CH15: Burden of the Crown

September 11th

6:34pm

Black Chateau, Isle of Man

Daphne

Daphne Greengrass crouched behind a stack of crates outside the Weasley Tent, her disillusioned form blending into the colour burst of the Twin's products. Having taken on the delicate task rooting out the conspirators in Hermione's murder, she'd started with those who had caused trouble before.

The target, a slender man with short greying hair, exited the forest in a hurry. He cast his eyes left, then right, before beginning again on the dirt path before him. Daphne followed him silently as he navigated the narrow maze of tents and people but kept her distance, nimbly avoiding the odd passerby.

'This one had a lot to say at that little rally,' she observed as the man did his best to walk convincingly innocent, 'was it all bravado or are you a killer?'

Soon, the man reached a small, modest tent on the eastern outskirts of the camp. Daphne snuck closely behind him under disillusionment and as he entered, she stopped just outside.

She listened intently, her ears straining to catch the muffled voices from within the tent. It wasn't long before a heated argument erupted. From her position outside, she couldn't make any of the words out clearly and so she cautiously crouched forward and moved one of the flaps to the side.

Peering through the flaps in the entrance, Daphne watched the man sit down on a rickety wooden stool and place his head in his hands.

"What?" A woman, presumably his wife, asked. "What is it that troubles you my love?"

The man stood up angrily, shaking his head along the way. "It was supposed to be about the food, just the food!"

"What honey?" The mans wife came up behind him to hug him from behind

"That poor girl," he sniffled as he collapsed to the ground, "she didn't deserve it Martha, she didn't need to die."

"Anthony?" The wife looked equal parts horrified and confused. "What did you do?"

"I just wanted to keep you and the boys safe," he answered evasively. The tearful eyes snapped to cold and hard immediately, the man had been radicalised that much was certain. "And I will, there's no turning back now."

Daphne's heart pounded in her chest as she realised that this man was not merely a bystander. He had played a role, however indirect, in the tragic events that had taken Hermione's life. But as the couple held each other, the man's last words haunted her.

'No turning back now? They have more in store for us. I can't take him in now, if I spook them too early then we'll never be able to anticipate their next attack.' Daphne left the tent and immediately made her way towards the house in search of Tonks. 'That man will be followed twenty four seven, I will root out the traitors before they strike.'

September 12th

5:22pm

Black Chateau, Isle of Man

Harry

"The elves have done good work to secure what food they can but unless we take drastic measures we'll starve by this time next month." Damien's report brought frowns to everyone in the room.

It was an abstract thing to anticipate starvation. 'None of you have gone without meals in your life and it's starting to show.'

"What can we do Damien?" Remus asked. "If any more food vanishes from their stores then they'll begin to question what's going on."

"Can we count on the prime minister's support to smooth it over?" Last Harry heard, the prime minister had kicked Kingsley out of his office and threatened to detain him if he ever returned. A resounding no was all that Harry expected.

"No." Kingsley sounded more displeased than ever. "Donal Gelling is the Chief Minister over the Isle of Man. However, given the current climate, Blair has been given ultimate authority underlined by a heavy military presence on the island,"

"What does that mean for us, Shack?" Remus asked with a worried expression.

"Considering the men and women guarding the food are British army, any attack on their person or outpost is an act of war," Kingsley reported solemnly. The Prime Minister had tried to detain the Senior Auror to be 'sharply questioned' on the current state of Wizarding Britain. "The death toll is mounting, kidnappings, uncontrollable fires… most of the country is under military lockdown already."

Sturgis Podmore's chair scraped against the floorboards as he stood and declared in a thunderously angry voice. "That's why we have to hit the compound now! Before Blair or Gelling moves any of the remaining food to hidden locations!"

"And how would we guarantee any plausible deniability?" Daphne asked condescendingly. "If he so much as catches a whiff of magic we would have to contend with a desperate world leader that has a considerable arsenal at his disposal."

"He surely wouldn't know where to strike," Bill Weasley reasoned.

"Kingsley?"

"The Prime Minister is made aware of key areas such as the Ministry, St Mungo's and Hogwarts so as to avoid any major accidents–"

"That's bollocks!" Dedalus Diggle interrupted. "Even with advanced muggle weaponry, they wouldn't be able to touch Hogwarts."

"We don't know that," Harry countered and as he saw another outburst rising in Podmore's throat he continued with a glare, "nor am I willing to test it with children and teachers still present in the castle."

"We have children here," Sturgis grumbled.

Neville piped up from the end of the table, an air of confidence returning to the grieving young man. "We're making progress in the greenhouses, just yesterday we finished a procedure to triple a yield of strawberries–"

"Strawberries?" Dedalus asked incredulously before joining Sturgis on his feet and shouting too. "Strawberries! The people are hungry, Longbottom! If we don't get food, real food, they will start getting sick and with sickness comes dying until finally, Voldemort's cold malice becomes a better alternative than death's slow embrace."

