A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it.
THIRTEEN
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Near Inverness, Scotland, British Isles
October 24, 1995
Although it has been claimed by many contemporary Hogwarts historians that the room where the wards of the castle – the ward room, as it were – are controlled was located beside the office of the Headmaster, nothing could be further from the truth, and in this case, that may be literally.
The truth is, the ward room was located just behind the Great Hall of Hogwarts. The students of Hogwarts – and after they had graduated, the alumni – had no idea that the room that is the source of the power that protects the castle was actually behind the long table where the faculty of the school eat every day, in fact, most of the staff are not even aware of it themselves, making the wrong assumption that the room was located near the office of the Headmaster.
That was not an entirely illogical assumption, however, since only the Headmaster or the Deputy could actually enter the room without permission. Typically, the only one who could give permission is the Headmaster himself, and that is the reason why aside from the current Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, the resident potions master could enter the room uninvited.
Albus Dumbledore purposely walked toward the hidden door just underneath the giant coat-of-arms of the school. This hidden door is the only entrance toward the ward room, and as always, he felt a sense of satisfaction from within as he reminded himself that he had learned about this door before the end of his third year in the castle, despite the fact that he was not supposed to know. When he became Deputy Headmaster to Headmaster Dippet, he had to feign surprise when the old man told him about the entrance.
Behind the Headmaster, a bodyguard unit of twenty wizards and witches followed. No doubt their presence – with their wands out and with their attention focused toward all directions – would have caused some wonderment amongst the students, but because it was already late in the evening, there are no students in the Great Hall. All students are actually inside their dorm rooms, with the exception of a few on-duty Prefects and the occasional delinquents who make a point of disregarding curfew every chance they get.
The bodyguard unit was composed of some of the fastest casters in the hit squad of the Order, and they had been given the objective of protecting the Headmaster while he works on cancelling the Oath against the chance that the government had managed to sneak in a few assassins in the castle.
The rest of the members of the hit squad are currently deploying all around the castle just in case this turns into a real battle, but the Headmaster was confident that there would be no battle because the muggles would not be able to see the castle after he was done. The Headmaster was also prepared to bet that after he had invoked the clause that would sever his Oath with the Golden Throne, the muggle repelling wards would kick in and the huge army of muggles encamped outside his castle would be thrown into confusion.
When that happens, the Headmaster had charged five of his best duelers – under the leadership of Alastor Moody – to charge through the muggles, arrest Harry Potter, and bring him back into the castle. The Headmaster was sure that the boy would be of no threat to the five duelers that he was prepared to send.
The Headmaster paused before the hidden door for a few moments. He closed his eyes and gathered his powers around him before he sent a mild command to the door to open. Slowly, the door – which was seemingly built into the stone walls of the Great Hall – opened to reveal a passageway.
The Headmaster entered the room and soon found himself in front of a large stone. The stone –which was hexagonal in shape and was glowing with an eerie pink color, though the Headmaster was more than use to seeing the glow – appeared to be floating in mid-air, held in place only by chains that are obviously made of the tendrils of magic and glowing as well, though not as bright as the stone itself.
The witches and wizards that form his bodyguard unit might be surprised by the glowing – and by the sheer size – of the stone, but because they have been left behind by the Headmaster, there was no need to worry about that.
Albus reached out for the stone and his palm landed at the bottom of the stone, allowing him to feel the impossibly smooth surface of the ward stone. Above the Headmaster, lightning arched, as if the magic of the stone was acknowledging him and his power.
Albus knew that this stone is the centerpiece of the castle. This stone is the reason why, no matter how many enemies had tried, the castle had remained standing over nearly one thousand years without the need for repair. This stone is also the reason why within the walls of Hogwarts, the ward room is the room where the most magic is concentrated, and the Headmaster knew that he would need that magic in order to invoke the severance clause of the Oath.
The Headmaster closed his eyes at the same time that he withdrew his hand from the stone. Once his hand was beside him again, Albus gathered his considerable powers around him, and the stone responded to his show of strength. Tendrils of magic lashed all around the room, but the stone acknowledged Albus as the guardian of the school, and while the tendrils smashed against everything inside, it left Albus at the same time that the stone actually cast a shield around the Headmaster.
With his eyes closed, the Headmaster could not actually see the shield, but he knew from his readings since he had made the plan that the stone would protect him. It is not enough that he truly believed that the Oath needs to be severed – he had learned that his belief that the Oath is necessary had powered the Oath when it was first used against him – he needed some sort of protection against the considerable power of the Oath, and the only power source that could provide that much power is the ward stone of Hogwarts.
