The Outlaw
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Chapter 3—Rescue Operation
July 1, 1996
Monday, 8:52pm
England, Wiltshire, Stonehenge
It was with an air of exhausted resignation that the secret gathering of the Order of the Phoenix convened. They were inside a secret chamber situated beneath an ancient site of magical rituals and astronomy, a site that the Muggles now called Stonehenge. Stonehenge had once been the epicenter of all things magical in ancient Great Britain until the creation of the first wands. Now, it was an abandoned relic of ages past that the first wizards had left to rot in the hands of the ignorant Muggles.
It was also the location of where a certain disgraced Headmaster had been hiding since his near-arrest from his own school.
"What happened?" Dumbledore asked grimly as he looked around the room. The only person missing was Professor Severus Snape, who was back at Hogwarts 'holding down the fort' in the Muggle term.
"There were at least fifteen attacks last night by unknown assailants," Moody snarled in answer. "All of them had been against members of the Wizengamot or upper-level Ministry employees most of whom I know to have had rather lenient views on Muggle-borns and Half-bloods. Madam Bones was among those killed. The Daily Prophet is already blaming the attack on terrorist immigrants, who maybe were even working for our little 'Outlaw'."
"That's not all," Kingsley added, his demeanor of weary exhaustion. "I was tasked with aiding in the Minister's latest action. He's ordered St. Mungo's abandoned and relocated to Hogsmeade to be 'held under the protection of the Ministry itself'. However, I've heard some rumors that there's a number of patients and staff members who've gone missing and a few patients who've died while in transit during the relocation. So far they are reporting six dead, thirteen missing, and thirty-four whose wounds have deteriorated significantly.
"It's true," Bill said. "The Minister seems to have a commissioned a significant number of Gringotts' cursebreakers and ward masters to help in the construction of a lot of new buildings and shelters in Hogsmeade. There's a rumor in Gringotts that he's even negotiating with the Goblins into relocating the bank into Hogsmeade, or at least making a new office building with access to the vaults available."
Mundungus Fletcher raised his hand slightly, drawing most of the occupants' attentions. "I have heard rumors among some Undesirables of what sounds like werewolf attacks on at least six small Muggle villages with no known survivors and quite a few missing teenagers and children. And odds are that even if they are alive, the missing ones have been bitten by now."
"Has the Ministry heard of this?" Dumbledore asked as he turned to face the Aurors present, doing his absolute best to not look as disturbed by the extremely grim news as he actually was.
"No, this is the first I've heard of this," Tonks answered immediately, looking quite unsettled about that fact.
"Things are crazy at the Three Broomsticks," Kingsley reminded everyone. "Everyone's running around trying to do to be helpful, and only getting in the way, forgetting things, and getting lost. I'm not too surprised by this." That statement left an unease silence in the room for a few moments.
"Um…I heard that the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has been trying to keep track of the swarms of Hebridean Blacks and Welsh Greens since their escape from the preserve," Arthur Weasley said. "If I remember right, some dragons seem to be breaking away from the swarms to go off on their own, but the majority of the Blacks are heading south, towards London."
"Maybe that's the reason why Fudge ordered St. Mungo's evacuated," Kingsley muttered aloud, more to himself than anyone else.
"Will Harry be safe?" Molly asked immediately, her voice drowning out Kingsley's.
"Never fear, Molly," Dumbledore said, trying to smile genially. "Remember, the house is protected by many layers of wards and enchantments. And, should those not be enough, I trust Harry will be more than capable of using his Firebolt to escape London as he did during the Triwizard Tournament."
That remark drew a soft, knowing smile from Fleur as she vividly remembered Harry easily out-flying that hen dragon from the previous year. Oh yes, she had little doubt of Dumbledore's claims in that regard.
"Albus! That was one dragon!" Molly shrieked, disbelieving what she'd just heard the Headmaster say. "And even then, he was surrounded by wizards who'd have been able and willing to protect him if things went wrong!"
"That is true, Mrs. Weasley," Dumbledore conceded. "But I think you may be underestimating Harry's abilities if the worst were to happen. Harry has a knack for surviving the improbable. However, if it'll reassure you, you may set up a rotation of supervision watches for any volunteers." This statement seemed to slightly appease the Weasley matriarch and several others in the room. "…Now, let's focus on other things."
"Still, I think it would be best to relocate Harry to a safer location," Molly continued to press. "The Blacks are heading to London, and Harry still doesn't even have any supervision at the moment. When the dragons reach him, he'll be all alone and not know where to go. And you surely remember his reaction to being isolated last summer, don't you?"
