Chapter 46 - Escalation
Harry walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. Truthfully, staggered seemed to be a more appropriate word, his mind and body weighed down by the events of last night. The memories were still broken, Harry highly suspected that Anne had cast a spell to alter his memories. That his sister would do such a thing was a blow to his gut.
More than that, the memories which were still intact - the blood on the walls, the dead bodies and a swift execution - drained his mind and body. As he sat on the Gryffindor table and stared at the platters of food, he could not find himself mustering the appetite to eat. When Anya entered the Great Hall, talking to the young Greengrass, Harry felt a shiver run down his spine.
She looked fine, normal, not bearing the slightest hint of being disturbed by her actions last night. Looking at her, anyone without the knowledge would hardly suspect her of staining her hands with blood the previous night. Aside from Harry, everyone did not. The truth unsettled him. Anne was a killer.
"Damn, you heard the news on the way here?" Ron muttered, noticing his unease. "This is really bad, the Order's going to have their hands full."
"Huh, what?" Harry replied questioningly, taking his eyes off Anne.
"The Azkaban breakout," Ron answered, bringing up the front page of the Daily Prophet.
"What?" Harry exclaimed, snatching the paper from Ron. His eyes roved over the title of the largest article on the front page.
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT' FOR OLD DEATH EATERS
"Black? A 'rallying point'?" Harry hissed in disbelief. "You can't possibly mean-"
"Shhhh!" Hermione whispered. "Not so loud, I know it's wrong. Just read through it, Ron and I already have."
Harry read through the article, a frowning growing on his face.
"They haven't found out how they escaped?"
"No," Hermione shook her head worriedly. "Read on, three Azkaban wardens were found dead."
"Two with broken necks and one with a broken skull," Harry grimaced. "That's bad. They're connecting this with Sirius? He escaped without harming anyone, that's completely different from this murder."
Harry shook his head, the war was taking a turn for the worse.
"This happened when?" Harry muttered. "A week ago?! Took them a little too long to report this."
"I guess the Ministry was keeping the whole affair under wraps," Hermione sniffed. "With Professor Dumbledore constantly talking about You-Know-Who's return, the Ministry would want to make sure the breakout could be reported without compromising their legitimacy."
As he read through the rest of the article, Harry cursed under his breath. The breakout had involved countless infamous Death Eaters; the list of crimes painted them as Voldemort's top Death Eaters. A revelation went through his mind as the fresh memory of the previous night clashed with the current news. Voldemort was on the path to being able to equip an army, and he now had the manpower to give the equipment.
It was a relief he and Anne had destroyed the shipment last night, imagining Death Eaters geared with armour which could shrug off spells left a sour taste in his mouth. He looked at Anya who now had a copy of Daily Prophet shoved under her nose by Greengrass. There sat a girl who had killed others in cold blood, yet it helped him with dealing a blow to Voldemort's war assets.
The concept tore him in opposite directions, the actions of Anne were fundamentally wrong. However, amidst all of Harry's frustration at the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore and the adults for not letting him join the fight in a war which was his, he finally found release. He could finally act. He dealt a tangible blow against Voldemort instead of hearing about the actions taken against Voldemort.
Yet, his ability to finally act took place beside Anne, surrounded by bodies and a burning building. He found himself asking: was that the way forward?
XXXXX
"This is without a doubt, an absolute nightmare," Amelia Bones sighed in frustration. "First, Edinburgh. Now, this."
"I'm surprised you extended an invitation to me," said the Russian Auror bound to a wheelchair, pushed by a masked subordinate. "This is a British affair."
"Senior Auror Sergei, under the St Helensworth Agreement, your men are expected to help in this," Amelia shot back. "I'll need every single help I can get, these Death Eaters will unleash more chaos than the Black Mark if left alone."
"It would have been simpler if they had been executed for their crimes," Sergei commented.
"That is a violation of human rights," Amelia shot her Russian unofficial counterpart a glare. "The death sentence had long been abolished here, on both Muggle and wizarding sides."
They moved into one of the rooms in the DMLE which was now used to centralise investigations on the mass breakout. A huge map occupied a wall and pictures of the escaped Death Eaters were hung on another wall. Red strings connected the pictures into other pieces of evidence and information as the Aurors tried to unravel the incident.
