Escalation

(_)(_)(_)

1974

Just to top off a miserable month, Dumbledore cornered Septimus in the Ministry two days after the second attack.

"I wonder if I might have a word with you, Lord Weasley?" Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling and expression genial.

Not that Septimus bought that look for a second. "Of course, Lord Dumbledore. Shall we repair to an empty meeting room?"

Septimus still took a perverse pleasure in according the man only the least of his titles. It was still correct and not even a snub which meant Dumbledore couldn't do anything about it, though from the flicker in Dumbledore's eyes every time Septimus called him that he took it that way and dearly wanted to put Septimus in his place. Likewise, Septimus' continued refusal to allow Dumbledore anywhere near his home, or to follow Dumbledore tamely to Hogwarts and Dumbledore's seat of power when it was just the two of them gave Dumbledore fits, even if he'd never admit to it.

"If you insist." Dumbledore said, his tone that of a disappointed grandfather.

Septimus didn't even bother acknowledging that attempt at manipulation and just led the way to an empty meeting room. Once they were both inside he turned to face Dumbledore. "What did you want to speak to me about?" He asked.

"Given the scale of the recent attacks, it was decided to check on the whereabouts of pureblood families for their protection." Dumbledore said.

Septimus hadn't known about that. Such a measure ought to have been brought before the Wizengamot as it impinged upon the rights of the purebloods by making them account for their whereabouts without being formally suspected of or charged with a crime. Septimus was damn sure it hadn't been brought before the Wizengamot because if it had, he'd still be hearing the howling. That was, of course, if such a thing had actually been suggested in the first place. Septimus half suspected it hadn't, and that Dumbledore had been being an interfering busybody all on his own, but was attempting to disguise it.

"Interestingly enough, neither yourself, Lord Potter nor Lord Longbottom could be located at any time before you entered the Ministry today." Dumbledore continued. "Nor, when the matter was investigated, had you been seen anywhere immediately in the wake of the first attack."

It was obvious to Septimus that Dumbledore was trying to get him to confess to ... well, doing what he had been doing. Sadly for Dumbledore, Septimus was nowhere near that easily manipulated.

"Can you tell me, Lord Dumbledore, when this so-called security measure was brought before the Wizengamot for approval, as it must have been?" Septimus asked. "Asking citizens to account for their whereabouts when they are neither suspected of nor charged with a crime is, after all, an impingement upon their liberty. I have been in attendance at every Wizengamot meeting in the last few years and cannot recall such a measure being brought before us. Though there is, of course, the remote chance that it was brought up after I became so bored that I fell asleep." Which had never once happened. "I shall have to inquire of my fellow Lords as to who approved that measure."

Dumbledore, however, wasn't easy prey himself. "A small impingement upon one's liberty is a small price to pay for security in a time of war, Lord Weasley."

Septimus gave Dumbledore a wide, toothy, predatory smile. "So the Minister has admitted we are at war then! This is excellent. Lords Longbottom, Potter and myself had despaired of the woman ever admitting there was trouble afoot. Yet I do not remember this being announced, nor any recommendations for the sort of things that are required when one is going to war. I do, after all, remember the days just prior to our involvement in the Grindelwald War. I have not seen any like activity either in the Wizengamot or the Ministry."

Mentally, Septimus was laughing. He sincerely doubted that Dumbledore had the faintest idea of what to do with a political opponent who could not be manipulated, cowed, or marginalized in some way. At the same time, verbally fencing with the man was the most fun Septimus had had in quite a while. There hadn't been all that many Lords willing to try their mettle against the combined might of the Marauders even before their Alliance.

Septimus could always have come up with some lie as to the whereabouts of himself, Harfang and Charlus, but that would have established a dangerous precedent. To whit, that Dumbledore had the right to know about where they were and what they were doing at any given time. Septimus was unwilling to give Dumbledore so much as a toe in the door in regards to his family, and knew that Charlus and Harfang were of like minds. So this had to be stopped cold right here and now. Or at the very least, he had to serve Dumbledore notice that such things would not be tolerated or humored. From the look on his face, Dumbledore was getting the message. It was also clear that he wasn't happy, and wasn't willing to give up just yet.

