Chapter 3 Council Meetings
Harry opened the door slowly and peered down the corridor. Along the stone walls were two dozen metal doors, with bar windows. According to the guard he had asked politely in a very physical, violent way, this is where the important prisoners were located. At the end of the corridor, directly opposite him, was a solid metal door. That was the interrogation chamber and with the way the guard had said "interrogation" Harry believed it to be a torture room.
Harry crept forward, his wand held out in front of him. He moved toward the first door and peered inside. It was dark, so it was hard to see everything in exact detail but he could see two women, both wearing torn clothing and suffering from fresh wounds only a few days old. If Harry had to guess, they were a part of the Amazon squad that Alexis Dempsey had been a part of.
Harry tapped the door with his wand and it quickly popped open. The two women looked up with wild looks in their eyes.
"Amazons?" Harry demanded, his wand trained on them.
"Harry Potter?" one of them asked in shock. She spoke with an accent. He couldn't place it. Maybe Scandinavian?
Harry lit up the tip of his wand, illuminating the two women. Definitely some fresh wounds. More than likely, they had been in the interrogation room yesterday, as Death Eaters tried to pry answers out of them.
"What...what are you doing here?"
"Albus Dumbledore asked that I save his great-granddaughter," Harry answered. "Plus, she's kind of a friend of mine. So here I am."
He waved his wand about and cast some of the basic healing spells he knew. He wasn't an expert in the healing arts. It was one of the magics he had never put much effort into learning. Mostly because his body had its own innate healing ability. It was a magical gift one in twenty witches and wizards were born with and he was one of them.
"Where is she?" Harry asked.
"Lestrange has her. In the torture chamber."
It appeared only one was in good enough condition to speak, because it was only one who asked questions and provided answers. She shakily got to her feet as Harry paused in his healing.
"Lestrange," he hissed out. He owed that bitch some payback.
Harry pulled out one of his spare wands and handed it to the standing Amazon. "We came here to rescue everyone. Heal yourselves up. I'm going to free the others."
Harry peered into the cell door across from the one he had just opened. A large burly man lay curled in a ball, his head in his hands. Shining his wand through the bars, Harry could see a network of old scars and wounds. The man must have been down here a while.
He opened the door and stepped inside. The man glanced up, his face covered in dirt and grime. The man said something but it was in Greek. Harry tapped his ears and lips with his wand, casting a translation charm upon himself.
"Who are you?" Harry asked.
"I am Stefan Patera," the man answered.
Harry knew that name. It had been years since it was last spoken but he definitely knew that name. He searched his mind for the answer; trying to remember where he had heard that name from.
"Greece's Wizarding Army General?" he asked after a moment.
The man frowned before slowly nodding his head. He uncurled himself from his ball and tried getting to his feet but collapsed from the effort. Again Harry found himself casting the basic healing spells he knew. He shouldn't be delaying in going to rescue Alexis but he knew, despite how much he wished it was the opposite, he was no match for Lestrange in a duel. He needed these people up and mobile. He needed them to be able to climb a bunch of stairs and run to a boat, while he did his damnedest to hold the crazy bitch off.
"The wards are down. I'm bringing in the boats," Su's voice sounded in his ear.
Harry stopped his casting, as Greece's former Wizarding Army General slowly got to his feet. He tapped his wand to a badge on his chest.
"As soon as you are done clearing your sections, get those you rescued to the boat immediately. Gold Three, I'm going to need you to come down and grab the prisoners I'm freeing. Lestrange has Alexis in another room, and I need these people gone by the time I make a run for it."
"Roger that Gold One. Honing in on your position and making my way down."
Su was currently leading the group of prisoners Harry had rescued up the stairs to the main floor. Which meant, it was time for Harry to rescue Alexis Dempsey from the crazy bitch known as Bellatrix Lestrange. He gripped his wand tightly in one hand and had a magical resistant throwing dagger in the other.
With a flick of his wand, the solid metal door at the end of the corridor banged open. Harry quickly ran forward and ducked underneath the spell Lestrange reflexively shot. He blocked another one, twirled around a third and fired back with his own Piercing Hex.
Harry used the second it took Lestrange to block his spell to quickly examine the room. Lot of torture equipment. Metal rack in the middle of room that Alexis was strapped to. There was some fresh cuts and burn marks on her body. Lestrange stood on the other side of the table, meaning Harry had to maneuver so Alexis was no longer between him and his opponent.