"Madam Bones," Rufus Scrimgeour nodded in greeting. "Thank you for joining us. As well as you…"
"Senior Auror Sergei," Amelia gestured. "He will be representing the Russian Aurors for this meeting and any avenues of assistance they could provide can be directed to him."
"Of course," Scrimgeour replied gruffly, extending a hand. "Well met."
Amelia watched as Sergei shook the hand. She did not miss the look of dissatisfaction in the Head Aurors face, Scrimgeour had been slightly bitter towards the Russians after Edinburgh. With the introductions over, the meeting began and the reports came in. Amelia had a frown throughout the discussion as the various Aurors presented their findings in Azkaban.
Ever since Sirius Black's escape, the security in Azkaban had tightened, though not to Amelia's satisfaction. She had tried to propose an increase in the Auror Corps to station them in Azkaban after Black's escape, a return to pre-war Azkaban when it had been manned by Aurors instead of the generic wardens. However, nobody liked the increase in budget required to do so, a sentence from Lucius Malfoy was all it took to convince Fudge to stick with the wardens. Instead, the solution from Malfoy was to increase the Dementor count by allowing them to multiply.
A silent groan escaped from Amelia as she listened to the reports regarding the Dementors. Of the seven hundred Dementors in Azkaban, a number which had increased from five hundred under Malfoy's suggestion, not a single one of the dreaded beings could provide a single information regarding the mass breakout.
She had to admit that there were parallels with Black's escape regarding the uselessness of Dementors providing information. At least Black's escape was cleaner, no wardens had died and the man himself had yet to cause real trouble. However, something unsettled Amelia as the Aurors continued their discussion, the Dementors were not angry. It had caused a slight panic in the Ministry when the Dementors went on an uproar during Black's escape, Amelia supposed it was the anger at losing another soul to feed from. This time, the Dementors were calm, undisturbed by the missing prisoners. It was eerily disturbing.
"Outside help, it had to be," an Auror declared. "Three dead wardens clearly meant a fight took place, I highly doubt ten unarmed Death Eaters who had been under the influence of Dementors could overpower a warden."
"Sirius Black?" another Auror suggested. "It would explain the tip-off that he is back in Britain after all that time hiding in Tibet."
"We will have to look into that," Scrimgeour nodded. "In the meantime, we need to discuss searching and hunting the Death Eaters."
Amelia listened as the Aurors began planning for the search, organising the Aurors required and the steps they should take to achieve the highest chance of capturing the escaped Death Eaters. Occasionally, she would contribute and give directions, but she mostly placed it in the hands of her Aurors.
"Senior Auror Sergei?" Scrimgeour prompted. "How much can your side provide?"
Eyes turned to face the balding Russian. He had been sitting on his wheelchair in silence throughout the meeting, no doubt content with silently absorbing the information. The masked Russian Auror who pushed his wheelchair stood beside him, standing perfectly still with hands clasped behind his back.
"If there is to be no change to the tempo we are maintaining on the Black Mark," Sergei smoothed his moustache before raising a single finger. "One Auror wing."
Scrimgeour nodded in satisfaction, a sentiment shared by the other Aurors. Amelia glanced at the old man, providing an entire wing was very generous. She sighed to herself, it was one way to gain favour. She certainly was not going to complain, with all the budget cuts and downsizing the Auror Corps had faced, she would gratefully accept the help. In fact, this could play along right into the idea she had.
Listening as Scrimgeour listed out the tasks the Russians Aurors could help with, Amelia sat through the rest of the meeting in silence. As Scrimgeour wrapped up the meeting, she left the room with Sergei beside her.
"This would be the first time the Russians cooperated in matters outside of the Black Mark," Amelia stated blandly.
"Well, treat others as one wants to be treated," Sergei replied. "I thought it was obvious."
"So what do you want in return?" Amelia asked.
"I'll keep that card in my hand for the time being," said Sergei. "I may need it in the future."
"Keep an eye on your Aurors," Amelia said abruptly.
"I always do," Sergei replied indifferently, but Amelia was glad he got the message. "Keep an eye on yours."