Having expected this type of answer, Dumbledore merely nodded to acknowledge her point. "I have not forgotten, nor have I not considered bringing Harry here. However, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that with the crisis in the Ministry, as well as labeling Harry an Undesirable, they'll be keeping a rather close eye upon their workers and citizens, especially those who have been in contact with myself or agree with Harry's claims. They will surely take notice if he were start hiding anywhere else, or if some members of their offices start taking suspiciously long breaks to check up on Harry. If we were to bring him here, he would inevitably feel obligated to join us in meetings and our resistance. And he's not ready for this level of involvement yet."
Privately, he admitted to himself just how dangerous it would be if the wards of the Black house did fall and he was forced to flee on his own. Though he regretted doing it, Dumbledore had lied to the boy when he told Harry about the Trace still being active, despite the Ministry's destruction. He had lied to Harry in an attempt to keep him from doing anything reckless when he began to feel restless. And with the Ministry being out of commission and struggling, maintaining the secrecy of the Wizarding World had to be given the utmost importance. Simply put, despite the boy's awareness of the laws and the dangers he was and would be in, Dumbledore found that he couldn't trust Harry to not use blatant magic in front of Muggles if the situation was dire enough.
Turning to her boyfriend, Fleur quietly asked, "But wouldn't he be noticed if he had to flee London on his Firebolt?" Her answer was a simple shrug from the redhead; he didn't know.
With a small sigh, Dumbledore turned his attention back to the official meeting. Despite knowing that the situation would be grim, Dumbledore still felt shocked at the news. This was far worse and many times more aggressive than he'd have thought Tom to have been willing to be at this point. Turning to Moody, he asked, "Were any of the attackers caught or identified?"
"No," the aged Auror grunted. "And while they didn't use the Dark Mark, I'd wager my eye here to bet that most of these attacks were done by Death Eaters. In fact, I was onsite at Bones Keep a short while after the attack and I swear that I recognize that kind of damage to the Keep as being the Lestrange's handiwork."
"What is he planning?" Bill Weasley asked in agitation. His beautiful Veela girlfriend silently patted his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Surely there's a reason why he'd try to go through all this hassle."
"There is a reason, William," Dumbledore said wisely. "There is always a reason. And it's up to us to figure that reason out." As he swept his gaze over the room, Dumbledore noticed that Molly and Arthur seemed to be unusually distracted and depressed. "Molly, never fear. We will do our best to get the children out of harm's way."
"I know, Professor," Molly uttered in a now very subdued tone.
"What shall we do with Fudge?" Moody asked, taking control of the meeting. "We've all met the man and seen his level of competence. He's a bureaucrat, and a man who's not even fit to be leading a country during times of peace and order. For him to react to the disasters caused by the dragons this smoothly and efficiently is something that should simply be too far out of his league… The man must be in league with Lord Voldemort."
Before Dumbledore could reply, Molly spoke up, "That man has issued an Educational Decree that treats all underage students as adults, Professor!" As she spoke, her voice began to rise in volume very quickly. "However mad he may be, there should've been little chance that he'd have ever issued such a Decree!" At this point, she'd risen to her feet and was literally yelling across the table. Only after she'd finished did she allow herself to be politely returned to her seat by Arthur.
"I agree with Molly," Tonks said quietly. "While he might've been able to use it as an excuse to arrest the kids, he should've known that such a Decree could ruin his credibility and alienate him from the students and parents. Things like that could only inevitably lead towards his removal from office."
There was a moment of silence in the room. All of the others silently agreed with Tonks' reasoning and Molly's righteous anger.
Sighing heavily and resignedly, Dumbledore nodded and gazed over at his longtime friend and companion. "Yes, I'm afraid that I must agree with you. He has been acting surprisingly confident and coordinated in response to this crisis. While I wish it weren't so, I believe as well that the Minister has joined forces with the Dark Lord, unintentionally or not."
"So, what's to be done?" Fleur asked quietly, reminding everyone of her presence in the meeting. "Confront the Minister? Save Harry's friends from Azkaban?"