"Potter!" Lestrange cried in a voice mixed with anger, disgust and pleasure.
Harry cringed at the way she said his name. He quickly moved to his left, shielding against a spell he knew was a powerful flesh-eater. The problem was, as Harry moved to his left, Lestrange moved to her left. The psychotic bitch was keeping Alexis between them as they fought.
"Come on Lestrange, too afraid to fight me fairly?" Harry taunted.
Lestrange cackled. "Afraid of what Potter? You bleeding to death on me?"
Harry grimaced. Last time they had fought, Lestrange had caught him in his jugular with a cutter that had shattered through his shield. Luckily, his shield had drained the spell of most of its power otherwise he would be Nearly Headless Harry. It was also lucky that Sirius had been there to take on his cousin once Harry had fallen and Ron had been able to drag Harry away to a medic. Harry had almost bled to death that day.
Realizing he had to get Alexis out of the way, Harry ducked under a chain of spells and hit the torture rack with a burst of magic. The chains holding Alexis in place disintegrated. He moved forward toward Alexis but Lestange launched a ferocious volley of spells and he found himself having to quickly back pedal under the onslaught.
He still clutched the throwing knife in his left hand but he was waiting for the perfect moment to use. He continued to block the barrage of spells shot at him before quickly diving to the side, coming up in a roll. He slashed his wand through the air and it started shooting out darts of magic like a machine gun.
Lestrange threw up a dome of defensive magic, his attack slamming into the shield and sending ripples across the surface. Harry's left hand shot forward and the knife spun from his grip. When it passed through her shield, Lestrange tried to block it with burst of magic and attempted to move out of the way at the same time. However, Dumbledore himself had enchanted the knife's anti-magic abilities, and it was too late.
The knife caught Lestrange in the right side of her chest causing her to stagger backwards. Harry used the chance to lunge forward and quickly scoop Alexis off the torture rack.
"Potter! Avada Kedavra!"
Harry ducked underneath the spell and spun on his heel. He moved forward, sending out a burst of magic behind him, which caught the torture rack, ripped it free of its holdings and sent it tumbling at Lestrange. Harry heard the sound of metal warping as he ran out of the room. Glancing over his shoulder, he was forced to awkwardly spin while holding Alexis and blast apart the large ball of metal, formerly known as the torture rack, that was flying at him.
Lestrange, not even caring about the knife in her chest, advanced on him, a stream of curses flying from her wand. Harry flicked his wand and the door to the torture room quickly closed and took the impact of all the spells. Harry continued making his way out of the dungeon of the prison. He conjured a few animals as he ran to distract Lestrange, whose spells had blown the door right of its hinges.
"Get back here Potter!" Lestrange yelled as she came charging after him.
"Sorry! Gotta go!"
Harry's hawk was blown out of the air in a burst of feathers. One of the rottweilers was carved into a meaty mess with two flicks of a wand and the second just seized to exist. Almost at the end of the corridor of prison cells, Harry was forced to shield against a chain of spells meant to shatter his bones. As he passed through the doorway that opened up into the stairway leading to the rest of the prison, he hit the stone frame with an explosion hex, not even sttaying around to watch the rock shatter into dozens of pieces and collapse upon itself.
Lestrange's yell of anger followed him out of the prison.
Harry appeared at the designated area for inbound apparations to the Hog's Pen. Immediately, two men wearing red armor appeared out of no where and approached him. There was another two dozen people hidden around the area though, even if they weren't visible to the naked eye. Harry could sense them. That and he was there when security for the Hog's Pen had been discussed and put into motion.
Without saying anything, Harry held out his hand and his wand. One of them snatched his wand, while the other took out a small cylinder and pressed it against Harry's finger. Harry didn't move as he felt a sharp pinch on his finger, as the cylinder drew his blood. The object buzzed for a moment before beeping and producing a piece of paper. The wizard holding the cylinder snatched the paper with his free hand and read it over.
During all this, the one with Harry's wand, was waving at it with his own wand, muttering incantations under his breath. Although nothing happened to the naked eye, the man nodded his head in satisfaction, before holding Harry's wand out.
"Statement," the man with the cylinder demanded, before Harry could reach out for his wand.
"Only through rebirth can we truly achieve victory."
