Plans for the war begin.

LILY XXXIII

She stood alone in the darkness of the early morning, in a square located in the heart of the London Borough of Islington. Harry would have been excited by the fact that this was the home of the Arsenal. However, Lily was definitely not there to attend a football game. Sirius told her to Apparate there, then to look at a short piece of paper he gave her. The paper was in her pocket as she took around her surroundings, mostly homes that saw better days. The neighbourhood was in a desolate state. Some of the street lamps were shattered. Garbage laid around everywhere. Numbers, sometimes barely readable, were written on doors. Nine. Thirteen. Eleven. Ten. Fourteen.

Something was odd. A number was missing. Lily put her hand in her pocket and picked the piece of paper. She unfolded it. It had been written with a special ink that only she could read. She pointed her wand at it and lit it with a very faint light, only enough to read what was written in a very narrow handwriting that she knew only too well.

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.

She read it carefully, then burned the piece of paper, reducing it to ash. She thought about the word she just read. The effect was instantaneous. A damaged door at the top of stony stairs appeared between the numbers eleven and thirteen, and soon a whole house followed, emerging from between the two Muggles houses. Lily walked to the door, touched it with her wand, and it opened. Sirius told her to open and close the door carefully, so she did. Old gas lamps were lit in the entrance corridor. The place bore signs of abandonment. No one had lived there for a very long time. Then a figure appeared from a passageway. Sirius smiled, then made a move of hand to tell Lily she could come.

"I hope it wasn't hard to find the place," he said, closing the door behind carefully.

"No, but I had to make several detours before I arrived," she said.

"I don't mind," a gruffy voice declared. "In my profession, we must often do that kind of things to avoid getting caught. Comes in handy."

Lily now understood that the smell of alcohol and tobacco in the dining room didn't come from the house itself, but from Mundungus Fletcher who had his boots on the table. Looking around the table she saw many familiar faces, most of them smiling in her direction. Arabella Figg, an old woman who happened to be a Squib and who worked for Dumbledore as an informant, expert at spying since everyone mistook her easily for a Muggle and, as a result, never noticed her. Remus, of course, who joined the Order as soon as he left Hogwarts like she, James and Sirius did. Sturgis Podmore. Emmeline Vance. Elphias Dodge. Dedalus Diggle. Hestia Jones. But there were also new faces. One of them, a tall dark man, headed to her the moment she walked in.

"Welcome to the headquarters, Lily," he said.

"Hi, Kingsley. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to find you here," she said. In fact, she was quite reassured. Kingsley was a colleague for who she had a lot of respect, one of the best Aurors of the Ministry. If he accepted to join the Order, maybe they had a chance. They needed as many on their side as they could.

"I'm not surprised to see you either. Come on, take a seat. Dumbledore should be arriving soon."

Lily took place at the table, between Kingsley and Remus.

"I apologize for the setting," Sirius said. "But I'm not spending a lot of time here." She knew. Sirius always said he hated his family's home. "But it makes for a nice place to hide."

"Are we sure that we are safe here?" she asked.

"It has all the security measures known to the wizarding world. And we added a Fidelius Charm. Dumbledore is the Secret Keeper."

That explained the written note that was necessary to come in. Well, she supposed there was no safer place to be found in this case. Dumbledore would not reveal the location of the new headquarters like another Secret Keeper would have.

Conversations had died when Lily showed up. They resumed after a few moments, but in ushed tones. Sirius told her they were not to speak loudly, to not wake up portraits in the house, especially the portrait of his mother. Lily only met her once, and this was a meeting she wished she never made.

"How is Harry?" Remus asked her.

"Better, I guess. He's no longer at the infirmary," she informed him. Though this wasn't really his physical health she was worried about right now. It had been two days now that Voldemort had returned.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Lily," Arthur Weasley said on the side of the table. He was one of the new faces in the room. Lily smiled at him.

"Thank you, Arthur. I wish I could be as positive as you are."

The bell rang. Sirius went to the door and half-opened it. He made the same sign to the newcomer that he made to Lily before.

