Chapter 78 - Using Your Head
While the self-appointed Dark Lord was scrambling to shore up his position and the morale of his underlings, the leaders of the Potter Alliance were busy with tasks of their own.
The biggest one was deciding what to do with their captives. Despite the planning, they hadn't quite expected to be able to take so many Death Eaters alive. Even if they had, they would have been hard pressed to get the needed supplies of potions and other things to keep so many wizards and witches prisoner.
Although Amelia and others didn't like the idea of denying them trials, the truth was that they would have overloaded the criminal justice system as well as presenting too tempting a target to the Dark Lord if their whereabouts were known to the enemy. Fortunately, the state of emergency and other laws meant that their trials could be delayed until the emergency was over, if need be.
For now, they had put the Death Eaters into comas and put in an order with their various contacts for large stocks of Veritaserum, Draught of Living Death and a lot of the magic-suppressing cuffs. This was in addition to boosting production of the ingredients for those two potions even further. As their interrogations proceeded, it became ever clearer that Riddle was learning operational security. Instead of training his minions for each operation, he was directing them to train for general operations in order to be able to launch an operation without having to let them know ahead of time of his plans. It was obvious this was a crude measure designed to reduce problems of spies in the ranks, spies he still hadn't managed to isolate.
As such, they had less ability to anticipate ahead of time where he would strike, since he didn't even tell his own people until the last minute, and had to spread out their own forces thin again.
Unless they took the fight to the enemy, that was. Already, another dozen family homes were besieged by a group of mostly clones, their owners all known to be friendly to the Dark. At the same time, a mixed group of Aurors and Lifeguards were breaking down defences on them one after another, bringing overwhelming force to each location in turn. The few casualties they suffered were all among the Aurors as military operations weren't what they had trained for.
No announcements, no demands for surrender, the only reason they were aiming for non-lethal methods was to save them for later interrogation. And if they fought back too hard, well, the Minister wasn't going to complain about dead Death Eaters. She had already announced to various reporters that the emergency powers were being used to clean out the sickness in their society. Anyone who had wanted to surrender to the Ministry rather than face the Aurors and their 'civilian supporters' had had their chance. So far, they had found that in each of the six homes they had raided, all of the adults bore the Dark Mark. It was a disturbing development but it amply justified the Minister's campaign.
Of course, this also meant more prisoners to interrogate, and the Ministry's own stocks of Veritaserum were just about gone and their cells were long since filled up. So for now, the prisoners were handed over to the Potter Alliance, and in particular the Clan, for safekeeping. There, they joined other stacks of Death Eaters knocked out and dead to the world.
The mood in Hogwarts was whipping back and forth. The news that five hundred Death Eaters, along with Voldemort himself, had attacked the homes of Foundation workers was terrible. Somehow though, to the joy and confusion of neutrals and the consternation of those like Malfoy, they had been defeated with no deaths to the civilians. The worst injury suffered was a broken arm when one of the Lifeguards tackled his fellow too hard to get him out of the way of a Killing Curse.
However, there were exams, the hardest in decades, to get through. While most students were pleased well enough about the victory, it didn't really affect them. The children of Foundation employees knew that their families had never been in danger, though they couldn't tell anyone who didn't already know. And Harry was stuck in the middle of something. Again.
Thankfully, it wasn't anything life or death. 'No, it's more stressful than that.' Harry reflected to himself. 'I could handle combat easier than this, and just what does that say about my life?'
He and the other boys in Hufflepuff were sitting around in their dorm, making small talk while ignoring the elephant in the room. Megan and Justin had broken up on the weekend.
"It just wasn't working out." Justin blurted out of the blue, avoiding Harry's eyes. "We like each other well enough, but it wasn't what she wanted or needed."
The other three cleared out of the dorm silently.
"You know I didn't want to hurt her. Even without the way you look out for her, or how scary the girls are, I never wanted that."
"I know, Justin." Harry replied evenly.
"You still love her. Even after two years apart. You and the others. I can see it, even if Megan couldn't, or wouldn't, I could. Still, she wanted to see if we could make things work, she and I. She's a wonderful girl, and just fun to be around, you know? But I knew that she still loved you, too. That's what a couple of our arguments were about. I was telling her she should go back to you, to all of you, since that's what she really wanted. At first, she didn't believe me, and thought I was trying to dump her for someone new. Later, well, she started to accept that it was true, even if she was afraid of what it all meant."
Harry nodded, letting Justin continue. He already knew much of this, but much of it was also new as he had tried to let his friends have their privacy.
"She was afraid you'd hate her, or the girls would, for leaving. Silly of her, of course, but emotions don't listen to reason, do they? Still, it was only recently that she's started to truly see it, that the Wizarding World and all its standards and traditions, they don't matter. Not really. She knew it when she was awake, it was how she went along with everything for a while. Until the Dark Tosser came back, that is. But deep down, that was harder, rejecting the stupid crap of her upbringing. Same for anyone, really. My family, well, we had some issues with me being a wizard, too. Little things, like losing the spot at Eton, all that money spent on something I would never get to use. And bigger things, like all the ways magic can change your life." Justin stopped his rambling and looked up. "Megan, though, she's had to deal with the destruction of the inherent superiority that wizards have felt over regular folk, that in many ways, they've become the poor, backwards, bigoted cousin no one wants to acknowledge."
