Great Hall, Hogwarts, 2/12/1996, 08:17
Harry took his seat at the Gryffindor table feeling a bit flustered. He and Tonks had overslept this morning and had been woken up by Hermione shaking his shoulder.
Harry was relieved that Tonks was buried under the covers which gave her enough time to change her features into her Wendy persona before Hermione could see her properly.
In the end, it didn't matter much since Hermione believed that she found Harry in bed with Wendy McDonald. Hermione had been insufferable all morning and from the looks of things, she had no plans of letting up just yet.
"Good morning, Harry," Hermione said sweetly as soon as he had taken the seat across from her.
"Hermione," Harry sighed, scowling at the knowing smile she was giving him.
"Harry," said, her smile getting even wider.
"Not a word Granger," Harry warned.
"So I shouldn't ask what that was all about?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"No, you shouldn't," Harry agreed as he fixed himself a cup of coffee.
"Fine, but I hope you two are being safe," Hermione sighed.
"Nothing is going on between us," Harry exclaimed.
"Really, because I saw her bare bum when she got out of bed," Hermione sniggered.
"Hermione!" Harry hissed, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
"Oh lighten up, Harry," Hermione smirked.
"You seemed to think differently when I brought up what happened with you and Krum in the Shrieking Shack," Harry pointed out.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, her cheeks flushing a cute pink colour.
"Exactly, so let's talk about something else," Harry said, giving her a pointed look.
"Alright, do you think I am ready to train with you guys in the evenings yet?" Hermione asked, looking a bit put out.
"I'll ask her. I'm pretty sure you are getting close," Harry answered, glad to be off of the other subject.
"What are you two practising now?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Using transfiguration in a battle situation," Harry replied as he fixed himself some French toast.
"Oh that sounds interesting," Hermione gushed.
"It is. Though it can be frustrating when big vines shoot out of the floor and wrap around you, or the floor turns into quicksand under your feet," Harry admitted.
"Yes, but it gives you an edge to know how to use transfiguration like that. Transfiguration was Dumbledore's speciality," Hermione explained.
"I know," Harry chuckled, remembering Tonks giving him the same pitch when they had first started practising combat transfiguration.
"Just let me know what she says," Hermione said, unable to hide the eagerness in her voice.
"I will. Are you going to be okay teaching the D.A this week?" Harry asked.
"We'll be fine" Hermione assured him.
"I already pity Ron," Harry muttered.
"Then why did you volunteer him to assist me?" Hermione demanded.
"Because I knew you would enjoy using him as your own personal whipping boy for the day," Harry beamed.
"I do owe him for that mess after the Yule Ball last year," Hermione said sounding thoughtful.
"Exactly," Harry agreed.
"So you never did tell me where you were going this Saturday," Hermione said in an overly casual tone.
"I am going to London," Harry admitted.
"What?!" Hermione snapped.
"I made a deal with To- Wendy that if she taught me to apparate, then I would take her to the cinema," Harry explained.
"Like a date?" Hermione asked shrewdly.
"No, we're just going as friends," Harry hastily corrected.
"On the weekend after Valentine's day," Hermione snorted.
"That is just inconvenient timing," Harry shrugged.
"Whatever, try not to get caught sneaking out," Hermione sighed.
"I hadn't planned on getting caught," Harry assured her.
"Good, I actually need a favour from you in return," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"Alright," Harry said hesitantly.
"I want to borrow your map for the nights I have prefect patrols," Hermione replied.
"Why?" Harry asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"So I can study. All I'll have to do is check the map from time to time," Hermione shrugged.
"All right, you can use it but don't lose it or you'll be my personal slave," Harry threatened.
"I won't lose it," Hermione promised.
"Oi, does nobody care if old Ron wakes up in the morning?" A surly voice demanded from Harry's right.
"No, usually you being asleep is the only way to get any peace around here," Hermione quipped.
"Not likely, have you heard him snore?" Harry shot back.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Ron exclaimed as he sat down on Harry's right.
"I did, I woke you before I got in the shower and again after I got dressed," Harry said, shooting Ron an exasperated look.
"Next time douse him in water," Hermione suggested.
Before Ron could say anything else the post owls began flying into the hall.
Hermione quickly paid the owl that delivered the Daily Prophet and unfurled the paper before the owl had even taken flight. All three of them stared in shock at the headline of the paper.