Chanting under his breath, the Headmaster began the ritual, unknowingly treating the soldiers outside – who are actually on alert – to a lights show that they had never heard – much less seen – before or after. The shields of Hogwarts flickered as invisible tendrils of magic tried to assault the Headmaster, only to be stopped cold by the shield cast by the ward stone. Unfortunately, that meant that the stone had to divert power from the shields of the school.
Soon, it became apparent to the patrolling prefects that something was wrong, at the same time that they realized that they are glad that most students are actually in their dorms. This is because the staircases suddenly started to go haywire, followed quickly by the portraits. At the second floor girls comfort room, water taps were actually blown clear off of pipes, causing significant flooding even as the ghosts of Hogwarts found that their hold on this reality was not as strong as it was supposed to be.
With his eyes closed and his concentration focused on the ritual that he was performing, the Headmaster ignored the mental alarms in his head, alarms that were supposed to warn him of the wards failing.
Twenty minutes after the Headmaster started the ritual, he entered the final phrase. As he prepared to invoke the final severance – the one that would actually sever the Oath – the ward stone actually stopped glowing. Pain nearly overcame the mind of the Headmaster as the invisible tendrils finally found no resistance, but as soon as it began, it was over. The ward stone recovered easily enough and was quick to recast the shield around the person that it recognized as its guardian.
Suddenly, Albus Dumbledore opened his eyes, and for a few moments, the color of his eyes reflected the power that had been given to him. With a theatrical stamp of his right leg, the Headmaster of Hogwarts severed the Oath, and unbeknownst to him, the moment that he did, there was actually an explosion inside the castle itself.
The ritual done, the Headmaster actually fell to his knees, finally feeling the power around him. It took him a good five minutes before he felt that he had recovered enough to actually get to his feet and another three minutes before he could negotiate the steep staircase that led him back to the hidden door in the Great Hall.
Unfortunately for the Headmaster, the moment that he returned to the Hall, he was beset by his followers which now include a panicking Alastor Moody.
The Headmaster had to admit that he had never seen the paranoid auror acting like this before, and he instinctively knew that it was not good news. Almost at once, his tiredness was forgotten as Dumbledore the general made itself known.
"Report," the Headmaster demanded.
"The muggles have surrounded us," Moody replied, he might be panic-stricken at that point, but he still presented his report with as much objectivity as he could, "All sides of the castle have detachments of muggles, and they have their weapons pointed at us."
'That's not possible' the Headmaster thought to himself, but wisely, he decided not to voice his thoughts out loud. Instead, he headed straight to the fireplace at the Great Hall, throwing floo powder into the flames at the same time. Behind him, Alastor and the rest followed.
The Headmaster had called for his office the moment that he stepped into the flames so that was where he ended up. He knew that his office would provide him a good vantage point with which to look into the grounds so that was where he decided to go.
Inside his office, Severus and a few others were waiting. The potions master of Hogwarts was actually nervous, but that was obviously not shared by his companions. Still, it was the potions master who had to make the report.
"We are surrounded," Severus said, "and there is no way that there are just three thousand soldiers out there, Headmaster."
"We could fight our way out," one of the witches in the room suddenly said, "They are just muggles."
"We are not here to fight our way out," Snape retorted, actually causing the offended witch to cower and step back despite the obviously nervous look on the face of the potions master, "Hogwarts was supposed to be our base, we cannot abandon it."
"We could hold," another voice opined, "We hold the higher ground, Headmaster, we could hold."
Severus had to admit that there was nothing he could think of at that moment that would negate what the man had said, but luckily for him, he realized that he had no need to contradict the man, the muggles outside are about to do it for them.
The lights that suddenly appeared in mid-air over the Black Lake obviously came from a ship. Whether that ship had just arrived or it had been there all this time with its lights just turned off was something that was not particularly important at that moment, what was important was that the ship was there.
Every pair of eyes turned to look at the ship. From the lights on the vessel, it was obviously smaller than the ship that the Prince had used to visit the castle, but that would not have mattered because it was obvious that the ship also had guns. Suddenly, anymore thoughts were interrupted when another ship suddenly turned on its lights, quickly followed by three more, revealing the fact that there are five ships over the Black Lake.
