After waking up, Harry had anticipated a calm morning. He had planned to visit Dora and have breakfast before heading out on patrol with Bill. As always, his plans went awry the moment he stepped into the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall saw him and immediately came over to speak to him. Harry stopped on his way to the Gryffindor table and went to meet the headmistress.
"Good morning, professor. Is something wrong?" he greeted her.
"Good morning, Potter. And yes, there is a problem, to be more specific, you have one."
"I don't understand. What is going on?" Harry asked.
"You see, this morning, a swarm of owls flew into the Great Hall, and nearly all of the letters are addressed to you," she explained, a bit amused after seeing his reaction.
"How many?" Harry asked weakly. He knew that he needed to come up with an idea to mass reply to those letters, as the alternative of replying one by one was terrifying him.
"No one counted, but I think around two hundred."
Harry paled even more, not knowing where to start. Thankfully, his old head of house saved him by giving him her opinion.
"Potter, check those letters to see who they are from. Prioritize those letters from people you know. The rest of them can wait a few days. And check them all before you touch them - some could be cursed. They are stored in the antechamber, so go there."
Harry thanked her for the advice and left to check if there was anything important. As he suspected, almost all of them were from unknown people, so he left them there. The one letter that caught his attention had the Gringotts seal on it. He checked the letter to see if it was cursed, and after realizing that it was safe, he opened it and started reading.
Lord Potter,
I am writing to inform you that my task of preparing a portfolio of your holdings and properties is almost done. I expect to have it ready by Friday morning at the latest and would like to set up a meeting where we can discuss your plans for your property. I suggest that we meet this Saturday at 9 A.M. Please send me a reply if this day works for you. If you would like to meet on another day, please let me know. I recommend that you free your whole day, as we have much to talk about.
With regards,
Barchoke
Potter Account Manager
Harry was grateful for Barchoke's efficiency. He knew that his future was likely to be closely intertwined with politics, so he needed to be fully aware of his financial situation. He quickly wrote a reply and headed to the owlery to use one of the school's owls. After sending the letter, he grabbed a quick sandwich from the kitchen and visited the Hospital Wing. Although he saw that she was feeling a bit better, she still wasn't well enough to tease him after hearing about those letters. They chatted for a few minutes, and then Harry left as his shift was starting soon.
During his patrol, nothing unusual happened. He and Bill spent most of the time talking about trivial things. But things changed when it was time for the next shift to arrive. At 4 P.M., they were met by Auror Proudfoot, who gave them a slip of paper and then left for the Ministry. Harry and Bill went to a corner to read the note.
"Weasley, go speak to Diggle and organize someone from the Order to patrol Alley and Hogsmeade. Then go straight to Gringotts; more information will be waiting for you there. Potter, go to the Three Broomsticks, get Longbottom, and be at the Ministry by 4.30 for a meeting. Don't be late."
Proudfoot
Both of them knew that something serious was going on, so they wasted no time and followed their orders. Bill sent a Patronus to contact the Order, and Harry used the Floo to get to Hogsmeade. It didn't take him long to find Neville. He gestured to his friend to join him.
"Harry, what are you doing here? Did the cover come early?" asked Neville.
"No, I got a message from Proudfoot. The Order will take care of patrols and we have a meeting in 15 minutes at the Ministry. And no, I have no idea what's going on," Harry explained quickly.
Neville nodded and went to speak to Hestia to let her know what was happening. Then they both left for the Ministry. When they arrived in the Auror bullpen, they saw that most of the volunteers were already there, and they also didn't know what was going on. Only a minute had passed when the rest of the volunteers joined them, along with all of the available Aurors. They had to wait a bit longer as Robards declared that Kingsley was coming there as well. When the Minister arrived, the Head of DMLE explained the reason for their meeting.
"OK, everyone listen up. As you know, we have been interrogating Death Eaters since yesterday, and we've received some very important information from them. Initially, we thought that people who were kidnapped by them were all tortured and killed. But we were wrong. After they interrogated them, they were sent to a special camp, as Riddle had some plan for them. We've got detailed information about the location of the camp and the guards that are there. Auror Hammer will explain the whole plan to you."
"OK, so the plan is simple. We've contacted Gringotts to ask if they could lend us some of their curse breakers, and they agreed. You will work in the same groups as you were divided yesterday. There are two buildings there that we need to take control of. The first one is the manor where the snatchers and Death Eaters are. The other one is the camp where they are holding the prisoners.
"Team 1 will be led by Auror Savage. Almost all of you will have only one task - cover the curse breakers. They will destroy the wards first, then they will set up provisional ones to prevent Death Eaters from escaping. Your job is to make sure they can do their job without interference.
"Team 2 is my group. As soon as we break their wards, all of them will try to run away using the main entrance, as it is the simplest way to leave the property. Our job is to contain them there. We will take the biggest hit, as they will engage us in battle, but we will be prepared. Finnegan, your job is to prepare as many fireworks as you can in two hours. We will aim them at the entrance so that when they try to leave, the explosions will cause a distraction and buy us time to send the first barrage of spells. Potter, Longbottom, Minister, Proudfoot, and Williamson will cover the camp. You will wait at a distance from us in hiding. When the wards fall and we make noise, you will quietly go to the second building. The resistance there should not be significant, as according to our information, almost all of the guards that are present at the property are in the main house, and those who are there will not risk their lives to defend the camp. When you take control there, prepare the victims for evacuation. We will give you portkeys that will take them straight to St Mungo's. The hospital has been informed and will be ready to take them as well as those who will be injured. Any questions?"
