The Order of the Pheonix
Chapter Fourteen
Weasley House
Edward paced as he mentally organized what they needed to do next as the healers looked over the children they had rescued, and Mrs. Weasley kept the rest of her children occupied in the other room. Lupin and Roy came into the room on his third pass, as Ed groaned in frustration. "Report, Fullmetal."
"We retrieved the abducted subjects, one casualty. Expected enemy has returned to full strength." Edward reported calmly to the surprise of the members of the Order that were gathered in the room. "Alphonse Elric and his team have not reported in, and Yuery Elric is still unaccounted for; At this time, we cannot expect aide from the local government."
"As dire as I suspected then. First order of business, retrieve the Elric parties whom we must assume have come together, second, I will engage the local government while you arrange a secure place to debrief the Order. It appears that we have entered a war." Roy frowned deeply; he placed a hand on Edward's shoulder. "We will get through this. Your brother is being as inconveniently impulsive as your son."
"Well, we learned it from the best, Dad." Edward joked to the confusion of several members of the Order who had not interacted with the Amestrians directly before.
Bill Weasley asked his mom in a whisper "If that man is his father, why was he reporting to him like one of those muggle soldiers?"
"As far as I understand it from what Snape and Ron have explained, he is both Mr. Elric's father and his commander. Though they are the two highest in their country." Molly shook her head. "You know I have no head for muggle politics, that's your father's area. I have my hands full following our own in addition to caring for you lot."
"Mom, Bill, you should avoid using that term around the Amestrians, they consider it insulting." Ron said quietly, before turning to the Amestrians in question. "Sirs, if I may, Yuery is only here because I wrote to him about my brother's disappearance. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, we are not letting anymore children wander off in this situation. If you truly wish to help, please just do as we ask without an argument." Edward responded, "Firstly, I need you to contact Hermoine Granger if possible. She was the other child that Yuery was close to from here and ensure she has not heard from him. Then, pack a bag. That goes for all of you children. We are sending you to safety until this is over. Yuery will be joining you as soon as he is located. Inform Hermione to expect someone arriving to pick her up as well."
"Wait, why are we sending the children anywhere?" Bill asked.
"Voldemort has returned to full power. It is his intent, as we know, to destroy the child involved in the prophesy. This would be either Yuery or Neville. Both unfortunately have close ties to all of you. Therefore, you will need to be sent to safety so that you cannot be used as leverage to draw out either members of the Order or either boy." Roy explained plainly, even as Molly Weasley looked horrified. She would prefer the children not to know how dire things had become, as she feared her children would try to join the fight. "Now, as Fullmetal suggested, please, go pack a bag and contact this other child."
"Why is he called Fullmetal?" Fred asked as the children left the room, Ron's explanation fading as they walked away sounded partly accurate.
"Mrs. Weasley, I propose we send all of these children to Amestris. They be well protected by our barriers and well-guarded by my men until this is over." Roy offered, and Mrs. Weasley nodded reluctantly.
"I want Bill and Charlie to go as well." She demanded.
"What, no Mom. We aren't children." Charlie complained.
"No, you aren't, but you can help keep your brothers and sister safe and I would feel more comfortable with them being away from me if you were there with them."
"Okay, fine." Bill nodded in agreement. Roy nodded to Lupin then, who in turn sighed with relief as the children were gathered around them. Mrs. Weasley had used a few spells Roy assumed to gather their belongings, and all seven of her children, along with Neville Longbottom, Cedric Diggory, and Luna Lovegood were waiting to be transported. The Patil sisters, as well as their parents, elected to return to their home earlier and Hermoine Granger would be collected shortly.
"The guest wing of the Fuhrer's mansion is very comfortable. The children will remain there for a few days, then we will assess whether we should return them to their regular studies at Xerxes. They, of course, will be treated as day students until this threat has passed." Roy explained to the Order. "Edward, we should be on our way, it is time to collect our sons and their companions."
"You make it sound like Brother is a misbehaving child, like Yuery." Edward snorted.
"Isn't he?" Roy smirked. They watched as Lupin and the children disappeared before turning to leave themselves. "We should also visit your vault, there may be important information among the stacks."
Riddle House
Lucius was annoyed, with the arrival of the Order it was apparent that they must have found the remaining children which meant he would not be able to return to his home anytime soon. This was clearly Pettigrew's fault, after all the sniveling little toad of a man had brought all of this to his doorstep. Literally.
Had Pettigrew not wanted to pass off the duties he had so rightfully been assigned, then Malfoy's connection would not have been noticed. Had they brought the children here instead, then they likely would not have been found before they had wanted to be known. Therefore, this was entirely the man's fault, which made Lucius even less sympathetic to the man's whimpering than he would have been in other circumstances.
