บท 216: CHAPTER {342-344}
****ENEMIES-IN-SHADOWS (VI)****
~~Unknown Location~~
"Where the hell were you?" Merlin asked grumpily as he stared at Agatha, who walked in, looking like she had seen a ghost. It was obvious that something must have happened and Merlin wasn't happy that Agatha decided to go off on her own when they were working as a team.
"Calm down, Merlin. There is no need to agitate her… She is going to tell us what happened as soon as she catches her breath" Alan placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder to calm him down. At first, it looked like Merlin was going to argue, but he released a deep breath and decided to wait for Agatha to explain everything.
Agatha grabbed a water bottle and chugged it down completely… For the first time in decades, she came close to dying and the feeling was unnerving to her. If the lightning beam had struck her then she would have died, right then and there… No amount of Magic or shields could have saved her…
She would have died without leaving anything behind to bury except for her ashes and even her ashes would have been scattered in the wind… The whole experience was extremely unsettling for her…
"...After Merlin left, I decided to stake out the place, wondering if Potter would show up. I wanted to get a measure of him and see if he was really as dangerous as the Ancient One and Merlin believed him to be. So, I climbed on top of one of the roofs and decided to wait after hiding myself as best I could" After taking a deep breath, Agatha finally started to explain.
"He arrived within a few minutes and started to chat with a couple of Aurors who were already on the scene. Soon he sent the Aurors away and started to cast Detection Charms… I was confident that he couldn't detect me, so I decided to stay and watch and then all of a sudden, he released a wave of raw Magic and caught me by surprise…" Agatha paused and ran her fingers through her hair.
She felt a chill run down her spine as she recalled the lightning bolt. "He attacked me with a lightning bolt, but I managed to get out of the way in time…" Agatha revealed with a shudder before she stared at Merlin and Alan. "We might need to reevaluate just how powerful he is. If his attack had hit me then I wouldn't be here right now" Agatha admitted with a shudder.
Merlin and Alan looked at each other before the two of them placed their hands on her shoulder to give her some comfort. "You can take it easy if you want" Alan suggested, but Agatha frantically shook her head.
"No, I need to return the favor to him" Agatha growled as she stood up. "And we can't take a rest since we still have stuff to do" Agatha said as she glanced at the two unconscious men and both Merlin and Alan nodded their heads in agreement…
~~Nott Manor~~
"Fenrir… I am glad that you are finally here" Voldemort announced joyfully as the werewolf stepped inside his throne room. "However, where is the rest of your pack?" Voldemort asked curiously as he had already received the report of their numbers and he had seen a lot more werewolves in France than the number Fenrir brought with him.
"My lord, I have sent them away to secure a secondary base" Fenrir answered smoothly. Unlike others, Fenrir wasn't worried about the Dark Lord using Legilimency to see if he was telling the truth or not. It was possible to use Legilimency on werewolves, but it was not a safe course of action.
"Is that so?" Voldemort hummed with a questioning look on his face, but he didn't wait for an answer before he beckoned Fenrir to come close. "Take a look at this… What do you think about this place?" Voldemort asked, pointing at the map he summoned with a wave of his hand. Fenrir took a look at the map and frowned… The spot Dark Lord was pointing at was in the middle of a city.
"This is in the middle of the city" Fenrir blurted out the obvious with a deep frown on his face.
"I know… Do you know what this place is? The Muggles call this place a subway station. This is quite a busy place at the time of the day. Wouldn't it be amazing if your pack happened to be at that place at such a time?" Voldemort asked while grinning like a lunatic.
Fenrir stared at the Dark Lord wondering if the Dark Lord had gone mad… If he did this then the ICW would come down on them like a ton of bricks. Breaking the Statute was a big no-no even in his books. Attacking a small village and killing everyone was completely fine in his books since dead men tell no tales, but if he attacked a busy place like the subway station then he was bound to miss someone even if he bought his whole pack.
The news of the attack was bound to travel and draw unnecessary attention, not only to him and his pack but to the Dark Lord and his forces too…
Voldemort noticed the look on Fenrir's face and the smile disappeared on his face only to be replaced by a cold look…
"Are you questioning my decision, Fenrir?" The Dark Lord asked with a growl.
"Of course not, my Lord, but even with my whole pack I won't be able to cover this whole place" Fenrir explained his worries and the Dark Lord simply smiled and shook his head.
"The plan is not to kill everyone, Fenrir, but to spread terror and unrest" The Dark Lord revealed with a cruel grin on his face. "However, there is no need to worry, my Death Eaters are going to be there to help you…" Voldemort added. There was a reason why he decided to attack a busy place like Waterloo station. He wanted to draw everyone's attention with the attack.