"He's here," he whispered to the rest of the dining room. Almost instantly, everyone stood up, just as Albus Dumbledore walked into the dining room of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. He had a grave and serious expression on his face, which showed to what extent the situation was serious. He found a place at the very end of the table, which had been left free instinctively by everyone present in the dining room, and he sat down. The others imitated him.

"I don't believe that I need to tell you why we are all gathered here today, but I will say it nonetheless. And we may have to say it a lot before everyone believes us. Lord Voldemort has returned."

A shiver went through the assembly. Although the Order of the Phoenix was made of people who dedicated their lives to fight Voldemort, and that many of them didn't fear saying his name, hearing it, especially after so much time, still produced an effect. Lily herself was not immune to this as she shivered as well. Maybe it wasn't much the name that bothered her but the news of his return, which she was still processing two days after her son came back from that maze in a very sorry state, having witnessed the death of one of his friends.

"I thank you all for responding so quickly to my call. Those who were there the last time, and those who are new to it." Dumbledore cast a glance towards each one of them, one by one. "Some of us couldn't make it tonight. Severus is on a mission that requires his full attention." Lily noticed Sirius distorted expression at the mention of the name. "And Alastor Moody is still recovering from the treatment he was submitted to these last few months. But I can assure you that they will both be by our side for this new war. Because I'm not going to lie to you, this is a new war."

A heavy atmosphere fell on the dining room as some people slowly took in the fact that a new war had indeed begun.

"So, what do we do now?" Sirius asked. He was always one of the first ready to head on straight into the confrontation.

"First, I'm going to tell you everything that we know so far about the return of Voldemort. And you should know first how he came back. For that, we must return thirteen years ago, on the night when Lord Voldemort was defeated." Lily felt some gazes on her, but Dumbledore continued as if it didn't happen. "When Lord Voldemort was defeated, he found himself without a body. In his own words, he was weaker than the weakest of ghosts and spirits. But he didn't die. He settled in a forest of Albania where he waited for an opportunity to come back. There, he came across a young man by the name of Quirinus Quirrell, who happened to be also a professor at Hogwarts, four years ago now. Voldemort submitted him, and through him, he tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone, which would have given him a new body. However, thanks to Lily and her son, he failed. He seems to have returned in Albania from that moment. Then two years ago, Peter Pettigrew, one of the remaining Death Eaters still hunted by the Ministry, was found, judged and sent to Azkaban for life." There were many reactions around the table. They almost all knew who Wormtail was. He had been one of them during the previous war, and he betrayed them. "However, he escaped. He found Voldemort in Albania and received a mission from him. To steal Harry Potter's blood."

Again, Lily felt eyes on her. She wished the others would stop this. She was no special person. They had fought Voldemort and his followers just like she did over thirteen years ago. They all risked their life for a faint hope of defeating the most evil wizard of all time. She was mostly lucky to survive. But even within the Order now, even among her friends, she had become a legend. And she hated that. Dumbledore continued with his story.

"Today we know with certainty why Voldemort was looking for Harry's blood. He needed it to come back to life. Voldemort wanted to use an old potion, an old piece of dark magic, to get a new body. And for that, he needed the blood of one of his enemies. He chose Harry's blood because Harry is protected since the night Voldemort tried to kill him by an old magic that prevents Voldemort from even touching him. Voldemort considered that by using Harry's blood to come back, he would be able to reach him. However, Pettigrew failed to get Harry's blood, and died in the process. But last summer, another Death Eater who had not lost hope in reviving Voldemort began to search for him. Bartemius Crouch Junior."

This elicited many reactions around the table among those who didn't know yet that Crouch Junior was alive.

"I thought he died at Azkaban years ago," Arthur said.

"We all thought so, Arthur. But he didn't. About a year after he was sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban, Barty Crouch Junior was taken out of the prison by his father." New shock among the people present. "He exchanged his place with his dying mother, who drank Polyjuice to make everyone believe that she was her son. He was then kept prisoner by his own father, submitted to the Imperious Curse and hidden for many years. But at the Quidditch World Cup last summer, he escaped. He killed his father's house-elf and a wizard by the name of George Goldstein, stole his wand, and he cast the Dark Mark in the skies of Great Britain for the first time in many years."

"So that was him," Arabella Figg said in her sharp voice.