Sighing heavily, Dumbledore said, "Kingsley, Nymphadora, I want you to keep as close an eye on the Minister as you can, look for signs of him possibly being under the Imperius Curse. Also, try to determine how the Ministry employees are reacting to the new changes the Minister has been issuing, but try to be as discreet as you can be." When he received their nods of approval, he turned to Moody, "Alastor, you're in charge of organizing a rescue team and leading the mission to save the kids before they're taken to Azkaban. Leave no one behind and hide your presence as best as you can. Take them to a safe location, where the Ministry won't find them until it's safe to come out." Moody grunted in affirmative, accepting the new mission. "The rest of you, please go about your usual duties. And be on the lookout, we don't know what the Dark Lord's next move will be."
"What about you, Professor?" Mundungus asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind. "What'll you be doing, sir?"
"Me?" Dumbledore said in an innocent tone. "Why I'll be visiting an old friend of mine…Horace Slughorn."
That answer brought a number of confused glances around the table. Why wasn't the Headmaster focusing on defeating the Dark Lord instead?
Harry Potter – Reign of Fire
9:03pm
The Burrow
With a pair of soft pops, the elder Weasleys appeared in the small brush area that was a short walking distance from their home. In Arthur's hands were several bags of shopping and grocery supplies (their cover story for leaving their home tonight). With his wand within easy grabbing distance, he was keeping his eyes trained on their surroundings as they made their way home. In Molly's hands was a roll of parchment that she was studying with utmost intensity. The parchment contained the names and times of various volunteers in the Order who wished to drop in and look after Harry. Since she had the most uninterrupted time available and her near-obsessive need to look after and protect the boy, Molly had been quickly declared the 'official' leader in scheduling Harry's supervision.
It was a sigh of relief that Arthur let out as he and Molly entered their property and walked up to their home. After doing a customary check of the wards for any malevolent intruders and receiving a negative, he entered and ushered his distracted wife inside before quickly joining her. It wasn't until he'd turned around after closing the door that he spotted something that didn't belong. A dark cloaked figure stood nonchalantly in front of the family clock, a man by the build of its physique, but his arm was out and pointing a wand in the duo's direction without even sparing them a glance.
"Petrificus Totalus," the man said casually before Arthur could even consider dropping his luggage and drawing his wand. The man's spell caught both Weasleys instantly, roughly yanking Molly's attention out of her musings and onto the situation they were in. Before either of the Weasleys tipped and fell over, the cloaked man waved his wand and cast a silent Mobilicorpus on them, angling his captives to rest against the wall by the hearth.
The cloaked man walked forward without a word towards his captives, who were glaring at him in equal measures of anger and fear. Due to his keeping his hood up, the man's face was completely hidden from view thanks to the deep shadows that were cast by it. Arthur and Molly couldn't help but try to struggle against the spell holding them as he moved ever closer to them. Was this man one of the Dark Lord's assassins or a new Death Eater?
Reaching forward towards Molly, the man easily pried the parchment from her fingers and held it up to read it. Struggling even more intensely, the husband and wife attempted to break the spell and attack the man. But it was a futile attempt; the spell was far too powerful for them. Despite the situation, Arthur couldn't help but question himself: why weren't they dead or in pain yet? If this man was truly with the Dark Lord, then surely he'd have had no compunctions against using some of the more 'imaginative' methods of exacting information. Merlin knew that nearly all Death Eaters of the previous war had a tender love for gloating the faces of their captives and soon-to-be victims either before, during, or after they'd tortured them.
Looking up slightly from the parchment, the man's posture seemed to radiate…some kind of emotion that Arthur just couldn't place without seeing his expression. Then, without missing a beat, the intruder held up his wand and pointed it directly into Molly's face as he turned to fully face her. "Legilimens."
It was with a sudden new alarm that Arthur redoubled his futile struggles against the spell that held him still. Molly's eyes had glazed over as the man entered her mind and began rifling through whatever he chose to view. If this was a Death Eater, he could easily tell the Dark Lord of Dumbledore's plans of countering him, who was in the Order, what they were doing or hoped to do, where to find Dumbledore, and anything else he might find to be incriminating. He had to stop him, and now! The man's search through Molly's mind apparently was satisfied after only a few moments. Withdrawing away from the plump woman, the man turned his wand towards Arthur who tried to close and avert his eyes, only to have them pried open by the man.
"Legilimens," the man uttered quietly before Arthur's mind erupted in a cascading shower of random images and memories. Memories that started from when he had first started at Hogwarts, meeting Molly, graduating Hogwarts and marrying Molly, fighting in the first war against Voldemort alongside various members of the Wizarding World and the original Order of the Phoenix, the births of his children, his life after Voldemort's defeat, meeting and living with Harry Potter throughout previous few years, and finally culminating with the crisis and hysteria of the dragons escape and the new wave of killings and confusion that was spreading through Great Britain like an epidemic. The entire process felt like it took hours, but in reality it happened in only a few moments time.