"They're not that bad." Harry interjected firmly. "There are quite a lot of good people."
"And quite a lot of really bad ones, too! But they aren't Megan. She is one of the good ones."
"One of the best."
"That she is, and I care for her as a friend, but she needs to be with someone she's in love with, and that's not me. It's taken her a while but I think she's ready to accept that, and her own desires, and that her family won't kick her out for any of that. It's amazing just how much their society has changed, Harry, and it's because of you."
"Justin, you're saying 'their' society, not 'ours'."
"Yeah, I've come to the conclusion you were right, all along, mate. I don't want to be part of their society, not as it was, and thanks to you and your family, well, I couldn't get back into Eton but I am doing well at the other school in Cranleigh. Besides, there are a lot more girls available at Glebelands without you there to hog them all." Justin grinned to show he was only kidding, even if there was an element of truth there.
Harry chuckled. "Any you've got your eye on?"
"Oh, one or two, mate, one or two." The pair chatted about other subjects after that, glad to have got the mushy stuff out of the way.
In the girls' dorm, they were also chatting about the big topic at the school with the girl herself. For a change, or so it felt to Megan, Harry wasn't joining them in there, which was a real relief. In the last few days, she had needed the time to think and they had given it to her, though Hermione showed that their patience had just ran out.
"So what happened?" Hermione asked curiously but as gently as she could. She had gotten better about it but her curiosity was one of her core traits, something she didn't really want to change, so she still blundered in at times.
Megan sighed and leaned back on her bed against the wall, trying to think how to explain. "He dumped me. He tried to let me down gently, but it really hurt anyway. He- he said a few things that made me think about things differently." Megan sat up and looked around at the others. "He told me I don't have to hide from who I really am, from what I want in life.
"He also said you don't hate me for leaving."
A second later, Megan found herself in the centre of a group hug. The tears flowed freely as she admitted to one of her greater fears and discovered to her relief that it was just as baseless as she had told herself but never fully believed.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough before to tell you."
"Shh, it's ok, Megan." Hermione and Leanne stroked her back while the others rubbed her shoulders. "Everything will be alright."
As much as a couple of the Jewels wanted to rush Megan back into their ranks, wiser heads prevailed. Even though she had worked out her feelings for Harry and the others, she still needed to get through her breakup with Justin. The Hufflepuffs as a whole closed ranks around her, protecting her at mealtimes from nosy questions and letting her get back into the swing of things, starting with last minute study for her exams.
A week later, with the final exam, Charms, over and done, Megan pulled Harry into an unused classroom and transfigured a desk into a massage table. "Would you, Harry?"
"Of course, Megan."
In the hour that followed, they talked about their feelings as Harry's hands gently fixed up the damage the stress had done to her body.
"If, if you still want me, Harry-" Megan groaned as Harry's fingers forced her muscles to relax again. "I love you and Hermione and Susan, all of you just as much. I think I am ready to return if you'll have me."
Harry leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I love you too. If you're sure you're ready, then we can ask the others tonight at the party. You just might be in luck!" Harry grinned. "You know how we love our parties."
Megan giggled as Harry tickled her. "I do, Harry. I've missed those too, almost as much as I missed having someone to cuddle in bed."
Harry was as good as his word, sending messages to each of the Jewels to make an extra clone for a quick meeting in the East Wing hall they had made their own. Even before the end of exam party had started, they had assembled. Harry held Megan's hand unobtrusively as she stepped forward.
"Thank you for coming. I know it's been so long, but I hope, that is, would you accept me back? I've sorted out my issues. I know who I am, and what I want, now. And what I want is to be with the people I love: You." Megan had started out stumbling over her words but grew confident as no one heckled or interrupted her.
"Megan already asked me for my vote, now it is your turn, ladies. As always, we'll have a secret ballot so you can be honest. Does anyone need time or want to ask any questions before you make your choice?"
Harry could see the Chaser trio were curious but for whatever reason they held back their questions. The Jewels voted while Harry and Megan were out of the room, then Michelle called them back in.
"Megan Jones, we have made our decision. It was rather simple, really. You hurt us when you left but you never did it on purpose. You've stood by us, shared our joys and sorrows as best you could. I- Oh sod this." Michelle pulled the other girl into her arms, hugging her tight while Harry did the same to Megan from the other side. "Welcome back!"
Megan sealed it with a kiss.
The party that night was just a little more rowdy than the year before. The release of so much tension couldn't be contained and to her credit, Headmistress McGonagall didn't even try. Instead, she and her teachers and Heads of Houses focussed on directing the energies into harmless fun.
In the morning, there were very few hangovers even among the Seventh Years, though there was an increase in the number of energy potions and muscle repair spells requested of the School Matron. The Headmistress carefully ignored the implications behind that news as she nursed a wee dram of whisky herself, the hair of the dog as it were.
Once the students were all down in the Great Hall, she made an announcement during breakfast, congratulating them for doing well so far and admonishing them not to forget everything they worked so hard to learn.
Unfortunately, Wizarding Britain was shocked not long after that as Riddle sought to remind them of another lesson, one he had taught them decades before, a lesson in fear.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" The shout of the most feared Unforgivable rang out just before the reception area was filled with flying debris.