"Spells repertoire. What can we use against them?" asked Susan.
"We can't use any of the unforgivable spells. As for the other spells, try not to kill them. But if your life or the life of one of us is in danger, do not hesitate to use any means necessary to protect yourself or others. Remember, each of us is worth more than a thousand of them, so don't feel bad for them. They chose to align themselves with Voldemort."
No problem, I can help you with that. Here's the rewritten text with corrections for any spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors:
As no one had asked any questions, each team took one part of the room to gather and discuss the details of their plan.
"Any suggestions, guys?" Kingsley started.
"I think we could use one more person with us so we could work in pairs," commented Proudfoot, but Harry countered him.
"We'll be fine. I can work solo."
Neville looked at him, realizing that he had some idea.
"What crazy plan have you come up with?"
"When the wards drop, you four will stay behind for a bit. I will take my cloak and do a little reconnaissance," Harry explained.
"That's a very risky idea," commented Williamson.
"Not really. They won't expect anyone so soon, and they won't think to check if there's someone invisible there. And even if they did, you can't summon my cloak from me, so it will give you enough time to join me."
"And how will we communicate?" asked Proudfoot.
"Nev, do you have your D.A. Galleon?" Harry asked, looking at his friend.
"Brilliant idea, Harry," commented Neville, taking out his coin from a pocket.
"What are those?" questioned Kingsley.
"Hermione made them during our 5th year at Hogwarts. They allowed us to send quick messages so we could plan our meetings," elaborated Harry.
After examining the galleon, the Aurors agreed to follow Harry's plan. They spoke for a bit more and then left to talk with other group leaders to discuss communication between them. Harry and Neville left to find Susan to get more information about interrogations. It took them a few minutes as the room was crowded, but they managed to do it.
"Hi, boys!" Susan greeted them.
"Hi, Susan," they replied.
They asked Susan about what they had found out from Death Eaters, and they were a bit disappointed with her answer.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get as much information as we would like. Due to this stupid law that is prohibiting the use of Veritaserum on purebloods, we had to mostly base our information on what we gathered from half-blood snatchers."
While Neville was aware of this law, Harry did not know about it. He got so angry he wanted to march straight to Kingsley so they could find a way around this law. When Susan had seen his face, she realized what he was thinking about and she knew she had to stop him. She put her hand on his shoulder and only shook her head, looking him in the eyes. He understood what she was trying to tell him and only sighed quietly. He vowed that this law was one of the first he would try to change. Susan and Neville were both relieved that they prevented a big fight that was about to start and tried to come up with some topic to distract him. Luckily for them, they were soon joined by Bill Weasley.
"Hi, guys, how are you doing?" he asked cautiously, as he had seen Harry's expression.
"We're trying to prevent Harry from murdering a Wizengamot member," Neville replied.
"Damn purebloods and their entitlement," Harry growled.
"What had him so pissed?" the curse breaker asked.
"That we couldn't use Veritaserum on Death Eaters."
Bill only nodded at them. He agreed with Harry's sentiment but also knew it was not the time for that topic. He decided to steer Harry's focus on the upcoming battle.
"So, guys, are you prepared?"
"Yeah, we are. Do you know who will be protecting us?" Susan replied.
"You, Hammer, and Boot. Curse breakers will be split into smaller groups so we can attack wards from different places. Our group will be working close to the boys, and they will provide extra security until they all go to the second building."
"You see, there was a slight change in that plan. After you destroy the wards, I will go solo under my cloak to do a bit of scouting."
It was obvious that Bill was not too happy hearing about that, but he held his tongue. Their conversation was stopped by Robards, who had called for their attention.
"Alright, everyone. Now you will all have short briefings in your little groups. Remember the plan and try to stick to it. Your leaders will give you portkeys that will take you directly to your positions. You need to be prepared as the second we land, curse breakers will start their job, alerting those inside. So you need to be fully concentrated even before we land. When leaders end their discussions, they will let me know, and we will start the countdown," the Head of the Department concluded and left.
A minute later, they were joined by Kingsley, Williamson, Proudfoot, Boot, and Bill's colleague from Gringotts, Adam Fawley. After introducing everyone, Kingsley explained the plan.
"Okay, so here's how we'll do it. After we land, Bill and Adam will start their job. Harry, you will hide under your cloak straight after landing. Even if we're attacked, you will stay hidden until we break the wards or we're in serious trouble. We don't want to tip them off that there's someone invisible. So, please, as long as we're not surrounded or heavily injured, do not engage them, understand?"
Harry understood his job and nodded to him, allowing him to continue.
"When the wards fall, we will stay there and wait for information from Harry. When we know how many of them have stayed inside, we'll plan our next move."
Kinglsye received confirmation from each member of his team that they understood their tasks. He gave them additional portkeys that were enchanted to transport them to St. Mungos if needed. He looked towards Robards, who nodded in response, indicating that they were ready. They waited silently for other groups to arrive, using the time to calm down and focus. After a while, Robards spoke again, "Since every leader has signaled readiness, I'm starting a one-minute countdown. When it reaches zero, I'll activate the portkeys. Good luck everyone, and make sure we all meet here tomorrow morning." After finishing his sentence, Robards went to his team.
Everyone saw a clock that counted down the seconds to their departure. Robards counted aloud during the last ten seconds. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, ACTIVATE!"
With a swirl, they all vanished, leaving the room empty.