If he'd have been able to, Arthur would've yelled out in rage at the man after he withdrew from his mind. Instead, all he could do was watch as the man drew back and began to slowly pace back and forth in the small room, clearly thinking over what he'd seen in the minds of the two captives. Then after a moment of this, he stopped and faced them again with his wand. The man said one word, "Obliviate!"
Arthur's mind went blank.
Harry Potter – Reign of Fire
10:00pm
Hogsmeade, Three Broomsticks
Ron was pacing the room they were locked in with a restless vigor. He'd been doing it ever since he'd been brought back from his own session of ruthless interrogation. His endless pacing was also quickly wearing on the nerves of one of the other captives who were also in the locked room they were trapped in. Though she could understand his worry and anxiety for their mutual missing friend, this is was getting just ridiculous.
"Ron, please, for the love of all that is holy and just, sit down and relax!" Hermione barked, her irritation showing in her voice.
Stopping and looking over at his remaining friends, Ron saw them all nod in silent agreement with the bushy-haired Gryffindor. "Sorry," he muttered moodily. "I just can't stand this bloody farce that the Minister has been doing these past few days. It's bloody ridiculous, even for him!"
There was no need for him to clarify what he meant by that statement. Ever since their 'detainment' from Hogwarts, each member of the group had been subjected to one unlawful interrogation after another. Many of the questions had been asked multiple times over, even with the use of Veritaserum and other imaginative methods of torture and mind-reading. If it weren't for the fact that they were still essentially just children in the eyes of the Wizarding World, Ron had little doubt that they'd have already had their minds torn apart so drastically that there'd have been very slim chance of a recovery made by any of them. All done to appease the conspiracy-paranoia of Minister Fudge and the propaganda his ministry had been cultivating all year long. Although, to their credit, most of the interrogators involved in the grisly job had never done anything more than was strictly necessary to extract the information.
Sitting down a heavy sigh of resignation, Ron glanced around the room they were trapped in. As far as he could tell, they were still trapped in the same 'detention room' as they'd been shoved in since being taken. Of course, because of the catastrophic damage inflicted on the Ministry building and the need to use the different rooms of the Inn for substitute headquarters and departments, their prison cell was little more than an expanded and hurriedly cleaned out closet located in the first floor kitchen. Then again, given the fact that he and most of the others usually were dragged back into their prison cell because of the extensive mental trauma they'd been forced into, Ron was not entirely sure if they were still in the same room or moved somewhere else. All that he did know for certain was they weren't at Azkaban…yet. In their need to save the floundering government, the kids had been all but forgotten.
"When do you think they'll remember to bring us to Azkaban?" Neville asked in a voice barely above a whisper. But in the silence of the room, it was clearly heard by all.
"Once they've gotten most of the necessary Departments back up and running again, I'd assume," Ginny answered from where she lay in her own little area of the room, gazing almost unseeingly up at the ceiling. "Assuming we haven't been forgotten entirely by then and left to rot here." In the bleakness of their situation and after repeated interrogations, none of the others could muster the motivation to scold Ginny for her hopeless outlook. "I wonder what happened to Harry."
"The Aurors and the Ministry haven't been able to find him because of that dragon escaping," Hermione said glancing over at the girl. "And then there's the fact that they have to reestablish their bases of operation, which could take a little while. Assuming Harry made it to safety, I don't think they'll find him for a good long time."
"Harry's still alive," Luna spoke up suddenly in a more muted version of her usually tone. "He's alive and preparing to strike back at the Del-Lichten nymphs who've spreading so much unhappiness everywhere lately. I do hope he remembers to bring his umbrella though."
In typical Luna fashion, her strange remarks brought reluctant smiles to her companions' faces and momentarily lifted their morale a few notches.
Harry Potter – Reign of Fire
It was with a weary sigh that Mike Strider sat down in the first available seat he could find, Firewhiskey in hand and ready. The diner portion of the Three Broomsticks was, for a change, somewhat deserted at this time. Ever since the Ministry's collapse, something that he still couldn't hardly believe happened, business for the humble Inn had taken an all-time high with poor Madam Rosmerta being run ragged with so many customers. If she hadn't hired several fresh Hogwarts graduates to help her run the establishment, Mike was willing to bet that she'd have collapsed out of exhaustion after only the third day of the Ministry's occupation.
