So, finally have internet ^^ And during my holiday I wrote quite a load :) So expect some very quick updates the coming weeks!
I hope you enjoy the chapter,
"Why must they be so bloody difficult," Hermione muttered angrily. "Can't they see that I'm trying to help them?"
"Don't tell me you weren't warned," Rita commented, and Hermione spun around, startled, seeing the woman slouched over the couch, the tip of a quill resting on her tongue, the muscle licking and curling around the pointy end. Hermione's eye twitched at the sight, and she folded her arms across her chest.
"One, you warned me for something else, two, didn't I tell you to stay in your bloody bug form at Hogwarts?"
"Bug form is useful, but I much prefer to have two legs and two arms instead of six tiny legs… They're hard to pin someone down with," Rita commented nonchalantly. Hermione nearly choked on her own saliva, cheeks flaming red.
"Unnecessary information! Keep your sex life private, yes? Thank Merlin you haven't actually brought guys with you yet…" she trailed off, muttering before she spun around. Taking her bag, which she had magically enlarged, she zipped it open and started rummaging around in it, pulling several thick tomes out of the bag which she needed for her rune homework. The girl knew that it would probably be wiser to reply to the Goblins immediately but she really didn't feel in the mood…
During her second weeks of the Christmas holidays, she'd actually met up with some goblins in Gringotts, after a Death Eater had unexpectedly shown up at her door step to inform her about them… She was glad for it, because not only had it gained her information, it also confirmed to her that the Dark Lord actually did stand behind these ideals and took her serious. It seemed that the Goblins, however, did not. Rita's warning about them not wanting to take this opportunity had been unnecessary, it seemed, and the Goblins were actually far more complex and cultivated than the bigoted woman had insinuated. The Goblins themselves however, were also bigoted, and one thing that infuriated Hermione was their blatant disrespect for anyone non-Goblin, women especially.
Her blood began to boil again when thinking of the letter she had received, in which they clearly stated that she was wasting her time and ideals and that they were 'fairly certain that an underage witch without connections could not hope to achieve such a thing.' One thing she didn't understand was the 'no connections' nonsense… She knew the Dark Lord personally, in Merlin's name!
"What should I do?" she muttered. "I can't even go to Gringotts anymore until Easter break… I could send you in my stead of course, but they won't take you seriously either."
"Just admit that your silly dream won't work…" Rita grumbled, stretching. Hermione glared at her.
"I wonder how you got this far in your profession with that attitude," she sneered. "Is this what is left of the famous Rita Skeeter who never let anything go once she had her teeth in only a fraction of it? Where has your sense gone anyways? You want Dumbledore… The Dark Lord won't give you anything to work with until we finish this, and this is nowhere near finished… We can spread rumours all we like, but if the Goblins themselves don't think it holds any merit, we're doomed to fail."
Rita threw her a withering look. "I don't think you understand. The Dark Lord practically promised us the information. That means that he profits from it if we have it, he merely thinks it is convenient that you also do this for him. Do you really think he has the time to concentrate on discrediting Dumbledore? No, once time will run short he'll give it to us, no matter whether you have finished this or not."
"And who's to say he won't let anyone else do it then? As far as I know, Lovegood is pretty much 'the' source of information nowadays with his Quibbler, and we are certainly not the only reporters who want to publish in his magazine. In fact, he writes most of the articles himself. Why shouldn't the Dark Lord give all the dirt on Dumbledore to him? He's not as much of an incompetent fool anymore since he gets his information directly from Death Eaters and their reports. He's credible… You, while once popular, have been discredited ever since your disappearance, during which others criticised your earlier articles. And as the Goblins pointed out, I am not much yet either. My conclusion is: we have to prove our worth before we have a chance at anything else."
"Your insight can be so bloody annoying, did you know that?"
"So I've been told," Hermione said, smiling ruefully. "I've never exactly been popular, and the only reason my life wasn't a living hell at Hogwarts was because of Harry, and later Ron too. But anyways… what's the plan?"
Rita stretched her back and finally sat upright, her face becoming business-like. Hermione grinned, knowing she'd won. "First, get more contacts and make them more concrete. Build up a network, both inside and out Gringotts. It shouldn't even take long; you already have quite powerful ones, but they're too much in the background. Try to get that guy to speak up for you who informed us about Goblin culture in the first place. You're right, they will never want to speak to me, but I can scout for people who would be willing to represent you and the Dark. One won't be enough, but perhaps there are more Death Eaters. We've actually already gotten quite far, the people are aware of what you're doing... now we just need an article with a Goblin stating they want the same and are willing to trust the Dark to give it to them."