Yes, the man had lost a hand, but to hear him whining you would think he was half dead. TO make matters worse, Lucius was forced to share a suite with him. The whole place was a hovel, mildew and cobwebs everywhere, and most of the windows boarded up. A groundskeeper had been nearby when they arrived but had been taken care of quickly when the old man had gotten to nosey just after sundown.
He ignored the other man as he huffed out of the chair near the fireplace and made his way out of the room. It had been decided earlier this evening, shortly after arriving, that the remaining members of their group who were currently in Azkaban would be freed tonight. He wanted to speak privately with the Dark Lord before then about the possibility of regaining his son from Amestris as well.
He knocked on the door of the study and was bid entry. Voldemort was standing before a desk seemingly reading over some old papers as he ignored the chair beside him. Lucius suppressed the shudder of revulsion he felt at his appearance, wondering once again if the spell had gone wrong. Voldemort…didn't look completely human. His lack of a proper nose, and the snakelike eyes as well as his hairlessness and pale skin seemed wrong, but he had made no mention of any mistakes made. Surely, had it gone wrong there would have been punishment. He had been standing there too long, as Voldemort demanded he speak. "My Lord, I wished to beg favor. My son, he has been stolen from me. Taken by the traitor Severus Snape and hidden away beyond my reach. I beg we try to retrieve my son from Amestris before they can poison him against us."
"I believe you are years too late for that outcome Lucius, as you well know." Voldemort said in a bored tone as he changed the page. "However, we will go to Amestris when the time is right. Both Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom will have been hidden behind their boundary spell in a vain hope of concealing them. Should you happen upon your son, very well."
"Thank you, sir." Lucius bowed, "Pettigrew is still whining loudly, I do not believe he will be of much aide this evening."
"Did he remove the body as I ordered?" Voldemort asked.
"Yes, sir." Lucius agreed. It was the least the man could do after leaving Lucius the task of tracking the man down and killing him.
"Very well. Then I shall grant him a new hand. He is of no use to me in this pathetic state. Do not bother yourselves with the retrieval others have been sent for the task. For now, I want everything you know about these Amestrians. Especially that alchemist."
Black House
In the end, it had been surprisingly easy to find the locket. Kreacher, upon hearing Yuery's statement, had brought the locket directly to him. When Sirius had demanded angrily why the Elf had hidden the object away, Kreacher had explained that Master Regulas' last orders to him had been to hide the locket and find a way to destroy it.
He had gone on to describe, in great detail, his many attempts to follow the order and his punishments for failing. He was then seemingly relieved to have found a way to finish the job. Even Sirius, who seemed to hate the poor elf, looked horrified at the idea of how he had suffered over the years.
They had just finished dinner, and Yuery was once again arguing with his uncle about going home, when they were interrupted by the arrival of Edward, Roy, and their companions including Mrs. Weasley to Mr. Weasley's discomfort and Remus and Severus. Sirius was livid to see Snape in his house which was apparent by the glares he sent in the man's direction even as everyone started arguing at once.
"Enough!" Roy Mustang yelled a moment later, and the room fell silent. "Now, what the hell were you thinking Alphonse. You were given a direct order from both your brother and myself to return to Amestris hours ago…as for you, Yuery, I am very disappointed in you, but I will leave your punishment to your father."
"I had to do something to help!" Yuery argued. "You can't expect me to just hide behind our barriers when people are getting hurt or killed out here and I could help."
"You cannot help. You are more a hinderance than an aide in this mission. You are their primary target and always have been, therefore the best way you can help is to stay away so no one's attention is divided between stopping them and protecting you." Roy said, holding up a hand before the boy could protest. "Before you argue further, remember even your father, who was a soldier, went into hiding to keep us from having to divide our attention."
"He had me with him." Yuery said, as if that changed the facts though it did seem to interest the listening wizards. Very few of them knew anything about Amestrian history or politics.
"Eventually he had you with him. As much as it pained him, when he went into hiding, he went alone. I arranged for you to join him a few weeks later and Alphonse did not see him again until Promised Day. I saw neither of them until Promised Day myself, and we knew going into it we may never see each other again if we were unable to stop them. This isn't about being a strong fighter Yuery, it's about tactical advantage." Roy said calmly, Yuery nodded in understanding. Roy saw the boy's expression and knew they would be facing another fight in a few weeks when Yuery realized that, unlike his father, they did not intend for him to return to the battle later. Of course, there was every possibility they would not be given a choice, which Edward continued to conveniently ignore as well. Between his son and grandson, it was amazing he had any sanity left at this point. With a heavy sigh he placed a hand on his grandson's head. "You are very much your father's son. Stubborn to the point of self-destruction, honor bound to help whenever you can. Unbelievably optimistic. Please, just do as you are asked without the fight this time. There will be other fights, when you are ready for them. There always are."
