Chapter Thirty-Seven-The Call of War

Though the Ministry deems the situation dealt with, the Collective and Dumbledore begin to amass their allies for the unavoidable war to come.


It was close to one in the morning when Fallen and Yoko stepped out of the Tower, Blaise and Draco silent and unseen shadows behind them, hidden beneath Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

Fallen's tail was limp and his gait ever so slightly unsteady, evidence of his slow recovery from extended and unprepared use of his Eye and the attempt, failed though it had eventually been, to prevent the dementor access to Barty Crouch Jr.

\/\/\/

Fallen's gaze was, by outward accounts, in the air.

He had watched in the Headmaster's office as Severus sat, upright and pale, hands flat against the arms of the chair he sat in.

The direwolf knew the man well enough that he had been taking the time to center himself for an unpleasant task, most likely raising and shifting his shields to protect his most sensitive of thoughts and feelings, while dangling what appeared to be his most sensitive of thoughts for the Dark Lord's perusal later.

Neither friend had been in denial over what Severus would be doing in a matter of hours.

Or of the torture he would be put under for having failed to return to the Dark Lord's side as promptly as the others of the Inner Circle had, even with the excuse of having been surrounded on nearly all sides by enemies within Hogwarts' walls.

The Valerian presence would be his greatest weapon, but Riddle would hate the idea that Severus had weighed their presence against his own and found it more dangerous to go than to wait.

There would be pain before Severus was, hopefully, welcomed back into the fold.

Arcana had been a solid, steady presence, but not at Severus' side.

The King had watched, his attention on Severus, but his eyes on Dumbledore as the headmaster paced by the window, a worried furrow to the old man's brow.

Fallen hadn't been listening to Arcana, but he had been certain that the tiger was speaking with the headmaster.

Farther out, Shadows flickered on the edge of the forest, shifting and swirling, hiding the Shade from Fallen's ever-searching gaze.

From experience, however, Fallen had known that that one spot was far from the only one Ebony had thrown up and none of them would have been where the dark leopard had been hiding.

Closer, he had listened as the Queen recounted the Lightbringer's interrogation of Crouch Jr to those under her rule that had missed it, injecting knowledge or thought where he had felt the desire or need.

His Eye had been fighting against his iron control.

It had known, as Fallen had known, of the dire threat that sat somewhere out in the world, and it wanted to go. It had wanted to drown their target in nightmares.

Drive it to the insanity it had always fed on best.

Power that had brought kingdoms to their knees struggled against the will of the one that had conquered it and chained it.

Slow and steady, the heartbeat of earth had been beating at his side.

The magnetic pull that controlled the ebb and flow of the oceans anchored the General, reminded him of the silver fox pressed against his side, his Element tapped to defend his occupied lover.

Fallen had been aware of the presence that entered his sphere of influence, even distracted by the pull of the Eye's desire to stretch them even further, when it was already draining nearly everything Fallen had to utilize it in the long-term manner that he had been.

'Fallen,' Yoko had murmured, sunk deep into the earth and as aware of the presence of darkness, death, and despair that had just swept through the castle gates as Fallen was seeing the wraith do it.

'Go.' Fallen had ordered.

'I will do no such thing,' Yoko had scoffed in return. 'My job and place is here.'

'That thing will ruin any further attempts to get information out of Crouch, Yoko,' Fallen had insisted.

Yoko had been unmoved.

Scoffing, Fallen had, briefly, thought to mention the dementor to the Crown, particularly Arcana, who was with the headmaster – controller of the Hogwarts wards.

The castle, however, seemed to already be coming to life with the threat now within its walls.

Suits of armor had begun moving from the floors higher up, clanking and clattering down the stairs in neat rows, spears clutched in hand.

Spears of metal and magic that would do no good against a dementor.

Fallen had pulled a portion of himself from the Eye, risking the danger of losing control of its power, to tap his Element.

Barrier after barrier had slammed into place on the corridor between the staircase and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

A golden shimmer had appeared over the doors off the Entrance Hall, minus the massive double doors that allowed entrance to the castle itself – apparently cutting off entry to the Great Hall, the chamber to it, and the two doors that led to the dungeons.

