"We are going to be just fine, gentlemen. You may leave." Her Majesty the Queen said to the dozen or so agents standing awkwardly over by the room's entrance, their eyes observing his and Hermione's every move, the two having just sat down as prompted.
"But your majesty-" Whatever Agent Walsh was going to say was cut off by the queen raising a forestalling hand, her patient and kind look never once faltering.
"We're only here to talk. We'll be fine." She repeated firmly, and that was as close to a dismissal as it got. The agents hesitated for a brief moment, before giving out a chorus of 'yes ma'am's' and leaving the room, shutting the door behind them as they went. The two of them were now alone with the five remaining muggles left in the room, Harry feeling incredibly uncomfortable as their gazes next centred on him.
"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, we have been wanting to talk to you for a while now." The queen said in a kind tone, before motioning to the man sitting on her direct left, "You probably recognize Prime Minister Anthony Blair," The man in question inclined his head as they looked at him, before the queen continued, "That cheerful chap over there is Director Shaw, in charge of the MI5." She pointed to a stern-looking man sitting across from her, the director not even acknowledging them in any way as he stared stonily at Harry.
"And finally," She concluded, "General Clearwater and Admiral Summerville." The two uniformed men gave them tight-lipped smiles, before turning their attention back to the papers strewn on the desk in front of them.
"N-nice to meet you all, but could you please explain what you need us for?" To anybody but Harry who knew her best, Hermione seemed a picture of complete composure and strength, but he could detect that almost unnoticeable tremor in her tone as she spoke, and he knew immediately that she was just as afraid as he was. It was the Prime Minister who spoke up next.
"For the past few years, we have been dealing with a major security problem. For us, the source of the problem has been unknown for most of that time, while you… wizards called him Lord Voldemort." The mood in the room dropped at that, and Harry was honestly surprised the Ministry of Magic had even given the muggles this much information to begin with, considering how secretive they were with this whole thing.
"This terrorist of yours has been and is killing the citizens of our country, and we are frankly running out of options to stop him." The Prime Minister sagged at that, running a hand down his tired-looking face before continuing, "The attackers always disappear before any response can arrive, and they usually leave no clues or evidence behind. We are even suspecting that they might be deleting memories from our responding units." Harry shared a telling look with Hermione at that, knowing that was very much the case and that the tactic wasn't only used by Voldemort and his supporters either.
"Which leaves us with the purpose of you being here." The Prime Minister paused shortly, steepling his fingers in front of him as he continued, "We need a good inside source on what is happening in the wizarding world, and we think you two are perfectly placed to be that source for us." Despite having expected something along those lines, Harry still felt dumbfounded that they were trying to recruit them of all people. A pair of wizards that were yet to even complete their schooling hardly seemed like a perfect fit for what they needed.
"And what information do you seek?" He questioned firmly, gathering all of his courage to be able to speak confidently in front of the five highest-ranking muggles in the country. The queen looked pointedly at Director Shaw at that, causing the old man to incline his head and turn towards them.
"We primarily need information on this Lord Voldemort, but also on your Ministry, who have been consistently lying to us over the past few years." The Director did not mince words, speaking exactly what he wanted from them without even blinking once, and he could respect that. It was certainly better than listening to Dumbledore's riddles. Harry shared a quick look with Hermione, honestly not seeing why them sharing information about at least Voldemort would be bad for them or the wizarding world in general, and he could see Hermione was thinking along the same lines as he was.
"And what would we be getting in return?" Hermione questioned after breaking their gaze, her eyes flying to the stern-looking Director. At her question his mouth set into a flat line, his eyes boring into them.
"Safety. Security. And the complete backing of the British government and our armed forces. Also, the death of the terrorist with the fake title." Director Shaw counted on his fingers, his offer feeling much more than generous to Harry. With the full support of the muggles, they could surely defeat Voldemort once and for all, he reckoned. The only problem of course was that the muggles evidently had no intentions of working with the wizarding government, which meant that they would effectively be choosing a side here, and that he was less confident with.
"Could we have a moment to talk it over?" He said with a glance at Hermione, unwilling to just decide on doing anything before hearing what she thought about all this. It was one thing to accept Agent Walsh's proposal for a meeting, but agreeing to this would effectively see them betray the Wizarding world. Yes, it would be for a just cause, and they had theoretically been betrayed first, but still…
"Of course. Take as much time as you need." The queen said in that kind voice of hers, and they quickly scuffled from their chairs and out of the room, finding themselves in the tiny hallway between the meeting room and the heavy steel door that had them locked inside.
