The Golden Trio And The Spiral Of Time
Disclaimer: As you all can see it is a disclaimer, so obviously I don't claim anything. The rights of all characters are with J.K. Rowling. Let the fun begin.
The first attack was a surprise. The second was as much a shock. Both those attacks had targeted high profile members of the Order of the Phoenix (well, Hagrid was not much high profile, what with him being a half-giant and such, as bigotry still ran rampant, but he was still one of the most respected in the Order). The first attack was at the house of Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had been the then Minister of Magic. The second attack was at Hagrid's Hut, which was technically on Hogwarts grounds, so was seen as directly attacking Hogwarts. As a result, the protections surrounding the Castle were increased manifold and the number of guards guarding the premises nearly doubled, so as to prevent another such attack on the Hogwarts grounds.
After those attacks, conservatives, who were technically supporters of Voldemort and everyone in the Order knew it, but since no one could prove that, they just went around saying that they did not support Voldemort but wanted the traditions of the Wizarding World to stay as they were, began urging that the new Minister should be a conservative because, as cited by Draco Malfoy himself (some of you may be wondering how Draco is not imprisoned or even alive after what he did during the course of the War, the answer is that the Malfoys went off scot-free after the Battle, except for quite a heavy fine on Lucius, because of Narcissa lying to Voldemort about Harry in the forest and since Draco was a child and his actions were not of his own free will) from the Malfoy family seat in the Wizengamot, "Don't you all think, my friends, that the time is ripe for a Conservative Minister because we all have seen how a Liberal Minister turned out be one who couldn't even protect his own house." And so, the new Minister had been elected a conservative, that too from an old Death Eater family, who was none other than Theodore Nott who too had been acquitted in a manner similar to Draco.
Then Nott, who was just elected Minister of Magic, along with the support of some of the Conservatives, had even wanted to replace Professor McGonagall as Headmistress because of the attack on Hagrid, but he had failed as he couldn't gather enough support this time round as most of the members of the Wizengamot thought that she was doing a thoroughly good job of leading the school.
The attacks had started just a few months after the battle and the death of Voldemort. After that, it became a routine; ministry officials, Order members, everybody who had opposed Voldemort, whether publicly or even in secret, were being attacked. It seemed as if they wanted to kill every last person left alive who had not supported Voldemort.
As soon as the attacks started, Harry had begun gathering the members of the Order and it had been formed again with Harry as the leader .This time around, even with the almost full cooperation of the Ministry of Magic, no leads were found on the mystery attackers, except the name of their organisation, "The Order of the Serpents", that too only because they carve it on the walls at every attack scene. The attackers were able to pass through even the strongest anti-apparition wards and kill their targets. The reason for this was found in one of the recent attacks at the house of Elphias Doge in which both he and his wife had been killed.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE) had recovered a talisman from the Doge's house. They found out that the talisman could be used to bypass even the strongest wards and was the reason they were able to attack so many well-warded locations. So, the only lead that they had on them till now was that they were being funded quite well because the components that were required to create the device were extremely rare and expensive. The DMLE and the Order had tried to narrow down the search for their benefactor but it was all in vain as they couldn't find anyone who would spend so much money to eradicate light-sided individuals. As they could not find their backer, they logged it off as a dead end.
Everybody thought that there was a mole on the inside in either the Order or the Ministry as the attackers somehow always knew their next moves and managed to stay one step ahead of them. Every Ministry employee and Order member was checked to find any marks, like the ones the death eaters had, but it had also come out as a dead end.
The Order had tried pushing for the testing of every Ministry employee, as well as Order member, with Veritaserum. However, the bill could not be passed in the Wizengamot, and since the Order existed partially under Ministry control, no Order member could be tested either. They were again left clueless and unable to decipher their next moves as the attacks seemed to be completely random in order.
Minerva McGonagall was the one who had commandeered Hogwarts (the single largest Wizarding establishment in the British Isles, after the Ministry of Magic of course) dauntlessly after the death of Voldemort and worked hard to ensure that the children of Death Eaters do not end up like their parents. And as a result of her efforts, most of the children of Death Eaters were at high positions in the Ministry, working hard towards a brighter future for the Wizarding World. These attacks too had not deterred the spirit of Professor McGonagall and she kept working hard till the end to ensure Hogwarts did not fall to these attacks.
Now, here we are, five years after the battle and the attacks. Standing in the Hogwarts' headmistress's office are Harry, Ron and Hermione watching mournfully the dead body of Minerva McGonagall. There are Ministry officials all around them, taking samples of anything that may lead to revealing the identity of these individuals.
All heads turn as all of a sudden there appear three cloaked figures behind the headmistress's desk. As everyone began firing curses at them, none of those hit, but just mysteriously stopped around one foot before them and dissipated into thin air. They did not engage but just fired three jets of deadly green light at the golden trio, and they tried to move away from them, but it turned out they were too slow. The three killing curses struck them right in their chests and left their bodies still, devoid of any sign of life. After that moment, the golden trio was no more.
Author's Note: I hope you liked the chapter. Guys this is my first fic so reviews with constructive criticism would be highly appreciated. Let the reviews pour in.
And I am also in need of a Beta reader, preferably someone who is well-versed in British english. If you are interested, either PM me, or put it in a review and I'll contact you.