'Hogwarts is hiding its students,' Yoko had breathed, surprised and amazed even though he couldn't see any of it happening.

Fallen hadn't been able to devote any attention to commenting on it.

He had been busy watching the Minister of Magic as he swept down the marble staircase, collected the wraith, and returned up the stairs and struggling to hold the barriers up in the corridor.

It had always been a rare event, when Fallen was forced to utilize so much of the Eye and tap the Air, the Eye draining him so quickly that within minutes he was drawing on his reserves, reserves that couldn't power both for long.

Fallen had still found the energy to snicker when minister and dementor both came up short, slamming face-first into what was clearly a blood-red barrier.

"Fallen," Fudge had hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose, though he wasn't bleeding.

Yet.

"Fucking bastard. He's interfering with Ministry business again," the human had grumbled.

Away in the office, Fallen watched – as the Eye was always aware, even when Fallen focused on a particular aspect of what he was being shown– as McGonagall suddenly straightened and turned sharply to the door. She didn't say a word, but she paled and drew her wand.

He had dismissed the action – seeing Yoko as the fox spoke rapidly to the professor without pulling away from Fallen's side - remaining focused on Fudge as he drew his wand cast several spells against Fallen's barrier before it abruptly buckled.

Fallen had been aware as soon as the wizard's first spell was cast that, despite Fudge's limited magical strength, he wasn't going to be able to hold the Minister off indefinitely.

He'd had nothing left to put into holding the barriers against him.

As Fudge broke through the second, then third, barriers, Fallen had been aware of Dumbledore and Arcana becoming aware of the dementor near-simultaneously – the castle warning the Headmaster of its presence, and Yoko doing the same.

They would never arrive in time.

Two more of Fallen's barriers shattered and he could see the glee written all over Fudge's face.

He clearly believed this was some sort of win.

That he had bested the General of Valeria.

Fallen awaited the day where he could prove the foul little mudbag wrong.

Shadows flickered at either end of the hallway but Fallen hadn't allowed himself to be further distracted by them.

The last of the barriers shattered with a whoosh of displaced air and McGonagall had stepped into the hallway, a severe frown on her face.

"Minister! What is the meaning of this?!"

Fudge, quite pleased with himself, had put his wand away and gestured for her to move aside. "I'm here to question the man you claim is responsible for all of this madness tonight."

"That…creature is not welcome on these grounds, Minister. You know how Albus feels about them."

"I'm well within my rights to have protection when interrogating dangerous individuals, Minerva."

"You should have called for aurors, Minister," McGonagall had said fiercely. "Remove that at once! There are-"

"I'd much rather see the end of this, if you don't mind. I'm finding this to be much more tiresome an event than I had planned for the evening."

McGonagall's frown intensified. "I will not step aside while you have a dementor in these walls, Minister. I have responsibilities to the safety of the students and staff here!"

"And the longer you delay my business here, the longer it will be here." Fudge had said snappishly.

Fallen had curled a lip.

The mudbag had clearly grown a pair after his pulling down the barriers in the corridor.

He had obviously started thinking higher of himself than he ought.

McGonagall had raised her wand, clearly intending to drive the dementor off by force, despite how pale and shaking the older woman was becoming in its presence.

"You are interfering in a Ministry interrogation!" Fudge had snapped.

"I am protecting the students of this school!" the woman had replied, just as sharply. "As is my right and duty as the Deputy Headmistress and a professor of this castle!"

Fallen had found himself liking the Gryffindor Head more and more as she refused to back down for the Minister.

He had been distantly aware of his body pulling away from Yoko's as it flopped to the ground.

"Fallen," Draco had called, sounding muffled and far away.

Fallen hadn't responded, sure that Yoko would deal with the teen for him.

Minerva cast two spells, one had clearly been the patronus, though it wasn't fully formed and, given her exposure to it he hadn't been surprised, and the other was clearly designed to protect her from whatever spell Fudge had been prepared to cast on her for interfering.

The dementor had been, for all of a second, repelled by the patronus, but it failed nearly as soon as it had manifested and the wraith moved right past the witch, drawn to the soul that had spent months in its care.