The Welcome Witch on duty at St Mungo's ducked, hitting the floor and hoping for rescue. The chaos and confusion brought a couple of on-duty Aurors at a run, only for them to fall down dead the second they showed their faces. There was a basic anti-Apparation jinx on the wards but it didn't block everywhere. Another Auror had caught what happened to his fellows and Apparated out of there, going straight to the DMLE's inbound arrivals and yelling for help.
A couple of minutes later, the ready squad was on their way, their orders to assess the situation and to protect the patients. One of the staff put in a call to the Minister, informing Amelia of the attack, and the Lifeguards followed not long after.
Inside the Wizarding hospital, the Death Eaters were advancing from room to room, shooting up the place in general but checking the names of the patients before using lethal curses. Only a handful of the hundred-odd patients were Muggleborns or other targets for the Death Eaters' hate, since most of them went to the clinic in Potterville. While a certain random element to the attacks was useful to create the aura of fear their leader demanded, too much simply drove the remainder into opposing them further. As a result, Voldemort had been graphic in his promises of what he would do if his minions overstepped their instructions. Of course, if any patient or member of staff fought back, they were fair game.
The arrival of the Aurors, and to a greater extent of the Lifeguards, compromised their original plans, pushing them to speed up their assault. Once the Lifeguards came forward, the lead Auror volunteered to handle evacuation while the Lifeguards handled defence. It was a sensible division according to their training, but both groups wished they had more people.
While the Death Eaters raced further into the building, spreading out to cause chaos on all five other floors, their rearguard fought to hold off the counter-attack despite being outnumbered. It was a change of fortunes that these particular terrorists didn't like, and one they would not live to repeat. All thirteen of them were cut down by desperate Lifeguards, running over their broken and bloody bodies and into the lifts, swearing at how long they took to ascend to the other floors.
Behind them, the Aurors were making and handing out Portkeys to the emergency point, even throwing them at staff and patients in their haste, whisking them away from danger in swirls of colour. Once the ground floor was clear, they followed the Lifeguards in the next lift up to the first floor, ducking curses and hexes as they made more Portkeys. The Lifeguards were pushing the Death Eaters back, forcing them to head upstairs again, while the Aurors cleared out this floor of civilians caught in the crossfire. On and on it went, until they got to the fifth floor.
When they got there, the Death Eaters all used Portkeys and the Aurors and Lifeguards stopped to catch their breath after the intense hit and run combat. They worked out their mistake a minute later when the entire building started shaking. "Shit!" The Aurors reacted, throwing more Portkeys to patients and staff, while the Lifeguards raced for the lift.
Down on the ground floor, the Death Eaters were doing a Samson act, aiming explosive hexes at the walls and supports for the hospital. Soon, their own Sticking Charms were the only things holding the place up. When their work was complete, a shouted "Finite!" cancelled the Charms and the building started to collapse under its own weight. The Death Eaters used their other Portkey out of there, leaving their enemies to their fates. The hospital's anti-Apparation jinxes were fading, but not quickly enough. Hurriedly, the Lifeguards and Aurors both came to the same decision, making and using their own Portkeys out of there, arriving in Diagon Alley covered in dust and debris.
Voldemort's Death Eaters reported in after cleaning up a little. Their mission was a limited success, having taken a handful of casualties themselves, none fatal. This rating was upgraded the following day after seeing the final death toll. Voldemort was pleased.
For the Aurors and Lifeguards, their job was far from over. Off duty Lifeguards and LPF workers swarmed the ruins searching for survivors. By the end of the day, the bodies of a dozen staff and a score of patients had been recovered from the rubble, along with their own fallen, three Aurors and a single Lifeguard. The hospital was a mess of rubble, with odd magical effects bubbling up from the wreckage.
It was official. The Dark Lord was far from out of the fight.
May ended with a rash of funerals.
Not content with just the one attack, Voldemort used the shock to keep the initiative, sending his minions to attack anyone from the Ministry who could raise a wand against him. A score of Death Eaters at a time would visit homes of Aurors, Hit Wizards or MLE Patrollers while they were asleep. Once there, they smashed through the wards and homed in on his or her bedroom, shot up the place with blasting and killing curses, then Disapparated out as soon as they killed their target.
Enough of their victims were left alive to spread terror and Voldemort's Death Eaters still numbered enough for him to send multiple raiding parties in a single night. By the end of the month, the few survivors remaining were all guests of the Lily Potter Foundation in Potterville, having sworn Oaths never to betray the people or its location to the enemy.
Their patrols in Diagon Alley and elsewhere were taken over by grim-faced Lifeguards.
The usual sorts of crime fell away to nothing after the first attempted assault. The petty thug was met with two teams of four Lifeguards, front and back, bracketing the criminal and overwhelming him with Stunning and Banishing Hexes. Even before he hit the stones, he was unconscious and suffering multiple broken bones. This was all done in full view of the less savoury inhabitants of Knockturn Alley, as was the casual way he was picked up like a sack of potatoes and taken away. He'd had no warning, no time to run or use his victim as a shield, and replacement teams of Lifeguards were there before the dust had settled.
The British and Irish Quidditch League marked the events with all players wearing armbands to signify their mourning, even as they kept on playing with certain parties insisting they continue as if nothing were wrong.
