Title: All That Glitters
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Author's note: Alea Iacta Est is Latin. It means the die is cast, and it is reportedly what Julius Caesar said when he lead the Roman Army into Italy against the wishes of the Senate and began a civil war that would end with the destruction of the Roman Republic and begin the Roman Empire with himself as dictator.
Summary: The die is finally cast, and the wizarding world is plunged back into the depths of a war it thought it had already won.
Chapter Seventeen: Alea Iacta Est
"Hello, Narcissa."
The blonde witch let her mouth fall open in shock as she stared at the woman before her. It was as though she was looking at a warped reflection of her own sister, for the Bellatrix she had known before Azkaban did not have these hollow cheekbones and sunken eyes. But this was her sister, completely and utterly and in every way. This was her sister... and yet so changed.
"Bella."
The dark-haired woman swept into Malfoy Manor, pushing past her sister. "I see your husband was able to buy his way out of Azkaban," she sneered haughtily.
Narcissa swallowed. "You escaped."
"Indeed," Bellatrix answered pointedly. "And so I came to pay my dear sister a visit." She let her eyes roam over the elaborate and lavish furnishings. "You have done well, Cissy."
"It is good to see you, Bella," Narcissa said finally, praying her voice would not shake. She was not sure if the emotion she felt was relief that her sister was still alive and at least partially sane, or fear that one of the most wanted Dark Witches had just walked into her house... and what if someone had seen?
Bellatrix turned and looked at her sharply. After a moment, she relented. "It is good to see you as well. Better than seeing our cursed Muggle-loving sister."
Narcissa thought briefly of Andromeda. "Indeed."
"If your husband home?"
Narcissa shook her head. "He is speaking to Severus about something. I am not sure what the details are..." She trailed off with a sigh.
"That Traitor?" Bellatrix spat.
Narcissa raised an eyebrow delicately. "The Dark Lord trusts him," she replied. "And so does Lucius. He is a good friend to us."
Bellatrix snorted. "Indeed," she said skeptically, but did not press the issue. "And you are still true to our cause, are you not?"
"Of course," Narcissa said hurriedly. "I... of course." She thought of Draco, a brief thought that lingered no more than a moment. She wanted to protect her son, but if this was the way to fame and glory... She lowered her gaze, praying her sister would not see the indecision in her eyes. She cared less about the Dark Arts than her husband, and less about the Dark Lord than her sister. She cared more about Draco than either of them.
Her answer seemed to satisfy Bellatrix however, and the near-insane witch gave a short cackle and said, "Good."
Narcissa forced herself to meet her sister's gaze and not look away.
Snape swallowed uneasily and eyed the two men before him. They were gloating, mocking him in their triumph. His gaze flickered quickly to his wand, clutched tightly in the fist of the enemy, then back to their faces.
"Let her go," Snape said finally, breaking the tense silence. He sincerely doubted they would listen to him, but he had to at least try.
Runcorn chortled unpleasantly. "Why?" He jabbed his wand sharply at Snape, and the potion Master had to use all his will power not to flinch away from the weapon. Instead, he continued to stare boldly at Runcorn while the other wizard continued, "You are hardly in a position to make demands, traitor."
Kingsley sent Snape a questioning look, but Snape ignored it. Now was not the time for explanations. Not that either the Auror or the Headmistress would even believe what he had to say.
Minerva, pale with shock and the pain of captivity, slumped forward slightly, nearly falling to the floor. Runcorn grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her roughly into the center of the room, and she stumbled against Kingsley. He caught her, holding her upright, while still watching the two men before him with a calculating stare.
"What do you want, Runcorn?" Snape demanded viciously. He had decided that Runcorn was probably the leader of the two, and therefore the one to address.
"Your suffering, Snape," Runcorn hissed, "just as you made us suffer." His cold eyes burned with an intense fire as he continued, "You arrogant fool. You thought you were fooling us for so long, didn't you? But we have the upper hand now."
Yaxley nodded in agreement, a sly grin spreading over his face. "You made a great show of how clever you were, didn't you? Tricking the Aurors into leaving Spinner's End unguarded so that you could meet Hannigan there. Using Malfoy to alert the Ministry that we were after the Elder Wand. You wanted to flaunt it all, to intimidate us. You wanted to show us that you were cunning, that you were more powerful than we were. But you aren't. Like a fool, you left your weak spot open." His eyes flicked to Minerva, a cruel smile now twisting his lips, before looking back to Snape. "Cleverness will only take you so far, traitor."
