A/N: As promised, a much faster chapter update!
I've recently published a companion oneshot to Wrath of Merlin that focuses on Y's actions during the war, called Sword Beach. It's well worth checking out if you'd like some insight into Y's character and history. You can find it on my profile page, of course.
VI. Collateral Damage
Harry
The five of us who made up Operation Wrath of Merlin met in one of our rooms in the Department of Mysteries. It had been a week since our last success.
"We have a problem. Amy Rogers."
"I spoke to her yesterday. She's gotten curious. She's pieced together a lot of the information about X and myself. She knows some of what we've done in the past," said Y.
"Then she knows too much," X added. "Rogers has to be eliminated."
"What? Can we not just Obliviate her?" I asked.
"She has a Pensieve. All the Senior Aurors do. Her memories would still be accessible," he answered.
"She has a strong mind," said Y. "Obliviating her would require a lot of power, and likely result in her losing her memories almost utterly."
"Y, you…" I trailed off, hardly believing that he was happy with this.
He raised an eyebrow in reply. He had no qualms about killing someone he openly admitted to liking. The man was an enigma to me.
"She threatens the entire operation. What if she exposed us?" X pressed.
I appealed to Arthur and Kingsley.
"What if Hermione exposed us?" I said. "Would we kill her too?"
"It will not come to that. Miss Granger won't discover us. I've got her up to her neck in reformation requests," said Kingsley, resting his chin on his hands in thought.
"I'm with Harry on this. We can't kill an Auror," said Arthur, looking deeply troubled.
"I will do it. It'll look like an accident. She'll be caught in the crossfire, in the thick of battle," said Y. "She will die a hero's death."
"No, she'll be assassinated!" I said.
The room was silent for a few moments.
"Why don't we recruit her instead? She could join Merlin." I asked.
"She's not nearly powerful enough."
"She's an Auror," I argued.
"She's a good detective, sure, but she's not like us."
"We could train her."
"No, we can't. It'd take too much time. Time we don't have."
"She's an innocent person!"
"Collateral damage, Harry," said X.
"I don't accept that," I replied, angry.
Kingsley raised his hand for silence.
"She has not outed us yet. We'll leave it for now, but we must be prepared to take action...one way or another."
Ginny
Ignoring Professor Flitwick's lecturing on the correct use of self-levitation spells, I doodled in my notebook, drawing lazy scribbles on the ink blotched pages.
Sun shone through the high windows in the classroom. It was unusually warm for spring, and the windows were open. I could feel the slight breeze, and longed to get outside, to go flying.
"Miss Weasley?"
I was snapped out of my reverie by the diminutive Professor.
"Your broom will have to wait until this afternoon. Please pay attention."
"Yes Professor."
I sighed, and began to take notes.
Harry
Sipping on a hot tea, I sat in an alcove high above the gallery in the Wizengamot Chamber.
Watching the proceedings in my spare time had become something of a habit, and I had grown to appreciate the chaos in my time here.
This morning was no different, with the Press Corps assembled for a brief conference with the Minister.
As if on cue, Kingsley took the stand.
"Good morning. Before I take questions, I'd like to make a brief announcement: following the successes of the MLE, I am pleased to announce a relaxation of the security measures we recently implemented."
"What about dar-jach?"
"Dar-jach will remain in place at this stage. I believe it is too early to remove all measures, and dar-jach has been effective. However, we will review its implementation frequently. I for one don't like it anymore than you do."
"Do you plan on officially recognising and awarding the wizards and witches directly responsible for the attack on the Death Eaters?"
"No. Many have name suppression in order to protect their identities. The gratitude of a thankful nation is recognition enough, and they have been privately commended."
"Minister, as the attacks and counterassaults against terrorists such as the Death Eaters continue, one can't help but wonder about the whereabouts of Harry Potter. Surely his support in these times would be of great assistance to the wizarding world. To that end, have you had any further luck in finding him?"
