The Order of the Pheonix
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hogwarts
The students had all been sent back to bed, though no one truly believed they had, as the teachers began cleaning up the mess made by the attack. It seemed pointless to them, and many were afraid. He had injured Flitwick severely enough that the man had been taken away to the hospital and Slughorn was dead. Many others had minor injuries, including some of the students who had been in their dorms but not completely safe from falling objects.
Bellatrix Lestrange was still bound, held captive in the caretaker's office on the main floor while Edward Elric and McGonagall spoke to everyone. Snape had gone down to the Slytherin dorm to calm the students who had lost their Head of House, while Sprout had gone first to Hufflepuff to check on her own students then Ravenclaw to assure Flitwick's that he would return soon. Madam Hooch, who had been acting as Head of House for McGonagall while she was in Xerxes, went to calm the Gryffindors. McGonagall and Elric were awaiting the arrival of the Ministry, as well as Edward's father while they discussed the evening's events.
All over England attacks had been occurring for hours, now the school itself had been under attack. It was a distraction, Edward had to assume, so that Voldemort could check on the Horcrux he had left here. After the Vaults, Edward had known it was simply a matter of time before he had uncovered it. Now the most pressing question was if he would make another one.
Snape returned to the office, and Edward shared a silent conversation with a few frowns. McGonagall seemed as confused as the rest of them making the others nervous just as Edward announced, "There is no use speculating. At least not until the Fuhrer arrives. How much damage was done?"
At first, there was silence before McGonagall looked over to Hagrid and Flitch for the answer. Both men were surprised to be addressed directly and didn't respond. "Hagrid, you first then, I expect you have less to report." Edward frowned at the two men. Hagrid seemed uncomfortable to be put on the spot, so Edward turned to McGonagall. "Please tell this isn't another of your stupid rules, are they not allowed to answer?"
"Of course they are Fuhrer Elric." She was irritable and not in the mood for more criticism from the Amestrians about their cultural differences. "He is rarely asked to speak in front of such a crowd."
"I see. Are you shy or do you feel uncomfortable in my questions?" Edward asked, again addressing the two men.
"I'm not shy." Flitch growled. "I haven't a full report for you yet, but most is cleaned up already."
"Thank you, sir." Edward nodded, surprising the caretaker, before returning his attention to the groundskeeper. Hagrid shook his head, there hadn't been any damage to the grounds. Edward understood his reluctance and thanked him as well, before turning his attention back to the others. "With the school breached once already, I highly suggest you return the students to their homes. I understand if you feel I am overstepping with the suggestion, however, we do not at this time have the resources required to assign full time guard over this property. These attacks are happening all over the country as we speak. This is a war, and we must treat it as one."
"This school remained open throughout the last war, and it will remain open now." McGonagall stated calmly. "We are better served to keep the children here, where they can be defended and protected, than sending them all away and scattered with these attacks."
"Amestris is his next likely target and we both know it." Snape added quietly, so only McGonagall and Edward heard him. "It is logical, he will have no idea the children have been moved, and he will seek to regain the…advantage." He added, changing his wording at the last moment as he did not wish to be overheard. His meaning was clear to Edward though as both men stared at the now covered body of Slughorn as Roy Mustang finally arrived with Lupin, Arthur Weasley and his sons, and Sirius Black- who Roy refused to leave behind alone with his grandson- the last one causing another stir. "Black is magically bound, he is no threat, and he was never a Death Eater." Snape added casually to the raised voices.
"He was sent to jail for a dozen murders, including one of his closest friends." Pomfrey frowned.
"Pettigrew faked his own death and was responsible for the others. Lack was set up." Snape said with a sneer, as he hated defending the man. "Pettigrew was a Death Eater, unlike Black. He betrayed them all. Now if you don't mind, I would rather add defensive spells to the school so we can move on to the next target instead of fighting over this…man."
"He is not to be left anywhere near my family, so he is here as my prisoner." Roy added, which seemed to do more to calm the group than Snape's words. Snape's announcement of Black's innocence, especially of his lack of ties to Voldemort did calm a great deal of the fear already.
"Fuhrer. He was all over this building. Including the seventh floor." Edward interrupted. Roy nodded slowly, turning to his son for a moment with a frown, before Edward nodded in return and added. "We captured one of his, a woman named Bellatrix Lestrange. Her husband is already captured. It may be prudent to imprison them in separate locations."
