The New Plan
Greengrass Apparated around half past nine and immediately began to inform his audience:
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he started. "Under the most recent Emergency decree, the death penalty is not only looming for Harry, but also for the imprisoned Incorruptibles."
He read out the text of the Emergency decree. Roy, having sensed something like this, remained true to his decision not to show any more nerves and kept a straight face.
"But that would also apply to my mum," Albus interjected, horrified.
"And to my parents. To the whole family," Victoire added.
"As for that," the lawyer replied, "I have some good news that the Head of Magical Law Enforcement personally gave me this morning, colleague to colleague: The Minister is very anxious not to strain the loyalty of her most important assistant, Percy Weasley, and has assured him in the presence of Susan Bones that his blood relatives will not be prosecuted; she just wants to keep them out of the way for a while."
One could feel the load off the minds of Albus, James, Rose and Victoire.
"This brings me to the second good news: The Weasleys, including Ginny Potter, are not imprisoned in Azkaban, but kept under house arrest in the so-called Burrow, also out of consideration for Percy. They are closely guarded, but by Aurors, not Dementors, and in their familiar surroundings."
"Quite clever," Victoire interjected. "Hermione plays the generous person, thereby binding Percy, at the same time she's practically holding the family hostage to help his loyalty along."
"You said it," the lawyer agreed, glancing with pleasure at the beautiful Victoire. "Unfortunately, a contact ban has been imposed, so I cannot speak to them, and they are not allowed to write or receive letters."
"What about our sister Lily?", James demanded.
"And my brother Hugo?" added Rose.
"They're in the Burrow too, don't worry. Harry, however, is not a blood relative of Percy and will not be spared, the Incorruptibles even less so. They are all to be made an example of." He looked at Roy. "Have you read the Daily Prophet yet?"
As Roy said that he hadn't, the lawyer pulled his copy out of his cloak and pushed it over to him. On the front page were the portraits of Roy and Walden. A reward of ten thousand galleons was offered for Roy's capture, but only two thousand for Macnair's.
"Honestly," Macnair grumbled, "what more do I have to do to get a decent reward on my head? As an honourable old Death Eater, I think I have a greater claim to it than this young whippersnapper. Two thousand galleons, what an insult! I think I'll sue the Ministry."
The lawyer, not yet used to Macnair's special kind of humour, needed a moment to recognise the joke as such. Then he smiled.
"I think, without intending to offend you, Mister Macnair, that you are on the front page more for propaganda reasons. As an old Death Eater, you are probably supposed to illustrate what bad company Mister MacAllister is in. All right, on with the news: Miss Bones has informed me this morning that the trial of the imprisoned Incorruptibles will not take place until after a verdict in the trial of Harry Potter, which will start on 1st of March."
Around the table, they were moaning. Three more weeks of nerve-racking waiting alone until the start of the trial!
"How long is the trial expected to take?", Roy asked.
"Since the evidence is clear," Greengrass replied, "and only its assessment is to be discussed, I expect three, at most four days in court for the whole trial, including the pleadings. A separate date will probably be set for the sentencing. If the minister, who will preside over the trial herself, proceeds swiftly, the verdict could be delivered as early as Tuesday, 6th March."
"What are Harry's chances? We really need to know exactly because ..."
"... you'll get him out before that, I know; Ginny explained the issue to me only yesterday in our last conversation before she was arrested. I'm telling you the same thing I already told her ..."
The lawyer now explained in detail that and why he considered an acquittal almost certain.
"I don't know," Roy grumbled sceptically after Greengrass had finished. "I don't really believe in this acquittal. It wouldn't be at all like Hermione to let the Wizengamot make her look like a fool, without having tried each and every rotten trick. That's why I'm not sure we should really take a chance. I would love to free the prisoners immediately, especially as we have a new moon in nine days – a favourable condition."
"I have to strongly advise against that," Greengrass replied. "Consider: If you free the prisoners prematurely and the trial doesn't take place, you will not only force Harry and the Incorruptibles underground for an unforeseeable future, but you will also miss the unique opportunity to overthrow the Minister for Magic! Mrs. Granger-Weasley has manoeuvred herself into a dangerous situation, and you would just bail her out of her self-created jam if you were to attack before the time is ripe. If, against all expectations, there is a death sentence, you can still free the prisoners by force ..."
