Disclaimer: I own nothing. I claim no rights to any television show, movie, or book. I write for fun not profit. All television show, movie, and book characters are owned by their production studios, television stations, and authors. No copyright infringement is intended. I write for fun not profit. I am not getting paid for this.
Willow had been keeping a cyberspace eye on the government and the military that were building the arks. After a debate about what the military was planning the Scoobies wondered how much they could emulate some of their ideas. They would need to collect more medical supplies than they already had, enough to last a long time to come. Tools would also be needed. Xander came up with the idea of bug-out bags that would have all the essentials a person would need and that each Council member would be responsible for keeping with them when the time came. Each of them would also have a first aid kit the size of a suit case. Food was another big deal as Giles considered buying grains in bulk and storing them in cargo containers but without knowing where to send it, he didn't think it would be a good idea.
After the meeting Jim and Blair helped Oz pack their things in the Van. Jim had come to a decision to tell the Scoobies what had happened at Cheyenne Mountain because the Council needed to know that there was more to rebuilding the world than what was happening on the arks. After a long tale the Scoobies looked at them stunned, but; none doubted what they said. It was Giles who realized that what the military actually had was the Chappa'ai. If this Item was actually a portal to the stars and not hell dimensions as thought by the Egyptians; of the time, then the military theoretically could save everyone but, that would be logistically impossible let alone a nightmare. They would have to release information that there is life on other planets and after the public calmed down they would need to be told the earth was going to be destroyed only to have the panic start all over again. Eventually the Scoobies realized that what the military were doing was the right course of action. The Scoobies told Willow, who had come to Cleveland for this meeting not to chance hacking NORAD or this SGC, Mr. Ellison spoke of. They didn't need the government taking too close a look in their direction and learning more about the supernatural or that they were collecting and storing items for the end of the world.
"Mr. Ellison, Mr. Sandburg, when was the last time you used your credit or debit cards?" Giles asked.
"I know what you're thinking." Jim said. "The last time was in New York just before we left. No one seemed to put a freeze on our accounts yet. So I don't think anyone realizes that I'm not sick or that we know anything. We've been drawing large amounts of money from our bank accounts so that we pay cash for just about everything. If they still believe I'm sick then they might think it's for medical bills"
"We could help with that." Willow stated. "If you want you could draw the rest of you money from your bank and we could insert it into the Guardian Council bank. Then we could issue each of you a council employee card. They never need to know who you are. You'll just be an employee number in the Council system."
"That sounds good. You don't know how it bothered us. Every bank transaction could have been the one that got the government baring down on us." Blair said.
"Yeah, it'll be a relief not to keep looking over our shoulders as much." Jim agreed.
"Well we should do it before you leave. I wouldn't use any of the local banks. I could transport you both back to New York to withdraw the cash then bring you back. We should have the cards ready for you by the time you're ready to leave with Oz in the morning." Willow told them.
How can you do it so fast? Blair wondered.
"We already have the cards but they take a few hours to activate them. We get new employees all the time. It's just easier this way."
/Scene break/
They were in New York within an hour. Blair had Jim dial down his senses for the trip because he didn't know how they would respond to magic. Even so he said he felt slightly light headed but then so did Blair. Willow told them it was normal for your first time.
They then went to an ATM to make the withdrawals. Willow made sure to stay well away from the cameras. It didn't take long to find out the jig was up as Willow had said. But she had come prepared for this. They quickly made their way to the subway and got on the first train to come along. They only went one stop away from where they were. Willow said that they weren't going to be in the state, much less the city too much longer anyway. They first found the ATM closest to their location. She pulled out a device and be began waving it around as they walked down the street.
"What is that?" Blair asked.
"It's a devise for finding wi-fi connections." She told them. "There is a strong signal right here I can tap into."
They were in an ally and Willow took the bag from her shoulder and pulled out her laptop. She set it on an old crate and booted it up.
"What are you doing?" Jim asked.
"I'm going to hack into the bank and temporarily lift the government block on your money. If all goes well they won't even know anyone was in their system until most of the money is gone. You'll need to keep at least a hundred or so dollars in it to keep them from noticing. So you guys better get ready."
Jim and Blair were a little uncomfortable. They weren't used to feeling like criminals and now they were being helped by a hacker that was getting them access to their own money and were going to be given fake ID's.
"I have got access to both your savings and checking accounts. Go across the street and get your money so we can get out of here."