"Your opinion has been heard, Dedalus and I thank you for it." Harry found controlling his anger much easier than ever before but those two were getting on his nerves. He could see across the table that everyone was silently agreeing with the two ex-order members, which didn't sit well with Harry. "I need more time to think, alone."

September 13th

12:48am

Black Chateau, Isle of Man

Harry

It started slowly, a single scream in the night. Not so unusual, little kids throwing tantrums for some reason or other. Groggy, Harry glanced at the window and could just make out the orange hue of dawn peaking past the curtains. Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and slid his legs off the side of the bed in one motion. He got up out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom.

"Fucking shite," he hissed as he stubbed his toe on the hardwood leg of his bed. It was only as he went to inspect the damage that he realised he had forgotten his glasses on the bedside table. 'Must've been a rough sleep,' he silently grumbled as he collected the spectacles.

Another scream, this time much louder, pierced his ears. 'You and me both mate,' Harry commented in unspoken solidarity with the disgruntled child, assuming the displeased cries to be wrought by the early hour. He gave the tap a good twist and let the water rush out only to cup his hands underneath the stream and splash his face with cold water.

"Harry?" Daphne dazedly inquired from the bed, "what time is it?"

"Early," he answered, less mindful of his volume, "sun's just coming up."

"Hmmm," Daphne distastefully acknowledged. Yet from the bathroom he could hear her getting up despite any reluctance.

Now that his body was beginning to wake up properly, he started feeling the sharp twinge of hunger taking hold in his stomach, a familiar feeling for the boy-who-lived-in-a-closet.

'No reprieve, I at least hope Dedalus is feeling the same.' He regretted the thought the moment it formed, Dedalus was simply scared, and he had every right to be. 'He's bloody right though, strawberries… it won't be enough.'

Harry caught movement in his peripheral vision and saw Daphne making her way over, presumably to use the bathroom and so he stepped away, towards the window. 'That doesn't give us the right to rob the entire region of their rations, or risk the retaliation of the Chief Minister and by extension the Prime Minister.'

"Enjoying command?" Daphne's question was asked cheekily to hide the underlying concern she felt.

"I would rather do your job," he answered honestly. Hermione's killer was still out there and it's true, he craved vengeance. 'If the legacy of the marauders rings true, so should the consequences.' Yet if their last interaction was any indication, she likely wouldn't want him to kill the person who'd done the deed. 'How else should we treat traitors?'

"I know," she said, having to project her voice to be louder than the running water of the tap. "But we've already noticed a shift in the camp's mood. They see you and they feel safe."

'But they're not.' Harry's scowl was communicative enough for Daphne to understand his thoughts.

"They'll pay," Daphne reassured him as she put a soothing hand on his back, "we'll make them…"

Harry turned around confused as to why Daphne drew out her sentence only to be met with a finger to her lip telling him to stay quiet. Trusting her instincts, Harry listened intently as well. The first thing he noticed was a steady hum like a running engine. Then, a dull shout, filled by two, three, a dozen more.

Daphne was already moving, swinging one of Harry's flannel shirts that was sitting on the desk chair over her shoulders. Harry followed suit, rushing into the walk-in-wardrobe and grabbing two pairs of shoes and a shirt for himself. Daphne sprinted out the door and headed into the hall as Harry collected his cloak and knife. When Harry finally left his room he caught the tail end of Daphne banging her fist on Sirius' room, already having done Remus and Tonks.

"We can't wait for them," Harry said, having no idea what the commotion could be, his 'saving people' complex was in full force. Daphne didn't even acknowledge his words, instead she took off towards the stairs with Harry hot on her heels. Now that they were downstairs, the screams and shouts were much louder with ominous shadows dancing on the walls through the large glass windows of the chateau.

Rushing outside, they were met with a scene of pandemonium. To the south, a dozen tents were reduced to ash and ruin. Smoke billowed into the night sky, and the flames danced freely, threatening to devour the entire camp. Whether this was to include the residents was still uncertain for they raced around the camp in panic.

Harry and Daphne exchanged a quick, determined glance before springing into action. With a clear, commanding voice, Harry rallied the people.

"Aurors!" he cried, his wand was at his neck to amplify his voice with a silent sonorus, "regroup at the house!"

The aurors who listened were easy to spot in the crowd as they were the few who ran with an obvious purpose. Like the fins of sharks cutting the ocean surface, men and women in their pyjamas waded through the chaos running rampart in the camp. Soon enough, Harry was surrounded by fifteen diligent souls, ready to bring some order to the night.

"Jessica, take five with you and extinguish that fire." Before Harry could finish the sentence, Jessica Odgen rushed off, bellowing orders into the night all the while still in her nightgown.

As Jessica disappeared into the crowd, Kingsley stepped forth from it. Behind him were the other odd dozen aurors who had answered the call. "We'll establish a perimeter and keep the fire from spreading."

