyway, because the other preparations will take at least as long: I still have to work out the plan in detail, plus some plans B, C and D in case plan A fails. I have to train my role as Hermione. Sure, I know her very well, but the Aurors are trained to notice even the smallest oddities. I practise best with Ginny, she is her best friend. Besides, we need to arrange a hiding place for Hermione, and I want her to be comfortable there. This will be your job," he turned abruptly to Albus, "along with your mother."

"I'd love it," Albus was pleased, "but why me?"

"You'll know soon enough. "Anyway: After we all basically agree with the plan, from now on everyone should only know what they need to know in order to do their job. Simple conspiratorial principle. Only one should have the overall view – no, in our case two. Do you agree if Roy and I do it?"

The group nodded.

"Well. It's already quarter past eight, for today it's too late for our DA lesson ..."

"Does it make any sense at all for us to go on with them?" asked Arabella. "I mean ... now that we have a plan to which most of us can't contribute much more than wait and see."

"It still makes sense," Harry decided. "A lot can happen between now and January. Maybe we won't be able to carry out the plan at all. Maybe it will go wrong. Maybe we have to change it and I need you to carry out any new plan. There are still too many unknowns in the equation for us to stop your training now. At worst, you'll learn something you don't need for our purpose, then at least you can excel in your N.E.W.T. exams with it – so it's definitely not for the birds!"

He stood up. "Roy, you work out how to get the Polyjuice into a usable form. You may start experimenting with the small bottle you already have." Roy nodded.

"And when are you going to tell me where to hide Hermione?", Albus asked.

"The day after tomorrow, and after the DA meeting," his father replied. "Bring along your broom, the map and the Cloak."

"The broom?" asked Albus, puzzled. "Okay, I will. I always use the Cloak anyway to be invisible when I am coming here, and with the map I always make sure no one is around when we're coming and going."

"Very good idea."

"It was your son's own idea," Ares added, as Albus made no effort to mention it himself. He gave Albus an appreciative glance. "And with that you have closed a huge security gap. Clever boy! I'm glad you're one of us."

Albus beamed. Of all the original Incorruptibles, Ares had had the most serious reservations about accepting an eleven-year-old into the group, and in a way Albus understood why – to Ares who was seventeen an eleven-year-old was roughly what a six- or seven-year-old would have been to himself. He wanted to show all of them, but particularly Ares, that he was not the annoying little boy trying to get attention with half-baked ideas. Therefore, he rarely took part in their discussions and only said something when he was quite sure that he was right with something important – as was the case with the idea of being on the look-out under the Invisibility Cloak with the Marauder's Map, so that their hiding place would not be discovered by an unlucky accident.

"All right," said Harry, who couldn't and didn't want to hide how proud he was of his son. "Oh, by the way, I think we still need a code name for our project. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"For such a sly plan," said Orpheus, whose father had taught him to love Greek mythology, "there can only be one: 'Ulysses'."

"Ulysses – that's fine," Harry agreed. "So if everyone agrees" – they all nodded – "our project will from now have the code name 'Ulysses'. – See you the day after tomorrow!" He gave Albus a quick hug, waved to the others and Disapparated.