Chapter 30

Dorcas looked around the crowd nervously. If she were being honest with herself, she would admit that she had no idea what she was even doing here. Or why she was even a part of all of this when it wasn't a cause that she wholeheartedly believed in.

Save the whales? Sure! Reduce global warming? Obviously. But fighting a battle which was involving more history than she could ever even know? Uh…

She understood what they wanted to achieve; use a council to make decisions, instead of a Minister with all the power. Like an oligarchy, right? Dorcas knew enough about history to know that governments with too much power were problematic, and when there were more people involved with making decisions, there was less of a margin of error.

She had heard the whispers of the Sacred 28 being mentioned during meetings, and as a muggleborn herself, she didn't really know much about it. But after learning about it and what it entailed, she grew sceptical. If they simply wanted purebloods in power, how were they no better than Voldemort and his reign of terror?

Dorcas also couldn't help but wonder why they wanted to reinstate a system which had clearly failed for a reason.

She hadn't been the only one with these concerns, and slowly the whispers grew into murmurs and those turned into people voicing their fears and questions, one with 'The Leader', so they called him, had been all too happy to explain.

The system had failed because it turned corrupt, just as the current Ministry had. It failed because of greed and politics. But this time was different. They would vote for representations on the council and those representations would collectively make decisions. It wasn't about blood, however those families with older histories who knew more about how things were done were slightly preferred due to having more knowledge. Which was what he claimed of course.

It wasn't ideal; as a muggleborn she had seen firsthand the amount of injustice done to someone of her blood status. She hadn't fought in the war, as she was underage, but it didn't exempt her from the effects it had on people and how she had feared for her life.

They were called the Vetusta, the bringers of the old ways. The ones who would change the system as they ever knew it.

And maybe the old ways were important for a reason. People these days were so keen on modernizing everything to keep up with the times, but they lost sight of simpler ways which had serviced them for so long. If it had worked in the past, then maybe it could work again.

She didn't completely believe in him; that was for sure. She knew as well as any one that if such a group had a singular leader, then he probably would have more power when said council was implemented. There was no way he would relinquish all that power immediately, no matter how pure his intentions could have been originally. Power had that sort of effect on people, making it hard for them to give up. It happened to the best of them, countless times throughout history.

But now she was standing here, waiting for all of it to happen, and she still had doubt racing through her mind. She had no hesitation saying that things needed to change. The Ministry still had a way of keeping things from its people. And yes, she knew that everyone didn't need all the answers as it could make it very unsafe for people. But at the same time, they deserved to know that things were at least going to be okay. Like what was that earthquake? And that tornado in Italy! What happened there? They deserved to know a little bit, did they not?

And for that she felt the need to stay, despite knowing how bad this could turn out. They were about to bring down the Ministry! How could that possibly end in anything other than terror and destruction? It wasn't as if they could simply walk to the Minister of Magic and ask him simply to step down and if they could turn over the entire bloody government!

But changes in history were always bloody. No war was fought simply with words, and this would not be an exception.

And so she was conflicted. Should she stay and fight for something she barely believed in, and possibly lose her life? Or should she go home, watch it happen anyways, and deal with the fallout?

The Ministry needed a change, but not like this. How could they be perceived as anything less than a group filled with violence and hate if they did nothing but support that claim with their actions? Change was needed, and Dorcas Allens would very much be a part of that, make no doubt. But she refused to fight a war she didn't believe in. And she knew exactly what she had to do.

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Hermione sat on the couch, exhausted from the morning she had been having. Scorpius was nestled into the side of her body and her arm was tightly around him, and Hugo was on her other side. James was settled on the floor, happily stretched out over Harry. They were currently spending the afternoon watching cartoons on the television Hermione had spent the better part of an afternoon fiddling around with so that they could watch muggle programs without the magic interfering with it. The children hadn't been all that surprised by it however, seeing how in the future, she apparently had done so long before any of their births, and it had been around as they grew up.

Harry had laughed at that and simply said that he had no doubt that she accomplished it in the future, seeing how addicted he knew she could be addicted to it from their years at school. It had come up in conversation a few times between them, due to Ron not enjoying being left out, and Harry not being able to watch many programs during his early years. And whenever the children were asleep, she had decided to remedy that by teaching the purebloods and Harry all about it. Luna had been oddly amused by the sight while Draco confused.