'One ship was bad enough, but five of them…' Severus thought.
The potions master opened his mouth to say something, but what he was about to say was quickly drowned out by screams of fear as the five ships, in unison, turned their guns toward the castle, a clear warning that not only could they still see the castle, they are actually prepared to fire.
"They won't risk it," the same witch who had suggested fighting their way out opined, "There are students in this castle."
Severus was about to say something, but he was cut off once more, though this time, luckily, it was not by the muggles outside but by Alastor Moody, "We are the ones who cannot risk it," the grizzled ex-auror corrected her, "They could and they would as well."
"Headmaster," Snape began.
"Can the wards hold?" the Headmaster asked. It was obvious that the man was leaning toward ordering his people to stand and fight.
'Can he not see how stupid and senseless that would be?' Severus asked, but he did not voice his thoughts as he was, at that time, busy looking at the faces of the members of the combat arm of the Order inside the room. Obviously, they are prepared to fight, and it was obvious that they would give the answer that would favor their choice.
"It won't," Alastor Moody said, surprising everyone in the room, Severus included. The potions master realized, though, that he should not be surprised. Moody was a realist, and the ex-auror realized that there was no way that they could stand up with the force that was being brought to bear against them.
"Wards are at ten percent strength," Severus concurred, "It may be enough to confuse a few muggles and defend against an attack by a horde of centaurs, but not against the muggles," he angrily shook his head before he added, "Filius is right, those ships, their guns could fire shells that would not be affected by our wards."
"Running is our only option?" the Headmaster asked.
Immediately, there were groans of protests from the members of the combat arm, but the Headmaster silenced them by raising his hand in a stopping motion.
"Afraid so," Alastor Moody confirmed, "There are instances when we can stand and fight, Albus, but this is clearly not the time, we could not defend against the muggles with our wards so depleted, and even if they are at full strength, we could not risk the students."
"Then running is our only option," the Headmaster concluded sadly.
"We would hold the castle while you and the others seek shelter and safety, Headmaster," one of the Order wizards offered.
"No," the Headmaster replied, his voice laced with his power, "One day we would return back to Hogwarts and take it back, for that day to come, we would need every wand we could spare," he shook his head for emphasis before he added, "Right now, we cannot afford senseless self-sacrifice and losses, we must conserve our strength for the day that we would return to this castle."
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Near Inverness, Scotland, British Isles
October 25, 1995
The moment that she saw the relatively large ship – and the consorts of said ship – on the surface of the waters of the Black Lake from the window of her dorm in the tower reserved for the Gryffindor House, Hermione knew that something had changed overnight.
For a few moments, she felt a bit cheated that she was not awake when that changes – whatever that changes was – occurred. She would have loved to be a first-hand witness to that – for Hermione knew that whatever else had changed overnight, it would be something that would someday be remembered as an event that had shaped the history of the Holy Empire and would someday have its own portraits amongst those that hung on the walls of Britannian embassies around the world – but after a few moments, she realized that she should probably be thankful that she was asleep when that change happened.
It was obvious from the fact that what had happened while majority of the students of Hogwarts slept had ended in the favor of the Holy Empire. There was no doubt about that, but Hermione knew that if it were otherwise, then those ships would not be there, more to the point, if it had been otherwise, then the Gryffindor fifth year prefect was sure that neither the school nor her would be there at that moment.
The change became more pronounced when Hermione and her dorm mates – for they had taken the habit of walking to the Great Hall together just in case – arrived at the ground floor of the school. When the soldiers of the Holy Empire arrived, they had kept their activities outside the castle, so much so that there are quite a few rumors that the soldiers could not actually enter the castle.
Today however, that rumor was dispelled as thoroughly as possible. two soldiers stood guard beside the grand staircase of the school, and from the way that they are dressed – in combat fatigues – and the way that they are armed – with rifles that Hermione was sure was loaded and with bayonets at the end – Hermione was sure that they meant business.
Four more soldiers actually guarded the entrance to the Great Hall itself, plus a man with a single silver bar on both of his shoulders, the rank insignia of a first lieutenant with the Holy Empire Ground Forces.
'Seems to be some sort of announcement,' Hermione thought to herself as she led her dorm mates past the threshold that separates the Great Hall from the Hallway of Hogwarts, 'then dinner would have been the perfect time to make it, but it seems that whatever it is, it could not wait.'