"Trust me," Amelia said grimly. "I am. I'll see you again."
They nodded and parted ways, Amelia making a beeline for her office. Two Aurors flanked the door to her office, she gave the both of them quick nods and entered the office. The two Aurors followed her without preamble, standing before her as she took her seat.
"Lestrange, Stirling. Report," Amelia ordered curtly.
The two men nodded, the older of the two speaking up.
"We've shadowed Auror Officer Cadet Issac Stanning as per your instruction, madam," said the Auror. "As of now, we have yet to find anything incriminating."
"That's problematic," Amelia sighed. "Carry on, Lestrange."
"However, he is nonetheless suspicious," said Auror Lestrange. "Despite our attempts, he has at times completely disappeared from surveillance. Attempts to track him during those moments have turned out empty-handed. It is highly irregular."
That sounded like a red flag if nothing else.
"Additionally, we noticed he has been exceedingly social in his MLE Officer Course. He is very interested in impressing the instructors and gaining favours and connections from his fellow cadets," the younger Auror added. "It could be a coincidence but we have found it odd."
"No, I'm frankly sick of coincidences," Amelia shook her head. "The both of you have sound judgement, if you've deemed it suspicious, look into it. I want both of you to take note of who he's trying to build connections with within the course. Also… I know the both of you are already the best in the field, but find a way to track Stanning down when he goes missing."
Both men nodded in understanding.
"Well if that will be all, you are both dismissed."
Amelia watched as they left the room. Investigating fellow Auror had been a very sensitive issue, something she could only leave in trusted hands. Auror Sterling was a Muggleborn, exceptionally bright and skilled, he was under Amelia herself when she was still in the Auror Corps and Amelia knew him to be firmly loyal to her. Auror Lestrange, despite the family name, was the Auror who Amelia trusted the most in the DMLE - Mad-Eye Moody would have taken the spot if he was still in service. They entered the Auror Corps together and she had lost count the number of times he saved her skin against Death Eaters in the war. If anything, the memory of him duelling both Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange to protect an injured Muggle showed where his loyalties lay.
Then again, said a cynical part of her, she remembered a certain Sirius Black doing the same.
She shook her head, brushing off the stray thought and turning her attention to the paperwork awaiting her. Those two would get the job done.
531ST CORPS AVIATION DETACHMENT
SQUADRON PROVISIONAL FIELD INSTRUCTIONS
JULY 1920
CONTENTS
1. Overview
2. Organisation and Structure
3. The Squadron in Reconnaissance
4. The Squadron on Stalking
5. The Squadron in the Attack
6. The Squadron in the Assault
7. The Squadron on Disengagement
8. The Squadron on Mobile Defence
9. The Squadron on Static Defence
OVERVIEW
1. The 531st Corps Aviation Detachment is to serve as a highly mobile unit capable of operating independently to seek and eliminate enemies. It does so through its key principles of being able to perform its duties covertly, efficiently and quickly.
2. Due to the methods in which the 531st Corps Aviation Detachment operates, every squadron must be fast, flexible and adaptable. Every soldier from the rifleman to the squadron commander must be able to decisively make decisions not solely based on provisional field instructions but adjusted to suit the circumstances of his mission objective while maintaining the key principles of the 531st Corps Aviation Detachment.
The Russian Expedition organised by the ICW finally commenced in April of 1920, pushing in aggressively into Russian soil in hopes of a swift end. Despite the massive victory the Reds had over the Whites, fighting against the Aurors and Hit Wizards loyal to the Russian wizarding aristocracy was severely different from fighting against Aurors and Hit Wizards from other countries.
The Red wizards retreated on many occasions as they failed to repel the assaults from the ICW. In particular, Aurors and Hit Wizards from Britain and France saw the most success. Britain had boasted the most elite Aurors and France the better Hit Wizards among the countries in the Russian Expedition.
Sharp offensives were waged from the Polish border, the British and French contingent making the greatest progress as Red Hit Wizards failed to find an advantage over the European powerhouses of the Wizarding World. Strongholds began falling in Western Russia as the Reds were pushed back. A bold operation by the Italian and Spanish Aurors in the South led to the ICW's capture of key strongholds in Crimea, leading to their control over the Black Sea. All the while, the British and French made steady progress to Moscow.