"What do you think?" Harry asked as soon as he made sure they were alone, turning to face Hermione who was busy chewing on her bottom lip.
"I…" She started, stopped, then continued, "I can't really see too many downsides to taking their offer. It's become rather evident we cannot find nor get rid of any of Voldemort's thingies alone and while on the run, but with the help of the muggle government we'd have a lot of resources on our disposal." Those were all indeed things that Harry had also thought about, and he was happy that he and Hermione once more seemed to be on the same page.
"We accept, then?"
"I'm… not sure how well the wizarding world will take it, but I say it's their own fault. They turned their backs on us, so we owe them nothing. You owe them nothing. I say we take the offer." Hermione nodded firmly to her own statement, having clearly gotten to the same conclusion as Harry did. He had no real reasons to distrust the muggle government either, which could not be said about the wizarding one, so the decision seemed rather simple in the end. The fact of the matter was that they desperately needed help if they were to succeed in their endeavour.
"Good. And Hermione." He added just as she turned to head back to the meeting room, causing her to spin around to look back at him, "I'm really thankful for you being here. I couldn't do any of this without you." He felt his cheeks heat up as Hermione gifted him a beaming smile, leaning over and pecking him chastely on the cheek.
"I appreciate it Harry, but you don't need to thank me. There's nowhere else I'd rather be." She said reaching over and taking hold of his hand, entwining their fingers. "Together?"
"Together." He responded with a lump in his throat, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before leading her back to the meeting room. All eyes were once more on them as soon as they entered, the silence stifling as they finally sat down, their hands still clasped tightly together. It was Harry who decided to inform the gathered muggles of their decision, taking a deep steadying breath before meeting Her Majesty's eyes.
"We're going to accept your offer…" He said, thinking of one last thing at the last second, "…under one condition." Director Shaw scoffed at that while the queen quirked an eyebrow, but it was the prime minister who spoke up, "And what might that condition be?"
"You do not mention this agreement to the wizarding government." He said firmly, wanting to ensure that they would face no repercussions for doing this in the future.
"Deal." The queen wasted no time in accepting the terms, and with that, an alliance between them and the muggles was formed.
"Very good." Shaw said a moment later, leaning forwards onto his elbows and narrowing his eyes at Harry, "Tell us then, since your Minister seems so intent on lying about it, what is the real picture of this war you're fighting?" Harry glanced towards Hermione at the question, giving her a nod to show her she could take the question, her knowledge on the matter as with most things much greater than his.
And so, Hermione explained the details surrounding the wizarding war, starting at the beginning with Voldemort's first defeat, before outlining the past few years and Voldemort's resurrection, clearly doing her best not to accidentally reveal the existence of his Horcruxes. She concluded by explaining why the wizarding government wanted to hand over Harry to Voldemort, and how that played into them being on the run. The five muggles listened to her without interruption, the director and the prime minister seemingly writing down the key points of her tale.
"They wanted to give you over to the terrorists?" The queen asked when Hermione at last finished, all eyes now turning towards Harry.
"Why does everybody seem so horrified by that? Doesn't it make sense in the larger picture?" He asked, feeling puzzled by how strongly everybody always reacted to this particular thing. The muggles shared a telling look between them at that, while Hermione's nails dug into his hand that she was still holding.
"Giving children to terrorists is not something we would consider doing, whatever the alternative may be." The prime minister said in a steely voice, the rest of the muggles sans the director nodding along. Harry did suppose they were correct, but they didn't know about the fact that he had a Horcrux in his head, so he dismissed their opinions. He'd have to die sooner rather than later anyway, and he'd prefer it if his death actually meant something.
"Enough about that." The director waved his hand, "Let's focus on defeating these Death Eaters, shall we?" Harry was happy for the redirection, and he nodded quickly to the director's question. The director next turned to the two uniformed men, both of whom sat up a bit straighter at receiving his attention.
"General Clearwater, you are in charge of the task force formed to combat these wizarding terrorists, do you have any questions for the two of them?"
"I do." The general said as he turned to face them, clearing his throat before continuing, "There are two things I need from you to be able to guarantee success. The first is self-evident, we need the terrorist's location. And the second is we need to know how dangerous magic is to our men and equipment. It is of the utmost importance that we know what we're going up against." Harry nodded at that, trying to formulate a response to both the general's questions.