Taking a long, slow drink of the fiery liquid, Mike leaned heavily back into the chair, relishing the burning feeling of the alcohol going down his throat. Feeling it settle down after a few seconds, he let a small smile grace his lips. It was nice to have these few moments of rest after a week of confusion and desperate scrambling to get anything even halfway workable again. His job, especially, was of extremely high importance to the Ministry and the Wizarding World in general. He was a member of the Department of Magical Transportation. And for the past week he and quite a few others had been laboring nonstop to find any remains of the Floo system and then to build on them to get all the important locations reconnected again.
Unlike what most may have thought of the Floo, the actual layout of the system was much like a spider web. It was all interconnected to one another, and centered on the Ministry to help them keep track of it. There were ways to bypass the network, of course, but it was expensive and dangerous. Only Dark Wizards or those who needed something very important to hide would use an independent network like that. However, never before had Mike ever been so relieved to find such a network. It was centered on an old rundown hut in Argyll that had clearly seen better days…several centuries ago. Regardless of the history behind it, Mike and his team had taken what they'd found and expanded it dramatically. What they now had was a new Floo network that, while still significantly smaller, was now connected to all the truly essential locations that remained in Magical Britain. Though it was most certainly an achievement to be proud of, given their resources, time constraints, and the desperation of their situation, Mike was not looking forward to tedious business of reconnecting all the homes and remaining businesses of Great Britain back into it.
Setting his Firewhiskey aside, Mike picked up a copy of The Quibbler that was lying on the table nearby him. These days The Quibbler actually wrote news that was worth reading, so Mike didn't give it any thought when he opened it and started reviewing the news of what had transpired earlier in the day while he had been locked in his new substitute Department office with his team. Desperate efforts were being made by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creature to turn the swarm of Hebridean Blacks away from southern England and to contain the expanding flights of Welsh Greens as they spread farther west towards Argyll and Ireland and east towards Northumberland. And then there were the on-going recovery, reconstruction, and relocation efforts of various Ministry Departments, St. Mungo's, and Gringotts. All of which were steadily making progress in building and opening new offices in Hogsmeade to serve as their new headquarters until the Department Heads could properly coordinate the repair and reconstruction of the Ministry and the Alleys. Things were, more or less, the same abroad as they were at home, if he had to guess; excluding a few important destroyed buildings and a faltering government trying to keep itself together.
"That's pretty bleak news," he muttered to himself as he took another sip of his Firewhiskey.
To be honest with himself, he couldn't help but feel very impressed and rather suspicious of all that was happening in their country since the dragon attack a week ago. Assassinations of important and seemingly random people, spreading dragon swarms, limited means of magical transportation, emergency evacuation of St. Mungo's, and a new office for Gringotts in Hogsmeade? Not to mention a new, if mostly ignored at this point, Educational Decree that treated all children as adults. This feeling less like an emergency and temporary settlement for the Ministry to get itself back into working order and more like a revolution of some kind. And that's not even taking into account the confusion, accusations, and paranoia that were surrounding two of Magical Britain's most prominent icons, Dumbledore and Potter, who Minister Fudge and the former Daily Prophet were laying all blame on.
There were so many plots and conspiracy theories that were being whispered throughout Great Britain, most of them centering on the Potter boy and Dumbledore trying to overthrow the Ministry for themselves. There were also a very few others that said that it was all You-Know-Who or his former followers' doing, that he was using the dragons to rebuild the Ministry into a government that would suit their needs and ideals. It gave Mike a headache just trying to think about it! Why couldn't everyone just get along? He was just a humble Muggleborn himself, trying to do his part and get by in the world. Was that too much to ask of a man such as him?
Glancing up from his magazine as movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention, he watched as a ragged and weary employee came stumbling inside and headed towards the kitchen window to place an order. While Mike Strider could easily say that he was just an average wizard with modest ambitions and no outstanding talent, he somehow felt something change in the environment around him. It was an extremely subtle thing; like there was screaming happening down a hallway but it was too far away for him to hear, yet he knew it was there. The atmosphere in the diner seemed to…almost come alive with anticipation.
Following his gut feeling, Mike quietly gathered up his Firewhiskey and the magazine. Standing up silently, he moved towards the exit to leave. His feeling of unease driving him to leave and head home before something…bad happened. Something that he knew he didn't want any part of.