Azkaban Destroyed! Twelve Aurors Dead, Two Hundred and Four Inmates Escape!
Underneath the headline was a black-and-white picture of the destroyed prison tower. The tower had collapsed into the courtyard and all that remained of the prison was one section of wall. The rest of the building had been turned to rubble that was scattered all over the muddy earth of the prison courtyard. To complete this scene of destruction, the dark mark was seen flying high in the air, illuminating the area in its eerie light.
"Son of a bitch!" Harry exclaimed as soon as he saw the picture.
"This is bad, the death eaters freed every prisoner on the island!" Hermione exclaimed, looking more aghast the further down the article she read.
"On the upside, the dementors that didn't desert the prison last summer were destroyed last week," Ron pointed out.
Harry remembered seeing that in the paper a few days ago. The acting minister had ordered the Department of Mysteries to destroy every dementor on the British Isles.
"That is something, but they killed twelve aurors last night," Harry pointed out as he glanced over at the Hufflepuff table, checking to make sure Tonks was there.
"It says that the attack was led by Bellatrix LeStrange and upwards of forty death eaters," Hermione said as she read through the article a second time.
"This isn't good, you know most of those inmates will join up," Ron muttered.
"I doubt they have much choice in the matter," Harry snorted.
"They 0robably won't have a choice," Hermione agreed as she finished reading and set the paper down.
"This will finally shut that damn prison down though," Ron said reasonably.
"But what will they do with the prisoners?" Hermione asked.
"Same thing they did at Bones Manor, they won't take any," Ron said after thinking about it for a minute.
"If they had done that, to begin with, Hannah would still be alive," Harry muttered darkly.
"I think this is going to change the whole dynamic of the war," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, pushing those dark thoughts from his mind.
"Well if Ron's right, then the ministry is going to start playing nasty after this," Hermione predicted.
"Oh, they will. Rufus Scrimgeour is old school like Mad-Eye Moody. He may be a horrible politician but Auntie says he's a damn good auror and he'll want to strike back after this," Susan said from a few seats down.
"Good, maybe he'll take the fight to them for a change," Harry said.
"That's easier said than done, Harry," Hermione sighed.
"Well I know what I would do if I was minister," Ron said thoughtfully.
"What's that?" Harry asked as he looked over at Ron.
"Raze Malfoy Manor to the ground, we all know that's his base of operations," Ron answered as if it were obvious.
"It is?" Susan asked sharply.
"We're pretty sure," Harry admitted.
"I need to go send Auntie an owl," Susan muttered before getting up.
"I hope to God the higher-ups in the ministry already know that or I will lose all faith in our government," Harry muttered.
"I wouldn't bet on it, wizards and logic are not well acquainted," Hermione sniggered.
"I feel like I should be offended by that comment," Harry said as the bell echoed through the hall.
"You should, she's always trying to insult us in some clever way," Ron said before he stuffed the rest of his breakfast sandwich into his mouth.
"Tell me about it," Harry nodded as he led them out of the hall.
"Oh quit your whining," Hermione said, shooting Ron a look of amusement.
As they made their way up the grand staircase, Harry couldn't help but wonder if Susan's letter would really make a difference.
Wizengamot Chamber, London, 2/14/1996, 12:39
Albus Dumbledore was currently seated in the public gallery observing the trial of one Dolores Jane Umbridge.
Albus had been offered his old position as chief warlock months ago but he had turned it down. He was quite content to let Lord Ogden take the position over permanently, it gave Albus more time to focus on running his school. He had never really wanted the post to begin with, so there was no way in hell he would take the position back unless he had no choice in the matter.
It was the same way with the supreme mugwump position, come to think of it. The ICW had already tried to convince him to retake that position as well but Albus had flat-out refused. That position had been forced upon him after his defeat of Gellert Grindelwald. The position had become a real headache over the years and he was glad to be shot of it.
Albus was appalled by this trial, he had watched on as one piece of damning evidence after another was presented against Madam Umbridge. This woman was a monster that would rival the worst of Voldemort's death eaters. It baffled him how she had gotten away with these crimes for almost two decades!
Dolores Umbridge was one of three prisoners the ministry still had in custody after the attack on the prison and Amelia was determined to get them all processed today.