"... provided there's time to do so then," Albus interjected.
"There will be time," Greengrass assured. "With the reintroduction of the death penalty, a number of ancient execution rules have also been restored. One of them requires that there be at least ten days between a death sentence and its execution."
Roy looked at him sadly. Don't you realise that you rely on rules that Hermie changes at will when they get in her way? he thought, but kept it to himself, especially as Macnair now said:
"I hate to say it," he growled, "because I'm looking forward to the raid, but I'm afraid Greengrass is right. If there is an acquittal, we'll have killed all the birds with one stone; if not, we can still hit."
Roy looked around. No one seemed to disagree, and even he, if he was honest, had to admit that Greengrass' points were strong.
"Fine," he said. "However, we need to make our preparations so that we can do it off the cuff from the first of March."
"I think," said the lawyer, closing his briefcase, "there's nothing left for me to do here today. I'll keep you informed." He bowed curtly and disappeared.
Roy rang the magic bell to call Blubber.
"Blubber," he turned to the house elf. "Can you make sure we always get the latest Daily Prophet from now on?"
"Very well, sir," the elf replied and bowed.
"Thank you." He turned back to the others. "The plans for Harry's rescue were ready when Ginny and our friends were arrested yesterday. However, we should go over them again."
"Yes, we should," said Victoire, "if only because the conditions have changed. Almost all the family members who were supposed to take part are in detention, and of the Incorruptibles, only two are still at large."
"Four," Roy corrected.
Everyone looked at him, puzzled.
"Scorpius and Bernie are part of the group from now on," he said in the casual tone in which one mentions self-evident things but was silently pleased when he saw the two of them beaming. He now explained in detail the latest state of the plan as discussed with Ginny.
"Sounds good," said Lestrange.
"It has a few weak points, though," Roy admitted, "especially now that there are only ten of us, Draco Malfoy included, but not all of them have mastered the Patronus Charm. Walden, how long will it take you to get your old comrades here?"
"That's hard to say, especially as the only ones in question are those who, like Rodolphus, have gone underground in the Muggle world. The others ..."
He pushed the Daily Prophet back to Roy and pointed to page two. Hermione was celebrated for a large-scale blow against Death Eaters: Yesterday's raid had not only targeted the Incorruptibles and the Weasleys. At almost the same time, virtually all known former Death Eaters, except the Malfoys, had been placed under Preventive Arrest, as it was now called, meaning they were prisoners in their own houses, like the Weasleys.
"I myself seem to have escaped just by a hair's breadth," Macnair said, "because you called me. I might be able to find five or six in the Muggle world. They went into hiding in Liverpool, as far as I know. How long it will take? Hard to say. Can be quick but can also take two weeks."
"Are they able to conjure the Patronus?"
"Hardly." Macnair shook his head. "I can't conjure it myself."
"I can," said Rodolphus Lestrange.
"All right, Walden, then you will practise it if you have time. But the search for your old buddies is a priority."
Again, Macnair shook his head. "The Patronus is something you've got to learn while you are young. At my age, it doesn't make sense anymore. And as for my mates: Hope you are aware that they will only join us if we get the Death Eaters who are still in jail out as well?"
"That's perfectly clear," Roy replied. "Next point: We had considered 17th February or 18th March as dates because of new moon, for Invisibility spells don't work in Azkaban. Meanwhile, however, I have my doubts: We have to reckon that the Aurors know the Calorate spell by now, so they can watch us approach even during a new moon."
"I don't think so," James interjected. "My dad used to get annoyed at how long it takes to establish a new spell to the Aurors because there are a thousand red tape rules to consider, and they can't have known the Calorate long enough."
"I think they don't know it at all," Scorpius added. "If they did, they would have used it in the raid on Hogwarts. Instead, they apparently used the Disinvisibilis."
"Well," Roy said, "but that may have changed by then. We also have to take into account that we cannot choose the time, for example if Hermione brings forward the date of Harry's execution. We should therefore change the plan a little. I suggest that I, as a seagull – I am an Animagus – do the advance command and fire the Darkness powder. In the general confusion you have time to come down to take your post on the castle tower or to enter the cell wing."