Jim and Blair did as she said. While crossing the street Blair asked.
"Did her fingers kind of absorb into the keyboard or was I seeing things."
"You saw that too? I thought I'd finally lost it. When she says she's into computers she really meant it." Jim said a bit shaken.
"That must be what she meant when she said she dabbled in techno-Paganism." Blair replied.
They got to the ATM and sure enough they were able to withdraw all their money without a problem. Something you shouldn't be able to do without talking to a bank representative. They each put their money into their backpacks and went back to Willow.
/Scene break/
The next morning Willow and Giles met Jim and Blair at Oz's van to give then their new ID's, passports and Council debit cards.
"You should only start use these ID's when I call and tell you to. By then the military and government will be heading your way."
"Umm… wait a minute this picture doesn't even look remotely like me. Blair announced."
"He's right nether does mine." Jim confirmed.
"That's because I still have yet to give you these necklaces with the Glamour spells on them. When you wear them you'll look like your picture ID even to each other. Only you will be able to see through the spell when you look in the mirror. That way it won't be such a shock to ether of you when you look in the mirror in the morning."
"Blair always scares himself when he looks in the mirror in the morning." Jim chuckled.
"Ha, ha very funny, you're a hell of a lot scarier in the morning than I am." Blair countered.
"Again, only wear them when I call and tell you to. And you've got the extra burn phones so you should be all set." Willow said. With that Willow turned to Oz. "I still don't see why you need to go out there to play a gig when you know what's about to happen. We could really use the extra set of eyes to help with the research."
"Because these are the memories I want to remember about my life before the 'main event' in the years to come, jamming with my band." Oz said using the Euphemism Blair and Jim used on regular bases.
"Yeah I get it. I guess." Willow said sporting a lopsided grin. "I hope I have the time to make such memories."
"You've learned of a community of magic users that have been teaching you controlled magic. Sounds like you're off to a good start." He replied.
Willow smiled. "Yeah I guess there's that."
The two friends hugged.
"Take care of yourself out there and come back soon." Willow said.
"I will. You guys make sure we find the right place before it's too late." Oz replied.
"We will find it. I'm sure we're narrowing it down." Giles said
In unison they said. "Have fun." They smiled chuckled and turned to leave.
Oz got into his van. Jim and Blair piled themselves into their rental car. With arms waving out the windows as they drove off they started they're journey leaving Giles and Willow at the curb waving them off.
"I do hope they'll be alright." Giles announced.
"Don't worry they'll be back. Oz will go to his gig which won't take long and then he can help Jim and Blair on their quest. What can go wrong?" Willow asked.
"Good lord, you should know better than to ask that question. You've most probably jinxed them."
Willow clamped her mouth shut looking worried. She really should have known better. There wasn't any magic behind it. It was more of a kid's superstition, but it almost always was true, especially where the Scoobies were concerned. Asking 'What can go wrong?' was one of the phrases that should be said with the same caution normally used for 'Please castrate me.'
Only as the vehicles went out of sight did they turn and go back into the building. Just as they got to the security check point Willows phone rang. The caller I.D. showing it was the council phone she recently gave Hermione to use.
"Hi Hermione what can I do for you?"
"Actually this being Sunday I find I have nothing to do and was wondering if you wanted to go over magic lessons today."
"Oh, umm.. Any other time would be great but today I promised to help with the main event research."
"Can you use an extra pair of eyes?" Hermione asked.
"Yes actually. That is if you want to come. I mean you do this kind of thing all week long. Don't you need a break?"
"Willow, I haven't stopped thinking about it since I first found out. I won't be satisfied until we get the answer." Hermione replied.
"Right. Well we're at the Cleveland house if you want to help." Willow explained.
"I'll be there within a minute." She replied.
Two and a half hours later Willow, Dawn and Hermione were looking through some of the oldest and most obscure text they had found within the Guardian Council library. Hermione was able to handle the Latin while the others handled the demon text. At hour three of their research they took a short brake. Willow went into the stacks to put back the books they were finished with. Dawn went to the refrigerator in the kitchen and brought back a pitcher of iced tea and some glasses.