"Although our priorities lie with the protection of our people, there is a small and dedicated task force assigned with finding Harry Potter. I understand that they are working on a number of leads, but Mr Potter remains elusive. I still have faith that Harry will return to us when he feels ready to do so."
"You recently named Hermione Granger as a member of the Reformation Bureau. Can you give us some insight into her appointment, her role, and what the Bureau will focus on?"
"Miss Granger, as you all know, is an exceptional young witch, and I'm delighted that she's accepted the post. As a Muggle-born, she knows firsthand the ugly prejudice and challenges that title brings. That, combined with her courage and fierce intellect, made her an obvious choice. She has expressed an interest in working on the rights of Magical Creatures. The Bureau as a whole aims to rid the Ministry of corruption, increase its efficiency, and improve it so that we may better serve the people of Wizarding Britain."
"Are you saying there is corruption inside your Ministry?"
"There is corruption inside every organisation. No body of people is perfect. But our aspirations are for a better Ministry, and you can't fault us for that. That's all for today, thank you."
I made my way to Arthur's office.
"Mind if I have a word?"
"By all means, Harry."
"How's Molly?"
"Holding up. George is taking a toll on her, and I'm gone long hours."
Arthur's face looked weary, and his eyes gave away a terrible hurt. I realised that he had sacrificed just as much - if not more than the rest of us - to be here.
And he was risking his family's trust in him.
"How is he?"
"Managing. He's out of St Mungo's now. Ron is running the shop almost singlehandedly. He misses you too - whenever he's got free time, he helps Hermione research your whereabouts."
"Are they close?"
He shook his head. "No. But enough about my family. What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Something that happened on a mission."
"You haven't told the others?"
"No, I'd prefer you kept this to yourself."
"I will."
"Thank you. Well, when Y and I went to the housing estate, I came across something."
"And…?"
"There was a Boggart. It became…"
"It became … me."
"You're afraid of yourself?" asked Arthur, with a hint of confusion.
"No," I replied, then added in a tone barely above a whisper:
"I'm afraid of what I might become."
Arthur studied me sombrely.
"Harry, every day you deal with the darkest of evils - sometimes even harnessing that dark power when the light has no defence - and you're a solider fighting in an invisible war. That means you have to do things you're not necessarily proud of."
"But despite all that, you are still Harry. I still see the courageous, noble, and good person you are. You haven't lost that, and you won't. Your parents would be so proud of the sacrifice you're making to protect the world, and I know they'd do the same if they were in your position."
I gave a small smile.
"Thank you."
"Any time, Harry."
I got up from my seat.
"Arthur, about Amy Rogers -"
"I won't let it happen," said Arthur.
"We can't go that far."
"I know, Harry. You do too. And that's one of the things that separates you from X and Y."
Amy Rogers poured over her notes.
The mystery of who had raided the Death Eater hideout had eaten away at her for the last few days.
Tapping her wand to her temple, she took a thin silvery strand of consciousness and deposited it into a glass cylinder. It would be added to her Pensieve when she returned home.
A knock came from the door.
"Rogers?"
"Come in!"
One of her colleagues entered.
"We need to go over the assault tactics for tonight."
"Okay, give me a minute."
Amy rose from her seat and stretched, thoughts of attacks on Death Eaters and the mysterious man she only knew as Y crossing through her mind.
Deep underground, Kingsley sat in a dimly lit room with X and Y.
"How much does she know - really?"
"Too much. She's figured out that we took part in the last raid. And that there was a third person too," said Y. "She's got her suspicions about Harry too."
"How do you know?"
"I snuck into her Pensieve."
"Where was she?" asked Kingsley.
"In bed."
"Spying on the people you sleep with?"
Y shrugged. "I spy on everybody."
"Right. I'm going to make a decision on Miss Rogers. If it comes to it-"
"Make it look like an accident?" asked Y.
"Yes," the Minister replied.
"Okay."