In the background, the various factions were all gearing up for what they sensed may be the final phase of the civil war. Dumbledore's Light faction were now irrelevant. Most of their power had been in the Wizengamot and in the famous wizard's own influence and contacts. Now, the Wizengamot was suspended and the common people didn't miss it while Dumbledore's standing had taken hit after hit in the last few years. The Ministry was still riddled with corruption and informers, though they were being burned out as fast as Veritaserum interrogations could be performed. Their Aurors had taken loss after loss in the raids and they would be whittled down to nothing unless something was done.
Voldemort was consolidating his position with his Death Eaters. The successful attack had stopped their morale haemorrhaging, though it had earned them even greater notoriety for the way they had outright destroyed one of the institutions of their society. This, too, bound them tighter to Voldemort, however, as their fates were tied even closer to his. In addition, Voldemort had been overheard muttering about decapitation, though no one knew what that meant. The Clan passed along the warning to Amelia for what little good it did.
And lastly, the Potter Alliance and the Lily Potter Foundation were dealing with their own internal issues. The loss of a Lifeguard came as a bit of a shock, especially coming as it did only a week before the newest squads completed their training cycle.
Nearly half wanted to keep the Lifeguards and the Clan's clones on the defensive, guarding them full time, in a common reaction among civilians in wartime. Much of the rest were out for blood. In the middle, Amelia found an ally in the Clan who also wanted to conduct the war effort rationally, despite the personal nature of the Ministry's losses to her.
Between them, and liberal use of Harry's name and status, they managed to get a working majority of the Alliance to get behind their efforts. The Clan would station a small force of clones, no more than five, at each Alliance property. If an attack was mounted and could be defeated by the guards present, they would do so. If the opposition were too strong, they would call in the Lifeguards and as many clones as needed to eliminate all Death Eaters sent against them in a massive counter-attack.
Meanwhile, the Lifeguards would be training for the assaults on the handful of remaining Death Eater strongholds before the final attack on Malfoy Manor. There they would be supported by a line of Clan clones and hundreds of clones from Harry and his Jewels. For Amelia Bones, losing subordinates and friends in the DMLE by the day, this attack couldn't come soon enough!
Quidditch again provided a useful distraction, potentially saving lives, at Hogwarts.
The final match of the year, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, started to boisterous cheers from most of the four Houses. With half of the Lions on the team boosted by the muscle and bone strengthening techniques, they were at less of a disadvantage than in previous years and they had a decent, though not brilliant Seeker. The Badgers were all boosted and had trained with it for years, but their Seeker was still in her first year in the position. The betting pool was heavily in favour of the reigning champions for the match, mostly because by now very few were prepared to bet against Harry Potter.
Madam Hooch kept her hawk eyes on all the players. She nodded to herself as Gryffindor scored the first goal. Most of those playing would be good enough to go professional if they chose, in her expert opinion, and she enjoyed a fairly clean game as games go. After a few easy goals scored on both sides of the pitch, the defenders settled down and started blocking and intercepting the attackers more often. The pace of the scoring slowed down even as the game itself sped up.
Angelina called a time-out when the Badgers' lead hit 110-90. "Weas- Ron! You've got to find that bloody Snitch before they pull too far ahead. Katie, nice throws but you need to keep an eye out for their Beaters. They're worse than Fred and George, I swear! If you need to, don't wait to pass it to Alicia or I. Alicia, you're a good shot so don't be afraid to go for it yourself. As for our Beaters, just see if you can run interference on theirs. We'll have to duel Chaser to Chaser."
On the other side, Harry was talking to his team. "Hannah, glad to see you settled down after Katie's first throw rattled you. You're doing great now so keep it up. Hermione, Susan, are you ready to take the game to the next level?"
"We are, Harry!" The girls replied in unison.
"Good! Athena, how are you doing with the Snitch?"
"I'm keeping it in sight about half of the time, Harry. I seem to lose it when I watch out for Ron and their Beaters."
"That's fine. It seems Ron hasn't even seen it that much. If it looks like Ron has, and not one of his stupid Wronski's, or if you're getting tired, feel free to go after it and try to beat him to it. Otherwise, we'll stick to drawing the match out until we get an unbeatable lead."
"Ok, Harry! I'll do my best."
"I know you will, Athena. After all, we're Hufflepuffs, and if there's one thing in this house we're not afraid of, it's"
"-hard work!" The team completed the old phrase together just as the time-out ended.
Back in the air, the Gryffindors got their second wind only for the Badgers to do the same. Right as their lead extended to 250-180, Athena wanted to curse as Ron Weasley had obviously spotted the Snitch. Unfortunately, she was on the other side of the pitch from both the small golden ball and the opposing Seeker on the far leg of her patrol and she had no hope of reaching there in time. She still tried, and the Snitch itself did some insane dodging, but though she got within a broom length of the Lion thanks to cutting curves, the Snitch, and the win, went to the Lions.
After the match, Ron had a quick shower, eager to see his girlfriend, while Ginny and the Flying Foxes headed over to the Hufflepuff side and Harry for their post-match massages. The Badgers were waiting there with some cool drinks, just the thing on the warm summer day, and open arms for the other Jewels.
