Dear Wizarding Britain
Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I probably wouldn't be playing around on fanfiction.
A/N: If you received an update notice, it's only because I fixed a typo I noticed while rereading the chapter to help me decide where to start the next one. Nothing in this chapter has actually changed.
Harry was busy meditating and attempting to find his animagus form when he was interrupted by Dobby bringing him a copy of The Daily Prophet. Harry thanked Dobby and then opened the paper after Dobby popped back out, there he saw the article about Dumbledore's death. He briefly felt stirrings of sadness and sympathy at the news, before he just as quickly quashed it. Dumbledore didn't deserve any type of mourning from him, not after all he had done.
After reading the article, Harry shook his head and tutted to himself. If Voldemort had killed the man in battle, it would have been blasted from the rooftops. Voldemort himself would be out there killing people left and right in celebration. So one could only conclude that Dumbledore had died alone and not in some glorious battle with the Dark, because he didn't trust anyone else with all the secrets he kept close to his chest.
After reading the article, Harry was slightly appalled that even after Dumbledore's plan for Harry himself had been revealed for one and all, that the wizarding world was still in mourning for the manipulative, old coot.
Harry took a deep breath to calm his rising temper at the thought of the number of people who chose to ignore and overlook the man's faults upon his death, then decided he would have to try his animagus meditation at another time. So he got up and went looking for Hermione and the twins, so that he could share the news with them.
Hermione's face went through a plethora of different emotions; however, it finally settled on satisfaction. Her response when asked about it was, "After all of the mess he created and the troubles that he caused, I find it most fitting that he died alone, without the glory of dying in battle."
Then Hermione said, "Now that Professor McGonagall is Headmistress of Hogwarts, people like Malfoy won't be able to get away with their horrid behavior towards the other students." She glanced out of the corner of her eye and noticed the way the three boys were trying no to fidget at the sound of Malfoy's name and added, "Look, I know you did something to Malfoy in revenge for what he did to me. Mine and his disappearances have been speculated about enough in The Prophet that I know something had to have happened to him. Based on the way you're trying not to fidget right now, I'd say you did something pretty horrible to him, probably something that I would not have approved of, so I'm not going to ask what you did. I'll only say thank you for fighting for me and not letting him have the opportunity to do what he attempted to do with me to anyone else."
Clearing his throat, Harry said, "You're welcome, Hermione. I could have done no less for my sister in all but blood. You're correct, as always, so we'll be keeping the details to ourselves, because you definitely don't want to know. But we do believe he's learned his lesson by now and won't be attempting such behavior again."
Hermione pressed her lips together tightly and gave a stiff nod in response, after which the topic was changed to lighter conversation, and the death of the so-called great Albus Too-Many-Names Dumbledore was discarded in favor of making plans for Harry's upcoming 17th birthday celebration.
A few weeks later, Hermione, Fred, and George had stayed up late, keeping Harry company until the stroke of midnight, which Harry had started doing on his own ever since he learned when his birthday was.
At the stroke of midnight, before gifts could be exchanged, Harry's body was engulfed in a light so bright that it nearly blinded Hermione and the twins. Hermione exclaimed in worry and rushed to try to assist Harry, but was bounced backwards by the presence of some sort of shield that surrounded the immediate area around him.
"What is happening?" Hermione asked the twins in worry.
"No clue," both Fred and George said at once.
After what felt like hours, but in reality was only a couple of minutes, the light started fading away to reveal Harry laying unconscious, with his hair cycling through different colors, as the magic continued to settle in his body.
"Merlin, has he somehow become a metamorphmagus like Tonks?" Fred asked in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Hermione had started casting every diagnostic spell she had learned and added in shocked awe, "Not only that, but his power levels have increased exponentially. We already knew he was more powerful than most witches and wizards our own age, but his powers seem to have tripled or even quadrupled that."
"The power he knows not," Harry was heard to have mumbled in his sleep.
"What's he going on about?" George asked curiously.
Fred and Hermione exchanged confused glances with each other and then turned back to George and Hermione said, "I don't know." Turning back to look at Harry, she added quietly, "But it looks like he may be out for a few hours. We should go and get some sleep. I'll leave a monitoring charm on him in case he wakes up. Then we'll give him our gifts after he's good and rested."
Fred and George nodded in agreement and they all left for their rooms to sleep.
It was the morning following Harry's birthday when he finally woke up. He had woken to the sound of Hermione's voice talking to the twins and sounding frustrated. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with him that I can find, I don't know why he's slept so long," he heard her say.