"Good, we'll gather who we can and ensure people stay out of the danger." Kingsley nodded quickly and turned to his gathered aurors to make sure they understood the plan.

"William! Kingsley, hold off. Fleur, William!" Daphne's shouts caught the attention of Kingsley as well as Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour who had heard the cry for aid. "Go with Kingsley's team, he will explain the plan on the way."

Fleur and Bill, resolute in the fact that his family's tent was far from the danger, simply followed the instruction without a word.

'His expertise will stop the fire from spreading, I only hope everyone made it out okay.'

"Alright we have a lot of scared people here and that's dangerous, we need to keep them away from the fire but also stop them from–"

"Harry!" Harry pivoted and saw Remus, flanked by Tonks and Sirius, running from the house in a panic. "The greenhouses! They're on fire!"

"How…" he all but whispered in despair. Their best enchanters had gone with Kingsley's group and there still was no coordinated rescue and recovery effort. "We have to prioritise the food, without it–"

"Potter Sir!" A young auror, Bernard, who had an annoying habit of calling him sir was in a state as he addressed Harry. "The fire reached the medical tent, we've got wounded too close still in their beds."

'Bugger it all, where are the rest of the aurors?' Wounded witches and wizards or their entire camp not starving. 'More time, I need more time.'

"Mr Potter?"

"What?" Harry snapped, it was all becoming too much, the likelihood of deliberate sacrifice looming over him.

Arrayed before him were witches and wizards of all ages, some were scared, some were confused but all of them had stepped up to help when the time came. The ring leader, a middle aged witch that Harry didn't know, stood a step ahead of the others and with a resolute expression, spoke again.

"How can we help?"

Harry didn't have time to express gratitude, but it was all but threatening to burst out of him, even as he returned his brain to problem solving mode. "Are any of you good with charms?" Only three raised their hands but it was three more than he could have hoped for. "Alright, you three," Harry pointed at the three volunteers, "and you three," he said now pointing at Sirius, Remus and Tonks, "are going to come with me to the greenhouses."

"The rest of you follow me," Daphne began, already inching away from the group. "We need to get those wounded out of the med tent and into the main building."

As he rounded the house he was instantly hit with a wave of heat. The left greenhouse was unrecognisable, twisted metal blackened and charred, the green glow of magical plants replaced with the hateful orange of the inferno.

'Its bad,' Harry thought as he surveyed the damage, 'but not terrible.' Only one of the greenhouses was aflame which means there was hope still.

"Alright!" Harry stepped forward and directed things as best he could. "Volunteers, go to the safe greenhouse and start casting flame freezing charms on glass, work outside in. The rest of us will try to extinguish the fire and save what's left."

To the credit of the volunteers, they didn't hesitate to rush into danger. All three of them crossed the distance to the undamaged greenhouse with their wands waving fervently.

'There's no doubt this was intentional,' Harry thought as his group spread out around the greenhouse that was on fire, 'a fire near the medical tent to draw out the guards then strike us where it really hurts whilst we're distracted.'

"On three," Remus declared, "aguamenti should suffice."

"One, two, three!" On Harry's count, four streams of water crashed into the inferno smothering significant parts of the fire instantly. The next volley turned the collective blaze into separate large patches of fire.

Harry chanced a look at the volunteers only to see them hard at work. 'If your plan was to break our resolve,' he mentally addressed the perpetrators as several of the remaining patches of fire were extinguished, 'you've failed.'

The greenhouse fire was no more, the thin metal that had previously held up the glass panes of the structure had entirely lost its olive green colour, replaced with ashen black. Much of the structure's supports had melted as Sirius soon learned as he leaped back in shock when the back half of the roof collapsed in on itself.

"What now?"

Remus' desperation was evident in his voice and it was to be expected. If they hadn't been producing enough food with two greenhouses, they were going to be in dire straits with only one. The volunteers joined the rest of them and looked to Harry to answer the question.

"We help make sure the rest of the camp is safe," Harry said to keep everyone focused. "We'll deal with this after."

They rejoined Daphne's group and worked through the night, well into the day. By the end of it, half of the med tent had been incinerated, but the fire hadn't made it further north. The bottom floor of the chateau was a makeshift hospital until a new tent could be allocated for injuries. The longer it went, the more volunteers just joined the effort until, finally, the worst had passed.

Exhausted, Harry had sought solitude in one of the only off limits places left on the grounds, the crumbled and smoldering greenhouse. However, when he arrived Tonks was already crouched by the collapsed greenhouse, waving her wand periodically only to read some kind of output that her spell created.

"Tonks," he greeted her tiredly. Even though he cared about her, Harry wasn't going to chide her for not getting any rest, investigations had to be conducted quickly. "Find anything?"

"Harry…" Her confused tone infected him with the same affliction as she rose from her crouched position. However as soon as the next words left her mouth, his stomach dropped and his confusion turned to fury. "It's empty."