"One could almost think that certain people had something to hide, expressing such unwillingness to be open and aboveboard about their whereabouts." Dumbledore said.

Septimus shrugged. "Maybe someone is. That is hardly the point, however. The point is that such a measure restricts civil liberties, and must needs therefore be brought before the Wizengamot, either as a separate bill or as part of a declaration of a state of war. For it to exist otherwise is the beginning of a very dangerous, slippery slope that can and would lead to highly unfortunate circumstances. After all, such measures were the start of Grindelwald's assumption of tyrannical control prior to his declaration of war on the continent. I do not by any means think the current Minister is such a one as Grindelwald, but the current Minister will not forever be in office, and a successor could be the sort to take advantage of such a situation. Likewise, while the Minister herself would not stoop to such actions, not everyone in the Ministry or other positions of power is as pure-hearted." And on that last comment, Septimus gave Dumbledore a flat look.

Dumbledore could hardly refute Septimus' last point, as such blights on Magic as the Malfoys were on the Wizengamot, as well as any of a number of members of other unsavory Pureblood families. That they both knew Septimus meant the comment for Dumbledore himself didn't really change the fact that it was applicable to others and thus made it impossible for Dumbledore to object to it on any wise.

They exchanged a few more prickly comments back and forth before Dumbledore finally, if reluctantly, quit the field, admitting to a stalemate in the process. Septimus went home with a predatory grin on his face. He made a point of properly thanking his wife later that night. Because without her tuition, Septimus would not have been able to hold his own half so well. While being a Marauder had given him some small practice in straight-faced lying and the like, it had by no means prepared him for the shark-infested waters that were the Wizengamot. Cedrella's assistance in that arena had made all the difference.

The next morning, Septimus and Cedrella talked over what Dumbledore had told Septimus. Cedrella cackled for nearly ten minutes as she contemplated informing the other Lords of what Dumbledore had tried to pull and just how much hell they'd put him through for it. "Best part of it is, if Dumbledore attempts to disagree, a few drops of Veritaserum will establish that he did, indeed, say such things."

Cedrella spent most of the day drafting and mailing letters to every pureblood in the UK. By the time the week was out, everyone would know what Dumbledore had tried to do. While some of them would dismiss it as an anomaly, or as Dumbledore's right to do so for whatever reason, a good number of folks would be less than pleased at Dumbledore's presumption, further weakening Dumbledore's political influence and support. With any luck, it would be enough to make a few of the supporters Dumbledore had gathered to himself question the depths of their loyalty.

The next few weeks were ... quite interesting. As predicted, the news that Dumbledore was putting his nose in other peoples' business hadn't gone over well in a lot of circles and several Lords who had already been inclined to disagree with Dumbledore got a whole lot louder in their disapproval. It even won the Neutral party (as led by the Alliance) two new members, both minor Pureblood Houses that had been on the periphery of Dumbledore's group.

There were also three more attacks on Muggleborn families that resulted in four dead purebloods and a whole host of injured magicals on both sides of the fight. Thankfully, none of the Muggleborn families lost members or were permanently disabled either physically or mentally, though they hadn't managed to get out of the attacks without injury. Voldemort was getting cleverer in his attempts to successfully complete such raids.

Then, in early March, there was a fourth raid, and disaster struck.

Neither Septimus nor Cedrella had been present for that particular attack - the Marauders took turns leading the defense when there was only one attack to be concerned with. After that first single attack with such large numbers, Voldemort had never again committed so many to a raid, so it had never become necessary for the 'reserves' to be called in to help with a defense.

As a result, they didn't find out about what happened until it was all over.

This particular attack, like the ones before it, had elements that differed from previous attacks as Voldemort attempted to find a combination that would work. This time, he employed both Dementors and such depraved werewolves as Fenrir Greyback and his followers.