"Yes, Arabella. It was him. The Ministry of Magic and I found out about it soon enough, and a special team was constituted to find and arrest him in secret. Lily worked on it. She spent the best part of the last year on the continent trying to find him." Entire months that were wasted, in Lily's opinion. "Crouch Junior found Voldemort, just like Pettigrew did before him. And they set up a plan to get Harry far from Hogwarts so they could use him to revive Voldemort. Crouch knew from his father that the Triwizard Tournament would take place at Hogwarts this year. So first, he managed to sneak inside the castle by setting a trap for Moody at his home. Moody went to his home around Halloween when one of his alarms started, and there Crouch Junior incapacitated him, and then impersonated him using Polyjuice. And from that moment, the Alastor Moody who taught my students at Hogwarts was an impostor. He tricked the Goblet of Fire into getting Harry in the competition, then made sure that Harry went through the first two tasks and won the third task. The Triwizard Cup that the winner of the third task was supposed to seize was turned into a Portkey that would carry Harry to a place where Voldemort and Crouch could make him prisoner. The plan didn't go entirely according to their previsions. Harry was not the only one to take the Cup this night. As a result, another student, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by Crouch Junior. And I am afraid he has become the first victim of this new conflict."

At that, Dumbledore marked a pause, and no one dared to break it. They all knew how Dumbledore cared about his students. Lily had personally met the parents of the boy when they came to see her and Harry the morning following their son's death. They were utterly devastated. Somehow, Lily felt that she was in part responsible for what happened as well. If she had managed to find Barty Crouch Junior before he could kill anyone, before he could complete his plan, the boy would still be alive, and Voldemort wouldn't be back.

"Voldemort then used Harry's blood, along with the bones of his father, and the flesh of his servant, Barty Crouch Junior himself, to make himself a new body. We know that because Harry managed to escape Voldemort. Once more." A wave of relief spread across the place. "Thanks to him, a little more than an hour after Voldemort's return, I knew that he was back. This is the reason why we are all gathered here."

Dumbledore then looked at Lily. "We owe much to your boy, Lily. You may not realize it, but if he hadn't escaped, we might not have realized that Voldemort was back before days, even weeks at best. He might even have managed to remain hidden and unknown for months." Dumbledore then looked at all of them. "We have a chance to act before Voldemort can get too powerful. Which is not an invitation to underestimate him," he warned. "Voldemort might just have returned to a full body, but he is just as powerful and intelligent as right before he disappeared. And he had thirteen years to prepare his return."

"What do you believe he's going to do?" Vance asked.

"I think his main priority will be to rebuild his army. Thanks to Harry, we have the identity of many Death Eaters who joined him the night Voldemort came back. Not all of them did. We know for a fact that Karkaroff took off. And of course, those who are currently in Azkaban were not able to attend. But we know for a certainty that Lucius Malfoy, Macnair, Crabbe, Avery and a few others were present. About twenty of them, maybe."

"Those who escaped punishment at the end of the previous war," Kingsley summarized.

"Correct, Kingsley. And this poses a problem. Some of them hold great influence and power in the wizarding community. There are even some who work for the Ministry of Magic."

"Not to mention that Fudge owes his mandate to Lucius Malfoy's money in large part," Fletcher commented.

"Indeed. And this leads us to our second problem. Cornelius Fudge refuses to acknowledge Voldemort's return. This is not unexpected, but this poses a problem. This means we must expect no help from the Ministry of Magic this time. We are entirely on our own."

"Not necessarily, Dumbledore," Kingsley said. "Amelia Bones. She's taking Voldemort's return very seriously. She sent me along three other Aurors to the graveyard where his return took place hours after it happened. We found traces of the fight between him and Harry. The bones of his father were missing in his grave. We also found traces of a huge gathering that night, and more importantly, a Muggle by the name of Frank Bryce has gone missing in the village nearby since Voldemort returned. His appearance corresponds to the description Harry made of the Muggle Voldemort murdered that night. She is collecting proofs and evidence of his return. Not to mention the autopsy on Cedric Diggory's body. We should be able very soon to say with certainty that it was Barty Crouch Junior who killed him with the wand he previously stole to another wizard."