As spring gave way to summer, the push the ICW had ground to a halt. The vast size of Russia stretched resources and the Red wizards were slowly adapting, slowly giving ground but ensuring the ICW bled with every step into Russian soil.
As summer passed, there was a sudden change in the course of war. It started small, a French patrol went missing and a resupply of volatile potions transported by Aethonan winged horses was found in flames in the outskirts of Smolensk. None of the wizards in the ICW could find the reason for the occurrences, occurrences which began to increase in frequency.
The leaders of the Russian Expedition explained the mysterious yet lethal occurrences as hit-and-run tactics employed by the Red wizards. However, when a team led by Cygnus Black sent to raid a Red position when missing, rumours broke out among the men of the Russian Expedition.
Cygnus Black had been one of the top Aurors in the British Ministry, for him to fall to a hit-and-run was simply unfathomable. Whispers began to spread through the ranks, that it would not be the victory the wizarding newspapers had proclaimed.
ORGANISATION AND STRUCTURE
13. A squadron is the smallest organisation of the 531st Corps Aviation Detachment. It fights with rifles and with spells. The squadron operates in the field alone or as part of a wing.
14. A squadron consists of ten men, three flights of three soldiers led by one squadron commander. Each flight is specialised in a particular role essential in carrying out the squadron's role.
The assault flight (Flight A) is specialised in breaching enemy wards and defences, engaging the enemy in close proximities and capturing enemy positions. It relies on automatic rifles, spells and explosives to accomplish its tasks.
The support flight (Flight B) is specialised in fulfilling the indirect combat needs of the squadron. It skillfully provides spells useful to the squadron. This includes - but is not limited to - healing spells, warding spells, sensory spells, concealment spells and magical transportation spells.
The fire flight (Flight V) is specialised in engaging an enemy from a distance with precision rifles and siege spells. It works together with the assault flight by providing additional firepower or selectively eliminating high priority targets.
The rumble and growl of running engines and spinning propellers filled the air, rushing through the skies at heights and speeds impractical to most broomsticks of the day, the men within the fuselages of the Ilya Muromets heavy bomber hardly noticed the sound. Instead they were focused on the intricate and sensitive instruments in front of them.
It was severely uncomfortable and the wizards within chafed under the rough conditions. Their wands had been tucked deep inside their robes and their jobs restricted them from casting a single spell. The fact that it was wizards performing this role rather than Squibs or Muggle was rare, but they had the aptitude for the job.
"Disruptions," one of the wizards croaked in Russian. "Minor."
"Understood," another wizard replied, taking a look at several other instruments before marking a cross on a map and jotting a small note. He waited for several minutes. "Check again."
"Disruptions," the first wizard repeated. "Moderate."
The first wizard had been looking through the lens of a motion picture x-ray camera, his eyes occasionally flickering to the various Muggle devices which measured the currents of complex yet useless circuits and the signal strength of the radio on the bomber. The instruments had replaced the bombs.
"Noted." Another mark was made on the map before several more minutes passed. "Check again."
"Disruptions. Minor. We passed it."
It had been a surprise to discover the creative inventions that Muggles had come up with. The trainers within the 531st introduced them in various training courses, and they had learned magic disrupted these 'electronics'. The disruptions would range from sudden static in radios to garbled imaging in x-ray machines. It served to explain why they were the perfect tools for detecting magic.
One could hide a location using any magical means, from the Fidelius Charm to complex wards, but walk anywhere within a five mile radius with a sensitive electronic device and it would experience disruptions, signalling a magical presence. The degree of disruption was proportional to the strength and proximity of a magical presence.
"Pilot, turn heading to two-seven-zero and maintain course." the wizard with the map ordered before turning back to the first wizard. "Standby to check for disruption."
"Check disruption."
"Disruptions. Moderate."
"Check again."
"Disruptions. Minor."
By systematically measuring the varying degrees of disruptions across an area, it was possible to triangulate the location of a magical presence. Combined with a Muggle bomber with the space to house all the instruments and being able to maintain flight for hours at great speeds, the 531st had the means to sweep vast areas for magical presence. It provided information for soldiers on the ground to hunt the ICW.
