The Order of the Pheonix
Chapter Eleven
Ministry of Magic
Minister Fudge's Office
Fudge was having a bad day. He had received a denial letter from Drachma concerning Dumbledore. Amestris had yet to respond regarding aide. The number of missing children seemed to be rising, and now Malfoy was implicated to be involved. Though they had problems with Malfoy in the past, he had honestly thought the man was acting irrationally thanks to his wife's abandonment not an overall corruption that would indicate they had somehow MISSED at least one Death Eater.
He wanted to deny it. So far, he was denying it in fact because if they had missed something this big, what else could they have missed? He couldn't handle it. His musings were interrupted by a knock on his door. Dolores Umbridge cleared her throat in the manner that always meant she didn't approve of something. "Sir, We have a group of foreigners here, along with Professor McGonagall. I tried to intercept them, but they insist on bothering you. I told them I am perfectly capable of answering their little questions."
"The Amestrians? "Fudge asked hopefully. Perhaps instead of writing they sent someone, since McGonagall was with them, and she had been in close contact with their government recently.
"One of them claimed to be the Lt. Fuhrer, though he looks like he is practically a child." Umbridge responds with a nod and a slight look of disgust. She was not fond of foreign visitors, or magical creatures, or muggles. All three of which were waiting impatiently in the lobby.
"Well, bring them in. I've been waiting to hear from them." Fudge ignored the woman's attitude completely. He shared a lot of her feelings on most subjects, but he knew that sometimes you just had to deal with them…though her dislike of muggles didn't make a lot of sense. They didn't normally cause any trouble and their Prime Minister seemed a reasonable enough man.
A few moments later McGonagall lead a small group of men into his office. Three were wearing dark blue uniforms, one with extra medals and pins who Fudge assumed was their leader. Umbridge was right, the man did look a great deal younger than the rest with his strange golden eyes and long ponytail. He carried an air of authority though as he stood stiffly with his hands behind his back. The fourth man was wearing wizard robes and stood closer to McGonagall. "Hello Minister Fudge. This is Lt. Fuhrer Elric of Amestris. I believe you have met him briefly before when his son attended Hogwarts?" McGonagall began with a gesture to the man with the ponytail, before gesturing to the wizard, "Remus Lupin, Professor at Xerxes Academy graduate of Hogwarts."
"These are my men, Kain Fuery and Jean Havoc… technically Fuery is my father's chief aide, but we believed he would be a useful liaison." Elric introduced the men behind him.
"Your father?" Fudge was confused momentarily remembering belatedly that he had been told the Lt. Fuhrer was son of the Fuhrer just as Elric confirmed it. The day was clearly not getting any better if he managed to embarrass himself with the Emissaries he'd begged for help.
"I have been given the understanding that you have a suspect in the missing children's case?" Elric asked without further comment of Fudge's misstep. "A Mr. Lucius Malfoy I believe? Has he been questioned yet?"
"No, no not at all! We have no proof the man has done anything and after the last few years, the man could very well cause trouble should we be wrong. He was only recently released from prison, a sentence that has since been called into question as many of the witnesses decided to recant or have been proven to be unreliable." Fudge sputtered.
"So, you decided to just ignore the evidence given about his association with death eaters and more importantly that there were witnesses placing him as Longbottom's kidnapper?" Lupin growled before pulling his anger back in.
"Wait. You're the werewolf! Why are you here?" Fudge demanded.
"Are you going to address the question of witnesses?" Elric huffed.
"I will not associate with a known werewolf. You would do well to be rid of him as well." Fudge replied. Shocked when with a brief nod to the men behind him, Elric bid him good day and left without further comment.
"You can contact the Lieutenant Fuhrer via Hogwarts, as I will be taking up the offered post and will know his whereabouts." McGonagall stated calmly. "You would do well to heed cultural differences sir, they do not concern themselves with Werewolf status there as they have many methods of controlling the curse. The last accidental werewolf attack was several centuries ago in Amestris."
"Well. Good then. Do send my apologies for the insult against the Fuhrers." Fudge replied.
"Am I to assume you have no plans regarding the missing children?"
"None at the moment no."
"Very Well, as Headmistress they all fall under my jurisdiction, and we will be handling this matter then." McGonagall nodded before following the others out. Fudge groaned, feeling that his day somehow just grew much worse.