Just then, Harry drew their attention with a yawn and asked in a sleepy voice, "Wassat?"
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, and suddenly found his face smothered in bushy hair, as she literally jumped on top of him to wrap him in a hug.
Harry made an oomph sound and exclaimed, "Can't breathe!" Causing Hermione to jump back in alarm.
"Oh, Harry, we were so worried!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What happened?" Harry asked as he scratched his head and attempted to sit up. "On second thought, tell me after I've used the loo," Harry said, as he climbed out of bed.
"Oh, Harry, are you sure you shouldn't stay in bed?" Hermione asked worriedly.
Harry raised an eyebrow as he looked over his shoulder at the door. "I'm perfectly fine, Hermione."
Hermione gave him one of her looks that said, pull the other one.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Honestly, Hermione. I've never felt better. Matter of fact, I'm starving. I'll meet you all downstairs for breakfast, then you can tell me what all the fuss is about."
Hermione bit her lip and said, "If you're sure."
Harry nodded and the twins gave a mock salute and said together, "Aye, aye, Captain," before marching out of the room in mock military style, making Harry shake his head in fond amusement.
After everyone was seated at the table and Winky had served everyone breakfast, Harry was filled in on what had happened at the stroke of midnight. "The last thing we heard you mumble in your sleep was, 'The power he knows not'," Hermione said, as she finished the story.
"Shit," Harry mumbled. "Though finding out I'm a metamorphmagus is pretty wicked." Then he conjured a mirror so he could see himself and began shifting through different hair and eye colors. "This will be helpful with hiding in plain sight," he said in satisfaction.
Hermione was too shocked at his response to admonish him about his language and asked worriedly, "What does, 'The power he knows not,' mean, Harry?"
Harry sighed and repeated the prophecy, emphasizing the power he knows not portion.
"Harry…." Hermione trailed off with a mixture of worry and realization.
Harry shook his head, knowing by instinct where Hermione's mind was going, and said, "The only two people worth saving in Wizarding Britain are Neville, and Luna." And then he sighed, "I've already provided Luna and Neville with the means to escape, but they wanted to stay long enough to graduate from Hogwarts, and I couldn't blame them for that.
"I'm not naive enough to believe that Voldemort will leave me alone, but until I'm ready to face him on my own terms, until I'm as proficient in every method of offensive and defensive fighting that I can learn, then I'm staying under the radar."
"But what about the muggles?" Hermione asked, biting her bottom lip in worry.
"Hermione, what do you want me to do? I'm only one person." Harry said in frustration. "Hell, I'm still a teenager. The aurors are aware of the threat the muggles are under from Voldemort."
Hermione fought her tears and she said emotionally, "I know, Harry. I know it's a lot to ask for just one person, but all the aurors are going to do is send out the obliviators to hide the existence of magic. They're not going to do anything to protect the muggles."
Harry ran a hand over his face and sighed, "Hermione, I understand why that upsets you. I really do. But I left Britain because the fate of the world should never have been put on the shoulders of a child." Then he turned to the twins for a little bit of support.
"Harry's right —"
"Hermione —"
"It's not his —"
"Job to save —"
"Everyone —"
"Some people —"
"Need to —"
"Save themselves —" Said the twins in their typical twin speak.
Having gotten used to their twin speak from all the time they'd spent together, Hermione didn't bother bouncing her head back and forth as she followed them before she responded. "Yes, the magical community should save themselves, they have magic to fight against magic. But it's wrong to expect the muggles to have to defend themselves against magic." She said with conviction.
"What would you have me do, Hermione?" Harry asked in frustration. "I'm not going to go out running around like some vigilante, risking exposure to the Statute of Secrecy. The magical world has enough hatred for me for my abandonment of them that they would chuck me into Azkaban for the smallest of reasons."
"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said with a frown, "but we need to do something."
"The muggle Prime Minister is supposed to know about magic, right?" Fred asked seriously.
Hermione nodded, "Yes…" wondering where he was going with this.
"What about if we were to send him a letter of warning, to let him know about the dangers?" Fred asked.
"But what good would that do?" George asked.
Harry was silent for a moment while he thought about it. "I suppose we could write him a letter, he must have some way of knowing how to find out if he's got any squibs or muggleborns in the military."
"Oh! That would be perfect," Hermione said. "The squibs and muggleborn would know what to look for and have a better chance of protecting the muggles."
