Title: Code of the Griffin
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: From a war ravaged future, someone is sent back in time to change the course of the war.
Minister for Magic Fudge sat in his office with the latest report from Hogwarts. For some reason Granger, Potter and their little army had mostly disappeared for quite some time, but the last report indicated that her forces were back, but Potter and Granger were not among them.
"This could work to our advantage." Under Secretary Deloris Umbridge said.
Fudge considered this for a few minutes.
"No." He said.
"But…"
"I said no." Fudge replied, making a decision on his own for the first time in his life. "We have no idea what Potter and Granger are up to, and should we try anything then we will have Black all over us. Plus if we make a move and fail, our credibility will be somewhere below the Thestral Showjumping Committee. Unless we get some new information, we will wait at least two months before considering any move."
"Yes, Minister."
Harry's toes were hot and sore. He idly thought that focusing on his feet was strange considering all of the other pain he was suffering. The two men dropped him on the floor, the friction that had been hurting his toes fading as they left, making all the other pain crash back in a wave.
It was only Harry and Kate in the cell now. The SAS trooper, Biggs or Bragg or Boggs, had not lasted past the second day, he had suffered severe internal bleeding from his first 'session'. Harry pushed himself up on to hands and knees, his every muscle and joint aching, crawled over to where Kate was sitting against the wall and dropped down beside her, his head in her lap and his back towards the wall. Kate gently stroked his hair as he slowly relaxed from the 'session'.
This had been their world for the last… god knows how long. The fact that they were both naked never even registered to them anymore. After each 'session' they would comfort each other, trying to ease the pain. In the long hours between, when both were left alone they talked or simply sat together in silence, a comfortable ease had formed that made Harry wonder if this was what having a sister was like. Of course then they would come, take one away leaving the other alone with their fears, until the taken was returned and the cycle would start again.
Harry luxuriated in the simple pleasure of having Kate run her hands through his hair. Six hours prior their positions had been reversed with Kate clinging to his shoulder crying while he had eased her pain.
Harry was no stranger to physical pain, not after living with the Dursleys, having a Basilisk fang through his arm, numerous muscles strains and torn ligaments during Order training. It was the emotional pain that was getting to him. The worry was not when they took him, but when the took Kate, and the knowledge that whenever they took her she was always gone longer than he was and suffered more in ways he could not imagine and did not want to. No, emotional pain was much newer and more difficult for Harry to deal with. Hermione being petrified and Ginny disappearing in Second Year. The nervousness of meeting Hermione's parents, though why that would make him nervous still escaped him. Hermione unconscious in the spare room with a wound in her back. These things were still new and scary to Harry and now he faced them anew every time they came for Kate. And he had not even known Kate that well before this happened, now she was one of the four most important people in his life, with Hermione, Luna and Sirius.
Neville sat in the Great hall, picking at his food and idly, rhythmically tapping the table with his metallic left hand. Ron was sitting next to him and the twins were across the Gryffindor table. The mood among the four was glum, particularly since most of the hall was chatting excitedly about the just announced Yule Ball. Susan and Cedric at the Hufflepuff table also looked grim while Michelle was absent from the hall, not taking Luna's absence well. The squad of Order troopers stationed around the hall hid their emotions behind a mask of professionalism
The other Gryffindors around the four went silent and stared at something behind Neville. Neville and Ron turned around to see Fleur Delacour and another of the French girls.
"Excuse me, Sergeants." Fleur said, being very careful to use proper ranks, something Ron had stressed the importance of. "My apologies for the interruption, but Janet and I just wished to express our sympathies for your losses and hope that um... Grand Marshall is it? Yes, Grand Marshall Granger and Sergeant Lovegood are successful in retrieving Staff Sergeant Potter and… my apologies I can not remember your other missing member's name."
"Sergeant West." Ron replied.
"Thank you." Fleur replied. "Yes, Sergeant West."
"Thank you for your concern." Neville replied.
Janet said something low in French that none of the Order members could hear.
"I'm sorry. What was that?" Neville growled.
"Sorry. My English not good." Janet said, her French accent heavy.
"She said that we miss Sergeant Lovegood in the Ravenclaw common room, and are worried about Sergeant Waters." Fleur translated.
"My apologies Miss…" Neville began.
"Renault. Janet Renault." The girl replied.
"My apologies Miss Renault, but we are simply worried about our team mates and grieving our losses." Neville replied, indicating to the black armband they wore over their uniform.
"We honour to wear if allow." Janet said in her limited English.
Fred stood up and whistled, attracting the attention of half the hall, but most importantly the other Order members. Fred did a rapid series of hand signs that no one but the Order understood. After a rapid exchange of hand signs between Fred, Cedric and Sergeant Miller, Fred turned back to the two French girls.
"We appreciate your concern." Fred replied.
Fred and George both took off their armbands and handed them over to the girls. The girls reverently took the armbands, put them on and then curtsied deeply.
"Any student or staff member from any school found wearing an armband without Order authorisation will not be pleased with the result." Lieutenant Diggory announced.