"So… broaden network, seek representatives the Goblins will believe, and interview one or two of them? Seems easy enough… Perhaps professor Atiyeh will know some people as well… he works in the Ministry and for the Dark after all." She suddenly caught Rita's intense stare. "What?" The woman rose and approached her, Hermione taking a hesitant step back as red nails pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Rita?"
"You're quite pretty when your eyes are shining with fire like that…" Rita muttered, throwing Hermione off.
"Wait what?" she asked, her voice a pitch higher than usual. Before the other could answer however, there was a noise of laughter and footsteps running up the stairs. Before Hermione could do anything else, the door flung open and Lavender and Parvati stormed in, giggling.
"Hi Hermione!" they laughed, letting themselves fall down on their beds. "Oh my GOSH you won't believe what just happened. Cormac, you know, Cormac McLaggen? He tried to flirt with me and suddenly he turned 'round a corner only to scream like Myrtle when he walked into the Bloody Baron! But say, what are you standing there for like... EW! You have a large beetle in your hair!" Lavender said in disgust, and Hermione, shaken out of her stupor by the words, brushed Rita off and pretended to swat it.
"Thanks Lavender, I hadn't noticed…"
"Merlin forbids it would have clambered inside of your robes!" the other girl said, her face scrunching up. Hermione nearly choked at that, even more so when her vivid mind was so kind as to give her an image of Rita, slowly sliding her hands…
Feeling her face heat up, she nearly sprinted to the bathroom. "Going to flush this down the toilet," she squeaked.
"Next time don't leave the window open!" Parvati yelled after her. "You can never know what will get its paws on you…"
I am… extremely pleased to be here." He spoke up, looking at the rows and rows of people and the flashing cameras, his eyes constantly straying to a seemingly innocent, empty spot near the back of the conference room. Merlin, did this place cause a swarm of memories to return to him… As while it was a conference room now, he remembered a time when all and every room in the Ministry had been an emergency trial room. It was times like these that he was glad he hadn't had a trial. They had been little more than a formality with the people tried guilty with only the slightest hint of evidence… and there had been plenty of evidence pointing the wand of justice at him after the whole ordeal with the murder on not only Lily and James, but Peter as well.
But now… now it didn't matter anymore. Mere weeks ago, he had escorted a bound Pettigrew to the Ministry, and with that and Peter's confession under Veritaserum, his name had been cleared completely. Of course, there had been no Minister to grant him official clearance, so the Wizengamot and the former Minister's undersecretary had done so. To his unpleasant surprise, said undersecretary was none other than Percy Weasley, who had left all of his family behind and broken all ties.
Sirius still didn't know what to think of it, even now he knew how bad of an influence Dumbledore had been to everyone. Perhaps his dislike for the boy was only based on how alike his situation was with what Sirius' own had been, and yet so different. Both had broken family ties to chase other ideals, but while his own family had been cold and harsh, the Weasley family was anything but, and he knew how much Arthur and Molly had suffered from Percy's actions. Whereas his own parents… well, the tapestry with his burned-out name said enough.
He stood a bit straighter as the chattering died down, people discussing the speech of the one who had spoken before him, Rufus Scrimgeour. "I suppose most of you have been updated on my situation… From teacher's menace to Auror, prisoner, runaway, and now the free man you see before you. I do not hold anyone responsible for the false accusations that have been uttered against me for years, nor do I hold a grudge. Rather, I want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else… And that will be the first point I want to highlight if you are to vote for me. No matter the situation, no matter the chaos… no innocent man should be falsely tried just because there was no manpower for a proper investigation. Rather than do anything behind closed doors, susceptible to corruption and influenced by bribes I want the truth to prevail in all times. Openness, action, honesty… those are the values of my campaign, and those will become the Ministry's values if I were to become Minister. As the current head of the Auror Office already said, we do not need another lax Minister, we need one who will fight with and for his people. I have fought for freedom, more than any of you can ever imagine, and I am willing to fight again to spare others the horrors I experienced. Thank you."