The reason for sending in Harry's clones on the attack was that even at their fastest during a declared state of emergency, the minimal requirements for firing a Pureblood employee of the Ministry took time, which meant he and the other students could send clones if they wanted at no risk to themselves. It took time to hold statutory reviews, time to hear appeals, time for the corrupt and malevolent and incompetent to make their defence of their jobs. Even at best, they would still be cleaning out the Ministry long after the battle at Malfoy Manor was over. So they had prioritised the clean up by going for certain departments that would be more crucial in the short term. The DMLE had already been put through the wringer, getting rid of employees whose competence or loyalties made them a liability.
Next, the Department of Magical Transportation, including the Floo Network Authority, and the Department of Mysteries were examined. The FNA was totally compromised, though compartmentalized, as none of the moles there knew the rest were also answering to similar masters. The latter was a mess of secrecy regulations and Oaths. For now, their offices had been entirely shut down and their personnel shuffled to a safe house on the direct order of the Minister backed by some Draught of Living Death that would be injected into their systems if they tried to leave despite their agreement. They were too powerful an unknown to leave to chance. Since they still had their current projects with them, at least they weren't bored.
The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes was the last on the list they would be able to check before the battle, and they had only just started when the students finally came home from Hogwarts from a most eventful year.
Unlike previous years, the return of their children was accompanied by heightened concerns rather than less for many parents. The decision to allow them to send clones to an actual battle, no matter that the teens would never be physically at risk, was far from a popular one. Unfortunately for the worried parents, there was little they could do to force their children to stay away if they were determined enough. And in this case, they were determined. Harry was always going to go. So was Amelia Bones, seeing as it was her people who had paid such a price lately for the Death Eaters' defeat at the fake Potterville. For the rest, only those sixteen and over were being allowed by the Clan to go, a rule that had Ginny cheering as her birthday was the month before, and Astoria, Gabby and Athena torn between cursing and relief.
The difference between this and the last battle was that they would be on the offensive, allowing them to have the initiative and make their plans. And that meant the Lifeguards would be prepared for Harry to be there, so their own safety would not be compromised when combat began. Their training for the operation reflected that expectation and the results looked promising. The Jewels who were going had all agreed not to pull any insane stunts. The threat of losing each other was worse than any punishment their families could invent.
The Kitsune Compound was invaded by the families of all of the Jewels, keeping an eye on them practically every second of the day and night, or at least making a serious attempt. Since they were trained by ninja, all of them, actually tracking the Jewels was far harder than most parents have to go through. Even the three Gryffindor Chasers and their families had received their own bloodlines now that they were in on the secrets, and had proven trustworthy and receptive to the idea. Each of the ladies managed to slip out whenever they needed a cuddle, something that happened more often as the time before the battle slipped away from them.
At last, the DMAC had been checked, and the suspect personnel quarantined. The Lifeguards had finished their latest simulation in cooperation with the Jewels, with Harry and Amelia leading their group. And finally, the latest intelligence update was examined and discussed. It was time to go to Malfoy Manor, back where, in some ways, this had begun with the Clan's attack on the sociopathic wizard.
The day of the battle was chosen on military grounds, not for any symbolic reason or anyone's birthday, though half a dozen people in the Potter Alliance did have theirs on the day. Nor was the date chosen for the weather, especially, although the warm, sunny start was considered a good omen.
As nine thirty that Tuesday morning hit, an advanced guard of warders went in, taking with them a 'small' guard force of a company of clones from the Clan. Their jobs were to erect barriers to magical travel in the woods around Malfoy Manor, including house elves and flight on brooms and carpets, and then power them up with Lightning techniques, using the trees as cover. Once the wards were up, the warders retreated a distance to a clearing where others were setting up a field hospital.
Today, the battle would be fought between the main factions of Wizarding Britain. The Clan, despite their power, would stay as reserves and medics. On this day, the witches and wizards of Britain were going to create their own future, not relying on others to save them.
After the report came through on their wards, the moment the parents dreaded arrived. In a yellow flash, the Lifeguards arrived in a square formation half a mile further away from the Manor and danger. At their centre, Harry and all his Jewels stood tall, Amelia to one side and looking over the battlefield. A second later, every one of them who could were making their maximum number of clones, sending them forward to just behind the crest of the small rise to the west of Malfoy Manor. As soon as their clones were clear, Harry and all the Jewels except for Amelia vanished back to the safety of the Kitsune Compound.
Amelia stayed behind, Apparating off in a different direction to where she could see her Aurors and other DMLE personnel arriving on the far side of the battle. Since this was intended to be the battle, the existence of the clones, and their battle techniques, was going to be unveiled in a way that Wizarding Britain would not forget and the Death Eaters would not survive.
By ten o'clock, everyone was in position and their readiness double-checked, even the Ministry personnel down to the last witch from the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol who had somehow forgotten her wand holster. At one minute past the hour, the Floo network across Britain died completely. Ten seconds later, ward breakers started tearing down the Manor's defences. To the confusion of Lucius Malfoy, the only member of his family home at the time, they went not for the main protections but for the Muggle-repelling wards. These particular spells had never been the strongest. They were altered and stretched time and again as the Malfoys of the past kept stealing more and more land from their neighbours. As a result, they didn't survive a minute against the concentrated efforts of over two hundred wizards.