He wanted to cause chaos and unrest so that in the meantime, he could infiltrate the Ministry and grab the Prophecy… He already had a plan to equalize the disparity between himself and Potter, but if he carried out the plan then there would be no going back. So, before crossing over the point of no return, Voldemort wanted to know the full contents of the Prophecy as it had already led to his demise once…
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****THE-BOY-WHO-VANQUISHED (I)****
"Fenrir, the attack is going to happen the day after tomorrow, so take tomorrow to settle down. I want your whole pack for this" Voldemort casually explained without caring about the look on Fenrir's face. He wasn't happy at all with such a course of action, but now that man wanted his whole pack to be there?
He had a feeling that the Dark Lord was treating him and his pack as expendable pawns and he didn't appreciate that. However, he was out of options…
"Thank you, my Lord. I shall take my leave if there is nothing else" Instead of snapping at the Dark Lord, he could only thank the man. Voldemort didn't even bother to look at him and simply waved his hand to dismiss the werewolf. Fenrir gave him a respectful bow and swiftly left the room.
The Dark Lord sneered while staring toward the door… Fenrir was starting to think that he was too smart. Did Fenrir really think that he wouldn't be able to realize what he was planning? For whatever reason, Fenrir wanted to keep almost half of his pack away from his supervision. Voldemort could already guess that the werewolf wanted to play for both sides.
However, Voldemort was not going to allow something like that… With the attack on Waterloo Station, it would become impossible for Fenrir to reach out to the other side. Voldemort nodded his head in satisfaction… However, there was still something else that needed to be done for his plan to be successful.
He needed to get rid of Potter… He wasn't sure if he would be able to draw Potter's attention with the attack on Waterloo Station, but now he knew of a way to draw the boy's attention… Voldemort pulled out a small piece of parchment with a cruel smile on his face. Thanks to his spies in the Floo office, he had found where Sirius Black lived.
From what he had heard, the boy loved his Godfather and Black was probably the closest person to him with Remus Lupin nowhere to be found… Potter was bound to show up if his Godfather was in trouble. He would stay in contact with his followers and as soon as Potter arrived, he would make his move.
The Dark Lord nodded his head in satisfaction as the parchment in his hand caught fire… Once again, he would make the world tremble in fear and claim the world within the palm of his hands…
~~Malfoy Manor~~
Meanwhile, Harry, who was lying in the bed with Tonks, slowly sat up… "What's up?" Tonks mumbled questioningly when she noticed him get up from the bed. She could feel his manhood poking her, but tonight they didn't do anything as neither of them was in the mood, but Harry was a hormonal teenager, so it was impossible for him not to get a hard-on when he was sleeping beside someone as hot as Tonks.
"Sorry, I woke you up" Harry said with an apologetic look on his face as he slowly removed her hand from over his chest and climbed out of the bed. While chatting with her, he sent messages to a couple of people.
"Is alright" Tonks mumbled groggily as she plopped her head on her elbow to see what Harry was up to. "Did something happen?" Tonks asked only to receive a nod from Harry.
"Yes, we shall talk in the morning" Harry said and pecked her on the lips.
"I want to come" Tonks tried to get up, but Harry simply pushed her back into the bed while chuckling.
"You will be bored to death if you come with me. I am just going out there to meet some people, nothing more" Harry explained and Tonks simply huffed and didn't protest anymore. "Sleep well, I will return as soon as I can" Harry placed a kiss on her forehead before he walked up to the wardrobe to get dressed. Tonks stared at him for a few seconds before she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Harry gave her one last look after he was dressed and disappeared with a soft pop…
"So, what is happening?" Amelia asked as soon as he arrived in front of Hammer's residence. The woman was still dressed in her pajamas and didn't look happy at his sudden arrival, which meant that she only got up after she received his message.
"They look cute on you" Harry pointed out while staring at Amelia, who blushed and started to glare at him. "I never expected to see you in something cute like those" Harry added with a hint of amusement in his voice. "As for the message, I will tell you after everyone is here" Harry explained and tried to enter the house, but Amelia stopped him and mumbled something under her breath. "What?" Harry asked.
"Forget what you just saw" Amelia growled and Harry simply laughed in amusement.