"So why don't we see Harry around as much as we see you. Doesn't he believe in the research?" Dawn asked
"No, it's not that. But you see he works for the ministry in a more intense role than I do. They wouldn't like the fact that he was working with muggles and talking casually about magic as I have. I shouldn't be doing it really. Then we found that Harry has a trace on his wand, or himself, or maybe both, we're not sure. But directly after the Abbadon incident an unspeakable came asking questions. We think he was going to attack had he said anything about the demon. We just don't know why." Hermione finished in a huff.
"Okay, what is an unspeakable?" Dawn asked.
"Think wizard C.I.A." Hermione explained.
"Okay…why would they put a trace on Harry?" Dawn wondered.
"Their story is because he goes undercover a lot but we think it's because he's a war hero. If anything happened to him people would blame the ministry and the ministry made some major mistakes before and during the war where Harry's concerned, that they still haven't recovered from."
"So they keep him on a short leash. Keep an eye on him all the time so he doesn't do anything that makes them look bad." Dawn realized.
"That's about the size of it, yes. I told him he should have played quidditch for a living. There would have been less stress."
"That's that sport the witches and wizards play right. Was Harry any good?"
"He was very good. I should have some pictures of him on the field in my bag. Hold on."
"Oh, moving pictures? Those are so neat." Dawn said excitedly.
Hermione grabbed her beaded bag opened it and said accio photos. To Her dismay she realized that she should have narrowed it down a bit as she was made to realize just how many photos she actually had in her magically deep bag.
"Well that was a stupid beginner's mistake. I should have summoned photos of Harry." She said.
"Wow, that's a lot of red heads." Dawn said picking up a photo.
"Yes, that's my ex's family, the Weasley's. That one is a picture of George. He's the one you met that runs the joke shop. It was taken when he was younger, before the mustache and connecting sideburns. His twin brother Fred died during the war. You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger pair of pranksters." Picking up another picture she said. "That's Molly Weasley the mother and Arthur the father. He's also the one helping us with the research but also works for the ministry. They've been keeping him quite busy."
Picking up another photo she continued. "That's my ex Ronald his brother Percy and his sister Ginny, Harry's wife."
"She's pretty." Dawn said.
"Yes she is." Hermione agreed not really paying attention to anything than the face of here ex smiling back at her. What had she seen in him? Of all the people she could have been with why had she picked Ron?
Just then Dawn saw something she recognized.
"Hey what's this?" she asked.
Hermione looked at the photo she was referring to.
"That's the other puzzle that's been keeping me up at night. I had been trying to find the reason for the separation between muggle and magical worlds when I came across this document. I believe it tells the reason but a fat lot of good it does anyone if I can't read it. After all these months I haven't even been able to identify the magical language it's written in."
"That's because it's not magical, it's a demon language." Dawn told her.
"What!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Yeah, Bowlac demon if I'm not mistaken." Dawn replied.
Just then Willow came back from the stacks.
"Hey Will, Hermione got a document from the magical world that's written in Bowlac."
"Bowlac Demon?" Willow said in confusion. "They're a clan of powerful magic wielding demons that broker contracts on a big scale. The evil law firm of Wolfram and Hart has been trying to hire them for centuries. Luckily they stick to their own kind and are really secretive about their magics'. They don't trust that the lawyers wouldn't steal their magic. Let's see what you've got."
Both Willow and Dawn looked over the photo for several seconds before Willow looked toward Hermione and said.
"This could take a while. Bowlac is a very complex language. We might have it translated by tomorrow if you like."
"Yes, please, I've been dieing to find out what it says." Hermione responded.
"Any distraction from the damn safe zone research is welcome. It's all we've been doing since the day Giles came home with the news." Dawn grouched.
"Watch you language young lady." Willow said with a smirk and Dawn responded by sticking out her tongue.
They went to work translating the photo. Half an hour later Willow and Dawn started giving Hermione worried and concerned looks which she didn't notice as she had been concentrating on the cleansing research. At one point Dawn had gasped. Hermione looked up but Dawn covered it with a fake sneeze. By the end of the night Willow looked to Hermione and said.
"Well we're not quite done yet but you may want to call Harry and tell him to be here tomorrow morning."
"Why what have you found out?"
"We'll explain it all tomorrow. We still have to cross reference our findings with some research."
"Well, can you tell me if it's good news or bad news?"
Willow and Dawn looked at each other and then back to Hermione before saying in unison. "Both."
Hermione pursed her lips before realization hit her. "Oh, wait a moment, I can't contact him. It's not possible. He's in the middle of departmental audits. He won't be able to make it."
