LAST TIME:

"That's all then. Do you have anything to ask of me?"

"Do you have any information right now about the other side?" Harry enquired, taking the last bite of his starter.

"Not much. But I can give you some things that governments around the world have hidden in the past few weeks. And I do have some heavy inner information on it."

"Really?"

"Yes. And we have three more courses to go." She said with a grin, as she clinked her wine glass twice with her knife, making three waiters hurry toward the table.

Harry was in for a long talk. And just maybe, he had made a very beneficial deal for himself.


Ch.71 The Calm Before the Storm

16th February 1996

Room of Requirements, Hogwarts

"Harry, can I have a moment of your time?" Hermione's sharp voice cut through Harry's concentration, like a hot knife through butter.

Pulling his quill away from the parchment, Harry looked up to see his friend, who was standing in front of him with a huge scroll in her arms, making Harry blink.

"You've been working on something?" Harry asked, tilting his head. "Or is it just OWLs stress? Because if it is, I hate to tell you that you will get an EE in all subjects without even studying."

Hermione's bushy hair looked like it had seen better days. There were slight dark circles under her eyes which looked slightly bloodshot.

"I've been working on something," she said briskly, as she waved her wand, making the books on his table levitate away, stacking them neatly on a chair to the side.

"Hey," Harry said indignantly. "I am working on something."

"Alchemy. I saw." She said with a slight smirk as her eyes darted to the parchment Harry was writing on.

Harry frowned. "There is no way you can understand what I've written. Not to brag but this is advanced alchemy and a single page of what I am doing."

"I don't understand it. Not all of it." She said, leaning over to read the parchment. "But I can tell that you're working on Alchemy. It is the only thing that uses potion ingredients, runes, arithmancy, and charms as one to work."

Silence reigned for a tick, as Harry stared at Hermione.

"I also saw the book title," She added, making Harry snort. "But I bet I can deduce something out of what you were writing."

"Be my guest," Harry said, as he pushed his chair back, allowing Hermione to walk around the table to look at the parchment Harry had been working on.

Leaning closer, she frowned at the parchment, her eyes darting over everything Harry had written.

"I can read most of the runes," she muttered, trailing her finger over the runic cluster Harry had roughly drawn. "This is the arithmetic breakdown for the episkey charm if I am not wrong. And I can see that you've written down the properties of moonfern— or it could be dittany?"

"Dittany," Harry confirmed with a smile.

"Okay. Then this is something related to healing. I cannot tell what you're aiming to do. I would need to read your whole work for that. But I reckon you're trying to create a powerful healing elixir."

"Recreating the Elixir of Life," Harry corrected, making Hermione quirk an eyebrow.

"The Philosopher's Stone? I didn't know it had healing properties." Hermione blinked.

"I am not creating the stone— Just the elixir." Harry corrected, running a hand through his hair. "My hypothesis was that it was a healing elixir powerful enough to cure any and all ailments of the body, preventing a natural death."

"Any luck?"

"Not a single bit," Harry sighed mournfully.

He had tried it all but he was hitting a block when it came to handling more than five problems at a time.

Alchemy was tricky like that.

"You'll figure it out," Hermione said, poking his arm. "Now— I wanted to show you this. Wanted a second opinion on it."

"Yes?"

Hermione spread the huge role of parchment in her hand over Harry's desk in response, making him blink at its sheer size.

"Where did you even find such a big piece of parchment?" Harry muttered as he stood up to get a better look at the huge size of parchment she had worked upon.

The huge space was neatly divided into two segments, one filled with arithmetic formulas, written in Hermione's tiny, neat handwriting while the other half had geometric shapes with runes placed upon them, creating immaculate runic clusters.

"That's quite some work," Harry said, looking over his shoulder at Hermione who shrugged in response.

"Took me two weeks to get this done. It is something to help protect Hogwarts. I need you to check if I've gotten everything right. Or— give suggestions if any."