He nodded his head as a wild applause broke loose, but there were no tears in his eyes o emotion as he was fully accepted back into society, as a war-hero this time. No, the sounds seemed to leave no place for feelings, and he waited until they were done, unmoving.
"Mr Black," the first reporter asked. "In these turbulent times, what side will you choose? You originally come from a Dark family, but have never supported the Dark before. Has that changed as the Dark Lord's ideals changed?"
"I will not let myself be influenced by any powerful figures, no matter what title they bestow upon themselves. I have my own goals, and sometimes they might align with those of the Dark Lord, and sometimes with other influential people. I refuse, however, to pick a side and say I am Light or Dark. I did before, casting everything Dark aside and fully embracing the Light, but now I merely choose my own side, trusting my own judgement of what is right and wrong. I may take advice and change my views if anyone can thoroughly convince me of that I was wrong in something before, but I will not be a puppet and submit to the whims of any Lord… Neither Dark nor Light."
Something shifted in the spot he'd stared at before, as if the air rippled a bit. He stiffened, fully aware of that he was greatly altering his speech. The Dark Lord would be furious in that he was so open with saying he wasn't going to let Dumbledore rule him either, but he would stick to what he said. Truth would prevail after ages of corruption. He would not play games anymore… Not with Voldemort, not with Dumbledore. While he had the Dark's support, he wasn't planning on changing any laws Voldemort wanted without being convinced of that the changes would be beneficial to the public. He refused to be nothing more than a body without a brain, doing everything he was ordered to.
And Voldemort should know that… It was, after all, the condition on which he had accepted to mingle himself in the politics he'd so avoided before. It had taken a few days to be convinced, but in the end, Harry had won him over, and now, two weeks later, he was here, at the first stage of the elections. It had gone even faster than Voldemort had anticipated, and for Sirius, the past two weeks had passed in a blur, clearing his name, reading himself up on politics, re-establishing his rusty connections, writing speeches and election programs. The mass of publicity that had been thrown on him, only slightly held back by his unknown location, had thoroughly exhausted him and had flooded the minds of the public with images and speculations about the enigma known as Sirius Black.
Victim, martyr… those were the main two words connected with him nowadays. Victim of the system, closer to the people than anyone, someone who knew first-hand how bad the situation was in the Ministry, and what had to be done. An ex-Auror, famous for his earlier work, feared and loved by many… He really hadn't had a clue how important he had been until now. He'd always done his job properly and spent his free time fooling around, careless about the future, until he'd been forced to really grow up, fourteen years and a couple of months ago. But now… now, the newspapers, both the Prophet and the Quibbler, and even magazines such as Witch Weekly were suddenly filled with heroic stories about him and speculations on how anyone could have ever believed him to have strayed after that history.
"What do you think upon the topic of Muggles?" someone asked, a question he had anticipated, and he flushed all the cautious answers down the drain that Voldemort had pressed him to say.
"They're people," he simply said. "People who should not be denied of the treasures we have and can share with them."
"You'd want to come out of hiding then?" someone else shouted.
"The Statute of Secrecy has never done anyone any good, except the higher ups who own so many land and have so much money and influence that they needn't worry about Muggles catching them using magic. Secrecy is a safe-guard, but is it a necessary one? Muggles dying on the streets of diseases we could cure with a flick of our hands, technology they have that we can only dream of, but cannot use because our magic reacts badly on it… Creatures who have to hide with us because Muggles might try to hunt them for valuable resources, only because we don't openly protect them and deny them the rights to protect themselves… Our system is currently an unfair one. A family with enough money can afford wards and practise magic whenever they want, poor families have to either hide behind their curtains or not practise magic at all, or live in such a faraway, rural area, that there are no Muggles near. I believe that this is one of the things the Dark Lord and I firmly agree in, if that was your actual question."
The reporter had the decency to blush at least, but wasn't done talking. "What are areas you don't agree in?"
"I don't agree in that Purebloods should have a priority in governmental positions. True, they have been taught politics from an early age, but that is not to say that Muggleborns and Halfbloods can't be just as good."
