Chapter 131

Rebelling Against The Darkness

Minerva stood within the large cavern that she, Crouch, Scrimgeour, Molly Weasley, Bill Weasley, Moody, and Kingsley had finished making inside Clo Mor Cliffs, with multiple chambers for different lessons, sleeping areas, and dining areas. It wasn't as comfortable as Hogwarts, but it would suffice for their needs.

"Not bad, given how quickly we had to get this done," Bill commented.

"Are all the protection spells in place?" Molly asked.

"Every single one we could think of, and even a couple of new ones," Crouch replied. "Took some creativity, but we should be good. Sirius had a few ideas for the entrance, including using this place, since there's a muggle place nearby to act as cover."

"What about the Trace on the kids?" Molly asked, sitting down in a chair.

"I was working on that with Crouch, and I've managed to come up with these," Rufus said, holding up a small medallion. "It blocks the Trace, so Riddle and his ilk won't be able to find us here. We've also managed, or we think we have, to block the Taboo, though I'm not sure we should test it."

"No, but if they try to make other words taboo, we'll hopefully have some kind of protection," Crouch said. "In the meantime, we should think about how to start getting kids here, and their families. How many people can we accommodate here?"

"About three hundred, which should be sufficient, though I don't think we'll have even close to that number," Minerva replied. "Thanks to Irma, we've got copies of most of the books in Hogwarts library as well."

"Okay, so come morning, we'll be ready to start getting the kids that You-Know-Who would be either putting in prison or not letting them learn magic," Moody said. "I'll handle the Defence lessons."

"I can take Charms," Scrimgeour offered.

"I'll do what I can with potions," Kingsley offered. "It's one thing I'm decent enough at, certainly enough for first year studies."

"How many of the current students do you think might be forced out of Hogwarts?" Molly asked.

"I don't know, but Fillius is on hand to ensure we can get any student out of there if needed," Minerva answered. "I know we're risking a lot, but we have to make this work."

"We will," Scrimgeour assured her. "You've all taken a great risk here, and it's something I'm proud to see. Every one of you is making a real difference in preserving our way of life. I will take back the Ministry from You-Know-Who, and on that day, he'll be sorry he was ever born."

"Well said, Minister," Minerva complimented. "Don't undersell yourself though. Without your assistance, we'd be struggling still. You're going to be quite the rallying point when we begin the full resistance."

"That's Lily's role, I believe," Scrimgeour smiled at Minerva. "Though I do appreciate the compliment."

"When we reveal ourselves and the truth to people, they'll see you as the real Minister, and hopefully, we'll have enough support. As I understand it, Sirius was able to convince your Muggle Counterpart to give us assistance when we need it," Minerva said.

"I suspected he'd succeed. Let's face it, Riddle isn't going to limit his reign to just our kind. Muggles would be next," Scrimgeour said. "I won't allow him to succeed. He's taken so much and used so many people. It's disturbing, on a greater scale than I imagined, especially since he's now able to force some Muggles to fight for him."

"From experience with Lily, many muggles believe in pure blood and the same kind of rubbish that Riddle believes," Minerva said bitterly. "I remember last summer, I was out with Lily, and heard several muggles uttering profanities at Lily. She didn't hear them, but I wanted to curse them so much."

"I'm glad you didn't; I don't think it would have been good for me to question you for attacking muggles," Scrimgeour smirked. "Though I'd have wanted to do the same. I do wonder…" his smile faded as he sat down. "I wonder how Lily finds the strength she does. She's faced so much, more than anyone I know of. She was almost kissed by Dementors, defeated Riddle several times, seen loved ones die, been betrayed… anyone else would want to give up. I know Miss Weasley has been a great source of strength," he looked at Molly, smiling. "Which is down to you, I think, for raising such a wonderful young woman, Molly, but her strength… it's like nothing I've ever seen."

"Not sure anyone's seen strength like it. Every time she falls, she picks herself up, and is stronger for it. I don't understand how, but her personal core… her sense of right, and wrong, her determination… it's almost like she's Gryffindor reborn," Bill said. "I've seen her fight and believe me when I say You-Know-Who won't have a chance. Not now we know about her wand."