At 10:02, for the first time in over three centuries, Malfoy Manor was visible to anyone who looked. In response, the clones sent by Lifeguards, Jewels and Harry surged forwards. Ahead of them, they unleashed wave after wave of attacks. They needed to get as much of the Manor's wards damaged as possible before the defenders could stop them. The sight of so many attackers throwing themselves bodily into the fray gained them precious seconds before the first defender sent out a spell of her own.
Grand Fireballs, Phoenix Flowers and other fire techniques hit the walls of the Manor's wards by the hundred, hiding the attackers briefly while the flames licked at the defences until they were doused by the defences. Behind them, blocking out the sun, came swarms of senbon needles, sped up by wind techniques that also crashed into the wards an instant later.
The first score of defenders to react were blinded by the light, and the next dozen were not doing much better, but all of them threw out their own curses at the attacking horde.
On the far side of the Manor, the Aurors and Hit Wizards saw the Death Eaters startled and run off towards the avalanche of sound. Seizing the expected opportunity, they added their own magical efforts to tear down the defences. They knew they had no real chance of doing it alone, it would take too long and all their magical reserves besides, but every little bit helped. And if it got the bastards' attention and let them get some payback, so much the better.
Within Malfoy Manor, Voldemort imposed his will upon the chaos. "SILENCE!"
Looking out over the sea of faces that had answered his summons in the Manor's main hall, Voldemort noted in the back of his mind that of the fifteen hundred Death Eaters that answered to him, many were foreigners from across western Europe. Some had been lured by empty promises of loot or the prospect of violence against Mudbloods who were gaining power thanks to the Potter Alliance's influence. The rest of the foreigners were duped when they answered invitations from their newly marked friends and associates. Regardless of their original willingness to get their own hands dirty, by now they were all prepared to kill and torture in his name.
A brief nod to himself and Voldemort had his wand out, casting a silent spell to divide his minions into the groups he wanted.
"You!" He pointed to the first and largest group. "Head to the west wing and attack the Mudbloods you find there." As they thundered out, Voldemort ordered the rest to guard the east and south, leaving a small reserve, only a hundred strong, to stay and respond to any further attacks.
Included in that reserve were Voldemort himself and Lucius, whose connection to the manor's wards would provide an advantage in telling Voldemort where to direct his forces best.
Outside, the thundering of boots preceded the arrival of the reinforcements on the western side of the manor. Rather than staying behind the defences, the Death Eaters obeyed the letter of their instructions over any creative reinterpretation, rushing out on foot to counter-attack.
They were greeted with the sight of their fellows laying dead under the feet of the attackers, having got close enough that the clones could use their blades which the wards wouldn't stop. The defensive part of the wards, the ones that actually protected the manor and its inhabitants, were wearing down at a fantastic rate. No wizard alive had seen a battle like this one, and none had any real concept beforehand of what would be required. None had even tried.
None other than the Lifeguards, that is. Even their best predictions, however, failed to live up to the reality of the battle. The immense power of the defences, greater than Hogwarts' own, was meeting its match in the hundreds of attacks that rained down every second. Wards that would have withstood a frontal assault by the entirety of the Death Eaters for an hour were faltering, falling within ten minutes at the current rate.
However, the Death Eaters would never allow that to happen without them trying to stop it. Once they recovered from the shock of seeing their dead fellows, the air rang with the massed cry of the Killing Curse. Although the clones managed to erect Earth technique walls to block them, that only changed the nature of the threat. On contact with the chakra-backed earth, the magic of the curses exploded the walls, supercharging the fragments into deadly shrapnel. A third of the first rank of clones, all made by Harry, fell under the onslaught despite their armour. The rest returned fire, Wind techniques picking up and returning the fragments like a hail of bullets.
The return fire scythed through some Death Eaters, others getting up shields that fell under the pressure but saved their lives, reducing the power to merely broken bones and bruises. Unfortunately for these quick thinkers, they might have preferred the quick deaths of the others when the Death Eaters behind them trampled them into the dirt.
Falling back a little, the clones waited, letting the Death Eaters' charge break up any formation they had had, then darting in with flashing blades to take their own toll on the rank and file. More clones fell as they retreated again and lured their enemies to follow them. The powerful spells from the Death Eaters didn't just dispel the clones. The overload of magical energy caused the clones to explode. As soon as the first died that way, the rest spread out more so that a single clone's destruction wouldn't take out others.
The adaptation didn't work perfectly, however. Like with most things, there were trade-offs. In this case, it was a reduction in their ability to cover each other, meaning more spells would get through, though they did less damage overall.
The clones and Death Eaters slugged it out as the collateral damage from their fighting continued to strain the defensive wards ever more, pulling more power from them to absorb the stray energies from the fighting. Their fight grew, spreading out across more of the border of the Manor as it pulled in more clones and Death Eaters, neither side willing to let the other win.
The Ministry personnel on the other side of the Manor weren't so fortunate. Though the carnage on the far side had diverted the reinforcements from the south to face the clones and Lifeguards, they still had to face a group of Death Eaters that far outnumbered them. That was fine with them, however, more Death Eaters to kill, to avenge their own fallen in the recent weeks.
The first dozen Death Eaters to show themselves fell to a wave of banishing hexes, breaking up the charge as the ones behind trampled them. So too did the next two ranks of Death Eaters, but after that the Death Eaters were close enough to shoot back, finally able to see where their enemies were. The first attacker fell, a witch from the Hit Wizards, who had failed to duck back behind their barricade fast enough after snapping off a trio of restricted curses at the mass of Death Eaters.