Alphonse interrupted then to hand his father the locket, assuming correctly this conversation would grow circular quickly, much like fighting with his brother. "We found the last piece. Destroy this and you are dealing with nothing more than an ordinary man." He said, this time switching to Xerxian so no one other than Yuery would understand.
"Agreed. We need a safe place to dispose of it, you will take Yuery and go home now. I need you to take care of the Family and the Country while your brother and I take care of this." Roy responded in the same language.
The other members of the Order watched on in confusion as Alphonse then agreed and reached a hand out to the boy. Yuery took his uncle's hand but said to his grandfather before they disappeared. "You can trust Sirius Black; he took a vow that prevents him from betraying us or attempting to keep me away from what I consider home and family. I insisted he word it this way as he keeps trying to convince me he is family, and you are not."
"Goodbye Yuery. Do apologize to your brothers when you arrive, neither of them are very happy with you after your escape." Roy said with a small smile. As soon as his son and grandson were gone, he returned his attention to the other adults. "I need to be taken somewhere out of the way where a rather large fire will go unnoticed, and I need Edward with me in case I need any help."
A letter arrived down the flue before anyone could respond, informing them of a massive breakout of Azkaban prison, the letter had been addressed to Sirius Black with no actual address therefore the bird that dropped in the top of the chimney must had been instructed to find him not his location. Sirius frowned as he stared at the offending page, before he turned to the others. "You can headquarter the Order here. The protection spells already in place keep nearly everything out and if were to add more no one will suspect who is meeting inside. I hate this house anyway, offering it up for good instead seems the best choice."
"Thank you for the offer, we will consider it. For now, everyone returns to the Weasley's house. I am going to make an appointment with Ministry to try to make them see reason." Roy said, before frowning down at the locket before placing it in the inner pocket of his uniform jacket. "I need my son and Snape as quickly as possible. This man, Black will remain here, I need someone to stay with him to ensure he causes no further trouble." Sirius scoffed at Snape's name, though he was ignored. Shacklebolt and Mr. Weasley offered to stay behind as the rest left to attend to the issues that had arisen.
Ministry of Magic
Minister Fudge was beside himself with worry. First, those people out in Drachma had refused his request. Then he had another breakout from Azkaban to deal with, as well as those Amestrians demanding his time. Somehow there were even rumors that He Who Must Not Be Named was involved with all of it, despite that fact that it simply wasn't possible for the man to have returned. No, surely this was the work of Death Eaters, Likely lead by Sirius Black who broke out not that long ago.
He had received a report that the missing children had been found in Malfoy Manor. Distressingly one of the children had died, and another, the Patil girl, was telling people that one of their captors was Peter Pettigrew, another man known to be dead. If the papers got ahold of this, it would lead to a mass panic. He had to find a way to keep everything quiet until they found those who were actually behind it all.
Umbridge was at his door again, informing him that the Amestrains were once again demanding to speak to him directly. As if he had time for such nonsense! Delores was more than capable of answering their questions. He supposed he understood in a way, after all if he had bothered to travel all the way to Amestris expecting to speak to the Fuhrer and was sent to the Lt. Fuhrer instead he would have been annoyed. Still though, they had to understand he simply did not have time at the moment. "Tell them to set an appointment with my secretary if they must speak to me, I simply do not have time for unannounced meetings tonight."
"I already told them that they would need an appointment. I even reminded them that I myself was doing them a courtesy seeing them with my full schedule, however they are insistent." Delores said, clearly agitated.
"Be that as it may, they simply must wait. Give them an assigned appointment time in the morning and have security show them out for tonight. There are some very nice hotels nearby, I am sure they will be very comfortable until the meeting. Thank you, Delores." Fudge waved her away and returned his attention to the reports flying in.
With a huff, she went back to her own office where she had left the Lt. Fuhrer and his group. They still seemed annoyed, but once she repeated that they would have to wait until morning they agreed reluctantly, though the Lt. Fuhrer did part with a quip about the changing tides of battle. She had no idea what he was talking about, but considering he was clearly little more than a child and foreign it was to be expected that he spoke nothing but nonsense. She wasn't sure if he was even a magic user really. Were alchemy and Magic the same? She would have to find out because if they weren't he had no business coming into the Ministry.
a/n : Sorry for the delay, technical difficulties last week. This week's update will hopefully be up shortly as well.