CHAPTER 6
"Light at the end of the tunnel"
Gryffindor Common Room
The events of the day shook the entire castle to its core.
All students were shut in their dormitories as the Ministry and the Muggle Contingent were frantically securing the school grounds. Some students, particularly the Muggle-borns, were in tears.
The air in the Common Room was silent and tense. The Lions were busy muttering to each other, coming up with various theories as to what may have caused the explosions in the Forest.
One such group was in the hearth facing the fireplace.
"It has to be one of You-Know-Who's followers." Ron insisted in a whisper to Hermione.
"Or it could be someone Imperiused. How else would they have breached the Muggle lines?" Hermione shot back.
"Come off it. You don't think it could be some Ministry bloke with a hard-on for Death Eater scum that's involved? I wouldn't put it past You-Know-Who using an Auror or Hitwizard to do the job."
"Can't you hold a regular conversation without being so crass, Ronald?"
"Can't you two hold a regular conversation without trying to bite each other's heads off?" Neville said exasperatingly, already tired of hearing their constant arguments.
While the other three were busy arguing with who started it first, Harry and Ginny were sitting silently on the floor, as if stuck in their own world. None of it was filled with romance, however, as one bespectacled boy was in his own head.
Harry rubbed at his scar, frustrated with himself. Once again, he felt some level of guilt at not being able to predict the strike.
"Harry."
His mind was scrambling for a solution; if only he could talk to Dumbledore. Some Chosen One he turned out to be.
"Harry!"
He was lifted from his brooding by the sharp tone. He came face to face with the hard, blazing look of Ginny Weasley beside him. She must have sensed his mood over the incident.
'Who wouldn't if they're sitting right next to you?' He thought wryly.
She released a breath, kept her gaze on him, and put a hand on his own. It was a small comfort, but he was glad for it.
He didn't flinch or blush. Instead, he held her hand tenderly. He noticed that her bright, brown eyes widened slightly at the contact.
Ron coughed and they both turned their heads to see three sets of eyes looking at them intently, with both Hermione and Ron blushing (Hermione looked a bit smug) at their intimacy and Neville smiling a little.
Surprisingly, this didn't bother Harry and Ginny and they turned back to face the fireplace. Harry felt at home as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Dumbledore's Office
The old headmaster sat on his table, staring into an empty space with his wrinkled hands splayed before him. The incident, plus the discovery of mutilated soldiers prior, have drawn concerns from the Board of Governors as to the ability of Albus Dumbledore to maintain security at Hogwarts. They argue that the presence of Muggles are drawing unwanted attention from Dark forces and are clamouring for their immediate withdrawal.
Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic have worked hard to allay their fears, citing gains achieved with the cooperation of Ministry workers and Muggle troops. But the recent order by the Prime Minister and the N.A.T.O. Commander to deploy additional troops to the Magical world and the current civil strife in the country's major cities over increased foreign intervention in local affairs have only served to strengthen these concerns.
These issues have caused serious debate among the staff and some high-level Ministry officials. There have already been multiple student withdrawals the last few months, many of them muggle-born and with the current pace, the school may have to reconsider suspending the term, among other options.
Tonight's meeting was no different. Tensions have grown between Magical and Muggle leaders, with many accusing the Muggles of negligence while the Muggles shot back with accusations of treasonous individuals in the ranks of wizardkind.
Dumbledore raised his good hand, and slammed it down on his table. This was enough to silence even the muttering portraits.
He looked them all in the eye, his features more pronounced than ever.
The wizened headmaster rose from his seat and addressed them all.
"As the old Muggle saying goes: a house divided against itself cannot stand." He told them sternly.
This set off one of the Board members.
"HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE AND ASK FOR UNITY AT A TIME LIKE THIS? PEOPLE ARE GETTING BLOWN UP IN YOUR OWN SCHOOL AND YET YOU REFUSE TO CONSIDER THE ONE SOLUTION THAT CAN PROTECT OUR STUDENTS!" the woman named Gladys exclaimed.
"Mrs. Blanchard, as what the Minister and I have told you, the Muggles are integral to the continued security of the school. No, wait. Let me finish." He interrupted her as she was about to rant.
He looked at the Muggle commanders and finally to the Governors. "The situation is delicate, to say the least. I cannot further divulge any further information to convince you all of the necessity of Muggle involvement. Know that I only have the best interests of Hogwarts at heart." He finished sincerely.
This made the governors scoff at his words. But ultimately, Dumbledore was unperturbed.
"I must ask that you leave the room. I believe I've scheduled a meeting with the Muggle commanders."
"Don't think that we're through with you, Albus. Sooner or later, you'll be out of a job in this school. Your eccentricities and callous disregard for Hogwarts' well-being have caused nothing but hardship and a drop in quality graduates the last five years. You…. You disgust me!" Gladys spat out as she and the rest of the governors exited the office.
The tension that was in the room dissipated, as Dumbledore begun waving his wand, covering the office interior in a blue hue.
He gestured to the bemused Muggle commanders to stay at the center of the room and called out to the shadows in the crevices.
"You can come out now Alastor, Severus."
Two figures came out of the darkness, one of them gliding like an ethereal wraith while the other limped out with a cane and a grunt.
Several other figures came out of what looked like cloaks, observed one muggle. One was dark-skinned, and wore a blue wizard attire, almost like a bishop. Another was a lanky and tall, dishevelled man who looked worse for wear and finally, a grim-faced Minister Amelia Bones.
The Commanders saw her and stood at attention, "Minister."
She simply gave them a terse nod and they turned back to the Headmaster.
"Please, sit." Seven wooden chairs were summoned from the office corners. They were seated in a semi-circle, all facing Dumbledore. Severus was at the right of Albus and Moody on Albus' left. The Minister sat facing him directly.