The Burrow
Meeting of the Order of the Pheonix
Severus Snape and Alphonse Elric arrived just as the meeting was starting, held at the Burrow as the Weasleys refused to leave their remaining children unattended for any period of time. Mrs. Weasley greeted them with a watery smile as she showed them into the kitchen past her gaggled of saddened and lost-looking children, the elder boys having returned home to help find their brother but now shuffled onto the couches with the others.
Alphonse offered them a sad smile as they walked by, wanting to stop and comfort the children but knowing there was nothing much that could be said at this point, not until they learned the fate of these children. Instead he addressed Mrs. Weasley as she opened the door to the kitchen "My brother and a few others should be arriving soon, he went to the Ministry of Magic first to determine how much, if any, help we would receive from them."
"Not any I'm afraid." Mr. Weasley said from his spot at the head of the table, surrounded by several members who had already arrived. "We are grateful for the help of the Alchemists at any rate."
"I am not an Alchemist myself, though we did bring my brother and one other." Alphonse responded, noticing the confused frowns of a few people and assumed they had met him Before when he had helped the fight. "An Alchemic accident rendered me incapable I am now only a theoretical alchemist. I can write any circle, I can teach others, but I cannot activate them myself any longer."
Hagrid, who in particular remembered how the battle had weakened this man last time assumed he had had a similar fight at some point and nodded in understanding as the others let the matter drop. A few minutes later Edward arrived with Minerva, Kain, Jean, Remus, and both Fletcher and Russell Tringham who had wisely skipped the visit with the Minister of Magic. The brothers instead had visited Diagon Alley to see the area of disappearances for themselves to report to Edward.
Edward was visibly agitated when they sat down, and Alphonse looked at him questioningly. Ed shook his head, then waited for everyone else to be seated. "Okay. We're getting no help from the Ministry. We know Malfoy took at least one of these kids, probably all of them. We do not know why, but we have to assume it has something to do with their former boss. I intend to go to his house and look for them there. Who's in?"
"Not Ministry approved, but Amestrian approved. They have immunity, so no one has to worry about getting in trouble guys. Edward has also agreed to join the Order." Minerva confirms for everyone who wasn't already nodding along. "We are leaving in a few minutes."
"Alphonse, Havoc, Feury, and Fletcher Tringham will be staying here to protect your children." Edward assures the Weasleys. "If both of you or one of you wants to remain behind we understand."
"We're going." Molly said and Arther nodded. "Mr. Lovegood and Mr. Diggory are already watching the Manor in hopes of spotting something that could convince the Ministry to look. Mrs. Longbottom will meet us there I'm sure, she stopped by the hospital on the way to the meeting to update Neville's parents…not that they understand."
"Wha- Never mind, we'll ask questions later. Send her a message and lets go." Edward said.
"We're coming too." Bill demanded from the doorway, Charlie standing directly behind him. Both scowling even as their mother shook her head. "You can stop the others Mom, but we're of age. Percy too, but he's agreed to stay with the others to keep them safe. George, well he's tossing a fit about it."
"No, absolutely not. I'm not risking more of our children." Molly yelled.
"Not your choice really." Charlie frowned. "Fred our brother, we're both adults and members of the Order. We are going."
"If we don't allow them to come, they'll just follow behind." Alphonse reasons, and frowns at his brother's flinch. "What is it?"
"Yuery." Edward tersely spat before sweeping out of the room with no further explanation.
The others followed, Molly still arguing with her eldest two sons as they made their way out of the house. When the Order was gone, Alphonse turned to his people. Jean shook his head sadly, before saying softly so only Alphonse could hear him "Yuery followed us, Edward received word just before we arrived here. He tied up William and stole the cloak to sneak out. He likely made it past the border when it was down and is now in the wind."
"What?!" Alphonse screamed as he jumped up, looking around for someone who could take him in search of his nephew.
"Leave it. Edward said we won't find him until he reaches London. He knows Yuery well." Jean sighed. "I know, I wanted to immediately look too, and I know Ed felt the same, but it is beyond our control at the moment. We need to find those kids, before Yuery goes looking for them and gets himself caught by these monsters."
"Why does that child have to be so much like my idiot brother?!" Alphonse said, as the remaining Weasley children all came into the room. The eldest two, George and Percy if Alphonse remembered correctly, looked livid. The younger ones, Ron and Ginny, were equal parts angry and afraid.
"Professor Elric, I'm sorry…I wrote Yuery and told him my brother had been taken, and the others. He's gone because I told him and- "Ron began even as Alphonse shook his head.
"No Ron, this has been an ongoing battle of wills between my brother and nephew. Had you not informed him, he would have learned of it when his father di and still done this." Alphonse assures the boy, who still looks guilty.