They both nodded their heads as Harry grabbed his wand. The two men stepped aside. Harry moved passed them and made his way through the meadow that led to the edge of Hogsmeade. What had once been a quaint little wizarding village had turned into a military town. A wall now surrounded its borders, watch towers built at fifty feet intervals, each one manned by two guards at all times. The streets were constantly patrolled and guards were stationed everywhere.
The dueling arena had been turned into militia training ground, where the villagers who wished to learn to fight were taught how to. The small hospital built at the start of the war had expanded five times its size. The Auror Headquarters, also built at the start of the war, had been developed into a large complex that now housed over eight hundred of the Phoenix Rebellion's fighters.
Harry walked through the town, calling out greetings to those he knew. Not everything had been militarized though. Some of things still remaining the same from his Hogwarts days. The Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head Pub were both still standing, as was Honeyduke's. Zonko's had burned to the ground in the second raid on the town. So had the post office, stationary store and Gladrag's. The residential section had grown by almost a hundred houses after the initial remodeling the town underwent under Dumbledore's few months in office several years ago. They had to cut into the Forbidden Forest some in order to fit in all the new homes.
"Harry!"
Harry glanced up as Gabrielle Delacour came running up to him. She was fifteen years old and had moved to Britain to live with Fleur after the murder of their parents two years ago. Just by looking at her you could tell she was a Veela. Despite being only fifteen, she had the body of a very voluptuous woman. She looked very similar to Fleur, except Gabrielle's hair was curly.
"Gabi!" Harry cried, picking her up in a hug and spinning her around. "Why aren't you in class?" Harry asked.
"It's a weekend Harry," Gabrielle giggled, as he put her down. "I don't have class."
"Right, the relaxed rules for weekends," Harry muttered.
With a lot of the students families living in the Hog's Pen, students didn't have to stay on Hogwart's ground on weekends.
"Are you here for the Council meeting?" Gabrielle asked.
Harry nodded his head. "I was told it was a matter of utmost importance."
Gabrielle latched onto his arm. "Can I walk with you to the chamber?"
"Of course," Harry responded.
Harry led the way down the path leading to the school. Harry nodded his head to the few guards who patrolled the pathway.
"How are things going on the war front? They don't tell us much."
Harry glanced down at Gabrielle, who was looking at him with curiosity and apprehension. He wondered what he should tell her. She was fifteen years old. When he was sixteen years old, only a year older, he was working as a spy for the Ministry. Trying to protect her from what was going on in the outside world was stupid. She was going to be involved in two years anyway. Might as well let her know what she was getting herself into.
"Things are going slowly. Small raids and the like right now. We're trying to build our numbers up so we can match Voldemort's forces in an actual battle."
"What about you? Fleur is always off on missions for your teams. You have the Rebellion's best fighting force!"
Harry snorted. "We're not the best. We're still too young, Gabi. Only five of my team members have reached their magical maturity. No, the best fighters in the Rebellion are probably the Talons."
The Talons were fighters made up of a mostly former Hit-Wizards and Aurors. Kingsley, Sirius and Broderick Anwell were all members of the Talons. After the Talons there were the Sparks, who made up the majority of the Rebellion fighting force. There were other smaller groups out there as well. The Furies were the ones who guarded the larger settlements and bases, like the Lion's Den and the Hog's Pen. The Boreans were Abraxan pulled chariots that had a driver and two riders. The Cyclones were Hippogriff mounted units that carried magically enhanced lances.
The Knights were very skilled fighters but they excelled at the more espionage-esque kind of missions.
"The Talons have the power but they don't go on the kind of missions you guys do. The sabotage, the infiltration. It is very exciting."
"I wouldn't use the word exciting. Terrifying is more like it."
Harry observed the temporary huts and the like that had taken up a lot of Hogwart's ground as they passed through the gates. While Hogsmeade had expanded, it wasn't enough to house everyone. A lot of families had taken up living in the temporary homes and huts that had originally been built during the fall of the Ministry to handle the large influx of refugees that had sought refuge at the school. What had once been temporary housing had turned pretty permanent though.
"I wish I could be out there with you. Do you think I'd be able to join the Knights, Harry?" Gabrielle asked.
Harry chuckled to himself. He remembered being eager to join the war when he was her age. In retrospect, he wished he had waited to enter the war but out of everyone, he was the one who couldn't wait.