"I don't doubt that Amelia will do her work diligently, Kingsley, but I doubt that Fudge will listen to her. He has already fired Barty Crouch Senior."

"Good riddance," Sirius declared. Everyone turned towards him. His hatred of Crouch for sending him to Azkaban was common knowledge.

"Not that much, Sirius. We may disagree with Barty's methods, but at least he took Voldemort seriously and he wasn't blindly following Cornelius' orders. Now that he's gone, I'm afraid Fudge will replace him by a puppet figure who will do exactly as he says. And Fudge has already started to denigrate me, probably to make sure no one would believe me when I say that Voldemort is back. I'm afraid he's going to clear the ranks of the Ministry from anybody who publicly announces Voldemort's return."

Desperate and exasperated groans were emitted unanimously.

"No, we cannot expect any help from the Ministry for now. Not while Fudge is in power."

"Then let's depose him." Everyone looked at Sirius. "Replace him. Dumbledore, everyone wanted you to become Minister five years ago. Fudge only made it to the position because you refused. Let's put your candidacy this time."

There were many murmurs of support to the idea. But Dumbledore pushed it away in an instant. "Sirius, I appreciate the merit you give me, but I am not going to become Minister of Magic, not now, not ever. And I am certainly not going to overthrow Fudge like Voldemort would like to do. This would make us no better than he or his supporters are."

"So what? We let that squid of Fudge be Minister?" Fletcher asked, obviously disgusted.

"For the time being, I'm afraid we will have no choice. Fudge is not the main problem anyway. Voldemort is. And those who support him. From what Harry heard in that graveyard and the first reports I received, he's planning to rebuild his army. He plans to bring the giants to his side, like the last time, but also the Dementors. I also have information that indicate he plans to enlist the werewolves." He sent a sorry glance at Remus, who returned it. "And he's going to set free his supporters who are imprisoned at Azkaban."

"Which will be easy if he's got the Dementors on his side," Vance commented.

"So, for now, he only has a few Death Eaters at his service?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, this is what I think. A situation Voldemort does not intend to maintain for a very long time," Dumbledore said.

"Then what are we waiting for? We should attack them while they are weak. I know that it might be impossible, even if we combined all our forces, to defeat Voldemort, but we can at least destroy his base of supporters. He will not be as dangerous if he doesn't have anyone to carry out his orders."

"And what do you suggest we do, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, sounding very interested and open about what Sirius would suggest, like he always was when a member of the Order wanted to suggest something.

"We should raid the homes of the Death Eaters we know and arrest them. We know where they live. This is no secret for anybody. We arrest them and we keep them prisoner somewhere secret. Not at Azkaban, of course, somewhere we could actually keep them in jail. How many are they? Twenty? They are not many enough to submerge us yet. Last time, we were at one against twenty. We should take action while we have a certain advantage in numbers."

"What do you all think?" Dumbledore asked the others.

"It may be worth it," Vance commented. "We could cut Voldemort's legs early, deprive him of his most powerful and important agents, including his informants at the Ministry. This could hamper his efforts to recruit his army."

"I see why it would sound tempting," Remus said, "but although Voldemort does not have a numerical advantage right now, we don't have it either. We are still not so many. And the Death Eaters we would be up against are some of the most powerful among Voldemort's partisans. Only arresting a few of them would require tremendous efforts and preparations. We cannot send only one of us for each Death Eater. Not to mention that some of us are not great duelists. There are even some, with all due respect, who cannot use magic."

He said the last words while sending an apologetic look at Arabella. "No offence taken," she replied. "And although I would like to see all those Death Eaters in jail, how are you going to keep them under arrest once you get them? You will need people to watch over them. And those people will not be available for the other important missions of the Order."

"Not to mention the impacts it would have on the public opinion," Dumbledore finally spoke up, and no one dared to interrupt him. "This is regrettable, but we must take it into account. If we go after the current Death Eaters, for many people, we will only be illegally arresting legitimate and respectable members of the wizarding community. This could expose the Order and get many of us in jail. And considering that right now we cannot permit ourselves to lose anyone or to expose the Order, I'm afraid a head-on assault on Voldemort's forces would not be in our advantage right now. This could get several of you killed and decapitate the Order."