"Well then, you'll have to tell him when you see him later but feel free to contact anyone you think should be here to hear this because…well…it's that important."
Hermione heard the importance in her voice but there really wasn't anybody to call.
"The only other person works for the ministry as well so I'll have to tell them later." She responded.
"Okay, but I am going to call my friends because this is important to both our groups. What's in this document will change everything you believe and know. I'm sorry but you're not going to like it. Hell, we aren't even part of the worst part of it and I hate it."
As Willow said this Dawn was on the phone calling the Scoobies to arrange tomorrows meeting. They then put their materials away and left the library.
The next day Willow and Dawn stayed in Cleveland while Giles met Hermione at the Great Library of London. Willow and Dawn continued researching the history of the document until they were satisfied they had all the information they needed which took about two hours before Giles and Hermione were due to show. The emotions that ran through both of them were a mixture of happy excitement and angrily appalled. It was quite confusing to be them.
Two hours later they met Giles and Hermione appearing in the receiving room. Actually the pair was somewhat early as Hermione wanted to get to this meeting and find out what document zero had in it that concerned everyone. The quartet then got to Giles office and waited for the rest of the group to arrive which included Melinda and her family, Tru, Luna, and the Sunnydale slayers. While waiting Willow and Dawn did a quick unneeded run through of the translations one more time.
When everyone had arrived Giles began with an inquiry. "Ladies, we're all here now. What's so important?"
"One second Giles. Just want to check this little bit and we'll get started." Willow said.
The second turned out to be two minutes before they turned to everyone.
"Okay here it goes; for the sake of everyone here I'd like to start by asking how you came across this document Hermione." Willow inquired.
"Umm... Okay well I was looking for the document that would tell why there was a separation between the magical world and the muggle world. Once I guessed the name of the document was document zero, I found that the only way to get to it was through traps and obstacles. Once I got there I found I couldn't read it and couldn't take it with me so I had to take pictures of it and translate it later but after weeks and weeks I still couldn't do it."
"And we told you that was because it was written in demon, Bowlac demon to be precise." Dawn announced.
"Bowlac demon, are you sure?" Giles asked.
"Yes Giles, But we're going to ask that you and the others retranslate it later just to be sure we got everything right. This document is incredibly important. Willow began. Before we get into that you'll all need to know the history of the situation that precipitated the events that lead to the creation of this document." Willow explained.
Dawn picked up the lecture at this point. "From historical documents and some watcher journals we were able to speculate what had happened back then. King Arthur and Merlin were both out of the picture at this time but not far from living memory and it was the height of a huge war. The demons were on one side and the muggle and magic users on the other. "
"Arthur and Merlin were real?" Clancy asked.
"The normals knew about demons back then?" One of the slayers asked.
"Yes, Arthur and Merlin were real and back then people didn't have distractions like television and were more socially active and therefore became aware of demons and magic. As time went on the sightings of magic users declined as well as the demons." Giles announced.
"Yes," Dawn continued. "And because the only magic users to be seen at that time were Wicca and that some of the Wicca practitioners dabbled in the dark arts back then the muggles started to believed that the disappearance of the demons was synonymous with the magic users and so believed them both to be evil. That would be about the time witches were being burned at the stake."
"But let's get back to the story of why and how they disappeared." Willow said. "The people were suffering heavy casualties but what no one realized was that the humans both magical and muggle were winning. So the demon came up with a plan. For a couple of years toward the end, the magic users were being targeted heavily and some would go missing. The rumors were that the demons were using them in demonic rites that would leave there souls shattered across several hell dimensions or that they sucked out the wizards magical core as a delicacy. This was more likely the propaganda the demons tried to get them to believe and it would seem it worked because of what happened next. "
"This is where the Bowlac demons come in." Dawn announced.
"Because the wizards suffered so, it enabled the Bowlac demons to come forward and make an offer to the wizards. As uneducated as they were back then, the Bowlac demons were able to trick the wizards into an iron clad magically binding deal." Willow said with pity in her unfocused eyes as she could almost see how it all played out.
"The document basically says that the warfare toward everyone would cease if the wizards separated themselves from the muggles." Dawn announced.
"While this may have sounded good, the Bowlacs' were sneaky in that their language was very complex so they used that fact to their advantage." Willow said in disgust.