"So instead of us falling into your traps, Snape," Runcorn added, his voice laced with unabashed glee, "you now fall into ours."
Kingsley chanced a quick look at the potions Master and saw that his sallow face had turned pale with fear. Something was flickering in the depths of those black eyes, but the Auror was not quite sure what it was. All he knew was that they were in peril, and without their wands, they had no way out.
Traitor. Why were they convinced Snape was a traitor? Why did they hate him so much? Kingsley kept his gaze squarely on Runcorn as he contemplated this question. He knew far too little, and if there was any chance of survival, he would need a much better idea of what was happening now. Was this just a battle between two different factions of Dark Wizards, or was Snape actually on his side? The answer to that would explain everything else, if only he knew what to think...
But everything that had happened... they had been played. The note to Hermione tying Snape and the Malfoys together, it had to have been either Runcorn or Yaxley. The warning that Minerva and Diggory were in danger, the attack on Minerva herself... He looked over at the Headmistress. Yaxley had insinuated that Minerva was Snape's weakness. He had known that Snape would attempt to save her, if she were to be attacked. And all of this had been a plan to bring Kingsley, Diggory, and Snape together so that when Minerva was hurt... they would come to her rescue... and right into a trap.
Was the Minister in danger?
Decent people are so easy to manipulate.They had known this would happen. They had planned it. It had all been one elaborate trap, a plot to ensnare them... Were the Malfoys in it as well? Or were they innocent bystanders, used as a means to an end by Runcorn and Yaxley? And what was this end? What did they want? What were they trying to do?
What would happen now?
"Enjoy the next few minutes," Yaxley sneered, "because they will be your last." And then a flash of red light burst from his wand, and the three prisoners fell into the blackness of sleep.
The hallway was silent. Hannigan swallowed nervously as he stood there, waiting for the right moment, for the signal. The silence unnerved him, although he doubted it held any significance. It was early in the morning, and few would be at the Ministry now, save perhaps the Minister himself and a few assistants, one or two Aurors, and the night watchmen. He rubbed the tips of his fingers together in anticipation, and reached into his pocket to withdraw his wand.
Soon. Just a few more moments, just until the signal and then... everything would be his.
A shadow moved along the wall, a face was revealed. Hannigan let out a long, slow breath. "Is it done?"
The man gave a brief smile. "It is," he answered simply, bowing his head. He held out the wand he had used, the only proof to link him to this crime, and with a twist of his fingers, he snapped it in half. "The Ministry is yours for the taking."
And he melted away, fading into the dark.
Hannigan turned towards the door at the far end of the hallway just as a shout of fear pierced through the still air. A cry of horror, anger filling each word. A scream, the sound of footsteps, the pops of people appearing, the burst of green flames from the Floo network...
"He's dead! Diggory is dead. The Minister has been killed."
Hannigan smiled.
Everything went up in chaos.
The air was filled with the sounds of shouting, of panic, of fear. Harry was not sure how news had managed to spread this quickly, but somehow every single witch or wizard seemed to know that Minister Diggory had been found murdered in his office. There was no trace of the killer, not even a single clue to point towards a guilty party.
The argument with Mr. Weasley and Percy still weighed heavily on his mind, but now it had been pushed aside so forcefully by the events that had just transpired. Mr. Weasley had been alerted as soon as Amos Diggory's body was found, and Harry had quickly followed the older wizard through the Floo to the Ministry. And now he was being jostled, shoved, pushed about, as everyone clamored to be heard.
Through the crowded entrance hall, he caught sight of bushy brown hair. Weaving through the crowd, he struggled against the tide until he finally reached Hermione. She turned towards him, eyes wide with incredulity at all that had just happened, and caught his arm tightly just as he was about to be swept away by the masses.
"Harry!" she breathed, obviously relieved to see him. "Have you seen Ron? Ginny? Did they come with you?"
"Ginny did," Harry answered. "She's with Mr. Weasley. But I don't know about Ron. He might still be at our flat."
The brunette witch nodded, but still looked uneasy. Harry recognized the emotion she tried to mask, and admitted silently to himself that he was just as worried. The death of the Minister would send this world spiraling back into the chaotic frenzy that they had tried so hard to prevent after Voldemort's death. Everything was unknown right now, and he would have liked to have Ron here, just to know his best mate was safe, just to have his support.
Someone pushed against Hermione, and she stumbled, lurching forward. Harry reached to catch her, but another hand shot forward and pulled her upright before she collapsed. The two turned in surprise to see Penelope Clearwater standing there, staring at them, worry etched into the lines of her face.