Harry nodded briskly as he turned back to the huge parchment in order to do what Hermione had asked of him.

The feathers of his quill trailed down the arithmetic formulas while his eyes darted to check the runes she had drawn.

As he read more of it, his eyes widened and his breath hitched in his throat. "Hermione—"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you the purpose. These are my runic designs to animate huge stone statues," she breathed, excitement coloring her tone. "Permanently. Of course, you should've already figured that out though. You know, with you being Harry Potter and all."

Hermione's giggle seemed like music to his ears as relief spread through Harry's chest, his doubts proving to be unfounded.

"Oh, of course." Harry realized a moment later that relief in his voice was evident, as he saw Hermione frown.

"You thought of this to be something else," she stated, narrowing her eyes. "What did you think this was?"

"Um—" Harry said as he contemplated his options.

"Well?" Hermione demanded, her fingers drumming on his table as she leaned to look right in his eyes.

"The runic designs you've made are also used as a part of something else," Harry sighed, finding no reason to lie to Hermione. "An Inferi creation ritual to be precise. To create what many call to be true Inferi."

Hermione took a step back, her eyes going wide in horror. "Blimey. I never knew that Necromancy used runes," She breathed before frowning again. "And— Inferi creation is a spell, as far as I know from reading about them. Of course, the spell wasn't given but it was clearly stated that it was a spell."

"It is," Harry replied, his jaw twitching. "Mortui Resurgant Voco Inferi."

"What?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Harry grinned.

"The spell, Hermione. Mortui Resurgant Voco Inferi. It is a spell that most who create Inferi use. But they're not Inferi. Not truly. More like animated dead bodies bidding to a command. Think animation charm on a dead body instead of an object— with added viciousness. But they just follow the command of the wizard or witch who performed the spell. Once the spell ends, it is game over for an Inferi."

"And– And what are these true Inferi then?" Hermione prodded.

"They're creatures of magic. Sentient like animals but with one single purpose that they're programmed for. They are alive and don't need constant commands from their creator. There's a reason why it is called necromancy. Giving life to something long dead."

"Oh."

"Also, the true Inferi are more resilient to magic than the ones created by the spell. Vicious. Harder to kill even. And their bite is poisonous. Abominations created by magic, really."

"And I was halfway doing that?" She asked, her voice sounding aghast.

"Not really. There are some elements to it but it is different, as you said. You are enchanting an object by runes. Of course, while you can use a simple animation charm to do your bidding— Transfiguration and charms at their finest, really. But with runes—"

"I am trying to make them stronger. Invulnerable as possible and—" her breath hitched. "Semi-sentient with the purpose to protect."

Hermione's jaw twitched as she gazed mournfully at the piece of parchment on the table.

"I shouldn't go ahead with this idea, should I?"

"Of course, you should. Just because it is similar to something doesn't mean it is the same, does it? This seems like a rather good project."

"I was thinking of making some of these for Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. For, you know? Additional protection in case the Death Eaters attack here."

Harry smiled, not having the heart to tell her that each and every suit of armor in the castle was designed to do just that in case Hogwarts was ever attacked. A single command phrase would activate them, known only to the headmaster and their deputy. Of course, Helga and Salazar had given it to Harry as well, should he ever need it.

But it was not a bad call to do so with what was happening all over the world.

A part of Harry really despised the fact that Gellert Grindelwald of all people had joined Voldemort's movement. The man was proving to be a headache of epic proportions to not only him but the whole world.

After burning Myshkin, Grindelwald had not stopped, proceeding to burn a lot more places around Russia. The only relief for now was that Grindelwald was sticking to muggle regions for now, which was not much to say. People were still being killed daily under his orders.

Over the past week, three more villages of muggle Russia had been attacked. One had suffered the fate of Myshkin while the other two muggle towns had been raided by his knights causing a great loss of life.