"Take my advice Gabi. Enjoy whatever remains of your childhood while you can. When you graduate, then you can come talk to me about joining the Knights."
Gabrielle tilted her head. "Do the boot camp classes teach us enough to be a Knight?"
Harry frowned lightly, trying to remember. The Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been broken up into three separate classes, and along with dueling, and the much more recently added, physical conditioning class, were termed "The Boot Camp Classes" because parents thought it was Hogwarts way of training their kids to be soldiers for the war.
"They get you started, yeah. But hand-to-hand combat, battle magic, fighting as a team, are all things the Knights know that Hogwarts doesn't teach you."
"Can you teach me?"
"I'm posted at the Badger's Burrow Gabi. The Council wants me in the United Kingdom for our operations here but close enough to the rest of Europe that I can be sent in if things go wrong. I won't be able to teach you. Ask Fleur."
"Fleur will not teach me anything. She still sees me as a child."
Harry didn't respond. Fleur was the legal guardian of Gabrielle. If she wasn't willing to teach her younger sister anything, Harry wouldn't go against that, even if he was station at the Hog's Pen.
Gabrielle stopped short, causing Harry to stop as well. "We are here."
Harry looked around and realized he was standing in front of the doorway to the Council's Chamber. He hadn't even realized they had entered the school. Gabrielle detached herself from his arm and stood on her tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Will you come to Fleur's for dinner after?" she asked.
"If the meeting doesn't go too long, I will be there," he promised.
Gabrielle nodded her head before skipping away. Harry watched her leave. He knew she had a crush on him. According to Fleur, ever since he had rescued her from the Black Lake six years ago, Gabrielle has had a crush on him. He shook his head. She was fifteen and would grow out of it eventually. He was sure of it.
Harry pushed open the door to the Council's Chamber and stepped into the room. The chamber consisted of a large circular table with an interactive map of Europe in the middle of it. It wasn't anything to fancy or complex. It was just a simple room where the Council met to discuss the war and what should be done. Harry's inclusion on it had met protest from many but Dumbledore had insisted. Since Harry was the one who had to kill Voldemort, he should help decide the moves of the Rebellion.
"Harry! Splendid that you are here. How is Alexis doing?" Dumbledore asked upon noticing his entrance.
Harry walked to his seat. "She's fine. She's at the Badger's Burrow recuperating, along with the all of the other prisoners we rescued."
"How do you know one of those prisoners aren't a spy? A mole planted by Voldemort?" Mad-Eye demanded from his seat.
"We went through the proper precautions Mad-Eye," Harry assured.
"Constant vigilance!" the man shouted.
Harry rolled his eyes as he moved to his seat next and quickly sat down. The Council consisted of a Military side and a Civilian side, with Dumbledore being the head of the council and the lead General of the Phoenix Rebellion Military Forces. Despite the fact that he no longer held the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts, he was still referred to as the Headmaster. It was rather confusing to some.
Each side consisted of four members. The Council, when it was first formed, was only six large. However, when the Phoenix Rebellion had expanded into the countries of France and Spain and had many new members joined the cause from those countries, it was decided to expand the Council to include members from those countries and three people had been chosen, bringing the council to the odd number needed for majority votes. Harry looked around the room, nodding his head to each member he made eye contact with.
Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. Hogwarts wasn't just for British and Irish teenagers anymore. Muggle-borns from all over Europe who were discovered by Phoenix Rebel spies and either rescued from Voldemort's prisons, or gotten to before Voldemort's forces, learned magic at Hogwarts. The school's student population had swelled to almost a thousand students, more then double its former numbers, and that number was always growing. New dormitories had to be constructed and dozens of professors now worked in the halls.
Julian Hoffel, Mayor of Hogwarts and Heir to Hufflepuff. He was in charge of not just the population of Hogsmeade but those that lived on Hogwart's front lawn as well. The Hog's Pen population was several thousand and was where the majority of the non-military personnel families lived. He was the voice of the every day citizen and tried his best to accommodate everyone he could.
Tyler Dupont, Head of Diplomatic Affairs. The former Head of International Cooperation for the French Ministry. The Phoenix Rebellion had plenty of people outside of Europe trying to get support from other countries. They hadn't managed to get a full out alliance like they had been hoping for but supplies were still very much appreciated. Dupont was in charge of those diplomats.