"We could add a little to the confusion," Scorpius now let himself be heard, surprisingly. "With snakes."
"Snakes?" wondered Victoire. "What made you think of snakes, of all things?"
Scorpius looked at Albus questioningly.
"Go ahead and say it," the latter said, "it's too important to keep it back in this group."
Scorpius nodded gratefully. "Albus speaks Parseltongue."
As only Roy knew this so far, the eyes of all the others turned to Albus in complete surprise.
"That's right," he confirmed. "Only, Scorpius, I don't quite understand what we need it for."
"You could command a whole army of snakes!" Scorpius was on fire. "Just imagine: If it is simply dark, the Aurors will feel their way towards the castle, in any case they are warned and can do something. But now imagine it's pitch black, they can't see anything, but they are feeling snakes crawling all over them! In such a situation, no one can think straight, it's just sheer panic!"
For a moment there was a pause. Then Roy began to grin.
"Scorpius," he said, "you're quite a sly ..."
"But Scorpius," Albus interrupted him, "where are you going to get as many snakes as we need for this? Are you going to break into a zoo?"
Now it was Scorpius who looked puzzled.
"Albus," he asked, "did your dad never show you the Serpensortia Charm?"
As Albus shook his head, Scorpius drew his wand, waved it loosely from his wrist and called out: "Serpensortia!"
A snake sprang from the wand and writhed on the ground right next to Rose, who cried.
"Scorpius," cried Roy reprovingly, "must you frighten the girl like that?"
He lifted the snake with a levitation spell and gently set it back down on the ground a few yards apart from Rose. The snake raised its head and looked around.
"Talk to her," Roy asked Albus.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?", asked Albus the snake.
"Yes, Master."
"Would you do what I command?"
"Of course, Master."
"Then I want you to vanish now." The snake disappeared.
"Strange," Scorpius said. "I know for sure that your dad has known about this spell since his time at Hogwarts, since his second year to be exact. And after all, he has often been in situations where it would have been useful for him as a Parselmouth to conjure up a snake. It's not that hard."
"Sure," James replied for his brother, "but our dad was always scary about his Parseltongue skills himself; he only used it when he couldn't help it."
"Well, I don't have any problems with it," Albus said. "Don't be frightened, Rose!" He now pulled out his wand and conjured a snake as well, but as far apart from Rose as possible. Then he made the animal disappear again.
"It's really a breeze. But we'll need hundreds of them, that will take time. And I must conjure them right on the spot after all – in any case, I don't see how else we are to get them to Azkaban. But in Azkaban itself I don't have the time."
"We'll see," Roy replied thoughtfully. "I wonder if they can be duplicated."
"You can't duplicate animals, you have to know that," Victoire said, and it sounded like a reproach.
"Normally you can't," Roy replied, "but since it's not a natural animal, but a magically created one, different rules might apply. Serpensortia!" he shouted and waved his wand. When another serpent appeared, he pointed his wand at it: "Geminio!"
The one snake turned into two. Roy waved the wand over both of them.
Again, he shouted "Geminio!" Now there were four snakes writhing on the ground. Roy made them disappear again.
"It works," he stated with satisfaction. "To create a thousand snakes, you don't have to apply Serpensortia a thousand times, but only once. Then ten times Geminio and you have 1024 snakes. That should be enough for our purposes."
"But I have to be there to command them," Albus objected, "otherwise they'll think you're their breakfast. But how am I supposed to get there unseen, especially if it's not a new moon?"
"Indeed ..." murmured Roy. He looked into the air for a moment, thinking, while all the others remained silent. "Just like me – as an Animagus! I would have preferred to spare you because the danger of being unmasked as an unreported Animagus will be hanging over you forever. But I don't think there's any other way."
"And what kind of animal should I turn into? Into a seagull, like you?" Albus' eyes lit up. "We fly ahead together and ..."
"I wouldn't begrudge you that, it's a lot of fun," Roy admitted, "but bear in mind that once you've made your decision about an animal, you can't change that decision. Therefore, you should decide from the point of view that it is useful for you as a leading Slytherin Death Eater" – Rose's remark from Christmas Day had long been a running gag among the Incorruptibles. "It should allow you to evade being arrested if necessary and to enter any space the regime wants to keep you out of."