This was the second trial of the day, the first had been poor William Widdershins for repeated muggle baiting. By some twist of irony, Mister Widdershins had been sentenced to serve eighteen months and would be serving his time in a muggle prison.
After lunch, the trial of Grace Edgecombe would begin. Albus had a suspicion that Madam Edgecombe would be dragged over the coals for her involvement in death eater attacks going as far back as the mid-seventies.
According to Kingsley, Madam Edgecombe claimed that she hadn't actually known why she was turning off the floos. Albus found that excuse a bit hard to swallow since the homes that she had disconnected from the floo network were in the paper the next day accompanied by reports of their occupants' murders. Madam Edgecombe hadn't cared as long as she got paid to shut off the floo and one hundred and fifty-six people had been killed due to her greed.
There was some fruit born from Madam Edgecombe's interrogation, she had given up Corban Yaxley who was one of Voldemort's most valuable spies. Flushing Yaxley out of the ministry had taken away Voldemort's eyes and ears inside the DMLE.
"We shall now call a vote on the guilt or innocence of Dolores Jane Umbridge," Lord Ogden called out over the room, pulling Albus from his musings.
"All in favour of conviction?" Lord Ogden called out over the packed courtroom.
Albus was not surprised to see every wand in the Wizengamot section raised. He could already tell the way this particular trial was heading. Dolores was too dangerous to let go and the wizarding world didn't have a prison to send her to. The dementors had all been destroyed so there was only one option for sentencing.
"All in favour of acquittal?" Lord Ogden asked.
Albus wasn't surprised when not a single wand was raised.
"Dolores Jane Umbridge you have been found guilty on the charges of seventeen counts of murder, eighteen counts of kidnapping, twenty-nine counts of conspiracy, forty-six counts of blackmail, three counts of line theft, one count of falsifying ministry documents, and seven counts of unlawful use of a ministry artefact in a hall of learning. Due to the appalling nature of your crimes, the Wizengamot has no choice but to levy the maximum sentence against you," Lord Ogden continued to cheers from the public gallery.
Albus watched on as the motion for her suggested sentencing was put forward and the vote was unanimous. Albus was a bit surprised that he couldn't find it in himself to be upset with the court's verdict, if anyone deserved such a fate, it was Dolores Umbridge.
"Dolores Jane Umbridge, due to the heinous nature of your crimes it has been decided that you will be sent through the veil of death as soon as these proceedings are finished," Lord Ogden proclaimed causing the gallery to stand and applaud their approval, their cheers echoing throughout the cavernous Wizengamot chamber.
Albus got up from his seat and made his way through the crowd, if he hurried he could make it in time. He moved with urgency knowing that he had to be quick or all would be lost.
Albus stepped out of the chamber and dashed down the corridor and up the stairs, making a beeline for the lifts. He stepped into the thankfully empty lift and slammed the button impatiently, ignoring the elderly lady hollering for him to hold the lift. Albus Checked his watch as the lift began to ascend upwards and saw that he still had fifteen minutes to make it before he was too late.
Dolores' fate was already decided but he still had time to make it back to the castle for his favourite day of the month, pork chop day. Every second Wednesday of the month pork chops were on the menu and he had no intention of missing out on that because of this damn trial.
Albus stepped out of the lift and crossed the atrium at a rushed pace, veering around people coming back from their lunch breaks before he stepped into the first empty outgoing floo.
"Hogwarts headmaster's office," Dumbledore called into the green fire before he disappeared in a brighter flash of green flames.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 2/15/1996, 07:49
Harry entered the hall with a slight limp to his step. His injured gate was due to an accident practising the leg strike that Tonks was teaching him earlier that morning. Harry made his way to his usual seat as fast as his injury would allow, getting, strange looks from those who saw him hobbling across the hall.
Once he had taken his seat, Harry fixed himself a steaming cup of coffee with three lumps and drank deeply, sighing as he felt its warmth settle in his stomach.
"You're down early this morning," Susan said as she took a seat across from him.
"Yeah, I'm curious about the outcome of the trials yesterday," Harry admitted as he fixed himself a plate of French toast.
"Umbridge?" Susan asked as Harry spotted Hermione entering the hall.
"Yeah, I want to see what they're going to do with her," Harry admitted.
"They should have saved at least one dementor just for her," Susan muttered.
"It would have starved to death on that soulless bint," Harry snorted.
"Good morning you two," Hermione said as she took a seat beside Susan.