"Got it. Pilot, make course to nearest radio outpost to relay information."
33. When beginning reconnaissance, the squadron utilises Apparition or Portkey to swiftly deploy at least 5 kilometres away from the area of reconnaissance or to a location of guaranteed safety and concealment. From there, the squadron moves with broomsticks and concealment spells to reconnoitre the area. The squadron uses sight, sound, smell and sensory spells to obtain information of the terrain and enemy in the area of reconnaissance.
34. In order to maximise the manpower of a squadron, the flights of a squadron should be separated by a distance of 2000 metres in open terrain, 1000 metres in forested or rough terrain and 750 metres in urban terrain. Each flight would cover a sector of the area of reconnaissance assigned by the squadron commander.
35. Throughout the reconnaissance, each flight of the squadron must maintain constant communication via radio to ensure the squadron remains cohesive, organised and well-informed at all times. The squadron must also maintain constant communication via long-range radio with its wing as well as nearby units to ensure cohesion on a regional level.
Three men on broomsticks, appearing as nothing more than transparent blurs, soared through the skies. They travelled swiftly and discreetly in a wedge, maintaining a ruler-straight trajectory as they scanned the land beneath them. The man in the centre had his attention on the various dials strapped to his forearm as he spoke into the headset connected to a large bulky radio set.
He barked out an order and they changed course, veering left. After flying for several miles the dials on his forearm flickered and spun. They were close.
"Wards, north-west," he hollered over the rushing air. "Keep your eyes open."
"Movement!" the man on his left shouted, looking through an omniocular. "Ten o'clock. Eight hundred metres. At the treeline. Men in combat robes… British khaki with ICW insignias."
"They're on alert," the lead man noted. "I'll contact the rest of the squadron. In the meantime, we gather necessary intelligence… Flight V to squadron, we have spotted a group of British Aurors at sector K-7. Maintaining observation."
They remained invisible, hovering in the sky as they observed and recorded the British Aurors, from the equipment they had to the wards they were under.
41. As wizards and witches are varied in their magical ability. The squadron in reconnaissance must also observe the degree of magical ability within the enemy. This is vital when it comes to spotting tarot wizards. Any sighting of a tarot wizard must be reported to the wing-level or higher.
"Flight V to squadron commander."
"Send message."
"Sighting on the Four of Pentacles among the British Aurors."
"Noted. Flights A and B, converge on Flight V's sector."
As the final message passed through the headset, the man looked back at the tarot card in his hand, a single card drawn from the deck. The pack of tarot cards had been standard issue equipment within the 531st, used for both Divination and recreation. To the annoyance of everyone, it had to be exchanged several times throughout the war, with new faces on certain cards each time. The exchange was due to its true purpose, allowing the men in the 531st to identify powerful wizards.
A powerful wizard would not just escape the jaws of death, he could hold it open with its magic. The men in the 531st had been taught that fact, no individual or even squadron could outperform a wizard powerful enough in magic. Assasination via a magically enhanced bullet was theoretically viable, but powerful Shield Charms or wards could stop it. This meant it had to be perfectly executed in the first attempt, assuming the wizard was not maintaining a Shield Charm or ward on his body or armour. It was too risky.
Upon sighting such a wizard, they were to report it immediately for the commanders to decide on a course of action. To help the men in the 531st identify the several powerful wizards among the thousands in the Russian Expedition, the tarot cards were introduced. They were enchanted to show certain wizards when looked at directly, the wizards shown were all touted as the leading Aurors and Hit Wizards in the Russian Expedition.
The Major Arcana cards displayed powerful wizards of the ICW, Minor Arcana cards for the powerful wizards in the various contingents. For example, the British contingent had the Pentacles suit with the face of its leader Senior Auror Richard Bones on the King of Pentacles.
"Where is he?" an invisible voice appeared beside the man.
From his vantage point in the sky, he directed the squadron leader. The squadron leader took out his own tarot deck and pulled out the Four of Pentacles, the image of a noble with four large coins faded to a stern man with blonde hair and British Auror robes. A name in bold was printed at the bottom: Isander Greengrass. British Auror. Captain of Thestral Wing.