"We would need the help of the Ministry to arrest all these people," Lily then said, and everyone looked at her. "The Aurors. If we could have all of them by our side, we could neutralize the Death Eaters who are currently free if we took them by surprise."

"Good luck with that," Fletcher commented. "As long as Fudge is in power, the Ministry will do nothing."

"Not necessarily," Kingsley said. "There are people at the Ministry who take the situation seriously. When the time comes, I believe we can count on their help."

"The woman who leads the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Diggle asked. "Amelia Bones? She is Edgar's sister, isn't she? She's technically at the head of the Aurors. Could she give us some help?"

"No, she will not," Dumbledore declared. "I have known Amelia for many years. From what some of you have been able to tell me, she takes the possibility of Voldemort being back very seriously. But she remains loyal and committed to the Ministry, and respectful of the laws. I don't think she will go after us like Fudge is probably going to. She may even allow us to lead our operations and turn a blind eye to a certain extent, but she will not openly support us. And she will not authorize the arrest of people without proof that they committed crimes. And for now, all she has is the testimony of Harry. This will never be enough. If she was to arrest the Death Eaters only based on his words, I'm afraid she would be removed from office by Fudge. And we cannot allow that to happen. Fudge already got rid of Barty. If he was also to place one of his allies in Magical Law Enforcement, this will be a catastrophe. Amelia is currently the person that makes sure her service is immune to Voldemort's influence. The moment she is gone, he will have no problem infiltrating it."

"Maybe we could at least ask her to join the Order. After all, she's Edgar's sister," Sturgis suggested.

"Amelia is already on our side. But asking her to join the Order would bring too much attention on her. It is better to keep her at a certain distance so Fudge does not become suspicious."

Lily could see Dumbledore's reasoning. She had to admit that the last thing she wanted was to see one of Fudge's friends leading the department she worked in. She wondered how Fudge would react when he would see the results of the investigation that was started around Cedric Diggory'a death.

"So, if we don't attack directly the Death Eaters, what are going to do?" Sirius asked, growing impatient.

Lily could see he wanted to take immediate action. She understood him. There were people who stood by Voldemort's side when he tried to kill Harry two days ago, and she wanted nothing more but to put all these men and women in prison.

"For now, Voldemort is not going to attract much attention on him. Like I said, he will focus on rebuilding his army. We must stop him from doing so. I already sent envoys to the giants."

"I guess that explains why Hagrid isn't here today?" Fletcher commented, smiling openly with his yellow teeth. Dumbledore continued as if he didn't hear him.

"With some hope and luck, we will get them, or a part of them on our side. We will also need to do work with the other magical races. Werewolves, goblins, even the centaurs. Remus, we will need your help on that point."

Remus nodded. "I can contact the people I know."

"We may need you for more dangerous work eventually. This may entail infiltrating communities that are closer to Voldemort. Including those led by Fenrir Greyback."

Remus nodded. He would do his duty, but Lily knew he took no pleasure at the prospect of this. Greyback was almost a recognized Death Eater, and he was the werewolf who bit him when he was a child.

"Arthur." Dumbledore turned to him. "I know this is a lot to ask, but…"

"Bill is ready to join us," Arthur Weasley replied immediately. "I barely told him that You-Know-Who was back that he wanted to join the fight. He's probably already probing the goblins. I also wrote to Charlie to inform him. I know that he is in Romania, but…"

"He is welcomed, Arthur. As long as he knows the danger and joins the Order willingly. We need new members in the Order. Arthur and Kingsley are welcomed, but we need more people. Including in other countries. Voldemort will not waste time to rebuild his own network. He will have support all over the world."

"If you're looking for new members, I already have someone in mind," Kingsley said. "Nymphadora Tonks. She's the young Auror I supervise."

"I know her," Lily said. "We trained to become Aurors together. She's Andromeda Tonks' daughter. I trust her. And I have a few colleagues myself who may be interested in joining."

