Fake It

Moon: Hello, I'm back. This chapter's a little shorter, but it's more a mobilization than anything else. That, and I had a bit of a block when I was writing this. Anyway, I don't own Harry Potter, and enjoy!

Chapter 3: Open War

The Ministry of Magic has issued the following decree -

The followers of Voldemort, Death Eaters, have sparked civil uprising within our country with their cruel, senseless murder of Harry Potter, the boy who lived. The boy was about to start his fifth year at Hogwarts when the attack occurred, in a heartless attempt to keep him silent about their master's return. I state as the new Minister of Magic that I will not let this death go unpunished.

War has been declared on Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort. He will find that every inch of this country is against him, and he will have to pay with blood to achieve even a foothold in our country. We will not give up to this madman quietly.

The numbers of his followers are not known, neither are their whereabouts. The Magical Law Enforcement arm is going overtime identifying his old sympathizers and new recruits. There have been some sightings of Death Eaters that were covered up by the last Minister. They have been causing terror around the Alleys, near Hogwarts and within the Ministry itself. Lives have been lost.

I state on behalf of Magical Britain, we will not tolerate this fear mongering and destruction any longer. Anyone who is caught with the dark mark on their arm will be subject to the dementor's kiss within the hour of their capture, unless they submit to having it removed and give names of their other companions. Their will be no negotiating or prison time or parole. We will not allow Death Eaters to escape justice as many of them did the first time he fell.

Thus, this notice is going out – every young man above the age of sixteen is required to serve four years as an Auror until such time as all the Death Eaters have been identified and rounded up. Registration begins on September the Twelve.

And I say this - the Dark Lord was defeated once, he will be defeated again.

Page 3, Fudge thrown out of office following Harry Potter's funeral on no confidence vote

Page 4, Lucius Malfoy arrested on bribery charges, revealed to be a Death Eater, given the Kiss. Wife and son placed under house arrest, pending invesigation.

Page 5, questions put out about Sirius Black's missing trail and Peter Pettigrew's supposed death, case has been reopened.

Far away from Britain in a small town named Beaverton, a boy called Matthew Winter was going through the British newspaper with a look of interest on his face. He was sitting outside a cafe with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in one hand, and a package of school paper in front of him. Canadian autumn was pleasantly cool; his hood was up to keep the wind out of his ears. He tapped his pencil against the page, answering questions between bites of a cinnamon bun.

The boy sitting next to him, Joshua Harkness from the local magical school, glanced over his shoulder at the paper and made a disappointed noise. "So now that the boy-who-lived died they're doing something about it? No wonder no one wants to immigrate there these days."

Matthew made a noise of agreement. "At least the denial didn't last longer than two months. I think if Cornelius Fudge had his way, it would have gone on for much longer."

Joshua snorted. "Man, I've heard all kinds of horror stories about that backwards government. Say what you will about Tokyo Lights Comprehensive, at least it doesn't have a body count, right Winter?"

Matthew nodded. He had met Joshua not long after he had arrived in Canada. The boy had been warm and welcoming to him and had helped him find his apartment. He explained that his parents were rarely home and they had offered him a chance to strike out on his own.

What made Canada interesting to him was the fact that wizards lived in right next to their muggle counterparts, rather than apart like in Wizarding Britain. Most magical schools ran in semesters, giving three magical courses and one muggle course right next to each other. Matthew was struggling a bit to catch up, but he'd make it eventually – he was a smart kid, his teachers agreed.

The other students were all friendly, too. It was a level of acceptance that was alien to him, something he'd only really experienced with the Weasley family. It was nice. He'd already made several tentative friends in the week that he'd been here.

Of course, when they had heard that he was transferring from Hogwarts, he'd immediately been slapped with two years worth of remedial classes in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Talk about embarrassing, especially when the other kids heard about it. It was a huge workload, but he was getting through it, slowly but surely.

It was his math tudor who's pointed him to his psychiatrist Dr. River, who doubled as an Occlumency teacher. Both additions to his life had been very welcome; he hadn't slept this well in years, and he was starting to work through the emotional baggage he'd built up over the years.

"I'm surprised they're doing anything at all, really." He said. "I went there for vacation once with my godfather."

Joshua's eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding? What happened?"

Matthew scowled. "I was forced to participate in a dangerous tournament because it was 'ministry funded'. Needless to say, we didn't do that again."