"We can get you the locations, leave that up to us." He said, already having a few ideas on how to draw the Death Eaters out of wherever they were hiding. "As for the strength of magic, that is tough to say. I don't know how well your stuff holds up against offensive magic, but I think your biggest issue will be countering invisibility and appa… teleporting. I am also not entirely sure what sort of weapons of yours our shields could withstand."
The general stroked his chin as Harry finished, before looking back at him and saying; "I want you to come and help us test that out then. Not only that, but it would be invaluable to have actual wizards on the team I've built to combat this enemy." The general seemed earnest at wanting their help, but his excitement quickly disappeared as the queen lifted a hand, halting him in his tracks.
"Our deal was that they would give us information in exchange for safety. They can of course join your team general, but they are under no obligation to do so." The general seemed properly chastised for his comments, but there was no way Harry would say no to being on the team hunting after Voldemort.
"It's okay Your Majesty," He quickly said, "I'd love to help in whatever way the general sees fit."
"And on that matter." Hermione added quickly, biting her lip before continuing hesitantly, "There is one other thing we will need if we need to win this war." She said this towards the queen, the monarch tilting her head in question. Hermione didn't continue immediately, gulping nervously before looking briefly at him, but Harry had no idea what she was intending to ask for.
"It is a matter of utmost secrecy. Would it perhaps be possible for us to speak to Her Majesty alone?" The displeasure on the faces of the four men was evident, but before Director Shaw could speak the queen once more raised a halting hand, her eyes measuring them intently.
"Leave us alone, please." The queen commanded, the Prime Minister and the two army men complying without argument, but Shaw didn't seem inclined to budge, his glare burning a hole into Harry's forehead.
"Director." Shaw finally nodded tersely at the queen's stern tone, gathering his papers and moving towards the door. Before the four men left, the general rounded the table and approached them, leaning in between the two.
"When do you two think you could join me, I'd love to get started on hunting that terrorist bastard." Harry looked at Hermione to confer with her, but the brunette merely shrugged her shoulders.
"Then we shall join you as soon as we're done here?"
"Splendid. I will wait for you outside." The general answered happily, bowing to the queen before following the rest of the dismissed outside. The queen leaned forward as soon as the door closed behind the general, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Harry was honestly shocked she trusted them enough to be left alone with them, but the old monarch seemed unmoved.
"Well?" She prompted, at which Hermione finally revealed what she wanted to talk about.
"Lord Voldemort is at this particular moment, unkillable." Harry's eyes widened and he looked to his best friend with shock written across his features. Didn't they just minutes ago discuss that they should not reveal the existence of the Horcruxes?! With Hermione firmly ignoring his inquisitive gaze, he chanced a look towards the queen, whose face remained impassive, the only reaction to that piece of news the lifting of one eyebrow.
"Elaborate." Hermione cleared her throat at the queen's terse reply, looking at the table as she explained the crux of their problem, the existence of the Horcruxes, and what they meant. She gave the woman all the information they had, the only exception being the one Horcrux that was currently inside him.
"What all this means is that we need to find the remaining Horcruxes, and then find a way to destroy them." She concluded still avoiding his eyes, her words having left the Monarch sitting opposite them momentarily speechless.
"We cannot really help you in finding their location, but we can certainly help you in retrieving them." The queen said after a lengthy pause, continuing after a shorter one "As for destroying them, would explosives not work?"
"I don't think so, no. It can only be destroyed by magical means, I reckon." Hermione answered but she did not appear entirely certain of her theory, but Harry did agree with her theory. Voldemort would have made sure to make the containers of his soul neigh indestructible. The queen nodded at that, before looking back at Hermione with a curious expression.
"What if we set off a nuclear weapon next to it? Surely it could not survive that." Harry waited for the woman to smile or say she was joking, but her stern expression soon told him she was completely serious.
"That would be… the last case scenario, but I'm sure we can think of something a bit… less destructive." Hermione answered politely, but he could tell she had been shocked at the offer as well, her hands turning white on the table.
"I trust you know what you're speaking about." The queen said with a nod, before leaning back in her chair. "I will inform General Clearwater that he is to assist you with your mission no questions asked, and you can always contact me personally if you need anything else. I am very glad to have you on our team." Harry felt a bit awkward at the term team, not liking how both the muggles and wizards always made such a large distinction between themselves and the others, but he still nodded to be polite.