Javier Punallo, Head of Agriculture. Former owner of Punallo Plantations, once the largest supplier of produce to Spain and Portugal. His three thousand acres worth of land had been taken from him, along with his muggle-wife, once Voldemort had come into power. The Rebellion had rescued his wife, and had brought Punallo into their fold. He had quickly taken position as the one in charge of their various plots of land used to provide food for all of its members and their families.
Amelia Bones, General of the Phoenix Rebellion Military Force. That included the Talons, Sparks, Furies, Boreans, Cyclones and, technically, Harry's Knights. Her seventeen years as Head of the Magical Law Enforcement for the United Kingdom Ministry gave her a lot of experience in leading men and women into combat. The fighters respected her as well, the biggest thing needed to be a successful leader.
Mad-Eye Moody, General of the Phoenix Rebellion Military Force. Mad-Eye was given his position because no one knew the tactics of the Death Eater leaders better then he did. When he found out who was leading Voldemort's forces, whether it was Rookwood or Dolohov or any number of other Death Eaters, he knew how they would direct their troops and the best way to counter. He had spent his entire life fighting and leading the fight against Dark Wizards.
Madeleine Dipreaux, Head of Research and Development. Originally a French version of the Unspeakables, Dipreaux had been the one to seek out the Phoenix Rebellion after a battle in Paris. She had been in hiding but after seeing some of the weapons the Rebellion had been using, her intellectual curiosity had taken control. She had needed to look at the notes for some of their weapons, and after showing her capabilities in the field, had steadily moved her way up the chain in their Research and Development branch.
Then there was Harry himself. He was the 20 year old Chosen One, who was still five years from achieving his magical maturation. His team of Knights, numbering ten teams of six each, were the most versatile group of fighters the Phoenix Rebellion had. If they managed to survive the next few years, and the Knights started reaching the magical age of 25, Harry knew his teams would be the most powerful fighting force the Rebellion had as well, but that was a big if.
"I have asked you all to gather here because our spies have made a huge discovery," the Headmaster started. "The location of another Horcrux."
Harry sucked in his breath. Another one?
"Where?" Moody demanded.
"The Ardenne's War Memorial," Dumbledore stated.
"I thought we checked there already?" Bones asked, confused.
"No. It was one of the first places I looked to see what items could possibly be Horcruxes. It was discovered that Grindelwald's wand had been stolen. However, we have never searched it to see if it was the location of a Horcrux."
Harry shook his head. That was sloppy work on Dumbledore's part right there. As the one in charge of the Horcrux search, Dumbledore directed the Seekers, the ones who went across Europe searching for possible Horcrux locations. The Ardenne's War Memorial should have been checked long ago.
Punallo frowned. "So what does this mean? Why call all of us here? Why not just assign a team to go get it?"
Harry cleared his throat. "A Death Eater base sits at the Memorial. No way of getting in there without alerting the Death Eaters, who will alert Voldemort, who will instantly come to investigate due to what is hidden there."
"And once he suspects we might know about his Horcruxes, he'll check on the others and see that we've already destroyed several of them. This will cause him to move his remaining ones, possibly making them harder to find," Dumbledore finished for Harry.
"So what exactly do you want this Council to do?" Julian asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Dipreaux asked. "We need to come up with a way to get a team in that Memorial without alerting Voldemort what we're up to."
Moody banged his hand on the table, causing Dupont to jump and McGonagall to exclaim, "Mad-Eye!"
"We need to draw those forces at the Death Eater base out. Not just some of them but that entire damn garrison."
"And how do you suggest we do that Alastor?" McGonagall demanded.
"We attack," Harry quietly stated. Everyone turned toward him. "We have to launch a major offensive in the area. One that is a big enough threat so whoever is in charge of the region, calls on the entire garrison of the base to help defend against it."
Julian looked completely baffled. "Attack?"
"With what? I'm not sure if you are aware of this Mr. Potter, but we don't have many fighters," Dupont pointed out.
Punallo waved his hand about. "What about our alliances? If we were to attack could we rely on any of them? Are any of them strong enough."