Her screams galvanized the witches and wizards around her. The other Hit Wizards recalled their part in the plan, concentrating on Transfiguring the ground under the Death Eaters into quicksand or Vanishing it entirely, making the terrorists fall and lose their footing, and their lives.
It didn't go all their way, however. There were simply too many Death Eaters for them to take down so easily, and their willingness to use Dark magic made up for some of their lack of training compared to their opponents.
The Death Eaters were falling two or three for every one of the Ministry's forces, but that would still leave the Death Eaters victorious, though bloodied, at the end of the day. Unless, that is, they could get the Death Eaters to break. Seeing the black-robed wizards had no intention of making things easy for them, Kingsley Shacklebolt knew they had to do something, and fast, or they'd all be dead. He ducked down, cast a Disillusionment spell on himself and started sneaking off to the left flank of the battle. It took him longer than he liked, having to move slowly or risk breaking the invisibility, but a minute and a half later, he had got behind the Death Eaters.
Charging up his magic, Shacklebolt shouted out his spell at the Death Eaters. "BOMBARDA!" His spell flew straight into the biggest group of Death Eaters, hitting one in the centre and the explosion downing a dozen more. It also grabbed the attention of the rest of the Death Eaters and he ran. He knew he had to keep their focus on him for as long as he could. Every second he bought was another second for his colleagues, his friends, to rain death on the enemy, and the Death Eaters were conditioned to chase a fleeing victim. As he ducked and dodged, knowing his own life was forfeit, he heard the sounds as his friends' attacks made themselves felt. 'Two, three, five, eight!' Kingsley counted not the beats of his heart, nor the seconds he had lived, but the Death Eaters who fell to his ruse.
'Nine. Elev-!' His thoughts were cut off as a Killing Curse found him at last, striking the back of his head and killing him instantly as it stilled his every cell.
As the battle raged, injured were carried back to the hospital the Clan had created. While working to stuff the intestines back into one of the Hit Witches, they talked about how it was going.
"You know, I am rather impressed." Yuugao noted while her hands held the woman's guts steady.
"I know what you mean." Anko replied, her hands glowing with medical chakra.
"You'd never think these were the same people who, last time around, cowered under their beds and hoped that someone else would save the day."
"True. Not just the Lifeguards, either. The rest of the Alliance have grown a spine, too, well, comparatively speaking."
"There's always some who don't want to get their hands dirty. That doesn't mean they're wrong to hold back. Some just aren't suited to this, children especially, and we wouldn't want them getting in the way." Tsunade said as she came over to observe. "Besides, they're supporting their fellows in their own ways."
"What do you think of their decision to have us in reserve, rather than on the front lines?" Anko asked curiously.
"It's a little foolish in the short term, certainly. It will cost some lives that we could have saved. But overall, it's the right call. They need to know they can stand on their own and win. Once they do, they will not bend the knee to any wizard conqueror. They will finally be able to look their neighbours in the eye when the time comes and all the secrets fall."
"And then?" Yuugao asked with a smile.
"Then they'll step back out into the world, no longer living in the shadows, no longer afraid of the dark."
Lord Voldemort was furious. His minions on the western front were falling like wheat while on the east, a lone Auror had thrown the smaller force of Death Eaters into temporary disarray. Despite Lucius' urging to retain their reserves inside the Manor, the self-styled greatest wizard led his minions to face the Aurors and Hit Wizards to the east. The battle there was the closest and thus the easiest to turn. Once he had dealt with the last of the Ministry's forces, he could lead his minions around to the other battle, surprising the Mudbloods and children with an attack at their flank. That would surely break their morale, allowing him to sweep them from the field.
It was also his only real hope of victory.
Taking a minute as they exited the building, they dressed their lines before they entered combat. The fresh force of Death Eaters, with Voldemort at their back, came down upon the Ministry forces like a hammer with the other force of Death Eaters as the anvil. The wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol broke first, or rather, they died in place. Their deaths and screaming froze a couple of the Aurors, who followed them into death a second later. An instant later, or so it seemed, most of the survivors were on the run. That only gained them a few seconds of life before the wolves of the Death Eaters fell upon them.
The only ones who hadn't run, and thus were in place for the Clan's clones to save, were Amelia's trio of bodyguards and a couple of Aurors who had happened to be next to them in the Ministry lines. The clones executed a Replacement technique with each of them just before the sickly green lights of the Killing Curse reached them, putting them back half a kilometre away. The clones then tried to duck out of the way of the attacks, all but one succeeding, with that one's destruction setting off a chaotic explosion that nearly took out the others. The next set of Unforgivables were launched before they erected a hasty but sturdy Earth Wall to block further attacks while they set about securing the bodies of the fallen and removing them to safety too.
By the time the Death Eaters took down the Earth Wall with a volley of Explosion Curses, the Ministry forces were gone in their entirety. Only the blood and spilled guts showed that they had ever been there. Instantly dismissing them in his mind as having vanished due to the same emergency Portkeys his own minions used, Voldemort's voice whipped the Death Eaters into a frenzy. They charged forward, taking the long but open way around Malfoy Manor to try to ambush the rest of the attackers.