"I won't lie, I might be the Minister, but even I've never seen something like that. I've heard of wands connecting when their cores are connected, but it's rare, and even then, it's never had anything as powerful as what Dumbledore and Lily told us about," Scrimgeour said. "I read everything about that night in the graveyard, and how Lily and his wands connected, but…"

"Even I've never seen anything like it," Moody said. "When Albus told me everything, I knew she was different, but I never suspected how different she was."

"No one could have," Crouch said. "I've seen a lot from the girl, and she's not like anyone I've ever known. She's got her aura, sure, but she's got a lot more than that."

"When did you start turning from his side?" Molly asked, looking at Crouch.

"Christmas, after Riddle returned," Crouch replied. "I was… well, wondering so much about him, about why he was doing what he was, and how could he be doing so many dishonourable things. Then I saw my mother, as a ghost, who spoke with me, and told me about Lily's aura. The next few months, I kept seeing so many things wrong, and finally, in the Ministry attack, Lucius Malfoy proved himself to have honour, but Lestrange… she proved how disgraceful he really was. I knew then that I never shared his beliefs, and I never would."

"I get that," Scrimgeour replied. "I really do. It's hard to find the truth about yourself, but when you do, you see everything you did wrong, and everything you need to do to fix it."

"I appreciate you giving me that chance. Not many people would have done so," Crouch admitted.

"It was difficult, I won't lie, especially after the crimes you did commit, but…I needed information, and I suppose a part of me wanted to use you as an example to others, that it's not too late to return to the light. Okay, so there's a few people who don't have that path open to them, but you did," Scrimgeour said. "You proved yourself worthy of having that chance over the next year. Albus told me everything, and how hard you worked. It made me feel comfortable about you being near to Lily. Now, we're all doing everything to keep her safe, but she's the one keeping us safe."

"How can we help her though?" Bill asked. "There's a lot we want to do, especially to help Lily, but there's only so much we can do."

"I know," Minerva said. "We can only do what we're able to do. We've got a lot to do now ourselves. Lily's search, as much as I hate saying this, is her search. It's her fight, and all we can do is support her, and be there when she needs us."

Kingsley frowned as he pulled out his mobile phone, something he was still getting used to, whilst it beeped. "We've got a problem," Kingsley said. "Thicknesse has set up trials at the Ministry. Several Muggleborn witches and wizards have already been arrested, for 'stealing magic' and there are more scheduled for tomorrow."

"What?" Scrimgeour demanded angrily, as he stood up.

"Lad, who sent the warning?" Moody asked.

"Reg Cattermole sent us the warning; his wife is one of those going on trial tomorrow," Kingsley replied. Reg had been helping from the inside since Voldemort had taken over, using the muggle technology to communicate with Kingsley without being detected. So far, it was working well; Kingsley was getting to like muggle technology.

"Then tomorrow, we're going to attack the Ministry," Scrimgeour said. "We need to free those people."

"How?" Moody asked. "It's not going to be easy."

"I know a few secret ways into the ministry. Being the Minister of Magic does have its perks," Scrimgeour replied.

"You have a plan?" Crouch asked.

"Not a whole one; not yet anyway," Scrimgeour admitted, using his wand to conjure up an image of the Ministry. "Look here; there's a hidden entrance in a London Underground station, Charing Cross. Only a few people know about it, so I doubt it'll be protected."

"We should still scout it out," Crouch said. "I can do that tonight."

"I'll go too," Bill offered. "You shouldn't go there alone."

"I appreciate that," Crouch replied.

"Just be careful," Molly insisted.

"I'll start going and collecting the students, to stop Riddle from getting his slimy hands on them," Minerva said.

"I'll join you," Moody told her.

"Likewise," Scrimgeour offered. "Molly, can you stay here and finish up the dorm areas?"

"With pleasure," Molly agreed. "I'll get Dobby to help get supplies as well."

"Be careful, all of you," Scrimgeour said. "Let's get to work."

As Crouch stepped off the train with Bill, he looked around the station, thankful it was quiet. "I'm glad it's a weeknight; most Muggles will be getting ready for their workday tomorrow," Crouch said.

"Agreed. You think we'll run into anyone?" Bill asked, as they walked through the barrier, after putting their tickets through the machine to grant them entry from the platform.