"Good morning, Hermione," Susan smiled cheerfully.
"Morning, Hermione," Harry said between bites of his breakfast.
"Here Harry, I got this for you," Hermione said as she offered him a vial of blue liquid.
"What's this?" Harry asked as he took the vial.
"Pain relieving potion for your leg," Hermione answered.
"What's wrong with your leg?" Susan asked curiously.
"I was practising leg strikes and I pulled something in my knee," Harry shrugged as he popped the tiny cork out of the vial.
"Ugh, I hate those injuries. I broke three Bones in my foot last summer when I was going through kicking drills," Susan admitted between bites of her French toast.
"The first couple of times I didn't have any problems and then one of my kicks didn't make contact the right way," Harry grimaced before drinking the potion down.
"If it's still bothering you at lunch, I'm taking you to see Madam Pomfrey," Hermione threatened as she fixed herself some breakfast.
"Sure," Harry muttered distractedly as he saw the post owls starting to fly into the hall.
Two post owls made their way towards Susan and Hermione, nearly knocking the pitcher of juice over as they landed. Both girls both paid their owls and quickly unrolled their papers. Harry couldn't help but do a double-take when he caught a glimpse of the headline.
Dolores Umbridge Sentenced To Death!
Under the headline was a black-and-white photo of a silently screaming Dolores Umbridge being dragged out of the courtroom by a pair of burly-looking aurors who each had a grip on one of her arms. Umbridge seemed to be struggling furiously against her captors but they didn't have any trouble keeping a grip on her. The photo showed the toad-like woman being dragged out of the room before the picture started over again.
Harry was honestly not expecting that to happen, he figured if anything Umbridge would get a life sentence. Then he realized that the ministry didn't have a prison to send her to, so there weren't that many options for sentencing.
"Holy shit?" Susan exclaimed as she read her copy of theDaily Prophet.
"I guess they didn't want to risk her ever getting out," Harry said thoughtfully.
"That's pretty much it. Until the ministry finds a way to imprison magical criminals, high-risk inmates will be executed," Hermione said as she read the article.
"That could be problematic," Harry muttered as he thought about what had happened to Sirius.
"It could, but it says in here that every criminal is being interrogated under veritaserum to prevent repeats of the Sirius Black debacle," Hermione said as if reading his mind.
"It won't be permanent. According to Auntie, the ministry is already looking into ways to solve the problem of incarcerating prisoners," Susan cut in as Seamus came over and took a seat beside her.
"Top of the morning," Seamus beamed before kissing Susan's cheek.
"Good morning, Lucky," Susan giggled before placing a kiss on Seamus' lips.
"Morning mate, is Ron up?" Harry asked.
"Yep, he was draggin' himself out of bed when I left," Seamus shrugged.
"I think you're going to have to start dousing him in water in the mornings," Hermione sighed.
"Maybe," Harry said as he finished his breakfast.
Harry couldn't believe how much damage that one Quibbler article had caused. He couldn't bring himself to be upset by what happened to Umbridge or Fudge for that matter but he was still shocked at the impact the article had made.
Now that the old government had been ousted maybe the ministry would start handling the death eaters the same way as Umbridge. Well maybe not Bellatrix, he would much prefer to deal with her himself.
'Still, it's nice to see good news in the paper for a change' Harry thought to himself as he saw Ron stumble onto the hall looking to be in a daze.
Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, 2/17/1996, 01:19
Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt waited with his team on the east side of the ward line outside of Malfoy Manor. They were waiting for the signal from the ministry curse-breakers that the Manor's wards were down. At the moment, concealment wards were still active and they couldn't even see the manor, the property looked like a part of the forest surrounding it.
Tonight would be the largest single raid carried out by the DMLE in the last century. Almost a hundred aurors were taking part in this raid in hopes that they could finally wipe out the death eaters once and for all.
This was as dangerous as it got as there was a high probability that top-tier targets were at this location. eight twelve-man teams were going to converge on the home, while three teams of warders closed all avenues of escape.
Kingsley doubted that they would nab Voldemort in this raid but he had high hopes they could take down quite a few lower-level death eaters tonight and if they were lucky some inner circle members.
The home had already been cut off from the floo network and transportation wards were being raised over the area.
Kingsley was on edge as they had already been here for a half-hour and it felt like an eternity.
