Chapter VIII
October 30th,1996
ICW Headquarters, Crete
"I hereby call this meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards to order. Scribe, what is the first item on our agenda for today?"
"Um, today we were going to talk about, um... ah... oh, right! You-Know-Who!" A sharp look from the head of the ICW prompted him to correct himself. "I- I mean, V-Voldemort. Yes. Voldemort."
After hours of discussion and political maneuvering, a course of action was finally decided upon. For the first time in fifty years, the ICW's Grand Army would be mobilized to defend Europe.
-o-
November 11th, 1996
Great Hall, Hogwarts School
"Voldemort is planning an attack on Switzerland," Nathan said. Kingsley sighed.
"So soon?"
"He has three more targets lined up, but I don't know where," Nathan responded, almost mechanically. Shacklebolt was immediately on guard, though he tried not to show it. Who knew what might happen if he indicated he now knew?
"I'll put out an order to be on guard," he declared. Nathan nodded his head once, and left the room.
'That wasn't an imperius curse, he thought.
-o-
Unknown Planet, 35 light-years from Earth
Elsewhere, in a place not of this world, seven lights glowed in the darkness. A burst of almost-water erupted from a pseudo-stone ring, and then retreated to form a vertical wall of glowing blue energy, rippling in the still air. A moment passed, and then, one by one, four figures stepped through.
"Let's get this show on the road, boys," the lead figure proclaimed. "You know the drill."
"Yes, sir." With a press of a button on a meter-high pedestal before the ring, the device deactivated. A brief moment later, four lights pierced the oppressive darkness brought upon them by the tall trees. The four men, identified by their arm patches as 'SG-10,' moved forward.
-o-
Library, Hogwarts School
Hermione Granger moaned pitifully as she rested her head on the stack of books before her. She had searched for over a month on various forms of mind control, even tentatively looking into possession, to no avail. Nothing she had yet researched had any of the symptoms she had observed with Nathan. The closest thing was an ancient myth from Ancient Egypt, where a god would take over a mortal body, overriding the host's mind, but it was also said that 'nothing of the host survives' the process, and clearly, Nathan was still around, because he had briefly snapped out of... whatever it was. There was a mention of the eyes changing, though... Maybe she should check with Bill, just in case.
-o-
November 12th, 1996
Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts School
Fred and George stood proudly before the other members of Chimera, preening at their success. They had finally finished that rune trap!
"It works, see, on similar principles to a shield charm, only-"
"-shaped like a cylinder. Keeping the victim from apparating out-"
"-was the tricky bit, so we used a localized anti-apparation ward over the volume of the tube. The only problems now are setting it up-"
"-and how long it lasts. It only takes a minute for the first spell to fail, and when it does-"
"-it brings down all the others. It also takes several minutes to set up.
The twins finished in unison. "It seems like the first problem can be fixed by using a better ward anchor, we'll ask Bill when we see him next, but the second..."
"When you do go see Bill, could I go with you? I have a few questions about a research project I'm doing, and I would like his opinion."
"Sure," Fred answered. "The more the merrier, I guess."
"What else were you working on?" Daphne asked.
"Other than the chaos bombs, nothing for now. Why?"
"Oh, I just thought perhaps we could make protective gear to sell to the public. It wouldn't protect against the unforgivables, but most Death Eaters don't use them in a duel, anyways," Daphne said.
Four murmurs of agreement followed this proclamation, and with only Nathan dissenting, it quickly became the twins' next official project.
But they were running our of ways to stall, and soon, they would have to start producing the bombs.
-o-
ICW News Report, November 13th
Countries Under Siege!
In a surprise move, the attack on Switzerland proved to be a diversion. Slovenia and Austria have fallen under heavy attack by terrorist forces, lead by the so-called 'Lord Voldemort.' Recent news from the defensive line suggest that it is not long until both countries fall.
-o-
Stargate Command, Colorado Springs
"So, SG-10 is late in reporting back, there was a dial-in attempt six hours into their mission but nothing came through, and so you want us to check on them? Should be simple enough," Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil said with a shrug.
"Report back every hour on the hour," General Hammond said. "You depart in 30 minutes. Dismissed."
"Looks like we're doing a rescue mission. What do you know about the planet we're headed to, Teal'c?" O'Neil asked.
"It is a world that has become notorious among the System Lords in the past few years. It was a temple constructed by a forgotten race, and was controlled by the Supreme System Lord Ra for many millennia. Since Ra's death, however, all attempts to take control of the planet by stargate have failed, and the world is now protected from orbital attack by weapons of unfamiliar design."
"So whoever lives there now isn't a big fan of the Goa'uld, I take it?" Doctor Jackson asked.
"Indeed not, Daniel Jackson. There are tales told by the few survivors of a green-eyed demon, who turned their Ma'Tok staves against them and conjured ghostly flames with a wave of its hand, destroying all who remain. The only false god to survive an assault also claims that the two slaves he brought were left untouched by the fire's advance."
"Maybe we can convince this person to help us fight the Goa'uld, or at the very least study their technology, sir," Captain Samantha Carter said.
"SG-1 to the Gate room, I repeat, SG-1 to the Gate room."
"Looks like we're about to meet this 'demon' then," O'Neil said. "Might wanna cover that symbol, Teal'c, he may get the wrong idea."
"Chevron seven, locked."
The stargate activated, and SG-1 stepped through.
-o-