Inside the Great Hall, armed soldiers were lined up against the sides. Although all are armed, not a single one of them had his rifle in his arms; but then again, Hermione knew how fast those soldiers could have their guns at the ready. It was clear that the commander of 'C' Brigade was not going to take any chances again.
'It's not the prince who is coming to visit, though,' Hermione thought to herself. She had been informed by Harry that Lord Alexander had returned to the mainland, but at the same time, the only one who would rate this much security – that Hermione could think of – is the Prince of Scotland and Prince of Wales.
As she thought about Harry, Hermione could not help but look around the Great Hall in an attempt to look for him. As she did so, her gaze first turned toward the table at the other end of the Hall, opposite the table of Gryffindor.
At the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy and his cronies looked as if they had swallowed something bad and they really needed to spit it out. Unfortunately, it would also seem that the presence of the soldiers – and there are more soldiers on their side of the hall than anywhere else – had made that impossible.
At the Gryffindor table, there is another kind of trouble brewing. Evidently, the fact that she had been practically humiliated in front of the entire school had not dissuaded Ginny Weasley at the slightest – that or the fact that she was humiliated was actually egging her on. The only female Weasley of her generation was staring at Hermione with a murderous look, but, as with Draco Malfoy, the presence of the soldiers seems to keep her in check.
Although Hermione had already looked around the hall, she still failed to see Harry. She was actually able to locate both Brigadier General Arnott and the cadets who were the classmates of Harry – minus Cadet Brooke who is still unconscious and Harry himself – beside the general.
A slight frown crossed the features of Hermione as she wondered where Harry was, but before she could further her thoughts, she realized that something else was wrong, or at least, unusual. There were two other men that Hermione had never seen before standing with Brigadier General Arnott.
Of course, Hermione would not pretend that she knew every face from the camp; for one thing, there are over three thousand soldiers in that camp. What was unusual though, was that Hermione saw the rank insignia that the two other men wore on their shoulders. Like General Arnott, they are wearing one triangle each, the rank insignia of a Brigadier General.
"The rest of the division came over?" Hermione suddenly asked, and though she barely opened her mouth when she said that, it was clear that the two girls on either side of her – Parvarti and Lavender – heard her. The two girls turned their attention toward Hermione, a questioning look on their face as the three girls effectively stopped short of their table.
"Hermione?" Lavender was the one who got to ask the question that was obviously at the forefront of the mind of both girls.
Hermione would have responded to the question, but at the moment that she turned her attention toward her dorm mate, one of the doors located behind and slightly to the side of the staff table opened and Harry walked out of the antechamber. The cadet leader was dressed in his formal uniform with his sword by his side. The fact that his classmates are dressed in their everyday uniform provided a sharp contrast.
Before Harry could actually put some distance between him and the door, however, another man stepped out of the ante-chamber behind the Great Hall of Hogwarts, and Hermione could see the two triangles on both of his shoulders.
Harry caught the eyes of Hermione with his own, and she could not help but smile as she stared at his emerald green irises. She saw the slight smile on his lips, but he was always able to keep up facades, and that was what he did in this situation as he gave Hermione a slight nod to encourage her slightly to take her seat.
For a few moments, Hermione was confused, but she consoled herself by telling herself that Harry would be able to explain the reasoning behind his actions later, so she decided to just comply with his request. With a slight motion to her friends, she beckoned them to follow her and that was what they did.
They had barely taken their seats when two more people stepped out of the ante-chamber, and this time, Hermione recognized them. Like their son, both Lord James and Lady Lily were formal, though in the case of the Potter elders, formal meant court dress rather than the military uniform that Harry had on him. This, however, was to be expected given that Lord James was never in the military.
The presence of the two, however, was unexpected, given everything that Harry had told her regarding their positions within the Imperial government hierarchy. With a start as she settled on her seat at the bench, Hermione realized that something big had happened, though if she was being honest with herself, she had to admit that she knew that something big had happened the moment that he realized that an entire ground forces division of the Imperial military had arrived at the grounds of her school.
The last person to walk out of the antechamber was none other than the Deputy Headmistress of the school. Minerva McGonagall was dressed in fine robes, but for a few moments, not a single student had their attention at her as they all focused their attention toward the direction of the portal to the antechamber, expecting Albus Dumbledore to walk out of the chamber and explain to the student what was going on, but after a few moments, it became clear that those who continued to wait for their Headmaster was waiting in vain.