"That is just ridiculous" Harry laughed. "However, you do look good in those. Now, if I were you, I would be getting changed as I wouldn't want the others to see me in cute pajamas" Harry said in a sing-song voice and Amelia flushed at his words and rushed inside, but not before giving him another glare. Harry simply laughed and entered the house.
|She is a hopeless woman| Lily pointed out warily.
|Well, what did you expect? She dedicated her whole life to her job and with how stern and serious she looks all the time, I bet no one dares to think of her as a woman. I even doubt if she receives any compliments nowadays| Harry explained and Lily hummed in agreement.
"Would you like something to drink?" Connie asked as she entered the drawing room, dressed in casual clothes.
"No, thank you" Harry politely refused the offer. Connie simply shrugged and poured herself a glass of water. "The ICW is going to arrest you tomorrow" Harry revealed, making her freeze for a moment before she smiled softly. She was aware of the dangers, but she still decided to carry out the task and did what was necessary for their survival.
"Well, I had been expecting that" Connie mumbled under her breath and sat down at the table. "Amelia doesn't know yet, right?" Connie asked warily.
"No, she doesn't, but don't worry. You are going to be treated like a Hero or at least that is what they have told me. Give me your hand" Harry explained with a smile, Connie gulped nervously and gave him her hand. Harry placed his finger just over her wrist and the Sigil of Lost appeared on her skin. "Contact me if something is wrong. Now you are one of mine" Harry explained after a moment.
Connie stared at the mark for a moment before nodding her head in understanding…
"Sorry, I was late" Saul apologized as soon as he entered the house.
"Don't worry, we haven't started yet" Harry waved his hand and simply asked the man to take a seat. A few seconds later, Amelia finally returned dressed in her usual robes.
"Is this about your men who died in Knockturn Alley?" Amelia asked and Harry shook his head in denial.
"No, it is not about that and my men weren't killed. They were most likely kidnapped" Harry explained with a cold glint in his eyes. "And I think it is the same people who attacked you in your office" Harry said while staring straight at Amelia. After the rat escaped his grasp, he asked around to see if someone saw something.
That was when he found someone who was happy to answer his questions for Galleons… Harry could have ripped the information out of his head, but he decided to pay since what the man was asking for was a fair exchange. That was how he learned that there were three people who attacked his men. The man didn't manage to see their faces, but he was certain that two of the attackers were men and one of them was a woman.
It took Harry some time to connect the dots, but he was able to do it… The attackers used unusual Magic to attack his men, just like they had used some unusual Magic to read Amelia's mind…
"Ohh…" Amelia mumbled as a cold glint flashed across her face. "Were you able to learn anything about them?" Amelia asked curiously.
"Unfortunately, no. They are still as elusive as ever" Harry answered, looking disappointed and Amelia slumped in her seat, feeling disappointed. "However, they are not the reason why I called you here" Harry decided to talk about why he decided to call them here in the first place without wasting any time. "Voldemort is planning to attack Waterloo Station with werewolves and his Death Eater" Harry revealed.
Amelia, Connie, and Saul paled at the revelation… It would have been impossible to deal with the aftermath of the London attack if it wasn't for Rachel Node. 'What the hell is Voldemort trying to do? Is he trying to break the Statute?' All three of them wondered at the same time. The Royal Mages could not defy the direct orders of the Queen.
The Queen might have decided to look past the previous incident, but there was no guarantee that she was going to do the same this time too… If the Queen ordered the Royal Mages to declare a War their hands would be tied and a War would break out… Even if they tried to solve it peacefully, it would be impossible to do so since the Muggles would be out for blood, especially when their wounds were still fresh thanks to the London massacre.
"Harry, we cannot let this happen. We need to contact the Mages and tell them to close the Station" Amelia blurted out hurriedly.
"Calm down, Amelia. While I understand your worry and urgency, it is not as simple as that. We cannot close the Waterloo Station. The Dark Lord is hiding under the Fidelius Charm along with his followers. If we close the Waterloo Station, then he would know something is wrong and he would go into hiding. I know the Fidelius Charm can be broken, but I do not know how" Harry explained grimly.
"I don't even know where to start… So, this is the only opportunity we are going to get. You see, he wants to grab the Prophecy before conducting a Sacrificial Ritual to absorb the power of all of his followers. The attack on Waterloo Station is simply a diversion… He wants to draw out the Aurors and Hit-Wizard to the Station and at the same time, he is planning to attack my Godfather to distract me" Harry continued to explain.
"He is desperate to know the Prophecy. We can use his desperation to ambush him and his forces and get rid of everything in one fell swoop" Harry finally revealed his intention.
"Are you planning to let the attack happen? We cannot do that! Hundreds of people are going to die" Connie exclaimed, looking outraged and surprisingly Harry nodded his head in agreement. To be honest, he didn't care much about all those people, but he knew that it would cause a lot of trouble if they died. That was why he had a plan to get around the issue.