"Yeah, that's the Four of Pentacles. I guess all those planes weren't a waste of resources," the squadron leader nodded, comparing the image with the real deal. "Report to headquarters."
THE SQUADRON ON STALKING
52. Upon completion of a reconnaissance task, a squadron might be ordered before, during or after the task to engage the enemy. Additionally, a squadron might be deployed from elsewhere to engage the enemy, possessing no information of the situation besides the intelligence provided from headquarters. In both situations, the squadron carefully and covertly gathers combat information upon encountering the enemy. Additionally, the squadron prepares for the engagement by establishing wards and isolating the enemy. This procedure is called stalking.
"Squadron commander to all flights, we'll be engaging the enemy with the priority being the Four of Pentacles. The wing commander says those Aurors might have back-up on standby, we'll strike and leave before their reinforcements even show up. Flight B, set up wards for isolation. Flight A, you'll be with me, provide cover and maintain observation of the enemy. Flight V, set up a base of fire and contact headquarters for fire support once you have the targets marked."
Three groups of transparent blurs darted towards the ground beneath them, scattering around the area while keeping a distance from the group of British Aurors. The leader of Flight V led his team, heading for elevated ground. They sprang into action the moment they landed. Broomsticks were slung over shoulders as they moved in practiced haste.
One man fell into a prone, setting his scoped Mosin-Nagant rifle in front of him as he took out a pair of omnioculars. Another had his wand in hand, casting wards to conceal and protect their position. The leader knelt beside the sniper, pulling out a map from one of the pouches of his combat robes.
"First target," said the sniper. "From our location… bearing, four hundred and fifty. Range, eight hundred and twenty."
"Tallies up with the magical signature detected," the leader nodded, glancing at the dials strapped on his foreman before marking the map. "Next one."
66. When possible, the squadron communicates with the wing via long-range radio for fire support to engage the enemy. Fire support could come in the form of a wing-level battery section, which utilises mortars and high-calibre rifles, or in the form of corps-level fire support section , which utilises howitzers. Due to the overwhelming fire provided, fire support should be used whenever possible to accomplish an attack without sustaining any casualties.
"A22 to P-V. Requesting relay."
"P-V-12. Authenticate Z-K."
"Four-seven-one."
"Clear for relay."
"Relay to A11. Requesting fire support of a full battery section for enemy Aurors and the Four of Pentacles. Entry location is green at V-12-AZ-4332-8751."
"Message received. Standy for response from A11."
"A40! All teams! Fall in with full gear!"
The booming order sailed through one of the rooms in a Red stronghold. Several men, who had been lounging with bottles of rationed butterbeer, scrambled into action. They donned their combat robes and webbing hastily before running towards the three sets of equipment laid in a corner. Each set had a backpack of sensory equipment, a backpack for warding, a mortar and a backpack of mortar ammunition.
The mortar and its ammunition - like all weapons in the 531st - was magically enhanced, runes carved over them and Feather-light Charm applied for ease of carrying. All the men took their assigned equipment and assembled in three groups of four in front of their battery commander.
"Standard fire mission," said the battery commander. "Entry location is safe, take instructions from the requesting squadron. Entry portkeys and exit portkeys on the table."
He gestured to the table where another man had been casting Portkey Charms, occasionally referring to a map. On the table sat three lengths of rope and twelve necklaces, the entry and exit portkeys. With their equipment on their backs, they moved to the table. Each man took a necklace and placed it over their heads before grabbing onto the ropes.
"Entry portkeys activating in three… two… one."
"P-V-12 to A22. Message."
"Send message."
"A11 to A22. Fire support approved. Full battery section entering on received entry location."
As the leader of Flight V heard the reply, it took no longer than a minute before twelve men appeared in front of him. He nodded in greeting before passing pieces of paper to each of the three teams.
"The entire area is concealed, you can set up here. Target information is all on the paper, fire five rounds on each target. Immediately pack up and activate exit portkeys afterwards, we're expecting heavy enemy reinforcement the moment we engage."
The men of the battery section nodded and fell into a steady tempo, setting up their mortars as they referred to the given pieces of paper. Within a minute, three mortars were aimed and the bombs laid out. The command was given and they fired the mortars in rapid succession, giving no pause to their tempo.