"Shack, Proudfoot just sent word. We're a go for entry in two minutes," Auror Savage whispered as the concealment ward over the property fell, revealing a stately manor house a couple of hundred yards away surrounded by a pristine green lawn.
Kingsley studied the handsome manor house. There was an elaborate garden on the east side of the property, with a large fountain in its centre. On either side of the gravel driveway leading up to the home were tall manicured hedgerows. Live albino peacocks roamed the lawns and the orange glow of light shone through the diamond-paned windows on the ground floor.
The manor itself was stone construction, it stood three stories tall and looked very imposing, almost medieval. There were small towers on each corner of the building that looked like they may have been watchtowers in olden times. The room was a shallow pitch and covered with slate. The roofing on the watch towers was shaped like a four-sided pyramid with a sharp point jutting into the sky on the four corners of the manor. The centre section of the manor in line with the front door was much taller than the towers and Kingsley was fairly certain that was done so the entry hall would have a nice high cathedral ceiling.
Kingsley was pulled out of his observations as his badge buzzed once and he pulled his focus back to the mission at hand.
"Alright, everyone mount up! We kick off in thirty seconds," Kingsley ordered as he pulled his shrunken broomstick from his pocket and reversed the charm.
His team and Savage's team would be entering through the southern tower, they were to clear the upper floors. Meanwhile, Proudfoot and Williams' teams would be bombarding the ground floors with exploding hexes to cover their entry.
Once Kingsley sent word that the upper floors were clear two more teams would enter through the northern tower and they would make their way to their positions on the second floor. The inside teams would take up strategic positions and cover the four outside teams when they made entry through the front and rear of the manor. If everything went to plan they would catch the death eaters in their crossfire and completely overwhelm them.
Kingsley felt his auror badge buzz three times in quick succession which was the signal to begin.
"Alright lads, let's get to work," Kingsley ordered as he kicked off hard making his way towards the south side of the home.
As Kingsley flew toward the south tower he could hear the outside auror teams begin to bombard the east side of the manor. The night was lit up by dozens of bright red exploding hexes flashing through the air before the first explosion cut through the air followed by the sound of shattering glass and crashing stone.
'BOOOOOM!'
'BOOOOOOM!'
BOOOOOOOM!'
Kingsley knew from the records the ministry had on Malfoy Manor, that the towers were used as storage rooms or at least they were at one time according to Abraxas Malfoy.
Kingsly did a quick turn before setting his course for the southern tower, noticing jets of green light were starting to fly out of the lower windows of the manor but thankfully were not getting anywhere close to the aurors firing upon the house.
When the two groups of aurors were about twenty feet away from the tower, Auror Savage sent red sparks high into the air. Seconds later, a series of explosions tore through the upper floors of the manor accompanied by the sound of shattering glass as the spells struck the third-floor windows.
Kingsley counted to five in his head before casting a bombarda at the tower window, the sound of the glass shattering completely masked by the second volley of explosions from the east side of the manor.
Shack didn't even slow down and flew his broom through the gaping hole in the tower where the diamond-paned windows used to be.
Kingsley was a bit surprised, the room they entered didn't look like a storage room at all.
The tower had been enchanted with size expansion charms to make it four times as big on the inside. The inside of the tower looked more like an indoor greenhouse and was filled with the smell of earth and fertilizers as well as the unmistakable scent of mandrake.
There was row upon row of long trestle tables with pots of potion-yielding plants completely covering the tables' tops. The ceiling was enchanted to simulate the sky outside and it was obvious that there were atmospheric charms over the room as well because it felt quite humid. If it weren't for the dangerous nature of their visit, Kingsley would have found the room quite interesting.
Kingsley touched down in between the long greenhouse tables and dismounted, his team touching down behind him seconds later.
"Alright, Savage take your people and start moving to the west," Shack ordered.
"You go right, I go left?" Savage asked.
"We meet at the staircase," Shack agreed as they approached the stairwell, their teams following behind them.
This was not an ideal way to move with such a large team. They had to go in pairs down the steep spiral staircase that led from the tower to the third floor. Kingsley knew they would have been in a lot of trouble if they were attacked from below while on the stairs and was relieved when he stepped onto the third-floor corridor.
Once both teams were on the corridor, they got into search formation, the wide hallways giving them plenty of room to manoeuvre.
