Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to HP. It all belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros., and any other entities involved.

In Hogsmeade, Harry, Dumbledore, Remus and the Weasleys were to meet with government representatives to try to smooth the transition – or surrender in Harry's eyes – that is, the transfer of power to the government people.

They had just reached the designated zone when Harry felt an ugly tug on his magic, like it was trapped and wanted an outlet. He saw that the other members of his party were feeling the same. Apparently there was a field around them that trapped their magic.

Then he saw soldiers coming out of the neighboring houses. They formed a circle around them and waited for their superior. A fat Muggle that strongly reminded Harry of his uncle strode forward. He sneered at them and said in cultured tones: "Well, gentlemen, nice of you to show up. You will be the first to suffer the effects of our containment field. Some of you foresaw this moment and chose to work with us and help rid the world of your ilk. We developed this field, waiting for the moment when our governments would see the light and realize what a danger you are."

"This moment has come. It's time to face your fate, freaks!" He turned to the nearest soldier, who appeared to have the rank of Sergeant, and barked, "Dispose of them, now!"

They raised their machine guns and pointed them at the hapless wizards. Some of the Weasleys tried to fire spells at them but did not succeed. When Harry looked at the fat Muggle, he saw a mop of red hair that could only belong to a Weasley next to him. He recognized Percy and grimly thought that it figured that Percy would be the one to betray them.

Harry prepared to die. He was only sorry that he did not get to see Draco and Ginny one last time. He wondered what they were doing at the Manor, and how long it would take for the Manor to fall into the hands of the Muggles.

Harry heard the shout of "Fire!" issued by the Sergeant and he heard the machine guns as they fired. Just as the bullets were about to hit them, however, they hovered in mid-air, suspended for a timeless second.

Then time seemed to crawl backwards, the bullets went back to their point of origin, Harry felt darkness engulf him, and he sank into oblivion.

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The land dreamed. It dreamed of times long past, when the world was young and it first became aware. The magic crisscrossing its surface and the lines of physical energy going through it contributed to its rich awareness.

It watched as continents grew and shrank, as mountains were raised and then sank to nothing. Sometimes there would be a burst of consciousness, and it would know about men's dreams, longings and wants. It did not know right or wrong, it only knew power. Soon it would be called upon to decide something, and it looked forward to it.

Some time ago, it had tried to effect a change. That damaged a Wizard's mind, but it did not care about that. It continued its slow meandering through time.

It sensed a slight shift in the Continuum. The land hoped that it would be called soon. It grew restless and felt confined.

The land dreamed.

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Thirty hours ago

After a transition that could have lasted years or milliseconds, Draco recovered consciousness instantly, as did the members of his party. They found themselves at the edges of the Manor gardens. Draco performed a Tempus spell and found that it was Saturday 9.00 AM. They had succeeded and rode the timestream to return to the time before the attack happened. Shortly they all would go to the brook.

Draco turned to his party and spoke briskly, with a commanding tone that demanded respect: "Aunt Bellatrix, I have here a list of ten Muggles that have conspired to learn all they could about our world, waiting for the moment to pounce on us and destroy us. They tortured and killed a Pureblood family to learn all the facts about our Obliviators."

Draco gave Bellatrix her wand back, amidst incredulous looks from the other members of his group. He continued, "They have been the main instigators and the puppet masters behind the demands of the Muggle governments for our surrender."

"This list contains their names and addresses, and their possible location at the moment. Do with them what you will, but do not allow them to be a menace for us."

"In the list you will find three MPs and a NATO General. Do not harm these individuals; just keep them away from Wiltshire at all costs."

Draco turned to speak to Tonks, and Bellatrix, seeing her chance, fired a Crucio at Draco. However Malfoy saw the danger approaching and managed to cast a Protego shield and deflect the curse.

Ginny and Tonks raised their wands preparing to curse Bellatrix, but a gesture from Draco stopped them.

Bellatrix sighed and said, "Well done, Draco. You are a great asset. I just wish you would work with us. For what is worth, I tried to get Lucius to leave you alone, but he remained adamant and continued in his ways. I'm sorry that he treated you so, most of all I'm sorry you turned from our side. We would have been invincible with you."

"Lucius had no right to hurt you, a Pureblood and a Black. He could have just maimed and tortured some random Muggle; he had no right to treat a Pureblood so!"

Draco felt oddly touched by this praise coming from so unorthodox a source, so he just remained silent and motioned for Bellatrix to go.

Lestrange Apparated away, after Draco dropped the anti-apparition wards.

Tonks said, "Was that wise, Draco? You have given Bellatrix a lot of power over these Muggles. Wasn't there a better way?"

Draco replied, "No, there wasn't, cousin Nym. The Muggles in that list have watched our world for years, waiting for the moment to pounce. They tortured the Smith- Delacroix family to get Simon to give them the exact list of obliviations done, and then they killed them. They are orchestrating a complete takeover of their governments. They are ready to blame us for all the ills of the Muggle world; the greenhouse effect will be explained as a side product of using magic, wars could be conveniently blamed on us."

"They stood ready to send us to concentration camps and use us as guinea pigs for their experiments. If we had resisted, they would have crushed us completely. All our combined magic is still no match for their weaponry; they had full command of it and the ferocious mindset to cold-bloodedly eliminate us."

"I was sure you would have doubts. That is why I sent Harry to Hogwarts and did not have him come with us. He would have never sat still and let Bellatrix go; he would have seized her and refused to cooperate in this plan."