Fallen had spent very little of his time investigating the wraiths of Azkaban Isle, but he knew that once they tasted a soul, they never forgot it. It was dangerous to use them as protection, as Fudge had today, because there was always a risk that the wraith would recognize some poor fool that had spent months in the prison on some foolish charge or another and been released once the sentence had passed.

Forgiven by the Ministry but not forgotten by the soul-stealers guarding them.

"Son of a fucking bitch," he had said viciously with Feeling.

"Tarana's going to be livid," Yoko had agreed with a grimace.

"What is it?" Draco had asked, hovering worriedly over his guardian's heaving and quivering side, the General still not giving up his grip on the Eye and all it was showing him, watching as Minerva McGonagall angrily spun away from her post, marching purposefully toward the infirmary.

'Do you want to tell her?' Yoko had asked after a moment of silence, neither Valerian acknowledging the increasingly agitated Gryffindor.

Fallen's side had heaved, exhaustion pushing on him. 'Fuck the hell out of that,' he had said tiredly. 'Let Fudge dig his own grave. Ivory is still in the infirmary.'

Yoko's grin had been very unkind. "Looks like we're going to war with the Ministry of Magic."

'It's about fucking time,' Fallen had grumbled.

It had been a relief when Arcana had ordered him to lock down the Eye.

/\/\/\

Now, hours later and with the barebones of an explanation to their charges, Fallen and Yoko were following the Crown's orders.

A war had never been won without allies, after all.

And if the Ministry couldn't put their resources to work trying and Dumbledore didn't have them, the Valerians would absolutely begin fostering their own, even if they had to manipulate friends and allies to do it.

\/\/\/

The Tower had been asleep beneath the pollen of Valeria's Lidrova.

Yoko had brought three of the beautiful red-yellow flowers, vaguely reminiscent of the muggle daisy, into existence into each of the seven dormitories, ensuring without a doubt that Fallen and Yoko wouldn't be disturbed while the direwolf flared the Eye's presence over more than half the school.

There were two exceptions.

Blaise and Draco had refused to return to their dormitories and, given the shitstorm that would be coming shortly, now that the Dark Lord had returned to be a more physical pest, neither Assassin nor General felt the desire to force them.

The teens had sat, silent for the most part, while Yoko guarded his lover's physical form and Fallen guarded their Kin.

The direwolf's augmenter had been cast in a purplish glow, the Mirithian Stone inset flickering as though it had an inner fire as he tapped it.

Given what little he had known about it, Draco had been impressed with the willpower it must have taken Fallen to control his Eye and the augmentation stone, and was therefore unsurprised when both Eye and Stone went dark at the same time and Fallen slipped into the closest thing to unconscious the blond had seen in a long time, even if the state only lasted a few minutes.

"The King will have orders for us soon enough," Fallen had said, eyes still closed and breathing so slow it had appeared dangerously unhealthy.

"Rest," Yoko had ordered, getting to his paws. "You've pushed yourself far harder than we have in a long while."

Fallen had grunted. "We've gone soft, Assassin." He had said.

"Nothing we haven't already known," Yoko had pointed out coldly, not pleased with the reminder.

"Don't sound so depressed about it," Draco had said, leaning forward and lacing his fingers together between his knees. "You say it like you're not going to be able to buckle down and reclaim whatever 'hardness' you think you've lost."

Blaise had leaned an elbow on the arm of the couch and was resting his cheek on a loose fist. "I assume we're going to war?"

Yoko had tipped his head. "With the Ministry of Magic and the Traitor." He had acknowledged.

"How do we start?" Draco had asked.

Yoko had glanced down at Fallen.

He could never claim to be the strategic powerhouse that his partner or Arcana was, and Ebony was in a class entirely of his own. This wasn't, however, the first war Yoko had been a part of.

He could guess.

So too, it appeared, could Draco, for the blond had answered his own question.

"The Ministry would begin to reach out to its allies."

"The Ministry has its head buried in the sand," Fallen had growled.

"And I suppose even if they weren't, they couldn't-"

"Wouldn't," Blaise had injected irritably.

"-reach out to the magical races because of how they've recently treated all of them anyway." Draco had tilted his head and ran blue-grey eyes over Fallen and Yoko, barely seeing them. "So you lot will do it instead."