Savage led her team down the corridor to the left, while Kingsley took point leading his own team down the dimly lit hallway to the right.
The house continued to shake and rattle from the constant explosions slamming into the ground floor, the sounds of the explosions muffled slightly due to the tranquillity charms set over the upper floors of the manor.
"We have three minutes, Kingsley," Muttered as he cast the human revealer spell over the floor they were on, his teammates copying his actions each aiming their spell in slightly different directions so they covered a three hundred and sixty-degree area.
"We're clear the only human presence I'm picking up is Savage's team," Kingsley muttered and got nods of agreement from the rest of his teammates.
"I'll send the signal for Riggs and Banning to bring their teams on up," Auror Mitchell whispered to Kingsley's left.
"Do it, we're almost to the staircase," Kingsley agreed.
It seemed that this floor was comprised mainly of sleeping quarters. From the state of most of the rooms they passed on the way down the hall, it looked as if most of the occupants had left their rooms in a hurry. Likely they were woken by the first volley of explosions and had run downstairs to investigate.
"It's sent, and I see Savage's team," Mitchell said as he pointed out over the handrail that looked down on the entrance hall.
Kingsley looked out over to the other side of the floor where Savage's team was making their way towards the staircase leading down to the second floor.
The centre of the floors in this wing of the house was open to accommodate the fifty-foot-high vaulted ceiling over the entrance hall. On all three floors over the entrance hall, there were handrails so people on the upper floors could look down at new arrivals. This floor plan allowed the massive row of crystal chandeliers to hang down thirty feet over the entrance hall and illuminate the fine Italian marble floors and show off the frescoes on the ceiling, as well as to show off the finely woven tapestries, and expensive artwork the Malfoys had on display for those that entered the manor.
As long as the auror teams didn't get too close to the handrail, they couldn't be seen from the ground floor due to the shadows cast from the floor above them. This floorplan was a dream for an ambush as it would provide the four auror teams with a raised position to attack from while the outside teams made entrance into the manor.
The aurors could look down into the entrance hall from three sides. So when the team from outside entered the manor, they could effectively surround the death eaters.
As Kingsley made his way to the stairs he could see that the entrance hall was already filling up with black-robed men who were firing blindly out of the broken windows trying to hit the outside team, though Shack doubted they would even come close.
Finally, Shack's team met up with Savage's team at the top of the staircase and they made their way downstairs in two by two formations. The stairs on this wing went straight to the floor below them with a landing, which meant that they weren't exposed to death eaters in the entry hall.
"Alright, we have three minutes to check this floor, get your team in place and my team will check the floor en route to our position," Auror Savage instructed after both teams had stepped onto the second-floor corridor.
"Roger that, Just hurry the other team is already in place," Kingsley said as he saw Riggs' team getting into position on the floor above them.
"Idiot, he's too close to the damn handrail," Savage muttered as she looked across the entrance hall and up to the floor above where Rigg's team were lining up along the handrail.
"That means Banning will be right above us," Kingsley said.
"Alright, team, clear this floor," Auror Savage ordered before she and her team made their way down the wide corridor.
Outside of the manor, explosions were getting much more intense, the windows and part of the entrance doors were already destroyed. The entrance hall was filled with evermore dust as the exploding hexes pulverised stone every time a spell struck the manor's walls. The death eaters were firing blindly out of the door filling the night with almost constant flashes of green light.
"Shack, Savage is in place," Mitchell whispered as he pointed to the other side of the entrance hall where savage's team was lined up near the handrail directly across from them.
"Then send the damn signal," Kingsley ordered as he mentally began counting down from sixty.
"Yes sir," Mitchell answered as he touched his wand to the auror badge on his belt.
"Thirty seconds," Mitchel said as he drew his wand.
"You heard him, lads, let's give 'em hell," Kingsley said, getting nods of affirmation from his team.
Kingsley took aim and waited for the signal, thirty seconds had never seemed to last so long and he jumped slightly when his auror badge buzzed three times in quick succession.
"Open fire," Kingsley ordered as he cast a chain of piercing hexes into the cluster of black-robed men in the entrance hall.
Kingsley's chain of spells was joined by the spells of forty-seven other aurors, the entrance hall was up in bright blue light as hundreds of piercing hexes rained down on the unsuspecting death eaters
At the same time as the inside teams attacked, the outside teams began to make entry. The whole house shook as dozens of exploding hexes slammed into the front of the house.