"It took us a day and a half to translate and we filled six legal pads with mistakes but finally got it right in the seventh. The rest of the time was spent researching the history and building this hypothesis." Dawn announced.
"As no one could read the contract they probably lied to the wizards about what it said and being uneducated at the time the wizards probably weren't even aware that it was magically binding." Willow speculated.
"We know this because we've seen Bowlac contracts like this before, but; never something this big." Dawn interrupted.
"So the wizards of the time agreed to it without truly knowing what it actually said and the magic activated the moment they signed it." Willow explained.
"So what did they agree to Willow?" Hermione asked nervously.
"That the knowledge of demons would be lost, and that only a demon known as dementors would be left behind to seal the deal by keeping an eye on the magical community to make sure that the enchantments stay in tacked. They would liaison with vampires who would report back to the Bowlacs. Werewolves were the wild cards, just something to keep wizards on their toes. But they would all be viewed more or less as magical creatures, just dark ones."
"It's the governments responsibility to bring any of the muggle born into the wizard community so that they could be included in the documents laws as well. The wizards are to police there own using the unspeakable for any infraction of the law laid down in the document. They probably have a copy of what they believe the document is to say and erase memories of people who believe they saw demons." Dawn supplied.
"That's not all, is it?" Hermione asked.
"No, I'm afraid not, and I'm sorry but this is where it gets absolutely horrid. When you brought me to Diagon ally I thought that it was neat and fun. But I had also thought that it was kind of backwards. I had wondered why your people decided to maintain a lifestyle that had middle age wares, & Victorian era clothing with only the smallest splash of anything remotely modern like the knights bus. Well I found the answer in the document.
I'm sorry but the document says that the magical community as a whole would not progress as fast as the rest of the world. Slowed to a marginal rate between three and five percent of what the muggels progressed to. They have effectively stunted your communities growth. Your world should have evolved and progressed far beyond the muggles. Hell, if your people didn't go into hiding instead of working with the muggles, the whole world could have progressed in leaps and bounds. This agreed upon seclusion has not only hindered your progression but made your people prejudice of everyone. Only the muggle born seems to make the most difference. That's probably because they came into the wizarding world with their own ideas and without preconceptions of what's possible. But because they are muggle born they can't get the jobs that would allow them to make a difference."
Hermione sat there with a slack jawed expression. She was thoroughly shocked. As she spoke, a tear ran down her cheek.
"What you're saying is that the document has dumbed down our society. Is that correct?"
"I'm sorry, but yes Hermione, that's what it says." Dawn confirmed.
"Just how much of this is speculation?" Giles asked.
Not much. We found the history in the watcher journals of the time, so that's pretty much correct. The document tells the rest of the story. Dawn replied.
I've always been told I was smart. My aptitude in the muggle world had been measured at prodigy level. I went into the wizarding world thinking of a bright future where I'd be looked upon as an equal, able to progress in any field of magic and government I chose; only to have one obstacle after another thrown in front of me. I wanted a place in government but found those doors closed to the muggle born. I've always thought I'd be one to create new spells but found the arithmancy math hard to concentrate on. I had thought my genius to be slipping from my grasp because even the muggle world's academics were leaving my understanding. Now I find out that my lack of understanding in the magical world is attributed to an enchantment. How stupid I must seem." Hermione said as she broke down and cried.
"Hermione, from what you told me about your time in the wizarding world the other people in it sounded silly and dumb. You however seemed to be the brightest of them all." Willow said.
"Fred and George were able to create spells and potions that were beyond me."
"But didn't you tell me that they were part of a pure blood family and grew up in the wizarding world, and; they were twins. That would give their brains a chance to work around the enchantments a bit because their brains were nearly identical. One of them would work out half of a spell and the other would complete the other half." Willow speculated.
Hermione calmed down enough to ask. "Is there any way to break these enchantments?"
"Well yes, they could only be broken in one of two very specific ways. And I'm happy to tell you that the spell on you and Harry has already been broken." Willow explained with a smile.
"What? When?" Hermione asked.
"The night we met? The enchantment can be broken on an individual if the individual is in the presence of, and; starts to believe in demons that weren't listed in the document." Willow said.
"You mean when you took us to the night life bar?" Hermione wondered.
"Yes." Willow confirmed.
"That would explain the increase in understanding of things. Why it was so hard for me to figure out how computers worked and now I find them much easier to understand. I find myself asking questions I should have been asking the professor's years ago. I want to know more about the things I don't know. My need to know about the document is proof of that.