"You are a Pureblood yourself, however…"
"And yet, I'm one of those who believe blood, power and intelligence have absolutely nothing to do with each other. When still an Auror, I had someone on my team, Evers... Will Evers. He was a Muggleborn, and an almighty powerful wizard. I've lost many a duel to him and when it came to connecting clues to find a lost trail, he was your man… However, when someone had to be fired, he was the first one to be made redundant, purely based on the fact that he had Muggle parents… Such practises won't be tolerated anymore. Everyone is worth as much as they can prove through intelligence, usefulness and magical strength, not by their heritage. I too do not think I can lead the Wizarding World because I come from the Black family, but because I believe that my ideas are good and I have experience with the Ministry. Now, I believe I went far over time…" he jokingly said. "I would like to give the word to yet another Auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt."
The other man nodded at him and walked up the steps. However, when Sirius wanted to move away, a large hand held him there, and Kingsley's eyes pierced his. "Actually, Sirius," the dark, pleasant voice spoke. "I do believe that my vote goes out to you."
Sirius blinked, stunned as Kingsley sauntered back again to the spot he'd come from, and Sirius saw a few Order members who had taken place in a corner, looking shocked. The room had burst out in excited whispers at this unusual turn of events, and the people wouldn't be silenced even by Percy's desperate shouts for order. Kingsley's retreat had quite obviously not been a decision of Dumbledore, or even spoken about with the rest of the Order, judging the reactions. Well then… it was far too late for Dumbledore to put another candidate forward, unless someone else in the Order would step forward within the next ten minutes. It seemed that they all respected Kingsley too much however, and no-one moved a muscle. Dumbledore, who was surprisingly absent today, had been beaten by one of his own men for reasons unknown.
Sirius turned around, a genuine smile on his face. "Well then," he cheerfully said. "Thanks Kingsley, I must say that I think you voted right." The public laughed at that. "Now, refreshments! I DO hope that they didn't hire other house-elves since I got thrown in that forsaken prison. Thoughts of tasting the chocolate cake here have been the sole thing that kept me sane there!"
He nearly ran off the platform, trying to avoid more reporters and questions, instead seeking out Scrimgeour and Pius Thicknesse, to wish the men best of luck in the elections. Without Kingsley, there were only these two left as rivals, and Sirius knew that Thicknesse was one of Voldemort's puppets, because it would be suspicious if he didn't try to push anyone in the elections. That left Scrimgeour as the only real threat. Or not that much of a threat per se… While Sirius wanted to win this, of course, he thought that the head of Aurors would also make a fine Minister, certainly a lot better than Fudge had been. The only thing that irked him about the man was that he was so conservative, and the opposite of open towards new ideas, preferring to stick to the book.
He approached the man, who gave him a sour smile as they shook hands. "A pretty good display back there, Black. You've got them all eating out of your hand…"
"I'm just trying to do what is right," Sirius replied, a tad baffled.
"And so am I. However, your truth campaign won't be worth much if they discover the real truth…" the man hissed as he pulled Sirius close. Sirius froze at the words.
"I don't know what you-"
"Your 'I follow no Lord' was a tad too transparent... The public may not know it, but the Auror office has dug some information up about you ever since you cleared your name… And it seems you were Dumbledore's man all along hmm? A bit suspicious too for the other one who follows Dumbledore to suddenly step back and clear his way for you…"
Sirius really wanted to laugh out loud now, having expected anything but this. He quickly threw up a silencing barrier around the two of them, having no need for everyone to overhear this conversation. "You misunderstood something then… Dumbledore hasn't had a clue as to where I've been the past weeks, and I am quite done with him. He kept me holed up in some godforsaken place as if I was in prison yet again, for more than half a year 'for my protection'. What I just told everyone there was nothing but the truth. I don't know why Kingsley pulled back, but from what I've seen, the rest of the Order was unaware of that he would, and I very much doubt it was Dumbledore who ordered him to. I really do want this world to become a slightly better place for all of us, and I will do anything in my power to see it happen. Now, good day, and much luck with your campaign," he greeted, breaking the silencing barrier again, leaving a baffled Scrimgeour behind.
Now talk of Dumbledore had come up though, he wondered yet again why the man wasn't here. By all means he should have been, especially with his rank in the Ministry…
"Sirius!"
Speak of the devil…
He turned around slowly, seeing the old man enter through the open doors, face seemingly delighted at seeing him, but there were a few harsh lines around Dumbledore's eyes and his movements were jerky as he approached Sirius. For all he was worth, he put up a pleasant smile. "Albus, surprising to see you here… so late."