"We're honoured your majesty, and I hope our collaboration can be a fruitful one." Hermione responded just as politely, the queen giving her a small smile before looking at her wristwatch.
"If that's all?" The queen said, the dismissal clear in her tone, and both he and Hermione stood up, bowing as they said their goodbyes and left the room. They were surrounded by several suited men as soon as they left the bunker and were soon informed by Agent Walsh that General Clearwater was waiting for them outside.
"What have we just gotten ourselves into?" He whispered into Hermione's ear as the two walked up the stairs to get to ground level, still unable to wrap his mind over how their situation had suddenly changed so drastically. Not two days ago they had been living in a small abandoned cabin in the woods, and now they were directly working with the muggle government in defeating Voldemort.
"I'll tell you when I figure it out myself." Hermione replied with a voice that bordered on frantic, her bottom lip having suffered some serious damage during the course of the day. Wanting to alleviate her concerns he once more slipped his hand into hers, curling his fingers around hers.
"Hey, we've found ourselves in worse situations before. As long as we stay together, we'll be just fine." The beaming smile he received at that instantly made everything seem just a little less dreary, and he didn't comment when she didn't release his hand all the way to where General Clearwater was waiting for them next to his helicopter.
Everything had gone completely and utterly wrong.
That was the only thought currently on Rufus Scrimgeour's mind as he watched some of his most trusted aides leave his office, and he continued to sit in absolute and complete silence for a good few minutes after they'd left. He knew that taking Voldemort's offer had been a bad idea from the start, but the whole thing would have somehow actually worked had it not been for one thing. Or one person, if he was more accurate.
Harry Potter.
To say that Rufus had been incredibly uncomfortable at Albus' proposal to send the boy to his death would have been an understatement, but he knew their side needed the cease-fire desperately, and the Boy-Who-Lived was not worth more than all the witches and wizards that would suffer if that snake took power. That had been his thinking at the time, and if he was honest his thoughts on the matter hadn't changed much since.
But the boy had gone and run off with his girlfriend, right under Dumbledore's nose may he add, and the entire plan had gone to shit. And while that may have not been that surprising, the fact that the aforementioned duo continuously evaded their best Aurors for months had been truly shocking. Two teenagers, alone against the world, had completely and utterly embarrassed their best men time and time again. The fact that the Death Eaters and Albus' Order members didn't fare any better was of no consolation to Rufus.
With the boy evading them so completely, they had been unable to fulfil their side of the deal with Voldemort, the Dark Lord becoming ever angrier at the situation. In a normal scenario, Rufus would have been thrilled to see the murderous bastard so upset, but he knew the resumption of hostilities between them would only end in disaster for their side. He simply needed more time to increase the number of wands loyal to the Ministry, but that seemed like an impossible dream now.
Voldemort's hard deadline for until when they had time to hand Potter over was going to expire in just two days' time, and they were never further from capturing him than they were at the moment. The hostilities would thus resume shortly, and Rufus was afraid he would not survive the following few months.
But all this was not the reason for his complete and utter loss of faith.
His aides had just informed him that one of their scouts had been attacked whilst watching the parents of that muggleborn girl Potter was attached at the hip to. It was clear from everything he'd been told that Potter had most likely actually been hiding at their house, but Potter's current location and dealings took a backseat to the information that followed.
Their spy had been incapacitated by muggle weapons.
Rufus released a deep sigh, grabbing a glass from beneath his table and pouring himself a shot of Firewhiskey he had hidden in a spell-proof cabinet, taking a quick swing of the burning liquid.
He was aware of what this revelation meant, and none of it was good. The muggles had clearly seen through his misdirection, and had moved to take action. He really shouldn't be as surprised as he was, he told himself, but he had truly expected their non-magical brethren to simply follow his commands like a well-trained dog. Alas, as Albus so liked to say, he was evidently wrong in his assessment.
It now seemed like Potter was under the protection of the muggle government, and the only way to get to him was through the muggles, thus likely starting a new war between their kinds. And Rufus wasn't a large enough fool to think that wouldn't spell doom for the wizarding world in general, so any sort of an attack on the muggles was out of the question.