Luna's finger smoothly squeezed the trigger and a three round burst flew down the corridor and blew three perfect holes in a tight cluster in the forehead of the man who had just poked his head around the corner to fire his pistol. Hermione had taken cover behind a box further down the corridor, freeing Luna to leapfrog forward. Hermione's P90 cut down two men as Luna moved forward.
After the first few days, the leads to those who took Harry, West and Bragg had dried up. After nearly two weeks, it looked like they would never find them, but then they had gotten a bit of Intel through MI6's informant network that lead them to these guys. These were not the people who took Harry and the others, but they had helped them go to ground.
Luna reached the corner, checked left which was a dead end after a meter of empty, door less hallway and then covered right as Hermione moved up. The right hand hallway had two doors, one a few meters in on the left and the other at the end of the hall on the right. The first door was their immediate target, and the office papers inside. The second was their way out. Through the cells and the loading dock. The hallway was empty so they moved up together.
Luna crossed the closed doorway, switching to a left handed grip on her MP10. A low explosive breaching charge took care of the lock and blew the door open, allowing Luna a smooth entry, followed closely by Hermione. There were three men in the room, two obviously bodyguards to the third. Luna, by feel, switched her MP10 from three round burst to single shot as she assessed the room, then put a single round in the right hand bodyguard's forehead and a round through the right shoulder of the third man, causing him to drop his pistol, as Hermione shredded the second bodyguard with her P90's tumblers.
Hermione interrogated the third man, the local boss of the operation, while Luna rummaged through the files. Half an hour later, with the body of the local boss cooling on the floor they left with four possible locations. As they made their way out through the cells, both girls freed those trapped in the cages, helping them outside. Under a block away there were a number of people gathered to help those they freed, mostly from Interpol thanks to backroom information channels with MI6 and the SAS. Hermione handed over the seven year old girl who she had been carrying on her hip while Luna passed the hand of the six year old boy she had been holding to another helper and then watched as the daisy chain of children all holding hands passed.
Hermione pulled a small controller out of her combat vest and looked over at Luna, who nodded. The darker haired girl pressed the button and the warehouse a block away went up from the explosives planted within. Luna idly wondered if anyone had still been alive when the warehouse went up, but then decided she did not care. If you agree to people smuggle for a paedophile sex slave ring, you deserve what you get.
"The first location was a bust." The Grand Marshall said. "Any new Intel on the next location from your end?"
"Negative." Agent Jane Granger replied, the image of her and Major Peter Granger flickering slightly on one side of the screen.
The satellite link was set up in the safe-house apartment where Hermione and Luna were hold up for the night. The other half of the screen had the much more flickering image, occasionally dissolving into static, of Lieutenant Diggory and Private Waters. Michelle had been very tense when the image had first appeared but she had relaxed as soon as Luna had appeared on her screen.
"We believe that the remaining locations are the most likely option." Jane said. "There have been no reports of the kind of activity on any of the major airports, ports or the boarders. We now have people at all these points but if they were moved, it was quietly."
"I know my people." Hermione said. "They would not go quietly if they had any option."
The Grand Marshall noticed Michelle tilt her head slightly to the side. Now for anyone else that would have been innocuous but then Hermione also noticed a slight hand twitch. Michelle was a fully trained and extremely competent Spotter and half of the tied best Sniper team in the Order. No move she makes is not deliberate. Then Luna tapped one finger on the table and then blinked twice. The team, like most of the really great Sniper teams, had developed their own private language and were now having a private conversation, one that was making Michelle, to Hermione's trained eye, more comfortable and relaxed.
"Ok. Give me a status report for Hogwarts."
"General Moral is good." Cedric reported. "Order Moral is not good. West is popular among the Order here and they are worried that three of us Originals are in harms way while they are stuck back here."
Harry sat up and saw Hermione standing over him.
"Well what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Hermione scolded.
There was something not quite right. Something was wrong that he just could not put his finger on
"I'm sorry, Mione." He whispered.
He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them the spectral forms of a half dozen Order members stood around the Grand Marshall, including Luna and Michelle.
"We died trying to save you." Luna's voice was a soft and ethereal as ever yet somehow was accusing.
"Luna, no. Not you." Harry pleaded. "Me a thousand times before you."
The Grand Marshall, her face a grim mask, drew her knife and stepped towards him. The blade plunged downwards.
Harry jerked awake. It had been a dream. Kate's warm form was up against his side as she slept, fitfully. Harry took a deep, calming breath. That was when what had been bothering him in the dream finally clicked. The smell, or more accurately the absence of a smell. There had been no smell in the dream. The cell on the other hand smelt of sweat, dirt, dried blood, waste from the bucket in the corner, the sour smell of the gruel that they periodically push through a flap in the door and the slight undertone of warm metal that was almost a taste instead of a smell from the rusting grate around the light.
Kate snuggled in to his side, her breasts encasing his arm, not that he noticed, and he absently ran his other hand through her hair. He just hoped that none of the Order died coming after him. If it was just him, he would have let himself die rather than risk the others, but there was Kate to think about and he could not leave her alone.
TBC…