She had enjoyed afternoons like this, where she had nothing to do but relax. Days like this were rare for her, and she knew she had to enjoy them while they lasted.

She stretched slightly as she heard an owl at the windowsill, and Hermione frowned as she got up to retrieve the letter. She didn't recognize the bird as she let it in, and as she looked at who it was addressed to, she frowned even more.

"Harry, it's for you," Hermione said questioningly as she handed it to him. He looked puzzled, clearly not recognizing the handwriting. As he read it over, his face paled, and she couldn't help but feel as if the perfectly calm afternoon she was enjoying earlier was about to get a whole lot more complicated. Served her right for relaxing. "What does it say?" she asked him. Wordlessly, he handed it over to her.

Dear Auror Potter,

I am sorry to be writing to you as such, but I knew no other way to contact you. What I have to say is of an urgent matter, regarding the group which you are trying to bring a stop to.

I am a part of said group, and there is something you need to know. They are trying to bring down the Ministry of Magic, literally. There is a 'protest' scheduled for today, however it will be far more than that. They are going to forcefully enter the Ministry and tear it apart.

They feel as if the only way to truly end the 'evil' reign that is the Ministry is to have it crumble to the ground. They don't care who gets hurt in the process. I'm not going to start on my position in all of this, but I do not agree on their methods.

I only wish I had come around sooner, for you may have had more time to prepare for this and save lives.

Signed,

D.A.

"We need to do something!" Hermione whispered. "Harry, this is really, really bad."

"I know!" he exclaimed, standing up quickly, causing James to look up in surprise.

"What's happening?" James asked, sensing the change in the atmosphere.

"Daddy and Aunt Mione have to go to work," Harry said softly, "I'm sorry, Jamie."

"No!" Scorpius shouted, startling all of them. "Don't go, Mummy! Please," he said softly, as his bottom lip trembled. "Something bad is going to happen."

She felt her heart break as she pulled her son into her arms, "Mummy's going to be fine," she told him gently, as she stroked his back while Harry went to round up Ron and Draco, who were currently in the middle of a game of Wizarding Chess.

"Promise?" Scorpius asked watery.

"I can't do that, baby," she said, closing her eyes, "But I can promise you that I will do my very best to come back to you, okay? I love you so much, even though I'm not the same Mummy you knew growing up. I love you so much more than you could ever know, baby. You are the best thing in my life."

Draco came into the room and kissed Scorpius' head, "Be good for your Aunt Ginny, okay Scorp?" Draco asked him.

Scorpius sniffled as he nodded, and Hermione could see panic shooting through Hugo, as Ron desperately tried to reassure him. James seemed no better.

These poor kids had gone through so much because of all of this. They deserved better; a childhood not wrought with pain and blood. They deserved to grow up oblivious to what she and her friends had fought through. They didn't deserve this.

Ginny came over, and brought the boys closer to her as she pulled the boys closer to her on the couch. The television was still playing, but none of them seemed as interested in it as they were in what was happening around them.

"I need you to floo Blaise," Harry said firmly, as he turned Draco, "Tell him that we need the help of the other Ministries. I don't think our numbers are enough by itself. Ask anyone and everyone you know. Ron, contact your parents. We need their help, and that of the Order as well. Contact Lee Jordan and ask him to broadcast to the country what is happening. Tell them that the Ministry will fall unless we all stand together."

"But protocol states that a request for using Aurors from a different Ministry must be formally passed through the proper channels," Draco protested.

"I don't bloody care about protocol!" Harry yelled out. "If we don't do something now, the world the children had been sent back to prevent is going to come to pass anyways. And Ron dies, and I end up paralyzed! We lose countless more on our side, all for whatever sick reason this bastard has for trying to control the wizarding population! I can't let that happen!"

Draco looked taken aback, but he nodded as he and Ron rushed to the floo networks to contact those who Harry had requested.

"We need some sort of plan!" Hermione said to Harry desperately. "We can't just go into this blindly and hope for the best."

"And what would you recommend?" Harry turned to face her. "We always try and plan these things out, but the truth is that we don't even know what we're going to face. We don't even know who we are going to face today! In the future we didn't even manage to find out the truth!"

She sighed to herself, in defeat, knowing he was right. But in the briefest moment, a thought crossed her mind. What if they did know? There must have been some sort of clue in the memories that could possibly indicate who was behind everything. There had to be something that could guide them. She wouldn't have pulled all those memories in the future if they hadn't meant something. And while the conversations were important, they weren't the only things in the memories. There were newspaper clippings, and pictures which she hadn't completely studied. And maybe other things which she may not have even picked up on.