Joshua gave an incredulous laugh. "No kidding!" He hung over the newspaper, over Sirius's story. "Can't image what a place that suspends people's right to a trail without any reason would be like to live in. Must be a nightmare. Those poor sods."

Matthew nodded seriously, his eyes tracing the page. "You have no idea."

He might want to Call his godfather, teacher and girls over before it got much worse.

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"They shouldn't have to go," Molly Weasley pleaded.

"It's an official Ministry declaration, Molly. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do about it." Arthur said. Fred and George nodded solemnly; they were about to leave to register with the Auror force.

Molly had started crying a while ago, but she knew there was no choice. Ron had wanted to go to, but she had stopped him.

"It's okay mum. We'll be fine. And we'll beat them." Fred said.

"For Harry." George added. That had become a mantra among the students joining the auror force who had known the boy, even casually. Lee Jordan had said it when the Ministry approached him. Then Bill Weasley, then Marcus Flint of all people, then it grew and grew, and began to include other names of people who had been killed by death eaters. This included Cedric and James and Lily.

Molly nodded shakily and gave both the twins a tight hug. "For Harry," she whispered. "Please, be careful."

The redheads nodded. Ginny watched as they walked up to the Ministry cars where Percy and Bill were waiting for them. She would have joined the Auror force if she was old enough, she wanted to destroy the Death Eaters who had killed Harry. She was ready to do anything.

There was something Dumbledore still wasn't telling everyone – Daphne had said as much when she had saw his expression during Harry's will reading. But she had no idea how to get him to tell, if Harry's death hadn't been enough reason what was?

She had a feeling that whatever it was, Severus Snape knew it. A single day after the will reading he walked into the Great Hall, looking like he hadn't slept at all, and resigned his position as a professor at Hogwarts due to 'other, important obligations'.

Without a word or giving anyone a chance to process this, he turned his attention to Amelia Bones, put a letter in her hands and said that he was sending her a notice about 'Voldemort's secret anchors'. Dumbledore looked shocked and angry, but Snape promptly walked right out the door without waiting for anyone's opinion to be vocalized.

The day after that, her former potions master appeared in at the Burrow with a squad of the highest-trained aurors the Ministry had to offer. He sat her down and asked her multiple questions about the Diary that had made her first year at Hogwarts a nightmare. He took a pensive memory, said something she didn't understand to the Aurors, and they all took their leave as abruptly as they had come.

She had looked at her father for answers, but he had said that the head of the DMLE had declared whatever Snape had told them 'Top Secret', so no one knew what it was.

The man had been on a warpath since Harry's death and nothing was going to get in his way.

Apparently, Sirius and Remus had joined him a day later. Both men had been running up and down doing things for the new Ministry and chasing Death Eater leads practically without sleep since Harry's funeral. She had asked them about it, but Sirius had merely patted her head distractedly and said "Ministry Business" before shouting for Kreacher.

Remus had approached Tonks a few weeks after the funeral. After much stammering, verbally backspacing and general incoherence that continued for a good three minutes he finally asked if she would give him a chance. Tonks had thrown herself on him and kissed him.

They got married a month later in a simple ceremony. Wartime encouraged people to marry young, should the worst happen to them.

Eventually her mother pulled her out of her grief and insisted Ginny go to school, but she couldn't focus on her work. Most other students couldn't either; most of them just tapped their quills on their parchment and stared out the windows, waiting for owls to come bearing news about Death Eaters or about their family members who were now suiting up to fight.

There was also the matter of Dolorus Umbridge, or Umbitch as she was rapidly christened. She was the last remnant of Fudge's government and smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore; but the first time she called Harry a delusional liar she found herself pelted with textbooks, hexes and ink; she put both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor in detention which only heightened the abuse; her threats of expulsion rang hollow when everyone in the room simultaneously proclaimed that defending Harry's memory was worth expulsion.

Even the Slytherins got in on the act; after a month Umbridge was driven from the school by enchanted bludgers which threatened to smash her into pulp if she didn't keep running. And the students all exchanged high fives. Dumbledore had looked disapproving, but Minerva was pleased with this and gave a second desert that night.

Sure enough, the fighting started soon after. Eight Death Eaters teleported into Diagon Alley to cause some chaos and fear, only to be met with an auror patrol and the angry civilians.

Only one of them, burnt and bloody, managed to portkey away. The others were either killed in battle or given the Kiss, the Carrow siblings among them.