"Have you seen Percy?"
"No," Harry said, anger bubbling in him at the mention of the other wizard. But the anger was tempered by a guilt he could not quite explain, and he suddenly couldn't meet Penelope's gaze. "Are you sure he is here?"
Penelope nodded, turning her head and scanning the crowd. "I came with him. He had just shown up at my flat when..." She trailed off and did not finish the sentence, and once again Harry was left wondering how news always managed to travel so quickly. Did the entire world now know that Diggory was dead? But Penelope continued talking, her voice dry and hoarse. "We got separated in the crowd. I don't know where he is!"
"I'm sure he's fine," Hermione said comfortingly. "He's probably somewhere safe, worrying over you."
Penelope managed a brief smile at the words, but then shook her head in annoyance and fear. Muttering under her breath, "I have to find him," she melted back into the crowd.
Hermione watched her go, then turned back to Harry. "I don't understand. How could this happen? How..." She stopped abruptly, tears glittering in her eyes. "It's not fair."
Harry gave a dark chuckle. "When has any of this been fair?" he replied pointedly, and Hermione nodded in agreement.
The noise was mostly undecipherable words and shouts, but a sudden cry could be heard, lifting into the air above all else. "Murderers! It isn't over. They will kill us! You Know Who is not gone!"
Those words were met with indescribably panic. Hermione was pulled backwards by the crowd as they surged into chaotic movement, and Harry cried out her name as she faded from his sight, swallowed up by the raging throng. People were screaming now, predictions that everything would end. How had the Death Eaters infiltrated the Ministry? How had they done this? Were they still out there, waiting to attack again? When would the world be safe?
"Kill them all! Suck out their souls! How can we let any Death Eater walk free?"
"We're not safe. None of us are safe until the world is rid of all this evil!"
"Where are the Aurors? Where was all our protection when Diggory was killed? How could this happen? Haven't we lost enough already?"
Harry was slammed backwards against the wall as the stampede seemed nearly to crush him. He struggled to remain upright, eyes scanning the room in a panic, looking for Hermione or Ginny. He had to find them. He had to make sure they were safe. He had to...
And then Ginny was suddenly at his side. He turned towards her, and saw that she was being tightly held in the grasp of her brother. Percy looked white and shaken, but he held tightly to her arms as though afraid if he let go she might disappear. Ginny was shaking in fear, but her eyes were filled with the same burning fire of determination that she had worn during the last great battle at Hogwarts.
"Ginny!" Harry reached out and grasped her arm tightly, obvious relief shining in his eyes. "Are you alright?"
Ginny nodded mutely, glancing over at Percy. "You shouldn't have..."
Her older brother interrupted before she could finish the thought. "Don't. You were nearly trampled."
"But I..."
"No, Ginny."
"What happened?" Harry asked, confused, not understanding the anger that was passing between the two siblings.
"Percy doesn't think I'm old enough to take care of myself," Ginny hissed.
Percy seemed to be refraining from rolling his eyes at her. He countered in a voice of forced calm, "Come on, Gin. If I hadn't pulled out of there, you would have been hurt. Badly. You fell to the ground and no one even saw. You could have been trampled."
"What?" Harry breathed in dismay. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"She's fine. But she's going back to the Burrow now," Percy answered tensely.
"I am an adult, I can make my own decisions," Ginny retorted. "I need to stay and see..."
"You should go back," Harry said quietly.
She blinked at him, looking hurt, then snapped, "It figures that the only time the two of you would ever agree on anything is to tell me I can't take care of myself."
"I already lost Hermione!" Harry answered, nearly exploding in frustration. "I have no idea where she is. Or Mr. Weasley. And Penelope Clearwater is here too. So how can Percy and I find them if we have to worry about you too?"
"You don't need to worry about me!"
"Have you seen Penny?" Percy asked abruptly, eyes piercing Harry intently. "Where? Is she alright?"
"She's looking for you," Harry answered, and then someone bumped into him and he slid back against the wall. Percy had already turned to rush back into the crowd, and Harry watched in concern as the redhead was repeatedly knocked about, but Percy refused to give up. Soon he was gone, concealed by the throng of people all around.
"I need to find Hermione," Harry said, squinting around as he rubbed the back of his head. He was sure it was bruised, but at least they were at the back of the crowd now, and relatively safe. Hermione was not, and he had to find her, had to go back for her before she got hurt.
It was in the middle of these panicked thoughts that everything changed.