Salazar reckoned that Russia would fall before February was out and Harry was inclined to agree with him. Already protests supporting Grindelwald and opposing the government had begun in parts of Russia.

How people could support someone like Grindelwald was beyond Harry. But then again, Dark Lords always had supporters.

"You should really try to do it," Harry said, breaking out of his thoughts. "How do you plan on carving the runes?"

"The same way we normally do it?" Hermione frowned. "The carving charm."

Harry shook his head. "If you really want the enchanting to be effective, the carving has to be done with special tools. There is a reason why premium enchanted items are so expensive and long-lasting, unlike simple items with charms and such."

"You mean to say that I would've to carve every rune by hand?"

"Well, if you want it to be as effective as I think, yes. Especially if you want to use it for protection because runes drawn with a carving charm have a vital flaw—"

"They can be erased with a simple repairing charm if it is done wrong," Hermione said mechanically, as her eyes drifted over the paper. "And anybody can render the carving ineffective with one single spell. So it has to be done with an enchanted tool that will…"

Hermione trailed off while Harry just nodded in response as he joined his fingertips and stared at her imploringly.

"There's gotta be like a hundred runes here," She whispered. "And to do them by hand is going to be a pain. Ughh."

"Well, you might not have to do it by hand. You just have to use a tool instead of a carving charm." Harry prompted with an amused smile, making her head snap up.

"What?"

"Instead of a carving charm to carve runes directly, you use a carefully controlled levitation charm on the carving tool and carve the rock as you wish. Of course, it requires practice and not to mention, control and precision, but it can be done." Harry said slowly, his amusement increasing as he saw the look on Hermione's face.

"You mean to say that it will make a little difference if I carve it by hand or by the levitation charm on the tool." She huffed.

"No, it will. You just need practice," Harry snickered. "With enough practice, it will be a piece of cake. You need to try, Hermione. I am sure the brightest witch of our age can get it down before she is like— hmm, one-tenth way through these designs."

Harry's smile widened at Hermione's narrowed eyes, looking at him suspiciously.

"You know how to do it, don't you?" She asked rhetorically.

"I am Harry Potter," Harry shrugged. "Now, I will lend you my rune-carving kit. Careful, I just have one and it is expensive even by my standards. Dobby!"

A pop sounded a fraction of a second later, announcing Dobby's arrival.

"Can you please get me my Rune-carving kit, Dobby? It will be on my table."

"Yes, Master Harry Potter sir," he replied, eagerly nodding his head before popping away.

"You say it is expensive," Hermione said slowly. "How expensive are we talking about?"

Dobby popped in again, with a wooden box in his hand, and handed it to Harry.

"You might want to see yourself," Harry said, opening the case and presenting it to Hermione.

Resting atop soft, crimson velvet, a dozen carving tools displayed their gleaming edges, casting a brilliant shine upon the golden and silver metals of the tools. Harry heard Hermione's breath hitch.

"Is that—"

"Pure gold and platinum tools. Diamond cut edges with real diamond dust. It will cut through rock like melted butter."

Hermione continued to stare at the case in her hand dumbfounded.

"So, don't lose any one of those," Harry added after a moment of stunned silence.

"Is this—" Hermione trailed off, not taking her eyes off the toolset. "The most expensive type of rune carving set out there?"

Harry snorted. "It doesn't even come close. The most expensive ones— the ones that the world's costliest enchanters use are tools made of pure mithril and enchanted to the teeth, so to speak. In comparison, this is just a standard kit."

"Do you have those—"

"Of course not," Harry scoffed. "That mithril set? It costs thrice as much as a Firebolt for one single tool. It is mithril, after all. But the enchanting it does? It stays as it was the day it was crafted. Forever. It is used to create the most powerful magical objects and tether wards that are meant to last for generations."

"Understandable," Hermione muttered. "So, these runic circles. Are they— okay to go?"

Harry hummed in response as he ran his eyes over the extensive diagram.