"She's a good Auror, and the Department needs her. If she pieces together Wrath of Merlin, though, the consequences could be … damaging."
"Minister, is this a political decision or a tactical one?" X asked.
"Is there a difference?"
"Fair enough."
"One more thing. We know Rogers has been meeting with Hermione Granger recently." "How do you know?"
"Mysteries has been keeping an eye on Granger. We're wary of what she might do. Understandably, transparency isn't our strong suite."
"I'm confident they're discussing Harry's location."
"Keep an eye on it." The Minister checked his watch. "I've got a meeting now. Be ready for the MLE briefing this afternoon."
Harry
Under my Invisibility Cloak, I entered the MLE briefing room with X and Y, and stood along the back wall.
A Senior Auror stood and addressed the room.
"You are here today because you have been handpicked to lead this raid against what we believe is the last stronghold of Death Eaters left in Wizarding Britain."
"Intelligence has given us their location."
A shimmering diagram of a warehouse appeared in the air, and began rotating slowly.
"As you can see, it's an old packing warehouse. Three storeys. The ground floor is still used, but the first and second floors have fallen into disrepair."
"It's located in a Muggle industrial area that has fallen into disuse for the most part."
The diagram expanded to show the surroundings of the warehouse.
"Hitwizards will set and maintain a perimeter. Anti-apparition, Category Three wards, and Muggle-Repellant, obviously.
"The Aurors will lead the assault - focusing their attack here, here and here."
The Auror pointed to the diagram with his wand.
"A second squad of Hitwizards will act as backup to the Aurors, and will follow them into the building here."
"Mediwizards will be on standby, with MLE officers ready to transport captives into custody."
"You'll be given greater detail by your commanding officers later. Let's make this a good one! Now, the media have been told that the MLE are not authorised to use lethal force. I am here to tell you otherwise. Ideally, we want these bastards alive, but if it comes to it, kill them. Do not hesitate. They won't. Do you understand?"
A murmur of consensus came from the group.
"Good. That's all for now. Dismissed."
The group of wizards and witches dispersed from the briefing room to begin their preparations.
We met in the Minister's office once again.
"The Aurors are going in first - I want them to take the lead of this, make them feel like they're actually doing their job," said Kingsley.
"And we'll be ready to intervene if necessary," said X.
"It should be fairly straightforward. I'm sure the Aurors will be able to handle it," Kingsley replied.
As the sky darkened, we made our way to the site with a Portkey.
A full battalion of the MLE were already there - Aurors, Hitwizards, and Mediwizards. We moved past them as they made hushed preparations.
From an abandoned apartment across the street from the warehouse, we had an overview of the proceedings. A MLE wireless sat on a table, and we could hear the communications through it.
"Unit One ready."
"Affirmative. Unit Two ready."
"Stand by."
"Perimeter established and holding. Muggles at bay. No one's going in or out."
"Waiting on order." "Confirmed sighting inside target building." "Roger that." "Unit three ready." "The Minister is on the line now."
"We have the order. Engage."
"GO! GO! GO!"
At our vantage point in the apartment, we watched as the Aurors smashed through several side windows and a small door, moving their way quickly into the warehouse.
X gave an unimpressed grunt.
"No stealth," remarked Y.
A squad of Hitwizards followed the Aurors in.
Coloured flashes could be seen from several of the windows. The fight had begun.
A few minutes in, an explosion suddenly rocked our surroundings. Smoke billowed from an entrance to the warehouse.
"Perimeter stable. Hitwizards on standby."
"Will advise if required."
"Casualties confirmed. Two injured. Mediwizards ready."
A green flash shot past a window.
"AHH!"
The wireless cut out. Then Kingsley's voice came crackling through.
"X, they're trapped."
"We'll engage," X replied.
"Harry, stay hidden unless absolutely necessary."
With a quick gesture, X signalled us forward.
"It's our turn. Let's go." Casting defensive charms, we moved into the building.
But we didn't just walk into a warehouse.
We walked into a battlefield.