"This is all very good," Dumbledore said. "But we must be careful all the same. Fudge is already on us. Be careful to who you talk about the Order. You must be certain of their thoughts and their intentions before offering them to join the group. However, recruiting new members and allies will not be our only priority. We may have a broad idea of what Voldemort intends to do, but we're not clear about the details. We need to know what he is doing, and what his followers are doing. As such, we will need to spy on his partisans and their activities, without them or the Ministry noticing. And since our own activities will be dangerous, we need to take precautions to protect your families."

Immediately, Lily thought of Harry. In one week, he would be home. How would she ensure his safety? She wouldn't be able to watch over him at all times.

"Sirius, can this house be turned into permanent headquarters?" Dumbledore asked him.

"I suppose we can, but it is going to be hard. It was uninhabited for many years, and this old elf did little to maintain it. That's going to be a lot of work only to make it a place fit to live, let alone headquarters," Harry's godfather explained.

"Molly can give a hand," Arthur said. "To make a house a good place to live, she's the best. And since we're talking about the protection of our families, could I move all my children here? I think they would be safer than at our home currently."

"Of course, Arthur. They are welcomed," Dumbledore assured. Then he looked to Sirius. "Unless you see a problem with this, Sirius. I am conscious that we are in your home, after all."

"No problem at all," James' friend assured instantly. "Extra hands will not be refused. It will be a hell of a job to make this place livable again."

"You'll see. In two weeks, you won't recognize the place," Arthur said with a smile.

"Maybe we should get Harry here as well," Remus said. "No offense, Lily, but he's the one who's going to need the most protection."

"It's fine, Remus," she replied. "I must say… I'm really worried. I cannot be there to protect my son at all times of day. I have work at the Ministry to do." And this work would be even more important due to recent events.

"It will not be necessary to move Harry to the headquarters. Not right now, at least." Lily was surprised by the words. She was about to protest but Dumbledore continued. "Voldemort may have reduced the power of the protection Harry had, but this protection is still very much alive." He looked at her. "As long as he lives with you, Lily, and that he views the place where he lives with you as his home, he will be protected. Voldemort will not be able to reach him."

"Are we sure about that? Voldemort is able to touch him now. How can we be sure that his protection at home is still working?"

"I am sure. And when I am sure of something, I am seldom wrong."

"Even in this case, Dumbledore, will Harry also be protected from everybody else? What if Voldemort sends one of his Death Eaters after him?" Remus asked.

"It is very unlikely. I think Voldemort made it very clear that he wants to kill Harry himself. He failed again, so he will try once more, until he succeeds. And that is something we cannot allow to happen. Even if the probabilities that Voldemort sends one of his servants after Harry is slim, it exists. So we will have to watch Harry at all time, especially when he goes out. I doubt we would be able to keep him inside the Abandoned Tower anyway, even if we tried. Protecting Harry will be one of our main priorities in the coming months."

They spent the following hour developing plans to ensure Harry's protection. It was strange for Lily to be there, among all those people who were discussing her son. Before, she was the only one to ensure his protection. Now there would be an army assigned to this task.

Harry wasn't the only thing they discussed. Further plans to spy on Voldemort and his disciples were developed. Ideas of recruitment were thrown around. Each member received special missions and priorities. Lily, for now, had to probe people in the Ministry, those she trusted, to see who could be considered as potential allies. She was also to watch over her son, of course, but Dumbledore had the decency to say that he didn't need to tell her that. Everyone, especially those at the Ministry like Lily, were also to report any information they could gather on the Ministry of Magic, what it intended to do about Voldemort, and how Voldemort might be trying to infiltrate and influence it. Barty Crouch came as a subject, some suggesting that they might try to recruit him in the Order, something Sirius vehemently opposed. For the time being, all options remained on the table.

At the end of meeting, some people left, but others also remained behind to discuss. Lily, on her side, rushed to Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore, I appreciate that you're trying to protect Harry the best you can, but there is something else I must ask of you," she told him.

"What is it, Lily? I'm all ears."

"I need you to protect my family."

All her family.

I will try to show the conflict in more details. The books focused on Harry, with the war mostly happening in the background until the seventh book. But given the many POVs I set, I'm going to use the opportunity to show how things are evolving in the world outside of Hogwarts. This is the first chapter of many in that style.

Please review.

Next chapter: Harry