"I hadn't thought I'd needed to attend this event! You know such formalities are nothing for me… It was only when word reached me of such an unexpected candidate… I knew you were back and had cleared your name, but to run for Minister?"
"We all have to take responsibilities sometime…" Sirius gravely said, obviously surprising the man. "And for me, that time came several weeks ago. Come, let's go to a less… noisy place to talk."
Dumbledore relaxed slightly at Sirius' less-than hostile, even friendly approach, and despite his words to the public and Scrimgeour, words he really did plan on honouring, it wasn't wise to tread on Dumbledore's long crooked toes if it wasn't absolutely necessary. They went out of the room towards one of the distant, empty corridors, and Sirius hoped that Harry wouldn't follow them. Even under his invisibility cloak, Dumbledore would be able to sense his godson, but he wasn't sure if Harry was aware of that. As it were, the man didn't seem suspicious of anything or casting lingering looks at unsuspicious places, so all might be well…
"You have quite some explaining to do, my boy… You worried all of us when you so suddenly disappeared."
"I never meant to cause you trouble… I just… I needed to be out of that place Albus, and I know that you would never have let me do such a reckless act. I know that so many things could have gone wrong with my plan, but I know that I trust my own abilities a lot more than you did. I want Harry back… but I couldn't do anything when labelled a criminal. And thus, I disappeared, pulled the sake trick as Peter had and faked my own death, as it were… Death Eaters even found my 'corpse', not sure if you are aware of that… They might have hushed it up. In either case, they seemed to think that I was dead, and that left me an opportunity to go by unnoticed as they weren't checking for a large black dog anymore… Malfoy's son blabbed about my Animagus form… Anyways, I was able to snatch Pettigrew, and when I was a free man again I… I didn't exactly feel the pressing need to return to the Order… even now my parent's house isn't used anymore, I don't like being holed up. Having had a taste of freedom at last and able to decide my own fate, I wanted to be someone and to have my own say in how I think the future should look."
"I understand, Sirius… I really do," the man said, raising a withered had to stop the flow of words. "I must admit that I am very curious though… I have not yet been updated by what transpired in that room or what anyone said. Do you really think you can hold your own against Kingsley and Scrimgeour? Thankfully Voldemort seems to have chosen a less-than worthy specimen…"
"Only Scrimgeour then," Sirius said, inwardly pleased as he saw confusion swirl in those blue eyes... eyes that seemed to look deeper suddenly, hypnotising, he couldn't look away… what had he been thinking before? Why had he been so pleased? Why-
Abruptly, he yanked his head away, trembling as he stared at the white marble of the wall. "Don't do that. Don't you dare do that," he said, voice straining with suppressed rage. "If you wanted answers, you could have asked Albus. What the hell did you see?"
"Nothing… I should have known that with your training, even Azkaban wouldn't have been able to diminish the control you have over your mind. I… apologise. I merely thought it would be better to see it than to give you the trouble for having to spell everything out for me. What was that about only Scrimgeour?"
Sirius released a shaky breath, hardly able to believe what Dumbledore had nearly pulled off. If he hadn't had such good defences… But the old man could also have been lying when saying he'd seen nothing at all… If he had seen… undesirable things, he surely wouldn't tell Sirius. But whatever the case may be, it would not be beneficial for him to suddenly stop talking to Dumbledore now. "Kingsley withdrew, saying he'd vote for me."
"What?" Dumbledore said, both shocked and angry, before he calmed down. "On the other hand… yes, maybe that was sensible… Now the Order has only one candidate, not two. Or I say the Order… of course, you put yourself forwards, but your ideals have always run in one straight line with the Order, hmm?"
"And I'll do my best to make sure the new Ministry will be thoroughly cleansed, based on my ideals," Sirius smiled, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He wasn't about to play a game of manipulation, he had no desire to do so, but if Dumbledore thought his ideals were the same as the man's, he wouldn't break the news to the headmaster that would shatter those illusions. "Now, if you don't mind… I wanted to have a word with a couple of people I know from back in the good old days. I'm surprised by how many survived till now… they must have been holding back resources since Fudge... vanished."