Hermione was not one of those who were waiting for the Headmaster. The moment that she saw the Deputy Headmistress walk out of the antechamber, she knew that the Headmaster would not be following her, in fact, the fifth year Gryffindor prefect was quite sure that the Headmaster was not even inside the school anymore, if he was still inside the country.
Lord James approaching the staff table tore Hermione out of her reverie, just as effectively as it tore the reverie that the other students seemed to have fallen into. All attention turned toward the direction of Lord James just as the imperial noble stepped up onto the platform where the table was set-up.
The confused look on the faces of some of the professors – and the fact that Professor Snape was missing from the table – did not help the students one bit, and when the first words came out of the mouth of Lord James, some students actually looked as if they wanted to shout, with only the fact that the imperial soldiers around the hall had unstrapped their rifles and had them at port arms the only reason that discipline within the hall was maintained.
"I have an important announcement," the voice of Lord James was loud, but the Imperial Viscount had no need to raise his voice. The acoustics inside the Hall may have something to do with it, but it was obvious that his voice was magically amplified, "and it concerns the fate of Albus Dumbledore, the former Headmaster of this school."
The fact that Albus Dumbledore had been labeled as the 'former Headmaster' should have elicited some gasps of surprise and confusion from the gathered students, but for some reason, they kept to themselves. Perhaps it was because they realized that the announcement of Lord James was that important, but it was possible that the soldiers inside the Hall had more to do with that fact.
"Albus Dumbledore," Lord James continued, "Has fled Hogwarts last night, together with his followers, after he attempted to do something stupid."
Lord James paused at this juncture and he turned his gaze forward as he looked around the Hall. The Viscount of Lisbourne was practically daring anyone inside the Hall to react to the words that came out of his mouth, but Hermione knew that Lord James was aware that there would be no dissenters coming from the students or staff, not when they are surrounded by armed soldiers.
"The former Headmaster of this school," Lord James continued, "In a mistaken assumption that the Holy Empire and those who serve the Golden Throne would be cowed, declared war against the Golden Throne last night, while inside this school."
"Albus Dumbledore had thought that the defenses of the castle would assist him in this foolish endeavor, disregarding the fact that this is a school where hundreds of children reside, the traitorous former Headmaster gathered an unknown number of witches and wizards with the intention of fortifying Hogwarts castle," Lord James continued, "had he succeeded in his plans, not only would young, innocent students be caught in the crossfire, it is possible that the Headmaster would actually use them as hostages."
"The Holy Empire had promised itself that it would never be cowed, not by foreign enemies and certainly not by traitors who are way in over their head," Lord James continued, "Albus Dumbledore had realized this at the wrong time, and after realizing that he and his small army could not stand against the soldiers and sailors of the Holy Empire, the Headmaster did what traitors are infamous for," a predatory smile crossed the features of Lord James at that, and even those who were seated far away from where the Viscount was making his speech could see the smile, "He fled."
"Currently, we do not know the exact location of the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, but now know this, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has been declared as a traitor to the Holy Empire, and upon his head, the Golden Throne had placed a bounty of five million imperial pounds, roughly equal to two hundred ninety thousand galleons."
This time, there were gasps of surprise, but Hermione realized that the gasps were a direct result not of the fact that their former Headmaster is now a wanted criminal with a bounty on his head, but of the fact that the bounty on his head was that much.
Lord James allowed the murmurings that had started following the gasps of surprise that came from the students to continue for a few moments, but after a while, he stopped the murmurings, though he did not do so with the use of any outward physical movement other than the moving of his mouth. Instead, the viscount just continued with what he wanted to say, "In addition," he started, instantly plunging the Hall into silence once more as everyone now wanted to hear what he was going to say, certain that the former Hogwarts Head Boy was about to drop another bombshell, "The people who had fled with the Headmaster, although unknown, each have a bounty of ten thousand imperial pounds on their heads, save for a few who are known and have more on their heads, the full list of those would be made available to the public as soon as possible."
Hermione was very certain that Professor Severus Snape would be amongst those who would be included in the list. The fifth year Gryffindor prefect was prepared to bet that the potions master of Hogwarts – 'well, former Potions master now,' Hermione thought – would be amongst those who would be considered at the top of the list, probably alongside their former Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Alastor Moody.
"Now," Lord James continued, "We are not here simply to make this announcement, rather, we are here for something far more important," and at this, the Viscount of Lisbourne turned his attention toward his former Head of House and mentor, Minerva McGonagall, "My wife and I are here to see the new Headmistress of this school take over the reins of heading this prestigious school from her disgraced predecessor and to preside as Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, formerly Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House, take her Oath to the Golden Throne."