Oh no, I just realized why Mr. Weasley couldn't keep his mind on the research of the document. The document itself kept his mind adrift every time he kept trying to figure it out."
The room became quiet for almost a minuet before Willow sat beside Hermione and asked. "Are you alright? What are you feeling?"
"Cheated... angry…" She bit out. "I was a captive since I turned eleven, a prisoner in a gilded cage. Kept too stupid to realize I was a prisoner." Hermione said. It was then she had another realization and with a sharp breath she said. "And damn it, I was even guarded by the same beast that guards our own prisons." Hermione stewed in her own anger at this for a few seconds before asking. "How do I break it for everybody else?
"Actually there probably won't be a need for that because there is a time limit on the document. It ends sometime around 2012 because the document states that the enchantment will stay in effect as long as the document is intact. After 2012 the document will be destroyed and at the bottom of the ocean even the Bowlac seers saw that much."
"Good lord, they knew that? They didn't happen to say where the safe spot would be did they?" Giles asked with very little hope.
"We did tell Hermione that there was some good stuff that came out of the document. It gives what we think might be a big hint as to where that could be." Willow said.
"It says the document will void ether way on the last days of the year. The lands of earth would be swallowed by the gods of the seven seas leaving only the land where the cradle of life can be found." Do we know where that is or do we have to hit the books again? Dawn asked.
Giles jumped out of his chair and said. "That's the best news we had since this started and, yes; I'm afraid it will take more research. At least until I can make a few phone calls and meet with a few archeologists the watcher Council had on retainer. I believe one of them was looking for the cradle at one point. I just need to go through the records to find out who that was. This is very exciting news."
/Scene Break/
A half an hour later Hermione apparated home, she felt emotionally exhausted and physically drained. Willow had offered to take her home and Giles told her she could stay in one of the G.C. guest rooms. She simply wanted some time alone in her own home. She went into her bed room and took off her shoes, and lay down upon the bed. She laid there for a long time just thinking of how betrayed she felt. She was betrayed by the entire unknowing wizarding world. Unknowing, because each and every witch and wizard was also being betrayed on a daily bases and weren't even aware of it. They were living on the values of the past that no longer have any meaning in the modern world.
'Ugh… This is thoroughly disgusting. I have a huge intellect. I love to learn new things. What would I have been like had the document never been written or signed? What would the world have been like? There might never have been a war. The wizarding world would have surly moved beyond such prejudice. I could have been a professor at Hogwarts. I could have been minister of magic. Ugh… Come to think of it that job wouldn't be worth a pail of warm hippogriff dung. I could have written new rune casting and arithmancy books. I could have discovered new potions, new wards, and new spells. She thought.
Hermione lay there for a few more minutes before she shot up off the bed and went to the table in her library. Sitting at the large empty table that would have looked more at home in the kitchen she pulled out several sheets of parchment, a couple of bottles of ink, a few quills, and began writing. Several hours later the fire place in the library flared up with green flames and Harry's face appeared among them.
"Hey Hermione can Arthur and I come through?" He asked.
But Hermione just kept writing because she was so focused on what she was doing. So Harry tried again.
"Hermione? Hey Hermione!" He shouted.
"Huh? What?" She said looking around before catching sight of Harry in the flames. "Oh Harry it's you! What's up?"
"You asked Arthur and me to come over tonight and help with the research, remember?"
"Oh right! Come on through I have something very important to tell the both of you."
With that Harry's face disappeared from the flames and he and Arthur came through the fireplace and stepped out into the library.
Looking over Hermione's shoulder and seeing the complex formulas he asked her what she was working on so intently.
"Oh Harry, I just completed two different spells I created from scratch and another I started working on in my fifth year at Hogwarts. It was so hard before but now it's so easy it's almost ridiculous."
"Maybe for you…" He said.
"No, that's just it. We were both under enchantments up until the night we met Willow and the rest of the wizarding world still is."
"What?" Harry asked stunned at Hermione's proclamation.
"Document zero."
"Document zero? What about it?"
"It's a magical agreement to keep wizards stupid."
"What!" Both Harry and Arthur shouted.
"The wizards of the late 6th century were tricked into an agreement by a clan of demons. It was suppose to protect us from demons as long as we separated ourselves from the muggles. But it had hidden clauses. One of them was that wizards didn't advance with the rest of the world. Willow and Dawn were able to translate the document because it was written in a demon language. It's all here in this translation, read it for yourself. They even wrote a hypothesis of what they believe happened at the time."