"What you fail to realize, though, is that we have need of Bellatrix's ruthless will to win, we have need of her honed killing reflexes, in fact, the fate of the Wizarding World might well ride on her shoulders."

"If these people are allowed to survive, it will only take them some time and then they will unmask us. They watch us as avidly as vultures, waiting for a small mishap. This attack was just perfect for them."

"I realized how Bellatrix would be such a powerful asset for us. She can effectively rid us of these people, and we won't need to taint our hands and eliminate them, she will do it for us with a little persuasion. It is all for the common good."

"Anyway, does this modus operandi remind you of anyone who would send a teenager to fight their battles?"

Tonks gasped as the sudden import of Draco's words hit her, "You mean Dumbledore?"

Draco answered, "Yes, I am just following the Headmaster's footsteps in using people's perceived strengths to achieve a goal and keep my hands blood-free."

Then Draco stared at a point beyond Tonks' shoulders and stated, "That's why you couldn't come here, Harry. I needed to use Bellatrix just as Dumbledore has used you."

Ginny gasped and said, "Is Harry here under his Invisibility Cloak?"

Draco laughed and said, "No, Ginevra. Harry is not here."

Tonks commented, "Are you using telepathy with him, then?"

Draco replied, "No, I am not connected to Harry. However, I will let him see this memory in a Pensieve, so he is fully cognizant of what has transpired."

"I need him to realize some things. I would not have been driven to use Aunt Bella if the so-called grownups had used their heads and dealt with the world as powerful wielders of magic."

"They could have easily persuaded the government top authorities to stop the cabal; they could have shown them the full scope of magic and used it to impart fear to their puny minds. Some well-executed hexes would have them cowering in fear and obeying the Wizards' demands. If need be they could have used Imperio on them and forced them to contain this leak, explain it all as some experiment, divert attention from us."

"Instead they tried to negotiate with the Muggles, not realizing their ruthless nature and deep hatred of all that is different. Dumbledore probably thought that all would be alright if he acted jovially with these people, that they would welcome us with open arms and embrace us as if we were long-lost relatives, when the stark truth is staring him in the face in all the Muggle newscasts."

"It is Dumbledore and his seemingly kind ways that brought the Wizarding World to its knees. It is only the cunning and ruthlessness of a Slytherin that will bring us security."

Draco paused to collect his thoughts. Then he took out a small parchment and gave it to Tonks saying, "Cousin Nym, would you do me the favor of going to Hogwarts and watching over my mother? I think she placed some protection spell on the Manor or me. If she uses it she will become weak and will fall off the stairs. Won't you watch over her for me and bring her back here as soon as it is safe to do so?"

"But do not let anyone know you are there. Please use your skills to camouflage yourself."

Tonks replied, "Sure cuz, I will do it." Then she Apparated to Hogwarts.

Draco raised the anti-apparition wards again. He took another piece of parchment and scrunched his nose reading it. Ginny thought that Draco looked adorable when he was in deep thought.

Draco flicked his wand just so and performed a complicated incantation to strengthen the wards and refine them, so they would only admit his magical signature and that of his friends, his mother, his godfather and the Tonks.

He also raised a conditional mine high over the Manor, so that if any flying vehicle approached it, the pilot would get the irresistible urge to return to base.

Finally he also set a mine to be activated when there were magical beasts nearby, to bind them and transport them to a holding pen in Hogwarts. He'd written in the instructions for Tonks about the need for such a pen, to be overseen by Hagrid.

He turned to Ginny and said, "Ginevra, I need you to take care of your brothers. Just immobilize them, and give them some of the potion my father took to throw off my Imperio." He visualized carefully the vial containing the potion and Summoned it from his Manor. It appeared in his hand.

He gave it to Ginny, and then remembered Hermione's predatory look and added, "I need you to take a sip, Ginevra. This potion is called Juicio, and it strengthens one's judgment and will. It prevents the Imperio curse from working, and it is an antidote for the Suggestion potion I told you about. My mother informed me about it, and I realized it was already in the Manor."

Ginny asked, "I can see that Fred and George need it, Draco, but why me?"

Draco replied looking deep into her eyes, "I fear Hermione did not react well to our relationship, and I'm afraid she will use that potion on you and convince you to break up with me."

Ginny, looking scandalized, asked tentatively, "What could lead you to say that Hermione would do such a thing?"

"She knew about the potion and its effect. She brewed it and used it last term on Harry. She suggested to him that he should be in a relationship with you. Just some days ago she used it again on Harry and suggested he break up with me. I worry that she will try to influence you. We need to give Harry the potion, too."

Ginny's face was almost as red as her hair, and her magic running amok created a small tornado near them. She looked defiantly at Draco, "Are you under a potion, too? Is that why you kissed me? Am I awful enough that boys need a potion to seek me?"

Draco took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry you're upset, Ginevra, but I haven't lied to you and refuse to do so. You deserve to know the truth. I am not suffering the effects of any potion and I'll prove it to you."

Draco took the vial from Ginny's hands and drank a sip. Then he looked at Ginny intently and said passionately, "My feelings for you remain the same. You are a wonderful person, Ginevra, beautiful inside and out, with an indomitable spirit, smart and funny as hell. You know me and accept me as I am. These are plenty of reasons for anyone to go out with you."

"I'm sure Harry would have eventually wooed you without the potion. He is confused right now about what he wants, but when he realizes what it is, he'll pursue it."

Hearing Draco's words calmed down Ginny. She still fumed at Hermione. She would be ready to pull some pranks on the meddlesome know-it-all.

tbc