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Near Inverness, Scotland, British Isles
October 25, 1995
Of all the Houses in Hogwarts, perhaps no other house had been more shocked at the announcement of the fact that Albus Dumbledore is now a traitor than Slytherin House. Of course, this was not helped by the fact that their Head of House – Severus Snape – was missing and presumed to be amongst those who had fled with the Headmaster.
The fact that most of the students of Slytherin hated Albus Dumbledore contributed nothing to the anxiety and dread that most members of the House now felt. They were all but certain that they are about to be purged, and at the same time, they are not sure if they could depend on the new Headmistress to protect them, given her recent past and the fact that Slytherin and Gryffindor hate each other with a passion that extended to their Heads of House.
Of course, the ones who are the most anxious and afraid of how the events had turned to would be a small band of Slytherin students in their fifth year. These are the Hogwarts students whose father and mothers were amongst the most supportive of the Dark Lord Voldemort, the ones who had actually flocked under the banner of the Dark Lord back when he was still alive and powerful, the ones who had caused no small amount of headaches for both the Ministry of Magic and the non-magical government of the British Isles.
These students were all but certain that they would be targeted and disposed of in the coming days; after all, regime changes are always immediately followed by sweeping purges in the magical world. The fact that one of their numbers was already disposed of, even before the purge had officially began, did nothing to alleviate their fears that they would soon be next.
After Minerva McGonagall had taken her oath as Headmistress and affirmed her Oath to the Golden Throne, the students were sent back to their dorms given that classes had been cancelled. The students of Slytherin House needed assurances and encouragements, and none more than the fifth year class.
It was for the reason of giving assurances and encouragement to his classmates that one of the fifth year Slytherin students had called for a meeting. Using his authority as the fifth year prefect for Slytherin, Draco Malfoy had called for his classmates at the empty potions classroom. The fact that the office of Severus Snape was already empty also did nothing to calm the nerves of the students who looked harassed as they entered the room one by one.
Once all the students of Slytherin in fifth year were inside the room – including the scions of two pureblood families that are famous, or infamous, for their neutrality – Draco stood and addressed them.
"I know," the young Malfoy family scion began, "that most, if not all, of you are anxious about the events that had happened, and we have a right to be so."
"Despite our outward stance of neutrality" – and at this, he nodded subtly toward Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini, the scions of two families that would just never openly declare their allegiance – "We all have reasons to believe that we would soon be purged from this school."
Both Daphne and Blaise looked unconcerned with the words that Draco had just uttered, but the two young students are well aware that despite their outward stance of neutrality, their respective families have had numerous dealings with the Dark Lord during the war. In addition, their respective business practices are not what one would exactly call to be in the licit side of things, either in their world or in the muggle world.
"Do we prepare to flee?" Pansy Parkison, self-declared Queen of Slytherin and girlfriend of Draco Malfoy, asked. From the way that she asked that question, it was obvious that Draco, despite their relationship, had not seen fit to discuss things with her, and as a result of that, she was as anxious, if not more so, as everyone in the room.
"Preparations are already being made," Draco assured his classmates. He need not even look at them after he said that to know that despite his assurances, his classmates are still afraid, so he continued, giving them information that he had obtained from his father many weeks ago, even before they had considered what had just happened as possible, much less inevitable, "My father had informed me that preparations had been made that would allow us to escape from the British Isles as soon as we could and seek refuge somewhere else."
"Pull a Dumbledore?" Theodore Nott – one of the more level-headed students of the fifth year Slytherin House – asked. There was a look of disgust on the face of Theo, however, as he added, "Are we going to join with the old Headmaster who had always stood against us? Are we going to combine with him in the hopes that we could defeat the muggles?"
Draco could understand the look of disgust on the face of his classmate after he had voiced his thoughts, and the self-declared king of Slytherin House could certainly understand the reason behind that look. The Dark Side and the Light Side of magic could never work together, even if it is against a common enemy.
"No," Draco quickly replied, forestalling any more voices of dissent that could be brought about by that misunderstanding, "Plans to evacuate the British Isles had been in place even before this event had happened, even before the muggles came to Hogwarts."