So, with Potter out of the picture, he was left with no other option than to prepare for the immediate resumption of hostilities. His forces were stretched thin trying to cover all of magical Britain, and he had no real way of countering Voldemort, especially since that old fool Dumbledore refused to leave the castle. That left him with little hope to win the war that was soon to resume.
The only positive side he could see was that Voldemort was also low on numbers, his Death Eater ranks having shrunken significantly since the war first started, and his inner council had taken especially hard losses. The fact of the matter remained however that Voldemort could storm the ministry by himself, ending the war whenever he felt like doing so.
He was pulled from his musings by the flaring of his fireplace, an older wizard stepping from the green flames and swiping soot from his shoulders.
"Dumbledore." Rufus greeted him with no warmth in his tone, unable to prevent himself from blaming the man standing in front of him for the terrible position they now found themselves in. Dumbledore inclined his head in a greeting, raising an inquiring eyebrow at his tone but not yet saying anything.
"You seem troubled." The Hogwarts headmaster said quizzically, before seating himself in the chair facing him, his fingers combing through his long beard.
"You could say that." Rufus replied succinctly, his anger at the man making him debate whether he even wanted to tell him what he'd learned. In the end, he decided to tell him, knowing he needed Dumbledore's help if they were to win the war. Dumbledore remained quiet for a good few moments after he'd finished relaying all the news, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Most interesting. What do the muggles have to gain by giving Harry protection." It seemed like Dumbledore was more speaking aloud to himself than anything, but Rufus still responded with a quick; "No idea." After another minute with no answer from the infuriating man, Rufus finally lost his patience.
"We need your help, Dumbledore."
"What for?" His response was as predictable as ever, using his standard technique of making himself seem dumb despite knowing exactly what Rufus meant.
"Beating Voldemort. You're the only one he fears, and the only one strong enough to beat him."
"I have an obligation to protect my students." Dumbledore answered simply, and Rufus had half a mind to whack the old coot around the ears.
"What point is there in protecting them if Voldemort takes power?!" He didn't often lose his composure, but Dumbledore was severely testing his strength of will. What made it even more infuriating was the fact that the headmaster remained entirely impassive, looking at him with his stupid twinkling eyes as if he were a mere child having a temper tantrum.
"I trust you can handle things for the moment Rufus, I have more pressing concerns to devote my time to."
"What the fuck could be more important than beating that slimy snakeman?!" Rufus exploded, standing up and jabbing a finger Dumbledore's way. But Dumbledore merely lifted one eyebrow at his outburst, steepling his hands in front of him before reaching into his pocket. Rufus watched with a twitching eye as the most powerful wizard of their generation brought out a Lemon drop, slowly unwrapping the candy before popping it into his mouth.
The man next reached back into his pocket, and brought out a second Lemon drop, offering it to Rufus.
"Lemon Drop?" Rufus was about to Avada Kedavra the man, he really was, and he knew he was probably clenching his teeth so hard Dumbledore could hear them grinding. Seeing he wasn't going to receive a response, Dumbledore shrugged, unwrapped the second piece of candy, and popped that one into his mouth as well. Maybe he should start with Crucio…
"There are more ways to win this war than just killing Voldemort." Dumbledore said at last in his cryptic sort of way, and having nothing else to say to the infuriating man, Rufus simply slumped back into his chair, rubbing at his tired face.
"Who knows, maybe the unbreakable vow will kill us, so I'll finally be done with this crap." He immediately thought of his wife and kids and felt guilty for thinking such thoughts, but he truly was at his wits end with all the stress he was under day by day. Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully at that, giving a few strokes to his beard before speaking;
"I don't think it will. We vowed to hand Harry Potter to the Dark Lord, and while we haven't done so, we have both been trying our hardest to fulfil that task. Thus, we will have fulfilled the agreement to the best of our abilities." Despite his earlier comments, Rufus was relieved that this was the case, not a big fan of dropping dead from breaking the vow.
"Everything rests on the Ministry then?" Rufus asked with a growing heaviness on his shoulders, Potter and Dumbledore seemingly both out of the picture, one hiding with the muggles and the other in his castle.
"Not quite." Dumbledore responded with a small smile, "I do have a plan of my own my dear Rufus, one that I hope will finish this once and for all."
"And you can't share this plan with me?" Rufus asked, but this time he felt no anger or scorn at the man, instead he felt completely defeated.
"I'm afraid not, but I'm sure it will work."
"For the sake of all the witches and wizards in Britain, I hope you're right."