Dumbledore nodded and sauntered off after expressing a 'good luck', and Sirius held back his breath of relief until the other had disappeared around a corner. He hurried back to the conference room himself, and made small talk with useful contacts, straining to remember all of his lessons in politics from when he was young, all the etiquette he'd thrown overboard when he'd turned his back on his family. It was almost laughable how easy this would be if Dumbledore kept believing that he could influence Sirius… the Order would be voting for him, the Dark would be, and hopefully many Neutral people, or at least people not loyal to either Dumbledore or Voldemort would also like his goals and methods and prefer them over his rival's.
The questions that remained however, were how long it would take for Dumbledore to find out what his speech had been and to realise he had spoken the complete truth there about not being willing to be influenced by anyone, and how angry Voldemort would be with him for altering his speech so much. It was as if he'd raised two big fat middle fingers to both the Dark and the Order at the same time…
"You're not going to be happy…' Harry tentatively spoke, removing his cloak and brushing the ashes off of it. He quickly waved his wand and removed the soot from the oaken floor so the house-elves wouldn't have to come running for it.
"Of course I won't, it's Black we're talking about. Also, no need to inform me, Lucius already sent me a memory of the happening. I've just finished watching it."
"You don't seem as angry as I thought you would be."
Marvolo sighed, turning his chair to face his fiancé with a calculating look. "I've come to accept Black as he is over the past weeks. Incredibly stubborn and far too honest and rash. I honestly had not expected him to stick to the speech I had approved of. That it was expected doesn't mean I like his wording though. For one, he clearly tells both Dumbledore and me that if he is to become Minister, he'll listen to ideas as advice, but won't let himself be forced to make decisions he doesn't like, and secondly, his clear opinion on matters of blood will cause doubt to rise within my ranks. He makes me face a difficult choice… Will I continue to support him and command my circles to vote 'Black', knowing that while his ideas resemble mine in most things but giving away much of my power, or should I switch to Thicknesse and hope it will be enough? I have come to regret the decision to let Black run for Minister, truly."
"And I am still of the opinion that we need someone like him. You're too fixed upon the whole 'High Minister' idea with puppets for Ministers… Once we get into the Muggle government as well, Minister of Magic will only be one of the sub-categories, and you can't keep watch and control everyone and everything. We need someone like Sirius, who can think for himself. That will also make us more plausible in the eyes of the current Muggle government…"
"What would make us plausible in their eyes would be if we all agreed on the same things," Marvolo grumbled, but Harry could feel that the core of his words had penetrated Marvolo's stubborn mind. "We have but one chance in this war Harry… But I have no time to dwindle upon the topic of Black any longer… we need to ready ourselves for war."
"What? What are you talking about? We've been faring war for months."
"In England, yes… But what I have been waiting for a long time finally arrived. It seems they were awaiting word of the elections to see if there were possibilities there." Before Harry had the chance to ask who 'they' were, Marvolo threw a very official-looking scroll on the desk and rolled it open. "France. Spain. Italy. Greece. Germany. Austria. Belgium. All of them have declared war upon us at the same time."
Harry's eyes bugged as he saw the list with countries, names and signatures. "You say you expected this?"
"Naturally, and I am afraid that it won't only be Europe once it becomes clear that those countries won't be able to stop us. Had you expected differently then? If we are to bring magic out into the open, every single country will be affected, for news travels over the world in seconds for Muggles… If it becomes clear that magic is real here, in Britain, Muggles in other countries will surely be stirred as well, forcing magicians there to come out of hiding as well, and in some countries they are… not very happy with that prospect. France is automatically against everything that happens in England and Beauxbatons lies there, of which the Headmistress has good ties with Dumbledore, Italy, Spain and Greece are conservative countries as well where the Statute of Secrecy has been implemented under even stricter rules than here, Germany and Austria are afraid of another Grindelwald… I'm not sure of Belgium's reasons yet."
Harry took the parchment, letting his eyes rake over the words.
Hereby we, alliance of magical nations, declare that the acts of the Dark Lord can be ignored no longer. We are thus forced to break the treaty of Paris, which ensured that no country should influence each other's magical development. In the light of recent events, it has become clear that the actions by Dark Lord Voldemort and his future visions shall negatively affect the future of all Wizarding kind, not merely the British population. Whilst not the whole of Britain stands behind these visions, the most likely candidate for the next British Minister of Magic does, forcing us to take action.