The wall around the entry exploded inward, forcing the auror teams inside to raise shields to protect themselves from the wave of debris.
Kingsley dropped his shield and looked down into the entrance hall. The ground floor was completely obscured by a thick cloud of white marble dust.
"Clear the haze," Kingsley called out.
The aurors began casting ventus charms in unison, quickly dissipating the cloud of dust to reveal a scene of utter carnage. There were dozens of mangled bodies strewn across the entrance hall floor, the Italian marble floor was stained in thick puddles of blood and piteous moans could be heard from the few death eaters that had survived the initial onslaught.
"Move out, this isn't all of them," Kingsley ordered as he began moving towards the stairs.
By the time Kingsley's team made it downstairs, the outside team was spreading out around the ground floor.
"All clear upstairs, there has to be more of them here somewhere," Savage said as her team met them in the entrance hall.
"Agreed, there can't be more than forty or fifty of them here," Kingsley agreed.
The teams began to fan out and search the ground floor, while Riggs' team searched the first floor more thoroughly.
After about ten minutes of searching, it became pretty clear that the only death eaters in the manor were lying on the entrance hall floor.
Kingsley's team began searching their assigned area, his team was assigned to search the large ballroom just off of the entrance hall while Savage's team searched the drawing room.
The ballroom had similar decor to the entrance hall with a fresco ceiling and marble floors, large windows took up most of the exterior wall giving the ballroom guests a wonderful view of the large garden and the intricate fountain. Those large windows had been shattered by the outside team during their opening barrage meaning that the room was freezing and Kingsley could see his breath every time he exhaled.
Kingsley knew from Snape's reports that this was where Voldemort usually stayed and had turned the room into a sort of throne room. There was a very ornate highback armchair directly across from the double doors that led into the room, which he assumed was Voldemort's throne.
"Sir, I think I found something," Mitchell said pulling Kingsley from his observations.
"What did you find, Charlie?" Kingsley asked giving his second in command his full attention.
"There is something hidden behind this stretch of wall, Shack," Mitchell said as he ran his wand over a large cobra that was carved into the marble wall behind the high-backed chair.
"Get the warders in here, it could be booby-trapped," Kingsley ordered.
"You got it, but I would bet my wand that this is a doorway of some kind," Mitchell said as he touched his wand to his auror badge.
Over the next hour, the auror teams searched every inch of the manor, seizing anything of value. Robards even ordered them to commandeer the plants from the tower greenhouse for Saint Mungos to use for potion ingredients.
The warders were able to open the doorway and discovered a wide tunnel that led out of the manor. The team that was sent to search the tunnel found dozens of fresh tracks indicating that the bulk of the death eaters had fled the manor while the ones in the entrance hall covered their exit at the cost of their lives. The tunnel led well past the wards and the unspeakables were in the process of trying to track the outgoing apparition though Kingsley doubted they would have much luck.
The cellar of Malfoy Manor was found to contain a dungeon with quite a few muggles chained to the walls. Most of them hadn't been there very long but still showed signs of being tortured.
Auror Savage's team found a cache of dark artefacts in the drawing room that would have put Malfoy in Azkaban for life ten (if Azkaban still existed and he didn't already have a kill-on-sight order on his head).
The ministry brought in a whole team to ransack the library which was full of rare and highly illegal books that the unspeakables were very interested in.
It was just before daybreak when Robards ordered the house cleared and the aurors lined up around the outer edge of the property.
Kingsley watched with interest as the warders activated a rune sequence they had tied into the manor's main wardstone.
'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!'
Malfoy manor exploded outward in a bright orange cloud of flame causing the ground to shake under his feet.
Luckily the debris was stopped by wards the ministry warders had raised around the outer perimeter prior to detonating the wards. This created a massive dome filled with milky white dust and thick black smoke as everything inside was destroyed by the manor's own wards.
"Alright, fall out our job here is done!" Gawain Robbards bellowed to the one hundred and seventy-three aurors, warders, and other ministry personnel that had spent all night processing and prepping the manor for destruction.
Kingsley suspected that somebody tipped Voldemort off and he and the rest of his inner circle had evacuated, most likely before the aurors had brought the manor's wards down.
'Still, this should really piss the bastard off," Kingsley thought with some satisfaction before he apparated back to the ministry for debriefing.