Malfoy Manor
Cedric, Luna, Padma, and Fred sat together against the back wall, all tied together. Neville was gone now, taken by the men upstairs and Dean's body had been left on the other side of the room. Luna was crying quietly as Fred tried to comfort her. Cedric tried to think of a way to get them out of this before the men returned. He had no doubt they intended to kill them all now.
They heard people moving around above their heads, Cedric trying to find a way to wiggle free because he would stand before the others, protect them as long as possible. Fred seemed to have the same idea. Luna and Padma stayed still as possible to help the others wiggle free.
Just as they heard multiple people on the stairs, Fred managed to get one hand free. Padma whispered frantically that she had managed to grab a letter opener and hid it in her sock if he could reach it. Fred gently pulled it free, careful not to cut the girl before he began sawing at the remaining ropes and the door flew open.
Cedric shoved himself on top of the others, even as Fred managed to get one of Luna's hands free. The man who stepped into the room was not one of the men they saw earlier, but Fred recognized him from photographs in the newspapers his brother brought home to show their Dad. "My name is Edward Elric, I'm here to help you." The man said gently as several others crowded the doorway, Cedric and Fred both recognized their Dads right away. Edward spotted Dean's body at the same time and turned back to the other adults. "Not now, don't overwhelm them. Guard the perimeter and we will bring them out to you."
He pulled one other man inside and shut the door before approaching the children, their parents' protests ignored behind him. "I'm sorry about that, we don't need a panic in such a small space. Can someone tell me who this boy is, and where Neville Longbottom has gone?"
"That's Dean Thomas. Neville was taken by Malfoy and his friend to do some spell." Fred said as Ed clapped and touched the ropes. The ropes immediately dissolved, freeing all the children at once.
"They intend to bring back You Know Who." Cedric added as he helped the others stand up. The man who had come inside with Edward had pulled out a blanket and wrapped Dean in it gently. With a sad nod he lifted the body, and Edward led the other children back out of the room.
No one was in the hall anymore; all having returned to the main floor under protest. Edward leads the way, ready to defend the children should the need arise but not sensing anyone else in the house. Tringham stayed to the back, so the living children would be seen first, to hopefully lessen the number of panicking adults because they would all panic. It was going to be bad regardless.
"We lost Dean Thomas." Edward said gently before the rest arrived up the stairs. "Neville Longbottom has been taken to a second, unknown location." As expected, the reaction of disbelief, panic, and grief hit immediately. Mrs. Longbottom nearly crumpled as she was comforted by a couple of people in the back of the group while The Diggory's, The Weasleys, and Mr. Lovegood met their children with tears. Someone would need to contact the Thomas' and the Patil's' about their children.
12 Grimmauld Place
Black House
London
Sirius led the way quietly into the house, the child still invisible but behind him. He still had reservations about this plan, namely the child's demand that he take the Vow and including the promise to help Harry return to his 'family' and to not hinder his 'family' from reaching him. It still bothered Sirius greatly Harry insisted that they were his family, but he hoped if they spent enough time together that Harry would realize that he belonged here.
"I'm not changing my mind. I am here to stop this war then I am going home." Yuery said as he shrugged off the cloak. He looked around the house with a frown as he reached out to feel for the object in question. "We will wait here, my Dad plans to come here as soon as he can. Hopefully before he goes to fight anyone. Though if he goes to rescue the kids first that would be good too…I am in so much trouble you know. Not counting sneaking, you out and breaking the confinement spell on you, I did spell my brother and left to come do the thing my Dad told me not to do."
"I am sure if he is half the man, you claim he is, he will understand Harry." Sirius assured the boy, ignoring the child's frown. "KREACHER! That damned elf is never around when you want him, always lurking when you don't."
"House elves should not be treated like that." Yuery frowned, "and my name is Yuery. Not Harry. At least try to pretend to remember."
"Why would you want to come to this dump anyway?" Sirius frowned. He hated being here. It reminded of his mother. The House Elf arrived at his side before anything else could be said, muttering to itself. "Start the fire in the Kitchen, and would it kill you to clean up occasionally?"
"Mr. Black! Kreacher, was it? Please would you start the fire? I'd love a tour later if you wouldn't mind." Yuery said as he smiled at the elf, who seemed to ignore him completely, though it did mutter some hateful comments regarding his accent and probability of his parentage. "We are here, Mr. Black, because my father needs something hidden in this house by your brother that can stop Voldemort."