For a few moments, silence descended around the room as each person inside considered the implications of what Draco had just revealed. The Dark side had planned to leave even before these events had started, it was pretty clear to everyone that their side had just realized that they could not win at that moment and because of that, they are tucking their tails between their legs and running away. It certainly was not the action that most of the gathered students inside the classroom had expected.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Near Inverness, Scotland, British Isles
October 25, 1995
In the end, Harry was exactly where Hermione expected him to be, in the camp. Hermione had gone looking for him the moment that the Oath taking of the new Headmistress had been completed. The fact that classes had been cancelled had been of great assistance to Hermione, but because of the fact that she is known to be under the protection of Lord James Potter, there are a lot of people who had never talked to her before who had approached her.
Her intention of catching up with Harry right after the ceremony was forestalled by such actions of people that she shared a home with but never had any reason to talk to before. In any case, she quickly realized that even if the strangers – or practically strangers – had not approached her, she still would not have been able to speak with Harry given the fact that the cadet leader and his parents had disappeared back into the antechamber from where they came from before the ceremony started.
Lavender and Parvarti had invited her to spend the afternoon after the ceremony in the library with the intention of catching up with their school work. Now that there is a new Headmistress, the general feeling of the population within the castle was that everything was going to go back to normal, so the fifth years found themselves back in the midst of preparing for their important end of year exams.
Needless to say, she begged off with the excuse that she wanted to speak with Harry, and the two girls had accepted her excuse even as Hermione pretended not to see them as they both swooned. Neither had she told the two girls about the fact that she and Harry had kissed, for she was certain that should the two girls find out about that, they would never let her hear the end of it.
It was bad enough that they are swooning every time the name of Harry would be mentioned when she is near, it would be worse should the two girls hear that she and Harry had kissed.
Hermione shook her head as she forced herself to return to the present. She realized that she would have to practically run in order that she could catch up with Harry before he enters the camp – because despite the fact that Hermione is under the umbrella of Lord James, she is still a civilian and as such, would need permission in order to enter an active military base – but at the moment that Hermione was about to launch herself toward Harry, he stopped as if something had forced him to.
There was already a smile on the face of Hermione by the time that Harry had turned his attention toward her. A smile graced his face as well when she saw Hermione looking at him, and there was not even the slightest hesitation as he turned his full attention toward her and started walking toward her direction, the fact that he was about to enter the base completely forgotten.
"Hey," Harry greeted her with a wide smile on his visage as she eliminated the last few centimeter distance between the two of them.
"Hey yourself," Hermione replied. There were a lot of questions in the head of Hermione at that moment, each mentally screaming for her attention as they attempted to be the first question that Hermione would ask, but ultimately, before she could ask anything, Harry stopped her by offering her his arm.
Hermione was only well too happy to accept the invitation, despite the fact that she has no idea what Harry wanted to do.
"I know that you have a lot of questions," Harry said as he led Hermione away from the entrance of the camp by the arm. They ended up at the shores of the Black Lake and for the first time that day, Hermione saw the hull of Imperial ships floating at the surface of the lake.
With a mental gasp, she realized just how deadly the situation last evening was. Those ships that are at the lake were not as big as the battleships that had delivered Lord Alexander to the castle during his visit, but Hermione could see the turrets and the guns housed on those turrets. She had no doubt that those things could be as deadly as the guns of the battleships of Lord Alexander, and last night, she was sure that the school was a the sights of those weapons.
Harry caught Hermione looking at the ships, and with a sigh, he made her turn her full attention toward him, "Those are the heavy cruisers of the 8th Heavy Cruiser Squadron," he said, "They arrived last night."
"Reinforcements just in case?" Hermione asked, and though she asked that question, it was actually a question that was never screaming for her attention, most likely because she already knew what the answer would be.
Of course, Hermione knew that had the Headmaster insisted on resisting the Holy Empire, those cruisers would be firing their main guns at the castle. Hermione could not be sure for how long the wards would have held up against the explosive shells of conventional artillery, but she was sure that those shells do not discriminate between combatants and non-combatants.
"It was more of a deterrent," Harry replied as he took a seat at the dry grass that colored the surface of the shore around the lake. Hermione followed suit a few moments later, and after she was seated, Harry continued, "We believe that it was precisely the presence of these cruisers that convinced Dumbledore of how insane standing up against us would be, either that, or he was convinced by his advisors, probably Professor Snape and Alastor Moody were the loudest."