"The one for strength is perfect. Unbreakability and durability are— right as well. Good job. The animation runes, tricky. Which animal is this for, again?"

"Any animal I make out of rocks?" Hermione asked.

"Not really. For instance, if you give it the shape of a— say, dinosaur, it will work differently than a rhino, whose horn will be a lethal weapon of attack. The one you've written goes for running around mostly. The more intricate details are lacking."

"Oh," she sighed softly. "So what will this work for?"

"Something shaped like a horse? Depends on the size too. A centaur-shaped one though, would have the possibility of much more added functionality if you make that. Like, holding a weapon."

"Of course. So, should I make a human-like structure?"

"No. Use stuff with more bulk like elephants or rhinos," Harry advised thoughtfully. "Instead of programming them to attack, they can be used as sacrifices to take spell fire from the enemy. Or better yet, just use the runes to make it stronger and, if possible, heavier. Then, anyone can animate them as and when needed. It is certainly less work than what you're planning to do."

"That's, I guess, more practical," Hermione frowned. "I will try to make some like you asked."

"Indeed. I will check these designs properly. Make the horses, designed to intercept spell fire and enchant the other stone statues with added protection. Those will be animated to attack or defend, as and when needed."

"Right," Hermione nodded. "So, this is right for the horses though, isn't it?"

"I just started it, Hermione," Harry shook his head. "Give me an hour to check over it."


18th February 1996

Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London

A hush spread over the table as Dumbledore stood at the head of the table silently, allowing the members of the Order to process what he had just said.

"Are you sure, Albus?" Flitwick squeaked. "Oblansk was one of the staunchest opposers of the Grindelwald ideology amongst— everyone. Why would he— why would he withdraw his support against them?"

"It is possible that someone is impersonating him," Sirius suggested. "Or he's under the Imperius."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Minister Oblansk, as far as I know, worked as the head of Russia's foreign affairs before he ascended to the post of the Minister of Magic. It is improbable that he would pull such an act, after vocally opposing Gellert."

"Plus, he has not made any public appearances in recent days," Harry added. "The effects of an Imperious would've been caught by anyone close to Oblansk or a competent Hit-wizard if he had. This gives credence to the theory."

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded. "Though, polyjuice is out of the question. The missive sent to the ICW was sealed with his signature and seal, as they ought to be. Magical signatures, as we know, are impossible to forge. And I checked the magical seal and signature myself. They're legitimate."

"He could also be threatened," Moody growled. "His family was attacked a few weeks ago, wasn't it? It is possible that Grindelwald is holding one of his family members hostage. Or all of it."

A wave of murmurs rushed through the room as people nodded in assent.

"That is beside the point right now," Harry declared. "We can assume that magical Russia has effectively fallen to Grindelwald. All the resources Russia had are now Grindelwald's and by extension, Voldemort's."

"That includes the Auror force, Russia's treasury, its votes, and not to mention, the criminals Russia had," Augusta Longbottom said, looking grimly over the top of her glasses. "And the ICW won't move a muscle as there is no concrete evidence that Russia has been taken over by a foreign power."

"I cannot even order an investigation into the matter as there has been no technical change in the government. It is still Oblansk's administration and all we have are theories." Dumbledore sighed, looking every day of his age. "And, Russia has also closed its borders off. It will be in the papers in a couple of days."

"Russia was never a clean house," Fleur said, running a thumb over the edge of the table and flicking imaginary dust off. "It was bound to fall sooner or later."

"With the pureblood supremacy rampant in the country, I wouldn't expect anything less," Bill scowled.

"What worries me are the criminals. The resources and money we can manage against. But the criminals in Russia? Those are hardened bastards. Gang wars are not uncommon there. And Oblansk had put three of the biggest gangs behind bars during his tenure."

"And now they're all out there," Scamander muttered darkly. "They've heavy numbers, professor. At least, Grindelwald does."