"James, who was the Minister of Magic in your time?" she turned to the oldest child, as a sudden thought crossed her mind. Had Kingsley still been in charge? Or had someone new stepped in?

"Uncle Theo," James said in confusion. "Daddy always said it was because he won in a landslide."

Harry looked puzzled at the question, but before he could ask her about it, Draco and Ron returned to the room.

"We need to go now," Harry said urgently, "Who knows what's already happened in the time it has taken us to prepare for this."

Draco nodded, "Blaise said he would gather up as many as he could, and that even if they couldn't come officially, they would come as civilians instead."

They four of them held on to each other, to arrive at the same spot, and Hermione closed her eyes as she pictured the front of the Ministry as she remembered it. Hopefully it would still look the same when they arrived, and not already be in shambles.

"Be safe," Ginny whispered, and Harry's brow furrowed as he nodded to her. Hermione's heart clenched in her chest, as she sincerely hoped it wouldn't be the last time she saw her friend and the children.

When they arrived on the site, Hermione wasn't all that sure what she should have been expecting; maybe some sort of large fire, and people screaming as they ran in all different directions.

Which wouldn't have been all that far from the truth. The first thing she noticed was entire entrance crumbled as some sort of dark green magic shot through it, and caused the magnificent columns that held the tall doors open in a pile of rubble on the ground.

There were people scattered all over the grounds with various states of injuries, as Aurors desperately were fighting the group with their hoods still up high. From what she could see, it wasn't even the level of skill that the group of protesters possessed. It was the sheer volume of them which made it harder for the Aurors to hold them off and prevent the attacks from happening. Harry and Ron immediately shot off to get involved in the fighting, just as she had expected them to.

But Draco stayed behind, as his eyes lingered on her. She wondered if he was going to say something to her from the conflict in his eyes, but he seemed to have decided against it. As he hugged her for a moment she felt was far too short, he whispered to her to be safe, before joining the other Aurors in trying to stop the attack before it escaladed any more.

She, on the other hand, was rather conflicted on what she should be doing.

A part of her felt like she should draw her wand and join in on the fight as the others, and the newcomers, seemed to be doing. But the other half, the healer, wanted to help save everyone. How many would die today simply because they didn't receive the medical attention they needed? She couldn't let that happen; not after losing so many in the war.

She ran over to the first injured person she saw, and immediately began to try and heal them.

"You're not even an Auror!" Pansy shouted out, as Theo pulled out his wand, ready to head straight into battle. "Don't do this, Theo. Please! It's not safe!"

She wasn't even sure her words of protest would mean anything, if she were being completely honest with herself. She knew her fiancé loved her more than anything, but as soon as Blaise had flooed them and informed them what was happening, Theo had decided to rush straight into it, like some sort of bloody Gryffindor.

"Of course I do!" Theo argued. "Blaise and Draco are both going to be there fighting; how can I stay here knowing that at any possible moment, something could happen to them simply because I was too cowardly to join them?"

"What about me?" Pansy asked weakly, "What about what it would do to me if I lost you in this? I can't lose you Theo! Not after-" her voice trailed off. Not after she had lost her mother at the age of fourteen and her father had a life sentence. If she lost Theo, then she would truly have nothing and no one.

"I know, Pans," Theo said softly, pulling her into his arms. "I can't lose you either. I love you so much more than you could ever even know. And I promise I won't be reckless, and I promise that I will fight to come home to you."

She sniffled slightly, as her head rest against his chest, "I love you too, Theodore Nott."

He kissed her forehead as he pulled away from her slightly. As he tucked his wand into his robes, she pulled her own ones on.

"What are you doing?" he asked her in confusion.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you go into this alone?" she demanded. "We're going to be married, which means we're going to do everything together. But I refuse to only heed that once it's official. I'm going to fight by your side, and once we get through this, I am going to bring you home and push you onto the bed, and refuse to let you leave. You're mine, Nott, and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to you on my watch."

He smiled softly at that, as he intertwined his fingers through her own.

"Together?" he asked her softly.

"Together," she confirmed, as the two of them apparated to the Ministry of Magic.

A/N: I want to thank all of you so much for reading and reviewing! I know it's slow between Dramione, but I promise I've planned how I want them to get together, and I want to properly build to that moment.