From under the cloak of his Disillusionment Charm, Moody watched the departing wizard with a very suspicious eye, literally. He also swept his normal gaze over everything and everyone in the diner, watching as much as he possibly could. Through the use of subtle but powerful Glamour charm, he had taken on the appearance of Daryl Thomas, a lowly Auror graduate.
Satisfied that the wizard didn't seem to suspect anything, Moody's magical eye swept forward and surveyed the surroundings more thoroughly. The first floor of the Three Broomsticks was roughly divided into halves, the left half dedicated to the small diner and kitchen. The other half took up the Inn rooms, which the Ministry had claimed use of for the immediate future. He was able to spot the locked closet that contained the kids quite easily because it was situated right next to the stairwells and the hallway that led to the rooms, but the entrance was located in the kitchens. And there were two hidden Aurors who were stationed to guard the closet. Good, Kingsley and Tonks information was accurate.
Standing over by the hallway and stairwell entrances, he reached up to his left ear and lightly touched it. "All clear," he whispered. "Dung, Wolf, Red, proceed to stations. Eater, keep an eye out and stay sharp." A series of affirmatives quietly sounded in his ear in response.
Despite himself, Moody had to bow his head down in gratitude for the unique little creations that the Weasley Twins had just recently developed. They called them 'Communication Ears,' based on their earlier Extendable Ears and Muggle short-range radios. Granted, this rescue mission was their first field test, so Alastor was keeping himself as alert and ready as could be.
From his position, Moody kept his magical eye swerving between the stairwell behind him and the hallway beside him. Several of the converted hotel rooms were still quite packed with wizards and witches. Thankfully, at this hour, many of them were weary and preparing to head home. This meant that their guards were sufficiently lowered that they'd not be able to jump forward to lend a hand in any crisis that may occur. However on the off-chance that there were a few who might, it was his job to hold them off. But it was also his job to coordinate the others, which was why he was keeping his other eye trained on the six other wizards that were currently reclining in the diner.
Suddenly the entrance doors opened and a wizard stumbled in. He wore a ragged expression, clothes and face dirty and sweaty, and was trudging his towards the kitchen window to make an order of Firewhiskey. Due to his extremely sharp eye and experience, Moody was able to spot the three smudges that were silently following him inside the establishment. Good, the others were in.
He watched as Wolf took his position near the center of the diner, in front of the doors to help provide an exit for them if things went awry. Red moved over to a wall not far from where Moody was stationed and crouched down beside a pair of trash bins. Once they'd stopped moving, Red and Wolf became almost invisible even to his experienced eye. Perfect, they were in position. All that remained was the final member of their little group to reach his objective, and Moody had to restrain himself from using his magical eye to turn as watch Dung as he disappeared through the open doorway into the kitchens. Dung was the most important piece of their plan and if he decided to jump ship, it would fall to Red to take his place.
"I'm in position," Wolf suddenly whispered into his own communication ear.
"I'm set," Red whispered, anxiety thick in his voice.
"…Ready," Eater drawled, his displeasure quite apparent.
After several stressful moments of silence, Moody reached up to his ear piece and growled out, "Dung, we're waiting on you."
Several more moments of stressful silence crawled slowly passed. What was that man doing in there? Just as Moody was preparing to order Red to replace the man, Dung whispered out, "Ready."
"Eater, light up the sky," Moody commanded, shifting into high alert.
With a quick glance of his magical eye, Moody easily spotted Snape already casting the Dark Mark into the sky above Hogsmeade. Just before Moody turned his attention back to the hall and stairs, he saw Severus immediately turn his wand on any nearby wizards or witches and began casting silent Confundus jinxes on them. Within a few moments, loud screams of panic and terror could be heard as natural fear of the Dark Mark and the Confounded wizards Snape hit began to sink in and cause a riot.
"Wolf, crash the party," Moody ordered.
Immediately, Lupin turned his wand upon the unsuspecting trio of wizards closest to him. Within a few seconds, two were Confounded and one was blown back through a window by a Stupefy. The two Confounded wizards, confused and believing they were suddenly under attack by their fellow Ministry employees, turned and suddenly attacked the other four visible people in the room. Within seconds, the two Aurors guarding the kids in the kitchen were drawn out by the noise of the fighting. Now, things had the potential to get even uglier if things didn't play out as planned.
With his enchanted eye, Moody spotted several heads turning towards the noise and the ruckus coming from outside. Their window of opportunity was closing fast. "Dung, hurry it up!"
"Two minutes is all I need," Dung replied.