"Well, Albus? What do you have for us?" asked Minister Bones.
Albus turned to Severus. He gave him a nod and Severus proceeded to discuss his recent intelligence report.
"The Dark Lord has plans for an offensive operation against the entire country. His aims remain the same, but now he has sought the assistance of muggle mercenaries."
At this, the Muggle commanders' attention was snagged.
"Excuse me, Professor Snape. Muggle mercenaries?"
Snape turned to the English commander and sneered. "Yes, I did. And you would do well to listen."
Severus continued, "The mercenaries are not from here. Most likely Eastern European. I have only seen a glimpse of the contingent they brought, and my initial estimate puts their strength at 200 to 300 men with various weaponry. "
This news alarmed the commanders, who now believe that the enemy has acquired vital knowledge on muggle warfighting.
"Make no mistake. The Dark Lord has not found any pleasure dealing with muggle folk. He sees them as a means to an end. I also learned that the Dark Lord has secured multitudes of Inferi (the wizards and witches in the room sucked a breath in horror while Moody grunted), an alliance with the Dementors of Azkaban and the Giants, and has sent Greyback to negotiate a pact with the werewolves." At this, he gave Remus a disdainful look. Remus then looked morose.
"He has also secured the services of another muggle group. I have not made any visual confirmation on their numbers, but the Dark Lord says that they are not a centralized group and may have caused all the ruckus that is ongoing in Muggle England." He finished his report.
The entire room grew silent at his report. The Dark Lord has amassed an army, and the offensive may commence at any moment. Minister Bones massaged her temple, wondering how to at least pre-empt any attack. Would they need more soldiers? They would end up with a civil war over this as not a lot of magical folk are too keen with muggles infesting their neighborhoods. What would the Muggle governments think of more troop deployments?
"Thank you Severus." He turned to the group before him.
"Remus. What news can you bring us on the werewolves? Have they considered our proposal?" Dumbledore addressed the dishevelled man.
Remus coughed and rasped, "I doubt it, headmaster. The only good thing I can say is that the werewolves have no intention of working for either side."
"That's comforting." Snape said dryly.
"Severus." Dumbledore warned.
He turned to the visibly upset Lupin, "Thank you, Remus."
The American commander spoke, "Excuse me, headmaster. As what your intelligence gathered, the enemy plans to launch a simultaneous strike on targets all over the British Isles. I would like to add more into this matter, headmaster."
The magical occupants looked at the Muggles intently.
"Very well Colonel, let us hear it."
The American nodded and turned to his British counterpart. They presented on a board, photographs and satellite images on potential troop movements and recent activity in key areas.
The British commander started first.
"With the presence of muggle mercenaries within the enemy ranks confirmed by your intelligence assets, we did have visual on suspicious three-truck convoys leading in and out of Northern Ireland and the coast of Dover. UAV Reconnaissance drones and plainclothes intelligence officers have also reported unmarked vehicles found in the Forest of Dean. There was also a massive engagement in the London docks between alleged smugglers, covert SAS units and Metropolitan police units. Intel collected on the site showed this….."
The commander pinned on the board a photograph of unmarked boxes filled with miniature models of military vehicles.
The wizards and witches in the room were curious and tensed at this photo.
Amelia let out a cough and asked, "What are those, Commander?"
The British commander glanced at his American counterpart, who took a breath and said, "Military vehicles, Minister."
The minister and everyone else took a moment to understand what they were for and why it was important. It was Moody that saw it first.
"Bloody geniuses. They bloody shrunk their equipment!" he cackled as everyone (except for Dumbledore and Snape) looked at him as though he had gone mad.
The Muggles continued their presentation.
"We had suspicions that the enemy managed to smuggle in equipment of this kind. By the time we finished taking photos and opening up these boxes, they vanished into thin air. Turns out our units in the area didn't check for 'Portkeys' and whatnot." The British commander said wryly.
Dumbledore grew worried at this. He looked at Severus and saw that even he did not think of this possibility. The fact that the enemy was able to smuggle vast amounts of weaponry into the country as miniature toy models pushed him into a level of urgency he had not felt since Grindelwald's war.
He cannot afford to wait any longer. He made up his mind, it was time to bring in Harry Potter to fulfil the hunt for Voldemort's horcruxes and end the Dark Lord once and for all.
The occupants of the room looked at Dumbledore and saw him in his most serious of postures.
"Professor?" Lupin asked timidly.
The headmaster looked at his old student. He sighed deeply and rose from his seat, staring into the moonlight.
"What do you plan to do Headmaster?" Amelia asked him.
He did not answer. Instead, he wrote on a piece of parchment called for Dobby the house-elf.
The arrival of the house-elf confused everyone but Dumbledore paid them no mind. He knelt before the excitable house-elf and whispered,
"Send this to Harry Potter first thing in the morning. It is urgent."
Dobby gasped, "O-of course, headmaster. Dobby will do what Dobby must!" He then vanished in a snap.
He turned to the bemused occupants of the room and said in the most genial of voices, "Well, I believe this meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for coming. I'll expect more reports from you Severus. Now let's all have a kip, then."
The group before him looked at each other and muttered their good nights. Severus remained until the last of them left the room.
"I don't suppose you've decided to involve Potter and his merry band of followers into this, did you?" Snape asked dryly, knowing the answer.
Albus looked at his most loyal follower and said, "I have asked too much of Harry. But he deserves to know. I owe him that much."
With that, Severus left Dumbledore's office.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: That 'Muggle' saying was from Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech.
Sorry for the late update. Hope you guys are still enjoying this little story. Stay safe.