On the western front, however, things were not going well for the Death Eaters. Now that they knew Voldemort had finally sent his last reserves, including himself, into the other battle, Harry's own clones were free to wreak a bloody path on the Death Eaters here. He tried to restrict himself to non-lethal means, broken bones, blind and deaf and tied up in razor sharp wire, rather than slaughtering them all. The two reasons for that were to minimize the after-battle cost to his psyche and to get more captives to use after the battle.
The plan was to wring every scrap of info out of the Death Eaters they took before taking their lives in more resurrection rituals. It would take some fast talking, to be sure, but the Clan were fairly confident that overall few people would object to having the innocent casualties of this civil war, and any fallen Lifeguards, brought back to life.
In the minute since Voldemort left the Manor, even as his reserves were crushing the Ministry to the east, the hundred and thirty clones of Harry had darted in twice each. Each time, his clones captured and securing one prisoner each for transport and dumped their broken, bleeding captive back at the forward base they had made. By the end of that short space of time, the main Death Eater force had been reduced by a third of its previous size. A force that had already been whittled down from a thousand to just over six hundred and now stood at three hundred and thirty-four Death Eaters.
Harry's clones launched their next wave, met by hasty spells that only hit in a handful of cases. That took out another twelve clones in total so a hundred and eighteen Death Eaters were bundled up and taken away in this wave, reducing the greatest ever force of Dark wizards to two hundred and sixteen. The remaining Lifeguards had switched to a defensive posture, intended to contain the Death Eaters before they could escape. They were knocking out Death Eaters by threes or fours with Bone-Breaking Hexes that thundered through their desperate shields. Each squad of Lifeguards would choose a target, cast a single silent spell each at the masked Death Eater, then move onto the next. Priority was given to those at the fringe of the Death Eater's rough formation, those who might have otherwise had a chance to escape if the Lifeguards had been in a mood for mercy.
There was to be no mercy for anyone today.
Voldemort himself launched a wide-area Dark curse at the Lifeguards as soon as he came around the corner of the massive house. Though a coward in some ways, Voldemort truly felt he had nothing to fear from any one of the wizards there. They were, at most, only half the magical power of Dumbledore, impressive to be sure, compared to the common run, but nowhere near being his equals. Not even the prospect of facing a number of said wizards really scared him, since he had his backups, his Horcruces.
And so, when the reserves of the Death Eaters bolstered by the eastern force, with their Lord at their head, came around the corner, they honestly expected to be victorious. They had just smashed the remains of the Ministry into the dirt. Sure, there were more Mudbloods and Blood Traitors here than on the other side, but there were also far more Death Eaters to kill them.
That's why it came as such a shock when instead of nearly a thousand black-robed wizards, they only saw a tenth their number standing and far too few bodies from either side on the battlefield. For priceless seconds, they stopped, stunned. Not even the spell Voldemort himself did anything useful. Amelia's clones had been on hand, Byakugan blazing and seeing the spell's magic prepared before Voldemort released it, and they had thrown up a quartet of Earth Walls to absorb the spell and buffer the resulting explosion. A small rain of pebbles and rocks rained down at the Death Eaters' feet, but that was all Voldemort got for his efforts.
The Earth Walls collapsed a moment later, dismissed by their makers now that the danger was passed.
"Charge!" Lucius yelled out, suiting words to actions as he led dozens more Death Eaters to kill the dirty Muggle lovers who dared to invade his home.
Voldemort barely paid him any attention, his magic answering his call as he unleashed hex after curse after Unforgivable on the enemies in front of him. He wondered how that blasted Potter and his whores had managed to duplicate themselves, but that could wait until he had killed them all. In a way, he was even grateful to the young bastard. It let him kill Potter over and over!
Fortunately for Harry, he and the older Jewels had a handful of clones each back at base whose sole job was to create more clones to send into the fray. They were able to keep up with the numbers of Harry's clones falling, leaving the Death Eaters targeting an unending swarm of Harry Potter's. The Death Eaters, though throwing out their every powerful offensive spell, spells that detonated the clones no matter what they were or where they hit, were trapped. There were clones on every side now, even behind them, cutting off their exit. The Clan's use of lightning techniques made sure that the anti-transport wards were now strong enough to stop any attempt to escape, even if every wizard in Britain tried to breach them at once. Retreat via magic was out of the question even if the Death Eaters had somewhere left to go. Lastly, the Lifeguards and the Jewels were trying their hardest to blunt the attacks on Harry's clones without getting hurt themselves, while the clones were swarming under 'the flower of Pureblood Britain'.
Voldemort was down to a score of Death Eaters behind him when the end came. Four of those blasted Potters somehow Apparated up to him without a sound and through those wards, one each holding each of his limbs, when a fifth arrived and proceeded to tie up the so-called 'greatest sorcerer of the age'. When Voldemort was securely bound, unable to move an inch without excruciating pain as the wires bit into his flesh, all five of the clones slapped the magic suppressing cuffs onto their enemy. They were not going to take a chance of him being able to overpower the damn things and escape the end they had in mind for him.
With their job done, the clone in front of Voldemort, wearing Harry's face and the triumphant expression perfectly, headbutted the former Tom Marvolo Riddle and knocked him out in a move any British hooligan could appreciate.
The Battle of Malfoy Manor was over at last.
Thank you for reading. Thanks as always to my hard-working betas. Feel free to PM me with any questions.