"Hopefully not. We need to keep our eyes open though," Crouch replied. They were both wearing casual muggle outfits, and both having used Polyjuice potion, just in case. "This way," he added, leading the way down an escalator.

"So far, nothing suspicious," Bill said softly, as they headed down the escalator. He could see several people, but they all looked like muggles, with no sign of any ministry worker, or even any Death Eaters. "How do we know if there are any around?"

"Mostly what they're wearing; they're idiots, and don't understand muggle clothing," Crouch replied. "Mostly, they think purple and black is normal, and some of them are gonna be wearing cloaks or dresses."

"Yeah, gotta agree with that. I remember the Quidditch World Cup, so many people were wearing weird stuff," Bill said, chuckling. His smile then faded. "A lot's happened, more than I wish had happened."

"You're not alone, kid," Crouch told him. "Trust me when I say that the worst is yet to come."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Bill admitted. "I mean, let's face it, we're already fugitives, we're planning an attack on the Ministry of Magic, and You-Know-Who has all of us on his shit list. If there's worse, I really don't wanna see it."

Crouch couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he admitted. "I just want to make sure we get this done properly. We screw up, and boom, Riddle wins."

"You think he'll be able to?" Bill asked.

"He can, if we screw up and make a mistake. We can't let ourselves get complacent and think we're unstoppable, just because we're fighting for the right cause," Crouch said.

"How many times have people made that mistake? I mean, the way you say it, you sound like you know something about it," Bill said.

"I took Muggle Studies back at Hogwarts, and believe me, muggle history is full of examples of it. The difference between good and evil is always perspective. How many bad guys, do you think, thought they were doing the right thing? Trying to make the world better?" Crouch asked. Bill groaned.

"Is this gonna turn into a history lesson?" Bill asked. Crouch chuckled as they sat on a bench.

"Maybe," he admitted. "So, what do you think the answer is?"

"Too many, right?" Bill asked. Crouch nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes. It's easy for us to know what is right and wrong, because we've seen what can happen, but when you look at the other side, they think the same thing," Crouch said. "It's easy to lose sight of that, though. It doesn't excuse what the other side does, though, because they choose the wrong way to do things," Crouch explained, as several people walked past them.

"Muggles or not?" Bill asked softly.

"No, they're muggles," Crouch replied. "So far, we're safe. I can't detect any trace of magic here."

"You can feel magic?" Bill asked.

"Many can, with the right training. I'll teach you, if you like," Crouch offered.

"I'd appreciate that," Bill said. He sighed again. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Go ahead," Crouch agreed.

"The night you switched sides, at the Ministry. I know why you changed sides, from what you've said. I was wondering, would you really have let Lily go, if you hadn't switched sides?" Bill asked. Crouch smiled sadly.

"I would have, yes. The thing is, I've hated the fact that Lily is the one who needs to win this war, because kids shouldn't be involved in war. I fought from a young age, and it destroyed me. As much as I was serving Riddle, I wasn't about to kill a kid. If that was what I wanted, I would have killed her at Hogwarts, and escaped with a sample of her blood," Crouch pointed out.

"That's something we figured out, but we didn't understand why," Bill said. "I mean, you had a lot of chances to kill her, but you never did. If anything, you saved her life with the spells you taught her, and the ways to defend her."

"I saw her, and I understood why she was fighting. At first, I needed to understand why Riddle was so against her, why he was afraid of her. He wouldn't admit it was fear, but it was clear. After she defeated him, he was more afraid, and angry," Crouch said.

"Given what Lily's done so far, I don't blame him," Bill chuckled. "I think we're safe to use this place, right?"

"We are," Crouch agreed, as he and Bill stood up. "No trace of magic at all. I don't think anyone on his side knows of this entrance."

"Good. Let's get back," Bill said, as a train arrived. Both men got on it and sat down. "I'm glad we're prepared for this," he said. "I can't imagine what we'd be doing if we weren't."

"Likewise. The idea of Lily literally having to hide in the woods or somewhere, the idea doesn't bear thinking about," Crouch agreed. "Lily's fight is going to be different from ours. Hers has begun, and ours starts tomorrow."

"Good. I'm tired of sitting on our hands and waiting," Bill admitted. As much as he knew the fight was going to be difficult, it felt good knowing they were going to be doing something. He just hoped it was the right move.