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.
The scream ripped through the apartment in the small hours of the morning and Harry was moving before the sound even registered. He rushed into Kate's room and found her sitting on the floor in a corner clutching her legs to her chest. Without hesitation he walked over to her. At his touch she screamed again and lashed out at him, lading a brutal blow across his jaw. Despite her wild flailing, Harry pulled her against him and began to calmly and softly talk to her.
"It's me, sis. It's ok. They can't hurt you anymore." He said.
As he continued talking, repeating various calming words, Kate slowly stopped screaming and began to sob against Harry's chest. It was a draining experience for the both of them and it was almost an hour before Kate's fear and hurt receded and she became more aware of her surrounding. She looked up to Harry to thank him for being there when she saw the huge bruise that was developing on his jaw.
"Oh Merlin." She exclaimed. "Did I do that, Harry? I am so sorry."
"It's fine, Kate." Harry replied. "Madam Pomfrey will fix it up in a second. Want to tell me about it?"
"I was back there." Kate said, her voice breaking, before she took a pause to gather herself. "But I was tied to a wall and they were torturing you. They weren't asking any questions, just torturing you and trying to get me to sing."
Harry just continued to comfortingly stroke her hair and make soothing sounds. For a moment he was back in that cell, tasting the hot metal in the air, smelling the stench of wet and dried blood mixed with sweat and the smell from the toilet bucket. He tried to shake the memory as he comforted his sister.
Hermione sat in her rooms in the Chest, the room that was a replica of her cabin in her old Flagship. She was sitting behind the large 'antique' desk while Larks and Kathryn Li were sitting on the other side of the desk. Hermione took two copies of a specific file off the desk and handed them to the Sniper team, who each took one. They looked through the files for a minute before closing them and putting them down on the table.
"This is not an official order. You can turn down the assignment if you want." Hermione said. "If you do accept, then it must be clean. If you are caught then I can't protect you. We have the evidence but we can't release it for a number of reasons."
Larks and Li looked across at each other. This was a big decision for them. Firstly, Li had finally gotten through Larks' thick skull that she was interested in him. Secondly, the consequences would be… extreme if they were caught. But then again this was one of the reasons they had joined the Order, a chance to hit back at the Darkness.
"We'll do it." Li said calmly.
"Thank you." Hermione said. "The choice was you two or Lovegood and Waters, and to be frank I trust you two more with this kind of mission that I do them. Pack your gear; you will leave in the morning. Your cover is that you will be evaluating the comparative training of the SAS Snipers."
"What's the time frame?" Larks asked.
"It must be done in two weeks." Hermione replied.
Li and Larks nodded, stood and left the room. Hermione sighed and rubbed her eyes. She hated this side of being the Grand Marshall. A part of her wished she could be the Hermione who had dinner with Harry, just an ordinary girl in love, but she had lived that once and the outcome was simply unacceptable.
Jennifer Carter and Marie St Clair were the last ones to enter the meeting room. Waiting for them was all the other Squad Sergeants, the two Platoon Staff Sergeants, the Two Lieutenants and the Sniper Sergeant. The Grand Marshall was noticeable for her absence.
"Alright everyone." Lieutenant Diggory said. "Lieutenant Potter and I called this meeting as an informal session so that we and the more experienced Sergeants can go over our experiences with the newer Sergeants and to answer and questions any of you may have."
"If I may ask, why is Sniper Sergeant Lovegood here then?" Sergeant Smith asked.
"Sergeant Lovegood has a unique insight and is here to help you all understand how to effectively use the Sniper Teams assigned to the Platoons and any additional Sniper Teams that can be assigned to Missions." Lieutenant Potter replied.
"Good point." Lieutenant Diggory said. "Let's start there. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to effectively use a Sniper Team in combat?"
"I thought they just took out targets at a distance?" one of the new Sergeants from First Platoon said, he was one of the recent graduates from the class where Harry and Kate had used to requalify.
"And for a sword the proper way to use it is the pointy end goes in the other guy." Luna said sarcastically. "It's a lot more complex than that.'
"Ok, let's start with a relevant example. What role did Sergeant Lovegood and Spotter Winters perform during the fight at The Quidditch World Cup?" Lieutenant Potter asked
Both Jennifer and Marie put their hands up. Both of them had been there during the fight.
"Ok, Carter, you take this one." Lieutenant Potter said.
Jennifer stood up.
"They were responsible for tracking the movements of enemy forces and for coordinating our forces to effectively intercept and ambush enemy forces." Jennifer said. "Without their overwatch, we would have been moving blind in that maze of tents."
"Also took out a few of them." Luna said with a grin.
"Our Snipers are trained to be very observant." Lieutenant Potter explained. "This means they will probably spot things before you or any of your Squad will. This makes them very good for coordinating movements in urban environments and scouting areas."
"If they are so observant, would they not be good at scouting inside a building?" Sergeant Smith asked.
"Absolutely not." Sniper Sergeant Lovegood replied. "For a number of reasons. Firstly, Sniper Teams are armed with long ranged weapons that a too unwieldy in close quarters. Secondly, there are only two people in a Sniper Team. Finally, observation is not needed when clearing a building. You need a lot of eyes to clear a building, not well trained eyes. One squad will clear a building in a fraction of the time it would take a Sniper Team."
"Also we would not waste the time of a Sniper Team like that." Lieutenant Diggory said. "Seeing as we got onto clearing buildings, let's take about good building clearing tactics. We'll come back to the use of Snipers later."
The informal session went on a quite some time, and both of the Lieutenants indicated that there would be more of these sessions, which was a bit of a relief to both Jennifer and Marie, who were a little less nervous at their promotions now than they had been before the session.
"You wanted to see me?" Dawlish asked as he walked into Amelia Bones' office.
"Yes. I just got the report on that incident in Diagon Alley." Amelia replied.
"What about it?" Dawlish said.
"I'm trying to decide if you are corrupt or just the biggest idiot I have ever met." Amelia said
"I was just following orders." Dawlish defended, shrugging.
"Which is what I feared, as they were not my orders. And they were completely illegal orders." Amelia countered. "I have no choice. You are suspended without pay, pending a full investigation."
"I'll get off. You'll never get the suspension past the Minster." Dawlish said with a sneer.
"Oh, but you forget. The Minister has no say in these matters any more. It will be an independent investigation." Amelia replied with a grin as the colour drained out of the man's face. "And thank you for implicating the Minister, Dawlish. Now get the hell out of my office."
Dawlish turned to leave and Amelia could tell he was planning something.
"Proudfoot, Marks." Amelia called, loud enough to hear out in the bullpen. "Escort Dawlish out of the building. Make sure he does not cause trouble."
Amelia sat back in her chair and tried to suppress a laugh. For years she had been trying to get things changed, to do her job properly, but it was always blocked by corrupt elements in the Ministry. Now things were starting to change thanks to the efforts of a small group of teenagers who were still at Hogwarts, including her niece, who had created their own power base. Part of her was proud that there was now a power to effect real, positive change, but a small part of her was bitter that she had not been able to do it on her own. But as long as things were happening, she was glad to be a part of it.
TBC…