Yoko could only watch as Draco made the shift with such ease.

He had narrowed his eyes on the red wolf beside him and Fallen had smirked even in his exhaustion.

/\/\/\

"You know," Blaise said, stretching once they were beyond the doors of the castle and Draco had pulled the Invisibility Cloak off and folded it over one arm. "If we do this, aren't we just as easily declaring war against the Ministry as we are against Dark and Voldemort?"

"I wouldn't worry about war against the fools in London," a voice sneered from the darkness beyond the torches lining the path between the castle doors and the gates further down the grounds. Ebony slipped easily into the light. "It will fracture long before they become a worthy threat to the Collective."

Fallen's ear flicked in the leopard's direction. "I'm surprised you're still here," he growled. "Your companions left over an hour ago."

Ebony didn't so much as blink, turning toward the castle. "I've found myself with some spare time," he drawled. "Waiting for the rest of you to catch up."

Fallen growled as the Shade disappeared out of their sight through the castle doors.

XX

The surprise of seeing the young Malfoy heir outside her door was written all over Madame Maxime's face.

"Madame," he greeted, bowing over one arm.

Black eyes, sharp despite the hour, trailed down the teen's body to the Valerian sitting at his side.

"Apologies for bothering you at such a late hour, Madame," the silver fox said grimly. "But this is a matter of some urgency. Would you be able to join us at Rubeus' home?"

There was a there and gone flash of reluctance before the half-giantess squared her shoulders.

"A moment," she said, before turning and closing the door.

"I admit," Draco said, leaning against the massive wheel, his neck barely coming up to the bottom of the carriage itself. "That I'm not entirely sure why we're involving the Beauxbaton headmistress. Isn't France outside of Voldemort's current sphere of influence?"

"Voldemort's perhaps," Yoko agreed. "But not Dark's. Don't forget that Ebony was making a problem of himself well outside the English border, I have no doubt that Dark wasn't idle either."

Draco's lips thinned. "This is going to get bad, isn't it?"

"Absolutely," Yoko sighed. "And as much as we'd like to continue keeping you out of the crossfire, just being near us will likely draw a target on you."

The door opened beside Draco and he pushed away from the wheel as the half-giantess stepped down and began moving across the lawn without waiting to see if either Valerian or human were following.

XX

Fallen raised his head when Draco opened the door for Yoko and Maxime.

If Hagrid and his former paramour were at all uncomfortable with being in the same room as one another, neither showed it, such was the grim air of the cabin.

"Thank you, madame," Fallen said, pushing himself to his paws and pacing toward the table as Hagrid set down a tea set.

"Given everything zat haz happened tonight," she said, drawing her cup toward her. "I could 'ardly refuse."

"You don't believe what happened to Cedric Diggory was a result of this tournament?" Yoko asked, tilting his head.

Maxime's lips thinned. "Non," she said shortly. "We would 'ave allowed zis…zis tragedy."

"And the fact that Igor Karkaroff has disappeared to parts unknown?" Fallen asked.

"Cowardly git," Hagrid grunted.

"All further evidence to what the Collective has seen with their own eyes," Yoko said bluntly. "Voldemort has been given fresh skin."

Despite their grim air, both half breeds paled at the reveal.

"It iz true?"

"Unfortunately," Fallen confirmed. "Also, unfortunately, there's a matter we need assistance with that Albus Dumbledore doesn't have the clout to aid us in."

"'course," Hagrid agreed immediately.

Maxime nodded. "Dumbly-dorr has done well by us. Champions aside."

"Dark has risen more than simply the Dark Lord over the last several months," Yoko said, sitting and curling his tail around his paws. "When we fled the destruction of Valeria, we brought with us an Urn of incredible importance. It contained the essence of creatures we'd been at war with before the Fall. Dark was given access to it when Arcana fell victim to him and has cracked the Seal placed on it."

"When Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory were taken from the maze this evening, Ivory created a three-anchor gate and we were sent to retrieve him. We faced off against the Kristavi on the other side of it." Fallen added.

"And theez Kriztavi, zey are dangerous?"