"So does the Dark Lord now," Snape drawled, his sharp voice holding an unusual edge to it. "The Dark Lord has recalled Greyback to his ranks."

Every single person in the room sat up straighter at that statement, their eyes now alert and fearful.

The tension and wariness in the air seemed to increase, if that had been possible.

Fenrir Greyback was the most notorious and savage werewolf to have ever walked on the planet. He was a wanted man in every single magical country in Europe, dead or alive. He had turned countless wizards into werewolves over the past three decades, including Remus Lupin.

He was a savage beast of a man, who had made it his mission to turn as many people into werewolves as he could.

And those he targeted were usually children, something Harry actively despised about the werewolf. Remus had been one of those targets. Greyback had turned him when he was five-years old.

He was the monster, mothers told their children to get them to sleep.

"When are they expected?" Amelia asked through gritted teeth as her knuckles turned white from clenching her goblet.

"Within a fortnight," Snape informed, his dark eyes glinting. "So are the giants. Wilfred Macnair has been tasked to bring the giants to Britain, as I mentioned in the last meeting. And Fenrir Greyback is on his way— from wherever the mutt is."

"I will keep my Aurors on alert," Amelia said. "Moody, I want a squadron of your best on them."

Moody just grunted in response, his magical eye spinning in its socket.

Alastor Moody was undoubtedly proving that he was the man for the job as the new head of the DMLE. Since he had taken up the post, the record of the Auror and Hitwizard force had gone up.

Rumor was that he was mercilessly beating the Aurors and Hitwizard squads back into shape to the point that he was the most hated person in the ministry right now.

But there was no doubt the man had been effective. The crime so far, had remained down despite Voldemort's return.

The Aurors had even raided Knockturn Alley twice in the past couple of months, catching a sizable amount of crooks and illegal dealers who had failed to escape in time.

They still didn't have anything on the Death Eaters but Moody was, as usual, remaining vigilant.

He had introduced 24/7 Auror presence over all places that might be attacked alongside patrols and other security measures. For instance, a vast majority of the ministry entrances had also been sealed under Moody's orders. Only the highest officials, like Amelia and himself, were allowed to floo in. The rest had to use the main entrance where they were screened before being allowed to enter.

But it was not only Moody who was remaining vigilant, it seemed.

Everyone, by now, was on edge.

Gringotts had lines that people had to wait in for as long as five hours or so Bill had said. The already extensive security of Gringotts, had been increased. Now, every single person was being thoroughly screened before being let into the bank.

Even smaller establishments like the Daily Prophet were running routine checks on their employees.

"Shuffle the lookout schedule for all places as well," Harry said on a whim. "A thorough shuffle. Plus, prepare safe-houses for the Order in case anyone needs to go into hiding or we need to help someone."

"I get the safe house factor," Arthur said slowly. "But why the shuffle, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "It is a security measure. So no one is bought out easily."

"You think we can be bought?" Scrimgeour scoffed.

"If not bought, you can be persuaded. By means that you would not like." Harry said, leveling Scrimgeour with a look, who remained silent.

"The safe houses. What do we do about that? We are not funded exactly."

"I have two," Moody grunted, lightly tapping his staff on the ground. "And you— Bones, Potter, Black, Greengrass, and Longbottom shouldn't have a lack of houses, I guess."

Lord Greengrass nodded. "I have a home in Southampton which has been unused for years. There's one in Bristol as well, but it will need work. A lot of work."

"I offer you the Longbottom retreat in Preston. It is ready to use as a safe house." Augusta said, drawing herself higher.

"I don't have access to the properties of House Potter yet," Harry said apologetically, making Lord Greengrass and Augusta Longbottom frown.

"Why is that? You're Lord Potter."

"I will have access to the properties once I am seventeen, apparently. Or so Gringotts tells me. I have a list of the properties and everything. But I am unable to access those, unfortunately." Harry moaned. "But the Blacks have a small house in Derby. Sirius and I can offer that as yet another safe house."