"Agreed. Secure the building and grounds. Snape, you are with us, the rest of you remain until the school is secure." Roy commanded to those who had come with him before turning toward the room the prisoner had been held.
Bellatrix sneered when they came into the room, but was shackled and unable to move, her wand had been removed already. Edward considered breaking it altogether before he decided it wasn't worth the inevitable argument such an action would cause when those around him assumed he was 'ignorant' to the significant of snapping a wand. Instead, he kept it in one of his pockets with the intent to break it as soon as possible. It would not be returned to its owner now or ever. She had done enough damage.
"You won't hold me, I'm not an idiot like that one I married." She sneered confidently.
"You are also unaccustomed to the methods of Alchemists." Roy calmly walked across the room to pull the now struggling prisoner to her feet. "You will not be kept with your husband; another location has been arranged."
"He will come for me. Unlike the rest of them, I matter to him." She sounded sure of it, though both men had their doubts. Edward shook his head and glared without a word. Her blind loyalty sounded far too much like others he had dealt with in the past. They had a terrible tendency to be just as dangerous as their leaders. "He will tear you apart, you are not worthy of his attention."
"Alas, not the first time I have heard such an estimation, nor will it be the last." Roy smirked at the woman before leading her over to Edward and Snape. Snape pulled out and charmed a cane into a portkey. He had considered offering flue power before he remembered Edward's reaction to it previously.
"We will take her to the Ministry for now, until the placement can be arranged. We have that press conference as well, which we really should be ready for before arriving." Roy told the other two as he ignored the woman between them.
"Is the Ministry truly the best option considering?" Snape asked.
"It's a terrible option, practically begging for an escape. It is also the least destructive option until we can decide where to place her. "Edward frowned, shaking his head. "We also must make every effort to appear cooperative with the local authorities. Unfortunately, this includes turning over prisoners "
Press Conference
The Prime Minister, Minister of Magic, Fuhrer of Amestris, Lt Fuhrer of Amestris, Emperor of Xing, Prince of Wales, and Princess of Xing along with their various aides stood together as the press assembled. Guards were stationed around the room which was growing increasingly louder. Outside, a storm was building. The distant thunder adding to the din. On stage everyone was silent and still waiting for everyone to settle.
For the majority of those on stage to be completely unknown faces was adding to the confusion of the crowd, which was already on edge after the last few days. When everyone had finally settled the Prime Minister was first to speak. "We have gathered you here today to lay to rest rumors that have been spreading over the last week and to confirm what has actually happened. This will likely come as to a shock for many here, please hold your questions until the end. First, I would like to begin with the biggest issue to address. Magic is in fact real." The resulting yells were expected. He waited calmly and patiently while the crowd screamed questions at him all at once.
Behind him Princess Chen shifted slightly to the left to whisper to her brother. Both Ling and Edward slightly smiled, suggesting that they had both heard her before all three became quiet once more and the sounds of the crowd faded. Once it had settled again, he continued. "I know this has come as a surprise to many. The world of wizardry has been hidden from the rest of us for centuries now, for their own safety. They would have remained that way indefinitely if not for recent events. A rogue sect of wizards, who do not align in anyway with their government and society, has begun attacking them as well as others which is what we have been seeing lately. These men are here to help us and to stop this sect."
Once again, the crowd began yelling, demanding to know who the others were and if they could be trusted. The Minister of Magic stepped forward to join the Prime Minister and answer the questions, he cleared his throat nervously, still not convinced that being honest with muggles was the best course of action. "Our existence is not news to the leaders of the world. We have always maintained open communication between our people. The Amestrians and Xingese have also maintained communication for as long as they have been hidden. It is simply safer for everyone involved to remain; However, the efforts of our enemies have made this impossible. Instead of limiting their attacks to those who are involved as has been done in the past, they have chosen to attack outside our world."
"Amestris and Xing, along with a few other countries, have been hidden for far longer than magic has been a secret. However, the knowledge of these countries has only disappeared with the cooperation of magic users and non-magic users." The Prime Minister added. He had pointed to the leaders of Amestris and Xing as he spoke, but it was Edward who stepped forward to join the conversation after what appeared to be a brief silent argument with the Fuhrer.