Seeing several people racing out of their rooms, down the hall, and towards the stairs, Moody turned to face the approaching storm, "You've got ten seconds." Raising his wand, Moody cast a quick series of charms upon the doorway of the hall. Strengthening it, warding it with weak repellents, and even locking it with a powerful spell that no mere Alohomora could've opened. Near him, Bill Weasley was already at work doing the same with the stairwell and Lupin was lending to the confusion of the fight in the diner.
"Dung, are they out yet?" Lupin demanded as he was barely able to dodge a rather vicious-looking curse.
"Almost…nearly there…" Dung said, his voice sounding stressed and distracted.
"We've got a problem out here," Snape drawled eerily. "Aurors are showing up; a lot of them."
"Stick to the plan as long as possible," Moody advised. "If you're compromised, get out."
Just then, the door to the hallway exploded, showering Moody and Bill with splinters that they didn't have time to dodge. Seeing the flood of twenty wizards and witches pouring out of the bottleneck, Moody, Lupin, and Bill all immediately ceased their spell casting and discreetly moved towards the exit.
"Dung, you're on your own now," Moody barely had time to whisper before the Ministry employees ruthlessly attacked the Confounded wizards.
In the ensuing battle, the three Order members were easily able to slip out of the diner and out to the street where they were able to see just how widespread the panic truly was. Houses and buildings were all tightly closed and locked down, but there was a noticeable throng of battling witches and wizards moving steadily down High Street. The battle was as much a free for all as it was confusing. Much to Moody's personal amusement, he was able to identify at least six men he strongly suspected had been Death Eaters in the First War. And hanging ominously above all the chaos was the sickeningly familiar Dark Mark of Voldemort.
"The kids are out," Dung suddenly called out, though his voice was fuzzy and barely decipherable thanks to the significant distance between him and the others. "I'll join them shortly."
Without another word to one another, the other Order members discreetly vanished into the pandemonium of the fear-ridden village.
Elsewhere, Mike walked out as he shook his head in an effort to clear it. His eyes thought he saw something that should've never had been seen again but he was certain his mind was playing tricks on his eyes. Curiosity got the better of him and he looked up anyway.
And immediately wished he hadn't...
"You-Know-Who's back!" panicked cries screamed through the village.
Harry Potter – Reign of Fire
July 2, 1996
Tuesday, 4:44pm
England, Dover
DARK MARK OVER HOGSMEADE!
BUT WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?
-Written by Rita Skeeter – The Quibbler
With only a half-amused snort, Fleur idly tossed the magazine onto the table she was passing without bothering to read the rest of the article. She didn't need to read the magazine to know what had happened last night, her dear Bill had told her all about it. And, even now, she couldn't help but chuckle sardonically at the Ministry's obvious confusion over the matter. Although many people in the village had strongly believed that the work had been done by none other than the Dark Lord or his minions at the time, once the Aurors had gotten things under control and interrogated the 'instigators', they'd quickly realized that something afoul was about. What was the Dark Lord's reaction to this though? As of yet, there was no word about Harry's friends' escape from Ministry confinement and that could mean any number of things.
Walking over to a window to peek carefully outside, Fleur's gaze quickly took in everything that could be seen with a careful, practiced gaze. She, with Hestia Jones, had been assigned to be the lookouts and protectors of the kids until they could be moved to a more permanent and safer place. With all of their wands still in the Ministry's imprisonment, they were nearly as defenseless and useless as a common Muggle. And, unless things changed quickly and the Ministry hadn't jumped to conclusions, there was also the high probability that their wands had already been snapped as part of their punishment before imprisonment.
The group of them was staying in a rented Muggle motel that hugged the coast of the English Channel. Fleur was in charge of monitoring the inside of the motel room while Hestia patrolled outside using one of Moody's and loaned Invisibility Cloaks. Along with a few special enchantments that Bill had taught her over the past year, this was probably the most protected Muggle building this side of London. But even with all the hard-won confidence in her own abilities and her superb instructor, the quarter-Veela still couldn't help but feel very apprehensive about what she was doing and what was going on. Things were getting even more questionable in the English Ministry by the day, and it was really starting to make Fleur wish that she could move back to her home in France.
In fact, she was unable to keep her blatant envy from showing on her face every time she spotted her charges. Though it had been her own idea to send them to France, under the care of her parents, it didn't ease her mind to know that. With the way things were, it would be unlikely that Fleur would be able to see her family again anytime soon and that the kids would likely not be able to return home for however long it took for them to be cleared of the ridiculous criminal charges that Fudge had labeled them with.