"Wasn't Kingsley supposed to be guarding the Prime Minister?" Harry asked.
"I think so, why?" Hermione asked.
"I was only thinking we could owl him a letter, from the twins, explaining the plan that we've just discussed, and provide a letter that he can give to the Prime Minister," Harry said.
"But what if he doesn't agree with it?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"Then I suppose we will have to come up with another plan," Harry said in exasperation, "but listen, Hermione, I'm not going to spend all of my time trying to protect the muggles. I'll agree to notifying the Prime Minister, since he's already aware of our world, but it's not my responsibility to protect everyone. The prophecy is between me and Voldemort, and it certainly doesn't say I've got to put myself between Voldemort and everyone else."
When Hermione looked as if she was going to say something else, Harry cut her off and added, "Look, Hermione, you're family and I value your opinion on many things, but I'm not always going to take your advice, nor am I always going to take up all of your crusades. I'll support you in any way I can, but I'm not going to say 'how high' every time you tell me to jump. I had enough of that life with the Dursleys and Dumbledore.
"If this thing with Kingsley doesn't work out, then I promise we'll try something else, but if our second attempt to contact the Prime Minister doesn't work and you still feel strongly about it, then feel free to try to find a solution and implement it. I only ask that you let us in on your plan, so that we can discuss it and make sure you've checked it from all angles."
"But…"
"Hermione," Harry gave a small smile and said gently, "I love you. I do. But you can't rule my life, just as I don't intend to rule yours. I'll always be here for you and you can always talk to me about anything that's bothering you, but I can't always solve your problems and you can't always solve mine."
Hermione sighed and was silent for a moment before she gave Harry a small smile and nodded in acknowledgment.
"Good," Fred said with a clap, "now, Harry can open his birthday presents, then we can work on that letter."
Later that night, Kingsley accepted a letter from the unfamiliar owl with caution, using detection charms to check for any hexes or traps. Finally, after he was satisfied the letter was clean, he opened it.
Hey Kingsley,
I know you haven't heard from us in a while, but we couldn't accept the way our family and the rest of the wizarding world treated Harry, so we left.
We read about Dumbledore's death in The Daily Prophet recently and realized that it will only be a matter of time before Moldyshorts —
Kingsley snorted at the name the twins used for Voldemort, then resumed reading.
— takes over the Ministry and the rest of Wizarding Britain. We doubt ole Fudge has kept the muggle Prime Minister up to date on the state of the wizarding world and the threat of Moldyshorts, and once Moldyshorts takes over, then the muggle Prime Minister will definitely not receive updates.
Kingsley nodded to himself at that assessment and was amazed that the Weasley twins could be serious.
We then remembered you were part of the protection detail to protect the muggle Prime Minister and that you were in an ideal position to warn him about the threat. We hypothesized that if he were to be made aware of the threat that he would possibly be able to contact any squibs and muggleborn that might be part of the muggle military. If so, then they would be in a unique position to protect the rest of Muggle Britain from Moldyshorts and his Death Munchers.
If the muggle Prime Minister does not have any records of who are squibs and muggleborn within the military, then perhaps you would be in a position to help him find them and create a task force composed of them? They would surely know what to look for when it comes to magical terrorists.
Well, that's all for now. Please send us a response with the waiting owl to let us know you're in agreement and will accept responsibility for contacting the muggle Prime Minister, or if you think it's a stupid idea and that we should go back to selling jokes.
Just know that if you do decide to help the muggles, we'll pledge to provide you and the task force with a bit of our special inventions. We've got shield cloaks that will block most hexes and charms, short of the Unforgivables. We've got invisibility hats enchanted with the disillusionment charm. We've got a few more products we're working on, that we'll be happy to provide you with, should you choose to start the aforementioned task force.
Sincerely,
Fred and George Weasley
Kingsley quickly wrote a letter in response and tied it to the owl's leg, who quickly flew away.
The next morning, the twins with Harry and Hermione were eating breakfast when Kingsley's response arrived.
Fred and George,
You're brilliant! Of course I'm in. I'll be in touch after I've gotten things in place with the muggle Prime Minister. I'll definitely be interested in those products. I'd suggest them for the Auror Department, but I suspect you're right about the fall of the Ministry and we don't want to be providing our enemies with your brilliant products.
Thanks,
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Harry smiled at Hermione and said, "Well, that's the muggles taken care of for now."