Harry and Arthur couldn't believe what they were reading; Arthur more so than Harry.
"You do realize that this means the wizards abandon the muggles to face the demons alone right?" Harry asked.
"Yes and no, once signed the war would be over but that didn't mean the demons wouldn't kill to survive. Vampires need blood to survive and other demons still had ritual human sacrifices they needed to perform for one reason or another. Besides they could have started a new war with the muggle's in a few years time."
"But this can't be how it happened. It's just so ridicules. The idea of demons alone should tell you that." Arthur scoffed.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other poignantly. They knew this could be a problem. Hermione knew she might need to talk to Willow about this. While Arthur ranted and tried to convince Harry and Hermione that demons just couldn't exist. Harry and Hermione seemed to have a wordless conversation. One of which they had chosen a course of action.
"You're absolutely right Arthur. Hermione said in a convincing tone. Those silly muggle's may believe in such silly things but they have come across some useful information in the past and I think we still need to let it play out to see what else they know, don't you?"
"Yes… yes of course. And you still feel we shouldn't Obliviate them?" he asked.
"They can't be Obliviated at the moment. As I just said they have been finding loads of useful information among the poppycock, so as long as they do they are useful to us. In the end, after we all move to the safe spot we can tend to them then. We can't let them die after helping us. We'd be no better than…than Umbridge."
"Yes you're right, we wouldn't want that." Arthur replied.
Harry walked to the liquor cabinet as an excuse to talk to Hermione and whispered. "What's going on? He's totally ignoring the contents of the document and is forgetting that Willow and Dawn are witches."
"It's the document. Its enchantments are keeping him from believing anything to the contrary of what he believes now. There's only one way to break it. We'll need Willow to do for him what she did for us." Hermione whispered back.
"But there's another bit of news that I thought you two might be interested in." Arthur blurted out. "I've been keeping an eye on reports of prophecies ready to be heard and found that one made itself known just this morning. It's for the ears of Malfoy senior."
"Well, he'll never get to hear it. He's locked up tight in Azkaban prison and won't be getting out any time soon." Harry said.
"That's where you're wrong. Wizarding law states that a prophecy may never go unheard provided the recipient is neither dead nor deaf. On Friday morning Lucius Malfoy will be escorted from his cell in Azkaban and taken to the hall of prophecies where he'll be allowed to listen to it in private, and then he'll be escorted back to Azkaban."
"I don't like the sound of that." Harry said.
"Nether do I. There are just too many ways that that could go wrong." Hermione stated.
"I guess I'll just have to make it a point to station myself in the area." Harry said.
"Right, I'll be in the area as well for other reasons. I'm going to Gringotts to make the same transaction Harry did so I can have a little money in the end. Merlin knows Molly won't listen to me about the world ending. Since she makes her own money from the columns in the prophet and witch weekly she shouldn't notice some missing money. If she does I'll blame it on her living beyond her means. Well, if we're not going to be translating tonight I think I'll go home and turn in. It's been a while that any of us got to turn in early."
"You're too right about that. I'll see you tomorrow." Harry replied.
"Good night." And with a flash of green flame from the flue powder Arthur was gone.
"Do we know where this cradle of life is that I read about in the translation?" Harry asked.
"Mr. Giles thinks he has a lead on an archeologist who might know." Hermione replied.
"Is there any way we can break the enchantments on everyone all at once?"
"Yes by destroying document zero. But the Council has urged against it for now. They believe it will be in our best interest to hold off until we need some confusion because when we destroy it that will be the outcome. Until then it's better to deal with the devil you know." She replied.
"What do you mean when we need it?" Harry wondered.
"Harry we're going to start trying to find people that we want to save. It's going to be hard to convince them but after all of us will need to collect everything we're going to need to survive and that is going to raise suspicions. When that starts creating a little chaos can cover our tracks."
"You and your new friends sure can be sneaky." He said with a smile.
"Our new friends avert an Apocalypse for six months to a year. I'm glad they can think outside the box." Hermione replied.
"Yes, there is that." He said in mild retrospection. He then finished his drink and said. "Well, it's getting late and I'd like to turn in early as well. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay, see you later then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He said before he apparated away.
I like reviews.