Hermione could only nod despite the fact that a part of her wanted to be outraged with what had happened. The Grand Fleet had five heavy cruisers at the Black Lake, ready to fire their main guns at the castle despite the number of students inside should they be given the signal.
Yet, at the same time, Hermione knew that there was nothing that she could do about it, and losing her temper at Harry would not change anything.
"Hermione," the seriousness in the voice of Harry made Hermione forget the fact that she was about to lose her temper. She turned her attention toward him, the concern evident on her face, but before she could ask him what was wrong, Harry continued, "I would soon be returning to the mainland."
Hermione nodded. Of course she knew about that, he had told her about it back then, but to hear him say it again made her chest feel heavier than usual. She wanted to throw her arms around him at that moment, but Hermione still remembered where she was. In any case, she did not think that Harry would appreciate it at that moment, not when they are so near the camp.
"Come with me, Hermione," Harry suddenly said, "You spoke with my mother about Olympia right? It might not be anywhere near Maryland, but at least you'll be at the mainland and we can see each other more frequently."
Harry, of course, knew that he could not actually leave Maryland, hence, the reason why he was practically begging Hermione to be the one to abandon her school. It was not something that Harry wanted to ask, but at that moment, he could not even think properly.
Hermione just smiled at him, and there was a certain sadness with that smile that even Harry could see. He wanted to comfort her, but before he could say anything, she said, "I want to come with you, Harry," but before Harry could smile completely, Hermione added, "but I still have to wait till I could finish my end of year exams."
"Hermione…," Harry began.
Hermione forestalled him, "No, Harry," she insisted in the firmest voice that she could muster, "Hogwarts is under a new Headmistress, one who had just sworn an Oath to the Golden Throne, I am certain that no more untoward incidents would occur while she is Headmistress," there was a smile on the face of Hermione as she added, "In any case, I am one of the favored students of the new Headmistress."
"Our enemies hide behind shadows and the dark, Hermione, and they know this school quite well," Harry warned her.
Hermione still insisted, "Even so," she said as she shook her head.
Harry sighed a few moments later, a tacit acknowledgement of the fact that he knew that she could not change his mind. Instead, he turned his attention toward her, just as she turned her attention toward hi.
Again, no words were exchanged between the two of them, just the fact that a few moments later, their lips once more found the other as they shared another kiss.
On the coast of the Jutland Peninsula
Scandinavian Confederation, Europe
October 26, 1995
The fierce storm blowing from the north had made it impossible for the small party of about one hundred men and women who stood upon the hill overlooking the steel gray waters of the North Sea to discern the faint contours of the land where they came from.
Nevertheless, almost to a man they held their gaze westward, and their imagination was focused on the land that they just left behind in an effort to save themselves. Across the cold waters of the North Sea, the land of the British Isles beckoned to them despite the fact that it was not alive. The very magic that was infused upon the very soil of Britain called to them, but everyone one of them knew that they could not risk returning, not when they are sure that the Holy Empire had placed bounties on their heads.
Albus Dumbledore, the former Headmaster of Hogwarts and now one of the most wanted men in the whole of the Holy Empire, was not at the front of his delegation as he stared at the direction of his homeland. Beside him, his former potions master, Severus Snape, was probably one of the few from amongst those gathered that does not have his gaze pointed westward, for the eyes of Snape was pointed toward his Headmaster.
There was anxiety on the eyes of the sour-faced man, but there was also worry and no small amount of fear. It was not a look that was uncommon or rare at that point, for every single person that stood at that hill at that moment probably had a fraction of the same feeling reflected on their eyes, yes, even the famed Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"My friends," the voice of the Headmaster carried out along the Hill, as if it was carried by the very wind, and all attention was turned away from their home toward their leader, "We have been forced from our homes, but we will return one day," the Headmaster promised.
"Upon the very soil of this land where we now stand upon, upon the names of my ancestors, I promise you," Albus Dumbledore began, "We would return home, and when we do, all shall know that ours was the right path to take, that ours is the only path that could be taken in order to prevent the Dark from gaining control of this world."
The cheers that followed after the little speech of the Headmaster was not dampened by the fact that they had just been forced to run with their tails between their legs, but as Severus watched the Headmaster return his gaze westward, the potions master realized that perhaps that was the reason that the Headmaster had spoken, to ensure that the morale of his followers would not slump to the point that they would start to leave in droves.
As he stared at the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Severus was forced to wonder if, in reality, the Headmaster had already reached that slump in his own morale.