"My name is Edward Mustang-Elric, Lieutenant Fuhrer of Amestris and eldest son of Fuhrer Mustang behind me. We do not often venture outside our borders and have only arrived currently to aide in stopping these rogues who have decided to target anyone and everyone who does not bend to their will. We will remain in your borders only as long as we are welcome in your government and have no intention of causing harm to anyone." Edward stepped back again and said without realizing the microphone would pick it up. "You know I hate speeches Dad, stop being lazy." The crowd laughed at this, despite the obvious embarrassment from the two men.
Ling and Chen chose not to say anything either, though both were smirking slightly at Edward as the Prime Minister nodded to the Minister of Magic to continue. "At this time, we do not know the location of this group who refer to themselves as Death Eaters. We do know that they have been moving around recently and have attacked several places in the last few hours. We are doing everything we can to keep ahead of these attacks and minimize the damage."
"I have seen the evidence and projected numbers involved in these attacks." The Prime Minister continued. "We are all working closely together to end this quickly and efficiently. Now, I will open the floor to a few questions."
"How do you know they are not the cause of these attacks themselves?" asked a tall woman in the front.
"Again, I have seen the presented evidence. Fuhrer Elric has even aided in stopping the bridge attack, for example. These people are not our enemies, and their casualty numbers have been rising far faster than our own." The Prime Minister frowned at her before she could say anything else and chose someone further back for the next question.
"How big are Amestris and Xing if we have never heard of them?" asked a younger man toward the back.
"Magic has hidden our home for ages, it is an entire continent unknown from the rest of the world, I have seen the maps. Both the hidden ones and the known ones, and we all simply forget that there is space missing. It is an impressive spell." Roy Mustang responded with a shrug. "My family has not been in charge very long only the last decade, I cannot speak to the mindset of prior leaderships that lead to this secret."
"How do we know – "The reporter's question was interrupted by a loud rolling thunder. The room shook and the lights blinked, causing several people in the crowd to cry out and knocked over one of the aides on stage.
Another man, long haired and dressed in a suit, rushed into the room and up the stairs to the stage. He was addressed as Snape even as he spoke quietly to several of the men and the Prime Minister covered the microphone. They all nodded, before the Prime Minister returned his attention to the crowd, now paler than before and several of the people behind him were escorted off the stage. "It appears another round of attacks have begun. Please, remain indoors and wait further instructions. Thank you." He did not respond to the questions yelled at him or wait for the cameras to stop filming before leaving the stage himself surrounded by his own aides and guards.
Outside, people were rushing around seeking cover as a storm seemed to come from nowhere, magical creatures, unseen by most, ripping through the crowds to cause as much destruction and chaos as possible. Wizards and witches were stationed throughout the chaos, casting spells and defending civilians as much as they could. Above the noise, Snape yelled to the others "As I said, he's been recruiting. We need to get to the Ministry before they decide to take it."
"Go. I need to get back to the boys." Edward was clearly torn between joining the fight and returning to house which was supposed to be protected. He hated leaving the others behind to fight, but he had to get to his son and the other boy. He had to make sure they were safe.
"Watch for the Dementors. They are mixed into all of this." Snape agreed with a nod and the rest of the group broke up as they made to travel. The Prime Minister and other non-magical people would all be returning to their offices, while the wizards and the alchemists went toward the Ministry of Magic.
Amestris
Riza received the call from Lan Fan in her office. The first barrier, the spell that had stood uninterrupted aside from Promised Day, had fallen. Creta was defenseless as they had refused any additional magic, but the barriers that had been cast recently were still holding. Riza expected to hear from the border shortly, Creta was likely to be attacked as this enemy made their way across.
She needed to warn her family and prepare her people. This was something they had all been expecting, yet at the same time they had hoped it would not come to fruition. She was tired, so unbelievably tired, as she calmly walked back to their apartment to talk to Winry and Alphonse. Mei would be upset by this news as well.
Lan Fan had ordered the area near the border evacuated, in the event of the barrier falling that would be the only way to protect their people. Riza considered giving the same order as she reached the sitting room, after all they did not want anyone to be hurt by yet another war.
In the end, she didn't have to say anything. One look at her face and Alphonse and Winry knew what had happened. Both gathered the children, deciding to prepare them. Should it come to it the children would be taken to the safe room and then take a portkey to Xerxes. Alphonse had suggested it, further away from Amestris and safe for children.