"Should we really risk that?" Molly Weasley mused aloud. "No offense, but the Blacks of the old were known for less than pleasant things, I feel."

"You're not wrong," Sirius nodded. "But between the elves and Harry, we can make it safe for even a child, I am sure."

"Sounds about right," Amelia mused. "Also, I have a home in the States and one in Brazil, if we ever need a safe house away from Europe."

"The Burrow can also be used as a safe house," Arthur offered. "William has finished upgrading our wards and the Burrow is ready to use for the Order in its full capacity. At least till the children come back from Hogwarts. After which— we shall be moving back in there."

"Moving back?" Sirius frowned.

"It has been far too long, Sirius. We would like to return home now. No offense, but Arthur and I feel that we are overstaying your welcome. It will be especially tedious once all the kids are here." Molly said. "We will return to the Burrow once the children are back. Till then— and even after that, the Burrow is open to any order member to use as a safe house."

"That is quite generous of you," Dumbledore said. "I can offer my old house as a safe house. I live at Hogwarts year-round anyway, seldom visiting it. And it has excellent wards. All the safe houses need to be well-warded, though. Bill, I am giving you the responsibility to make sure they're safe enough."

"Yes, professor."

"Sirius, you are to shuffle the lookout schedules. Amelia, Alastor, keep the Auror force and Hit-wizard squadron on alert in case Voldemort decides to attack. Also, the Magical Reversal and Obliviation squads should be prepared to handle any aftermath of the damage. The Statute of Secrecy cannot collapse."

The three nodded solemnly.

"Severus, try to get more information on Greyback's movements. I will use my contacts to stall them and, if possible, end them. Same for the giants. You too try to do the same, Amos. Use your contacts to see if you can get anything." Dumbledore said.

"I can try that as well. So many werewolves will always leave tracks. Not to mention, giants." Harry offered, making a note to write to Anatasia Zabini.

If anyone could get that information easily, it was her.

"See to it that we get the information before they arrive in Britain. We should at least be aware of the fact that they're here before they attack."

"They'll likely attack on the fifth of next month," Newt Scamander suddenly said. "It is a full moon. And that is when werewolves transform."

"Fifth of March is a full moon," Amos Diggory nodded in agreement, his eyes wide. "And this attack will be at night when people are asleep."

"And I reckon it won't just be a single attack," Moody said. "Giants. Werewolves. Dementors."

"Dementors have remained unused so far," Harry nodded. "Their absence from the battlefield is almost uncanny."

"They're going to attack multiple locations at once. Where will they attack though, is the main question." Amelia said.

"One will be the muggle world. It is easy to repel dementors if someone knows a Patronus Charm. And they won't be used with giants and werewolves. I don't think Voldemort has manpower either, in terms of witches and wizards to attack. So it will be a creature attack."

"We would need to be ready. Even before that. Voldemort would not lay low for long. Keep an eye out for small attacks. They will soon increase." Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "And we will need to be ready."


AND… DONE! I hope you all liked the chapter.

A huge thanks to Mughil and Nanu for betaing the chapter!

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Lantzz: This is one single story. To me, it makes no sense of breaking it up into two especially when we are 70% through with it.

GodsPanPrincess4: No? Never heard of the fic before, but I'll check it out. Also, Contessa is an actual title(used to be) as far as I am aware.

SidRyuu14: The idea of getting them at a stalemate was exactly what I wanted, lol. That's why I brought Grindelwald into the picture.

Eiji11: Something tells me you haven't faced angry women before. Lmao.

N. A. Wennerholm and Stealacandy: I hope you both realize that this is fiction and so is Harry Potter. Authors have literary liberty to mess with such stuff especially when the worlds differ(Magical world and Muggle world are different).

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That's all! Thank you for your reviews!

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As of this moment, I have six main stories. They are:

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