"They're capable of possession, elemental manipulation nearly on par with the Collective, serious physical strength, and telekinesis," Blaise said, his twisting fingers the only sign of his nerves.

Hagrid and Maxime inhaled sharply.

"In the past, a member of Valeria's Army was equal to a Kristine. But the Kristavi, who make up most of the Urn's contents, are on par with the Honor Guard of the King or the ak-esh assassins of the Shadow Queen. With a fraction of either, I could lead a campaign that would bring the wizarding world to its knees." Fallen said bluntly. "Dark doesn't need a fraction of anything when he has Death Eaters and Earth's own creatures – magical or otherwise – to supplement them."

"You are looking for zose who are capable of standing against zees Kreesteens."

"Yes," Yoko said bluntly.

"And of those creatures, there are few with the strength and magical resistance to surpass that of the giants."

Maxime straightened, expression stormy, but she didn't say a word as she glanced at Hagrid, who was staring at Fallen.

"We need someone who understands the customs of the giants and is capable of implementing them," Fallen added, staring at a fixed spot between the two half-giants. "And while I'm capable of these things, giants don't respect what they consider lesser races."

"If it'll help, I'll do whatever yeh need," Hagrid said eagerly.

"You won't be standing alone," Yoko said seriously. "We might not be able to physically assist you in this ambassadorship, but we can offer up anything you might need financially."

"And politically," Fallen added. "We're longer-lived than most races and I'm sure every one of us has a number of favors waiting to be called in."

"The Ministry is going to pretend that this shit didn't happen," Draco added bluntly, leaning his head against the doorjamb he'd never left, crossing his ankles and arms. "You won't find any assistance there."

More than one lip twitched when Maxime said something very unflattering in her native tongue.

"Ze Engleesh are behind ze times," she said in English, deliberately ignoring the fact that more than half the room had understood her French and unapologetic for her words.

Blaise's smile and gaze were flat. "Yes," he said coolly. "And you have the sincerest apology from the Collective and their Bonded, madame, for whatever vitriol might have been spilled in your direction since Rita Skeeter's article."

The half-giantess took the apology with grace. "Ze Engleesh will need to do much worse to truly offend me, Heir Zabini," she said.

Draco gave her his full attention. "May your wrath never fall on me and mine, Madame Maxime."

The half-giantess smiled unkindly, but let the topic die.

XX

Ebony slipped through the empty hallways with little care as to whether or not he'd be seen.

Severus spun sharply on his heel, wand sliding into his palm and pointed between the large cat's eyes as soon as the door was opened.

"You."

"At least your reflexes haven't dulled in your retirement, duelist."

"What do you want?"

"Don't ruin my opinion of you so soon after getting my acknowledgment, boy," Ebony sneered. "I've always found you, if nothing else, amusing."

Severus snorted, laying his wand down on his desk to fling a heavy dark robe over his shoulders. "That's always been obvious," he said flatly.

Ebony smirked. "Don't mistake me for Ivory, Severus Snape," he said. "I've never had the patience for the bullshit he plays. It was your cunning. Your forethought that continues, even now, to draw my attention. You play this game, in some ways, better than Sirius does."

"Do you have a point?" Severus asked, picking his wand up again and turning back to the leopard. "I have a meeting to attend and, following that and the torture likely to follow, two-thirds of a bottle of scotch to get through."

"Ah," Ebony said, tilting his head knowingly, "but the problem will still be there once the bottle is over. What, then, is the purpose of drinking it?" He didn't appear to need or want an answer, because he didn't wait for one. "At some point, snake, I'm going to ask you for something that you're not likely to want to do. I am here to remind you that I don't care for the delicate sensibilities of mortals and that you are no longer a collaborator of the general. From this point forward, you are my pawn. Mine to move about at my pleasure and leisure."

Severus inhaled sharply between his teeth, but when he looked to his door to give the Shade his full attention, there was no sign that the Valerian had been there at all.

XX

Ice blue eyes blinked languidly into the glass jar sitting at eye level to him.

'Well,' Ebony murmured to the beetle within, frozen beneath the predator's gaze. 'Was the five minutes of fame you gained worth the price you're paying now, insect?'