War shall follow if there will be no surrender.
"I thought Dolohov and Mulciber kept contacts in the mainland? They weren't able to prevent this?"
"They can only do so much… trying to change the fundamentals of people's beliefs of what is right and wrong to do isn't one of those. Besides, they've mostly been working on the good contacts we already have…"
Harry sighed deeply. He really should have expected this… He just hadn't realised just how much Marvolo's goals would influence the rest of the world. Surely, if it were clear that wizards existed in one country, Muggles would start wondering about their own countries… "Any countries who DO agree with you?"
"We have Scandinavia as ally… Iceland as well. Portugal, just because they want to irk the Spanish, Switzerland, which has finally been forced to relinquish Neutral position, also indicated that it might be time to come out of hiding, Ireland, thankfully, which is a great surprise to me actually, but it seems their roots called them, and they too remember a time when magicians and Muggles peacefully coexisted. Then there's Russia and the East-European countries… Nearly everyone there has been educated at Durmstrang, which has always taught the darker aspects of magic and the superiority of magic. However, the countries that aren't against us will lose nothing if things stay the way they are for now, so we cannot expect them to fight alongside us… They merely won't interfere."
Harry groaned, taking a chair and slumping down on it. "Is there really no country that fully agrees with your views and also wants to fight with us?"
"Ireland might, if they agreed for the reasons I suspect, and we can expect help from ex-Durmstrang students but that is all. There might be minorities in other countries willing to fight for us who shall profit. Creatures and the like."
"And what were you just saying about other countries than those in Europe?"
"Most African countries and Asian countries will be delighted to free magic from its confinements. America and Australia, apart from the native inhabitants… not so much. We might have more support in South-America than the United States and Canada, but nothing is certain. I imagine they'll first wait and see whether Europe can handle its own problems though."
"So… the plan?"
"Keep things normal in Britain and continue with our campaigns, interrupted by heavy battles over the border. We need to go offensive, the sea isn't much of a barrier when enemies can apparate and Portkey over, unlike with Muggle warfare. Thankfully they can't ambush us as we have the same means, so, as with all magical battles, time and place will have to be indicated by all sides before the battle actually starts. Our raids within the country were different, as we knew exactly where to find our enemies on a time they were there and didn't move, but such knowledge isn't available for those who want to fight us now, except for if they'd want to raid the Ministry, which would be a bad move to them since our Ministry is still Neutral… mostly"
"I am surprised now that this didn't happen sooner."
"They had to get a good view of the situation, speak to other countries, see where those stood, assemble, break a treaty and decide upon the best course of action. By the time they were ready, Fudge had already died, and they wanted to see the candidates for Britain's new minister. Apparently they too think Black is the most likely choice… When looking at past mainland politics though, I'm actually surprised that it hasn't taken longer… This does come at a rather… annoying time though. I will have to try to stall fights abroad as much as possible. They'll have to be few and far between, as with every witch or wizard who dies there, Black will lose a vote, and that may sound crude, but it's the truth. If Dumbledore realises he won't have much of a say over Black and command his Order to vote for Scrimgeour, elections won't look as favourable."
"Sirius will have to be extremely careful with whom to interact now, won't he?"
"Indeed… the Dark won't need convincing if I tell them to vote for him, but he will have to keep Dumbledore on a false trail for a while, and make sure he isn't seen within the presence of me or Death Eaters so neutral people won't think he's playing them."
"But he isn't…"
"That isn't what it'll look like if he is caught dining with us, Harry."
"Does this mean that I won't be able to see him as long as the elections run…? The boy asked, sorrow filling his eyes. Marvolo opened his arms and encased the teen who accepted the invitation.
"I'm sorry love… but no, you won't."
Harry nodded, pondering over the unfairness of it all. He had just gotten his Godfather back, really, had just been able to convince Sirius and now, after a couple of weeks, this. But he should have expected it… Even the past weeks, Sirius had often been elsewhere, only returning once convinced that he'd gotten rid of the press. He sighed deeply and untangled himself from Marvolo's arms, smiling sadly.
"I'll go train with Rodolphus and Shay," he muttered. "Need to be in shape when we're going abroad."
"With any luck, I can stall it some more weeks."
"And if not?"
"You'd best make sure to be ready in a day or three."
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xx GeMerope
And as said before, next update will be very soon...