"Fleur," a familiar voice asked behind her, drawing her attention away from the window. "Where and when are we going to leave?"
It was Ginevra Weasley, Bill's sister. Despite the heavy bags under her sleep-deprived eyes, the expression the red-haired girl wore of was sharp awareness. Even though she and the others had slept in and taken some long and much-needed showers after they'd been freed, she didn't look much better off due to her exhaustion. Only time would help them heal from their experiences at this point.
"It's too dangerous for you and your friends to stay in England anymore," Fleur said, facing the younger girl fully. "So, in a couple minutes, you're going to be transported to somewhere safe, beyond the Ministry's control."
"Where are we going?" Ginny repeated, sounding and looking quite distressed.
"My parents' house," she answered. Holding up her hand to stave off the question she could already see forming in the girl's mind, she said, "As long as you're in France, the English Ministry cannot touch you until you set foot back in their jurisdiction. And with all their other problems, they probably won't care too much what happens to you until after they've settled everything down."
"What about Harry?" Ginny asked immediately, her worry apparent in her voice. "Will he be joining us later or is he already there?"
"Harry's safe," Fleur said dismissively, though inwardly she cringed at her own tone. Not even she liked what she was saying or going to say, despite knowing some of the importance behind the matter. "Professor Dumbledore claims that he's quite protected and will be ready to help when it's necessary."
For a moment, Ginny just stared at Fleur with a gaze that might've made lesser people cringe. But not Fleur, she'd seen worse from her own mother and grandmother on numerous occasions. A small girl like Ginevra wasn't going to intimidate her that easily!
"My father has also decided to enroll you in Beauxbatons if things don't work themselves out by September, even purchase you new wands," she stated, easily detracting the girl's attention.
"How will we be able to—" Ginny began.
"I'm pretty sure my father would be willing to allow you repay him after you've graduated and gotten a job," Fleur interrupted, a gentle smile on her face. "And, if what I've heard about you is correct, you'd make an exceptional Dragon Slayer with all that power you've got."
"Me, a Dragon Slayer?" Ginny asked, puzzled at the statement for a moment until suddenly her eyes widened with comprehension. "You mean that stuff that they kept trying to accuse us of was actually true? That the dragons have escaped and are attacking people?"
Fleur nodded grimly. "It's only been a week so far, but my mother's told me that the dragons have already destroyed six Muggle towns and cities and three Enclaves in France alone. There's probably a lot more elsewhere." In an attempt to breathe new humor into the grim conversation, she said, "So I'd say that dragon-fighting witches and wizards are going to be in very high demand for the next ten to twenty years. You'll certainly have plenty of work to do."
Ginny just stared solemnly at the quarter-Veela before turning and walking back into the bedroom to talk with the other two girls. Despite the somewhat frigid aura that the two of them had shared since Fleur had begun dating Bill, she couldn't help but miss those times. Back then at least the Weasley girl had a more lively attitude and was much more fun to interact with due to her witty comments.
Glancing over at the clock, Fleur couldn't help but wince as she spotted the time. It was almost five o'clock. Thus it was almost time to send these kids off to her parents. Despite her best effort, that small resentment of not being able to go with them returned again as Fleur moved to gather the boys out of their own bedroom. Once they were gathered and gripping the large metal ring, she'd send them off. She had purchased the Portkey the previous night while the rescue mission was being conducted. And thanks to the fully-legal purchase of the magical artifact in France to used to return to France, it would be a dead-end charge for the English Ministry to use against the kids if they were ever discovered.
(Author's Note) Well, that's it. Harry's friends are now safely out of the Ministry's hands and their jurisdiction, for the time being. Panic over the sudden appearance of the Dark Mark in the skies of Hogsmeade as the entirety of the English Wizarding World in a state of confusion and unease. And the Order is desperately trying to anticipate and counter Voldemort's moves before they happen, without too much success at this point. But what's Dumbledore got to speak to Slughorn about, I wonder? *wink-wink* And what's this? There was unknown visitor in the Weasley household? I wonder who that was and what he'd wanted.
I have to admit that even I can't help but chuckle at the 'Dumbledore moment' I created at the end of the Order meeting. And it was of a pure chance that it came out as well as it has. Let's hope that the next chapter turns as good, if not better. Because it's going to be the next chapter that really starts getting the story rolling in the direction I'm hoping to take it.