Dumbledore had objected to the deaths, but the new Minister of Magic – Rufus Scriugimor – had overridden him with the simple retort of, "For Harry." Ginny wasn't sure he entirely believed in that statement, but it showed where he stood in this debacle, which was more than welcome after Fudge. The action he had taken was undoubtedly saving lives.

On the Dark Side, Voldemort was furious with this show of defiance, and began to muster his followers. He had read the Ministry declaration and had been barking orders at his people ever since.

Underneath this anger was worry, he'd felt the destruction of one of his Horcruxes already, which made him fear that his secret had been discovered. With his principle financier, Lucius, gone and Narcissa not continuing to send him money, he was in a bit of a fix, though anyone who told him this would get Crucio'd. This resulted in him sending several Death Eaters to the locations where he had hidden his Hocruxes with orders to stand guard.

Then, three months after the Funeral and three months of failure later, he screamed that he would do things himself.

He took his five hundred Death Eaters and prepared to march on Hogwarts. There were plenty of children there; he'd force some of them into his ranks and kill the rest. They would be an example for what happened to those who defied Lord Voldemort.

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The warning came from Hogsmeade, and the Aurors that had been stationed around the castle by Amelia Bone's orders immediately called for aide. The students had been pulled from their classrooms and shuffled into an escape hatch that Salazar Slytherin had built for the school all those years ago; only those of age were allowed to stay.

There was the exception of Neville Longbottom, who Dumbledore had taken a sudden interest in after Harry's death. Many had scoffed at the idea of him being important to the fight – 'the back-up chosen one,' many had taken to calling him scornfully. He would likely die if put in the field, her grandmother had said. Neville was shooed up to the Headmaster's office while the rest of the students were being taken to safety.

Many wanted to fight; several Aurors were detailed with making sure no one slipped back into the battlefield. Colin Creevy had to be all but dragged through the escape route, protesting the entire way. Blaise Zabini, Hermione and Cho Chang had also been redirected repeatedly almost as soon as the direction to leave had been given.

Ginny fell in step with Daphne and Astoria at some point; Daphne reached out and touched her hand in comfort. As they were hurried down the hall and towards the Floo, they thought about Harry, again. Cries of "For Cedric! FOR HARRY!" were echoing in the halls behind them, followed by a monumental crash.

The battle for Hogwarts had begun.

Ginny was fervently grateful that Fred and George had been at their training facility when the attack had begun, meaning that they would be in the reserves instead of in the thick of the fight. Bill was in the front lines, though, and she worried about her favourite older brother.

If only Harry was here, if he could see this...

"I love you, Harry..." Ginny thought. "I don't want to do this without you...I need you."

There was a brilliant flash from the ruby necklace she wore at all times, and a familiar tug of a portkey. Along with it was a warm feeling like the rush of an embrace. Ginny barely had time to register her surprise – and the fact that her friend's necklaces were doing the same – before she was spirited away.

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Ginny collapsed on a wooden floor, squeaking when Astoria landed on top of her. Daphne, having landed on her right, scrambled to her feet, looking around wildly.

There was a soft chuckle, a voice they never thought they'd hear again. "Sorry. I probably should have warned you; portkeys always made me sick to my stomach."

Ginny blinked, stood up, and slowly turned around, thinking she was either dead or dreaming, she'd gone mad under some unseen Crucio or passed out from stress, because it couldn't be-

"Harry?"

Matthew (nee Harry) gave her, Daphne and Astoria an awkward smile that he had given them so many times before and said, "Yeah. Hi."

There was a long pause. Suddenly Harry was tackled to the floor by three girls, sobbing and laughing and holding him tightly. The cat padded into the room and stared in confusion at the scene, before deciding that three more people just meant more who would spoil her.

Eventually the girls let him up for air, and Ginny asked the first question - "How?"

Harry sat up, looking a little dizzy, and said, "The goblins helped me fake my death. It was the only way I could see for getting out of this war alive and for getting You-Know-Who's attention away from my friends." He smiled a bit.

"Why didn't you tell us, you nearly killed us faking your death," Daphne said, tears at the edges of her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, reaching up and brushing tears away from their eyes. "I didn't want it potentially leaking out, or I would have lost my chance."

"What about mum or Sirius?" Ginny asked.

"They're going to be worried we disappeared, Sirius has been on some top-secret mission since your funeral," Astoria added.

Harry nodded at this, "I gave you those necklaces so you can find me, I gave Sirius and Remus something similar. You can owl your parents, and we can let them know as soon as it's safe."

End Chapter

Well? I thought we might need something a little more hopeful after last chapter.

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