Jets of green light streamed overhead, accompanied by jeers and shouts.
The Death Eaters had the MLE forces hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched.
One of the Hitwizards broke cover to fire back, stretching out an arm to fire a barrage of Stunning spells.
A moment later, a curse slashed his arm clean off, and he collapsed to the ground screaming.
X and Y immediately dove into action. X conjured a series of defensive charms to protect the Hitwizards as Y - pulling out a second wand he'd taken from a Death Eater - cast a barrage of white lightning at their assailants.
Still hidden by my Cloak, I began levitating the injured into cover.
The reprieve granted by Y's onslaught gave a few of the MLE enough time to retreat, but it didn't last long.
Soon, Y was stretched, duelling several opponents at once. X joined the attack, and as I levitated the last of the injured, he grabbed a silver canister from his belt and flung it at the Death Eaters.
The canister released a blinding flash that was accompanied by an acrid stench, but it gave the two wizards time to retreat into cover beside me and Amy.
"Why are you here?" she demanded.
"We heard there was a party," answered Y.
"That's not -"
A curse cut a line across Amy's shoulder, and she cried out in sudden pain.
Y grabbed her, and shoved her behind a dividing wall.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it just stung."
Another spell flew past inches from X.
"Shit!" yelled X.
We were pinned. The Death Eaters had outmanoeuvred us.
"Harry, we're going to need you," said X.
I removed my Invisibility Cloak.
"Merlin, it's you!" exclaimed Amy, shocked. "I knew it…how… why this?"
"We don't have time to discuss this. We have a job to do!" said X.
"We have to get out of here!" Amy replied.
"No. We finish them!" I replied.
"What?"
"This is what we do!" shouted Y over the noise.
"I…I don't…"
A Killing Curse landed a few feet from us.
"Shit!" X yelled again. "Harry, go!"
I nodded, and twisting my wand, conjured an inky black sphere. Pure energy crackled around the sphere. I could feel the power intensify within the sphere as I fed my magic into the curse.
Amy looked on, her eyes wide.
"That's Dark Magic!"
"I know," I replied grimly.
I exhaled slowly, and then looked at Y.
"Cover me."
He nodded, and I sprang into action.
I broke cover, and flung the sphere of dark energy at the Death Eaters, before diving back behind the rubble.
The sphere blazed towards the Death Eaters. One recognised the curse, and ran. Another fired a Killing Curse at the sphere. The green jet was swallowed up by the inky blackness.
And then it detonated.
The pain of the curse brought me to my knees, and I gritted my teeth against it.
But the price I would pay was nothing in comparison to that of my assailants.
The curse would not harm walls, or cloth, or steel.
The curse hungered only for flesh.
The dark energy exploded outwards, tearing through living flesh with an insatiable hunger.
It would leave only skeletons in its terrible wake.
As I bore the pain, I could hear Y offer an explanation to Amy.
"This is Operation Wrath of Merlin. Us and Potter,"
"You're dark ops...Mysteries assassins!"
"You cannot tell a soul, do you understand?"
"Yes, but, I … what -"
"Questions later! Let's go!" shouted X. "To the stairwell!"
We broke cover again, and dashed into the stairwell.
"I'll take the top floor, Y, take the middle. Harry, everything down here is yours!" directed X.
X and Y made their way up the stairs, casting blue fire to deter any assailants.
There were still a couple of Death Eaters on the ground floor, and moving back through it, I dispatched them with clinical Killing Curses. Suddenly, there came a second explosion. The ceiling caved through, wooden beams and plaster crashing down to the floor, leaving much of the first floor open to us.
As the dust cleared, shadowy figures began firing shots down upon us, and I made for cover, returning fire.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Amy dive into cover behind some rubble from the ceiling.
Too late I realised that she had made a mistake.
From a vantage point by an upstairs doorway, one of the Death Eaters had a clear shot at her.
He took it.
A/N: Cliffhanger...next chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review!