Explosions tore through the treeline where the Aurors were, the steady tempo of the battery section transferred to the cacophony of ear-splitting booms. The men in the squadron watched as the battery section made their mark. Halfway into the explosions, the battery section was done, disassembling their equipment before activating their exit portkeys as the explosions continued.
Soon, all that was left was toppled trees and broken ground.
"Flight V to squadron commander, fire support completed."
"Noted, all flights scatter and regroup. Disengage from any enemies contacted."
They pulled themselves off the ground and slung their rifles, moving like clockwork to reapply their concealment spells and tear down their wards. Mounting onto their broomsticks, they kicked off the hard ground into the skies. As the telltale pops of Apparition surrounded the area, they had already left the scene. The reinforcing ICW had nothing left to find aside from corpses and battered land, the opponents they were hoping to lure out having slipped through their nets.
AN: Isander Greengrass is a reference back to Chapter 31 when Astoria was thinking about the threat of the Russians.
jadevoid, evymel, big thanks for the reviews
RedShirt1453: Underaged Spooks use a magic-emitting discs to mask their spells cast, Anya has used them throughout the fic, and Dimitri had passed Harry one of them for the night.
Below is a little something that I thought of where British Muggles who participated in the Muggle Russian Civil War stumbled upon a little something. MI2 is a counterpart of the more famous MI6, it was in charge of Russian and Scandinavian intelligence after World War 1 and was absorbed by another department in 1941. It was fun to write but realistically, this just opens up possible plot holes and anyone in the 531st would not be that careless. So I deemed it unfitting to be in the actual story and left it here at the bottom as an extra.
WAR OFFICE
DIRECTORATE OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
MI2 SUBSECTION C
[ SECRET ]
INTELLIGENCE REPORT
UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF SPECTRE
By MAJ. HOWARD SMITH
13 APRIL 1919
On 23 March 1919, information on Spectre was collected by patrolling soldiers from the 259th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, CEF near the Russian village of Bolshie Ozerki. This came in the form of an abandoned field manual specifically designated for soldiers within Spectre, titled as 'Squadron Provisional Field Instructions. January 1919'. Interceptions of Soviet telegraph lines have indicated that Spectre had been operating around the region of Bolshie Ozerki prior to the collection of the field manual, thus making the authenticity of the field manual highly probable.
Upon inspection of the field manual, there had been several irregularities found within its contents. Based on past compilations of Soviet signal interceptions and reports from combat units in the frontlines, it was concluded that Spectre had been a well-trained and secretive unit of air force in the Soviet Red Army. However, contents of the Spectre field manual, though indicating an organisation and structure of that of an air force consisting of squadrons and wings, contained highly irregular combat tactics of an infantry unit with unfeasible parameters which can only be met by planes.
The field manual collected has stated the usage of telegraph lines and radio as means of communication and the usage of rifles and mortars as means of engaging an enemy, along with instructions regarding establishing crossfire with snipers. These are not the tactics of an air force but rather an infantry unit. However, it is stated in the field manual that a squadron within Spectre is expected to cover distances of up to 80km during patrols within a day. It also states that neighbouring squadrons or 'stand-by' squadrons from distances up to 200km are expected to aid a squadron which comes into contact with enemies. The speed and distance in which squadrons in Spectre are expected to operate is not feasible in any form but an air force.
Due to the irregular contradictions found in the field manual designated for Spectre, the following possible conclusions can be made about the status of Spectre or/and the field manual:
a)The field manual is authentic in its purpose, but utilises names of infantry equipment and tactics as code names for secrecy purposes.
b)The status of Spectre is not an air force unit, but rather a unit of elite airborne infantry deployed and supported by planes, thus explaining the reason for the specialised infantry tactics cited in the field manual and the speed and distance of operations only achieved by planes.
c)The field manual is false information planted by the Soviets in a misdirection attempt to mask the true nature of Spectre.
d)In conjunction with (c), Spectre is a misdirection in and of itself which does not actually exist. Instead, the reported instances of Spectre assaults in the frontlines are the work of multiple different Soviet infantry units all operating under the code name of Spectre during specific instances of Spectre assaults to mislead allocation of resources.