The beetle had no way of answer, trapped in the unbreakable glass as she was, but the antenna twitched and quivered.

'Caged by a fourteen-year-old no less,' the Shade snorted derisively. 'I suppose I should cut her some slack. She did do half the work required to cage you for me. She was likely kinder about it too.' He tilted his head. 'Fret not, insect, your use hasn't ended with your imprisonment. I've got a job for you. And you will hate every blessed moment of it.'

XX

Neville knew that he was pretty much useless when compared to the political powerhouses of the three Heirs and Ron – whose own political savvy was in his connection to Arcana – or the intellectual powerhouse that was Hermione.

His sleep, forced as it had been, was filled with nightmares and he was in no rush to try again, but he wasn't smart enough to put pieces together like Draco or Blaise and had, therefore, elected to remain in the Tower once the drowsy effects of Yoko's funny looking daisy had finally faded, leaving him, at three in the morning, bent over Harry's map.

Several beds over, Ron slept as he always did – like the dead.

Neville cringed at his own thought.

Too soon.

Tired eyes shifted until they came back to the Tower and he started, rubbing his eyes and looking again.

There were paw prints in the Tower.

Tossing the map on his nightstand and not worrying about whether it made it onto the wood or not, Neville scrambled out of the dorm.

XX

"I could have sworn Yoko put the lot of you little ants to sleep hours ago."

Neville clenched a fist and had a brief moment where, remembering Ebony advancing on no less than three Valerians, he regretted his rash decision to intercept him.

"I want to be useful."

Ebony scoffed. "Then you best ask someone who cares about your wants and desires, little meatsack," he sneered, moving toward the portrait. "I hear the Assassin is weak enough for such causes."

Neville, surprising both himself and the Shade, put himself in the leopard's path - ensuring that the only way Ebony could leave the Tower was through him – squared his shoulders and raised his chin.

"It's not like we have time to teach me anything," Neville pointed out. "I'm not strong like Blaise and Draco and Harry. I'm not brave like Ron. I'm not smart like Hermione. But I want to help. You use people, right? Use me."

Ebony's eyes narrowed. "And what use would I have for someone who is none of those things?" he asked, irritated with the teen's presence already and more than willing to cut him down.

Something, however, stilled him.

A bubble of power that wasn't coming from the teen himself….

"I don't know," Neville admitted, dropping his eyes. "My family calls me all sorts of names. Their disappointment in me isn't a secret. I'm nothing like my parents." He raised his eyes back to the dark leopard and Ebony reevaluated.

Fire burned in the Gryffindor.

"Parents I never knew because supporters of Voldemort tortured them and left them less than vegetables in St. Mungo's. Three weeks after the attack on the Potter's. I've been left on the outskirts of every problem the Valerians and my friends faced here at Hogwarts and I don't want to be weak anymore. I don't want to be useless and left behind anymore." Neville, fists clenched and arms shaking with the force of his emotions, and glowed. "I can't do what the others do. But you…you can use me. Anything you need."

Ebony tilted his head.

By all accounts, the human seemed unaware of the power he was connected to, and he wondered how his Kin had missed it in the first place.

The mortal was useless.

His magical power and ability were mediocre at best and even with the potential in him, the boy himself had pointed out that there wasn't enough time for any of the Valerians to focus on him in the way required to bring that potential out. Not now.

Still.

"You're right," Ebony said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "You are useless." Neville flinched and the fight seemed to leave him as quickly as it had arrived. Ebony was asshole enough to let that settle on the teen before he spoke again. "However…there may be a way to exploit you nonetheless…."

XX

Albus Dumbledore looked and felt his age as he sat at his desk, composing multiple letters to those he hoped could assist him and the Collective in the coming war.

He didn't look up when the door creaked open, unsurprised by the visit or his guest.

"You've been busy, Lord," he said, pushing his exhaustion aside and putting the quill back down beside his pot.

This was a guest that only fools didn't give their full attention to.

"I have a theory, worm, that I want you to confirm for me." Darkness flooded the room but Albus wasn't nervous or scared as the candles of the room went out, or the tendrils of shadow that caressed his vulnerable neck. "Tell me what you know about shedding one's soul…."