Dupont quickly shook his head. "The main resistance force in Eastern Europe is not nearly as large or organized as we are and can't be relied upon at all. All of the other groups number a few dozen each, not enough to rely on. The Americans are too afraid to leave their shores and have refused our pleas for military assistance. The Russians are already struggling holding off Voldemort and haven't been able to commit any troops towards helping us. The centaur tribes in the region are likely out of the picture as well, since they generally only help us if their territories are threatened."
Everyone started to talk at once about the possibility of an attack. Harry leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He shouldn't have said anything. They weren't ready for an attack. Dupont was right; they didn't have the numbers.
A loud BANG echoed throughout the room from Dumbledore's wand. "Let us all take the night to think about this. I believe we can all agree it is an important decision to be made."
Mutters of a agreement went up from the other members. Harry decided to bring up another point he had been thinking about.
"Since we agree to take a break on the attacking issue until tomorrow, I have something else I'd like to discuss before we adjourn the meeting."
"By all means Harry, say what you would like to say," Dumbledore said, inclining his head.
"We need to strengthen the Griffin Militia," Harry plainly stated. The Griffin Militia was the main resistance force in Eastern Europe that Dupont had referenced earlier. "Right now they aren't much use to us as allies. They don't have the leadership or the numbers to be effective, and as shown by the previous discussion, we can't rely on them at all."
"And how do you propose we change that?" Bones asked.
"I rescued the former General of Greek's Wizarding Army, as well as several dozen former Ministry employees from all over southeastern Europe, mostly former law enforcement officials. We know Durmstrang is their home base. If we can get these people into Durmstrang with some supplies, it will greatly bolster them, making them much more efficient allies."
Moody nodded his head approvingly. "I like your thinking Potter. We don't have the numbers to do this alone."
"We don't know where Durmstrang is though," Julian pointed out.
"I have a former student in one of my teams. If the Council will give the approval, I can lead this convoy to Durmstrang."
"An excellent idea Harry. Why don't we all take the night to think over Harry's proposal, as well as think about this potential offensive."
Harry stiffly nodded his head before standing from the table. He went to make a quick exit but found himself being waved over by Dumbledore. Refraining himself from sighing, he made his way over to his former Headmaster.
"How is Alexis doing, really?" Dumbledore asked, quietly.
"She'll live. When I rescued her, Lestrange was torturing her for information. Still, others there had it worse and from what I remember, Alexis is a strong girl."
"That she is," Dumbledore murmured. "I would like to accompany you back to the Badger's Burrow tomorrow after the meeting, to see her."
"Of course. You're the head of the Phoenix Rebellion, you can go to whichever one of our bases you want," Harry pointed out.
Dumbledore gave a small, sad chuckle. "Just another title I wish I didn't have."
"An attack?" Fleur asked, incredulous.
Harry nodded his head as he chewed his food. "Our first major offensive. We need to draw that garrison away and make it so no one is the wiser of why we're in the area."
"Is it wise though?" Fleur asked. Like her sister, there was only a slight hint of her French accent.
"Well we haven't decided yet. It's still something being discussed."
"You mean an attack with everyone?" Gabrielle questioned butting into the conversation. She had been watching as Harry and Fleur had talked about the war, her head swiveling back and forth as she took in more information then she had ever been privy to. However, it seemed the most recent talk was too shocking for her to hold in her silence.
Harry shook his head. "Not everyone. More then likely it will involve a majority of our fighters though. I'm not going to let all my teams participate. If they do decided to do it that is."
"Why not?" Fleur wondered.
Harry looked down at his meal before looking back up, staring Fleur in the eye. "How many years before you reach your magical maturation?"
"Two," Fleur answered immediately.
"And I have five. And Susan has five. And Neville has five. And Derek has six."
"I don't understand," Gabrielle quipped.
"My teams aren't heavy hitters Gabrielle. I told you this earlier. You were right about what we do. Infiltration, hit and runs; those are what we excel at. A straight up battle will lead to more casualties for my teams then I could possibly cope with. I will take some of my teams in as support but the rest will either be left at their bases, or maybe go on some raids around the region since there will be a serious lack of security."
"Will the Council approve?" Fleur asked.
Harry's Knights were outside the standard military command for the Rebellion, but they still answered to the council. Harry could go against them, but that would cause unnecessary tension and more than likely lead to him being kicked out of the Council and kept out of the loop regarding a lot of information.
"I can get Dumbledore and McGonagall on my side easily. I'd just need two more to agree with my line of reasoning."