It proved to be the first lethal combination that Voldemort had tried. The defenders, caught between maintaining the only known defense against Dementors while simultaneously defending themselves against werewolves, did not fare anywhere near as well as they had in the past. While several of the enemy were killed, sadly Fenrir Greyback himself was not one of them. And in the process, two of the defenders were killed. One via being subjected to the Kiss, the other dying under the teeth and claws of a werewolf.

The victim of the Kiss had been Charis, Cedrella's little sister. She and Callidora had been, rather understandably, devastated. Dorea had only been marginally less affected.

The true nightmare of the situation was that Charis was not, technically, dead. Her body still breathed and eliminated wastes, still moved if guided. It even fed itself, if mechanically, once that action was begun for it. Worse, without the atmosphere of Azkaban, it was entirely possible for the body to continue to live for decades provided its basic needs were provided for it. But everything that made Charis, well, Charis, was gone. Nor could what had been taken be restored. This left Cedrella, Callidora, their parents and Charis' husband with a horrifying choice - whether to commit the body to St. Mungo's, thus keeping it alive despite knowing there was zero hope of recovery, or killing the body by one means or another and thus being the ones that, technically, killed Charis.

In the end, Arcturus himself took the horror of that choice out of the hands of Charis' closest relations. He had a Black house elf pop in and feed Charis a fast-acting, relatively painless poison. He admitted to Severus to having done it a week or so after Charis' funeral. Whether anyone else was ever told, or figured it out, Septimus never knew and never asked, willing to let them all believe the body had died of natural causes, as the poison Arcturus had used left no evidence of itself in the victim. It merely made it look like the victim's heart stopped. Given the situation with Charis' body, it had been incredibly easy for everyone to assume the body had given out without a personality or will to drive it. Septimus would never disabuse them of that peace of mind by telling them the truth, and Arcturus swore the house elf involved to silence.

The day after Charis' funeral, Arcturus laid down the law with his errant family, exercising a level of power and control that most Heads of Family never bothered with, simply because it wasn't needed to keep their families in line.

Arcturus couldn't actually prevent any of his family from taking the Mark or assisting Voldemort and his cause. He did make it very clear to his family that anyone caught with the Mark or aiding and abetting Voldemort would be disowned immediately. On top of that, all Black Family monies or items held by the offending party would be seized and returned to Family Black. There would also be monthly checks for Marks to make it clear that this was not an empty threat, and Arcturus would be exercising his right as Head of House to inspect family members' financial dealings, which would bring to light any financial support of Voldemort's cause.

The Marauders had approved of this wholeheartedly. It would cut a considerably swathe through Voldemort's followers, since he had been recruiting - or trying to - Black Family members rather heavily.

Charis' death, tragic as it was, had a benefit. Several of the members of Family Black that had been waffling as to whether or not to join Voldemort's cause came down solidly on the side of 'oh, hell no, over my dead body'. Several others who had decided not to join him, but hadn't gotten involved in fighting against him either, ended up joining the Marauder Alliance in standing against him, since none of them were fool enough to think they'd be welcomed in Dumbledore's group even if they'd been willing to join it. The problem with them joining Dumbledore, of course, lay in the fact that they all still believed in pureblood superiority. They just wanted to put Voldemort six feet under for having had the temerity to kill one of their own.

Needless to say, Charis' death put Cedrella and Callidora on the warpath. Not that they hadn't been there already, but now they weren't just out to win. They wanted ... well, quite frankly, the things they wanted to do to Voldemort for killing their sister scared Septimus spitless. He did not envy the poor bastard *at all* if either of those women ever actually managed to get their claws into him.

In the aftermath of that fight, the Alliance put a lot of effort into figuring out how best to deploy themselves to deal with the dementor-and-werewolves combination, sure they'd see it again since it had been successful the first time. Next time, Voldemort wasn't going to be so lucky.