"Meaning?"
"Do it like Wilkinson."
"Eeeew!" Albus grimaced. "A fly?"
"If our friends had had that option," Roy mused, "they wouldn't be in Azkaban now."
"All right," Albus grumbled, "I understand. But as a fly, I could never fly the fifteen miles from Branness to Azkaban, probably not even one."
"I'll take you in my beak."
"Okay, but don't swallow, seagull."
Now Roy rang the bell and Blubber entered. "What can I do for you, sir?"
"Blubber, get us a living housefly, please."
The elf stoically kept a straight face. You couldn't tell if he believed Roy was out of his mind.
"Very well, sir."
He bowed and left the knight's hall.
As it was still winter, it took a while for the elves to find and capture a fly in a warm storage room. Blubber served it on a small silver platter.
"I took the liberty of immobilising it with a Petrificus spell, sir," the elf explained.
"Very good, Blubber, thank you very much."
Roy now explained the Animagus Charm to Albus in great detail, which took some time. The others listened spellbound. Finally, Albus took a deep breath. He felt queasy, but he would certainly not be more of a coward than Wilkinson. He touched the fly with the tip of his wand, and like a few weeks before over Roy's seagull, pulsating blue streaks of light glided over the insect's body. In the end, Albus had seemingly disappeared. Roy found him on the seat of his chair, where he crawled indecisively back and forth as a fly before turning back into a human.
"Weird." Albus shook his head. "You looked kind of funny, Roy."
"It's probably the compound eyes that do that. Now let's try the flight in my beak."
Roy turned into a seagull and hopped onto the table. When Albus also sat on it and turned into a fly again, Roy opened his beak and presented his lower beak to the fly like a gangway. Albus scrambled into the beak, which then closed. Roy spread his wings, flew a few rounds around the room, landed on the table and let Albus crawl out again. Then both took on their normal shape again.
"Well?" asked Roy.
"I will recommend your airline, sir," Albus replied amid general laughter.
They decided to take a lunch break first. During lunch, there was a lively discussion about the liberation plan at the table.
After the meal, Roy summarised the latest state of planning and ended his presentation with a curt "Any questions?".
"Who's in command?", Macnair demanded.
"Me," Roy replied as a matter of course.
Macnair paused, but then only said: "OK."
Albus grinned to himself. Roy's authority had something magical about it. Not even the two old men doubted it.
"But you are also willing to listen to good advice, Commander?", asked Macnair.
"I even ask for it. I don't lose my face when I take good advice, certainly not from an experienced fighter like you."
"Good. Your plan is excellent, but it consists of several components that have to be carefully coordinated. Every single step has to be practised until it is one hundred percent mastered."
"We've to drill," Roy agreed. "Everyone has to master the dive. Your fire bolts are boosted by gravity, so you really come down at breakneck speed and then have to brake safely, not too early, not too late, and in close formation. With the Muggles, this is a job for first-class fighter pilots, and you only have three weeks. Next: Everyone must be able to shoot Darkness powder accurately, Albus and I must be able to create and send the snakes safely. Rodolphus, you know Azkaban better than any of us. You will lead the group entering the cell wings and, of course, you will also train them. In this old building here, there are probably suitable training opportunities. And everyone need to refresh their combat spells."
"Do I have a role in this, too?" asked Bernie sadly. "I have Magic Booster, but not enough to practice for weeks."
"You'll still get an important task, Bernie," Roy reassured him. "We want to avoid deaths, including among the Aurors. After we have immobilised the three Aurors who are flying patrol over Azkaban – the flash of a Stunner would be seen for miles at night – we'll tie them to your broom and you will land softly with them. In the turmoil that will be down there, no one will notice that you drop them off and fly away immediately, first out of the protective radius, then invisible to the rally point. By the way, you will also practise the dive, in general everyone has to practise everything, no matter whether it belongs to their task or not, so that we are flexible and can re-arrange if necessary."
They spent the afternoon going over all the details of the rescue operation together and working out a detailed training plan for the coming weeks. When they finished around seven o'clock and dinner was served, they were all very happy and very confident.