"Stop!"
The voice rang through the entrance hall, magically enhanced. Harry and Ginny turned, as did the rest of the crowd, and found themselves staring at a man they did not recognize. He was standing on a chair, staring down at the rest of them, and his imposing presence and forceful words seemed to bring everything to a grinding halt.
"This panic, these shouts, will not help us! We have been attached, our safety has been breached! We must band together now to fight back, or we will lose everything that we have fought for, everything that we wanted. Look around you. Look at the destruction that we have caused in our panic. Overturned tables, people pushed to the floor... is this any way to protect ourselves?"
His words were met with a silence, and then murmurs, nods of agreement spreading through the suddenly stilled crowd.
"Who is that?" Harry whispered, turning to his redheaded girlfriend. But Ginny shook her head, unable to answer, and at that moment Percy and Penelope reappeared by their side. Percy was looking relieved at finding his sister still unharmed, but Penny caught sight of the other girl and turned her head sharply to the side, annoyance and dislike clouding her eyes. The space between them was quickly thick with tension.
"Percy, who is that?" Ginny asked, ignoring Penelope.
"Hannigan," Percy answered, frowning at the man. "Frederick Hannigan."
"And where is our Ministry? Where is Kingsley Shacklebolt? Where is the Head of Magical Law Enforcement when we need him most?" He paused, the silence stretching only for a moment, then, "Where is he? Making deals with the Malfoys! That's where he is at this very moment. He's giving them sanctuary even though he has proof they are in league with Severus Snape!"
This declaration was met with cries of horror and anger, with a simmering rage that burned through the crowd.
"Why?"
"How could he?"
"No! I cannot believe it of him. Why would he abandon us?"
"Then where is he? Why is he not here?"
More cries filled the air, but Harry was hardly paying attention. He was staring instead at Hannigan, and something was moving in his subconscious, the beginning of suspicions that would not abate.
"The Minister is murdered in his own office. But how? By whom? How can we know if our Aurors are not here to help us?"
"Sack him. He's no good anymore!"
Percy turned sharply, squinting through the crowd, and Harry followed his gaze to Jonathon Abbott. He had not really known Hannah, but she had seemed friendly enough. Her father was a different story entirely. His eyes were burning with rage and fury and his very presence seemed to fill the room with a sense of frustrated unease, as though his own emotions were influencing all those who stood around him.
"He's in league with Snape," Harry whispered under his breath to Ginny.
"Who? Abbott?"
"No. Hannigan. He has to be. How else would he know where Kingsley is? Don't you see, this is a plan to get Kingsley out of the way so they could kill the Minister! Snape is behind all of it, and Hannigan is working with him!"
Ginny frowned skeptically, but nodded at last. "I suppose it is possible."
Abbott pushed himself to the front of the room and stood next to Hannigan. "We need a new leader. Someone who is not afraid to met out punishment to those who deserve it. We needed someone who is not swayed by gold or power. Someone we can trust."
"But who?" was the answer from the crowd.
"Find someone who cares about us. Who cares about this world,"Hannigan answered, nodding his head to Abbott in agreement with his earlier words. "We must find someone whom we can trust, who will help rebuild this society. We needed someone who is willing to put in long hours of hard work and labor, who is willing to fight against all odds. Someone who has not been corrupted by a thirst for power or prestige. We must find this person, and quickly! We need someone to unite us, someone to stand in front of us and lead the charge against our enemies!"
"Him," Harry hissed, feeling both anger at what he saw happening before his very eyes, and a morbid admiration for Hannigan. "He is setting it up so he can be appointed Minister of Magic. He wants the position."
Percy eyed the crowd, the mass of people that were staring up at Hannigan with such total worship in their eyes, and said under his breath, "And he will get it. Look at them. Look at the crowd. They will cry for him to be our next Minister of Magic..."
"And Abbott is helping," Ginny spat. "The fool, he doesn't even realize what he is doing!"
Harry looked again at Hannigan. The wizard had slid off the chair and was making his way through the crowd, disappearing towards one of the hallways leading out of the entrance. On a whim, Harry hurried after him, and did not notice Percy, Penelope, and Ginny following behind.
Hannigan tucked his wand safely into his pocket, his hand closing around the smooth wood, and he turned on the spot, preparing to disappear. In the moment just before his body had slipped away from that place, another hand grabbed onto his, coming along for the ride.
And Percy, Penny, and Ginny were all left to stare in numb horror as Hannigan vanished, taking Harry with him.