"I know people are going to die, but we can't close the Station. However, we do need people to act as bait, so we use prisoners. We use the Imperius Curse to make them act like regular people to draw in the attackers" Harry finished with a shrug. Connie still didn't agree with the plan since they would be using people as bait. They were criminals, but they were still humans.
It felt like they were dehumanizing them… Unfortunately, she knew that it was not her decision and it wasn't like Harry was discussing anything with them. He was simply telling them about his plan…
However, unlike Connie, Amelia didn't dismiss the plan… It was true that she wasn't happy about using prisoners, but just like Harry said, this was probably the only chance they were going to get and if they managed to roll up all of his forces in one go, it was going to be a complete victory for them. Amelia glanced toward Saul… She couldn't see his face, but she knew that he was on board with the plan.
"If we go through with this plan then I will need something from you" Amelia finally broke the silence after thinking for a couple of minutes. Connie wasn't happy, but decided not to protest, since she had also done what was necessary and now Amelia was just doing the same.
"What do you need?" Harry asked, wondering what she wanted from him.
"I want you to give me the names of all the Death Eaters and their sympathizers in my forces. We can't afford a leak if we go ahead with this plan and I think we should also meet Rachel Node to hash out all the details" Amelia requested and Harry nodded his head in understanding.
"I was going to meet her after we were done here. If you want I can take you to meet her with me" Harry offered and Amelia immediately agreed since she was pretty sure that she would be unable to sleep after this and if they were really going ahead with Harry's plan then they needed all the time they could get. Amelia had never been to Waterloo Station herself, but she knew that it was the busiest Muggle Station.
This meant that they needed to get hundreds of prisoners if they wanted to fool the attackers into believing that they were normal people milling around. Wizarding Britain did not have that many prisoners, which meant they needed to get some Muggle prisoners and Amelia wasn't planning to use small-time criminals for their plan. She was only going to use those who were in for committing serious crimes.
"Saul, will it be possible to empty the Hall of Prophecies? That is where I plan to face Tom" Harry asked. He did not want to destroy the other Prophecies in the process.
"It should be possible with sufficient time" Saul answered after thinking for a bit.
"What about spies?" Harry asked, knowing that the Unspeakables were extremely meticulous about rooting out spies after the Rockwood's betrayal.
"We don't have one" Saul answered proudly.
"Good. Gather your men and clear the Hall of Prophecies and the Time Room. I don't want Tom to get his hands on a Time Turner and grab a few prisoners to use as sacrificial lambs" Harry explained his plan for them and Saul nodded his head understanding. "Alright. That should do it for the time being and evacuate your men as soon as you receive my message" Harry added as he stood up.
"Come on, let's go. Rachel is probably waiting for us" Harry said as he extended his hand for Amelia… The woman took his hand and they disappeared with a soft pop…
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****THE-BOY-WHO-VANQUISHED (II)****
Harry had asked Rachel to meet at their usual spot, which meant the Kings Cross Station. The Station was mostly empty at this time, so it didn't take Harry long to find the woman. She was sitting alone on one of the benches and she too noticed his arrival and frowned a bit when she noticed that Harry wasn't alone, but she quickly shrugged it off.
"Something must have happened" Rachel stated while staring at Amelia.
"Yes" Harry admitted and sat down beside her. Rachel had already cast Notice Me Not and Muggle Repelling Charms around her, so Harry didn't bother casting anything else. With a wave of his hand, he Conjured a seat for Amelia. "Have a seat, Amelia. I think the two of you are going to be here for quite some time" Harry mentioned airily.
"Hello, it is nice to finally meet you. Thanks for covering up the London attack" Amelia decided to start by thanking the woman for bailing Wizarding Britain out of international trouble. It may not look like it now, but Wizarding Britain would have been in deep shit if Rachel hadn't cooked up a story.
"Don't mention it. We would have been in trouble too if the truth came out" Rachel dismissed the gesture since she was basically helping the Muggle side too by covering up the incident. "So, should I be worried about another attack or what?" Rachel asked warily while exchanging glances between the duo.
"How has the Queen been handling the incident?" Harry asked instead of answering her question. Rachel gave him an unamused look, but she decided to answer his question nonetheless.
"She was not pleased by my decision to cut our losses, but she understood why I did what I did and once again, she was not pleased in the slightest when that lunatic Dark Lord of yours decided to attack London with those freaks" Rachel griped unhappily as she gave him another dirty look.
Harry simply smiled at her glare… "I am glad that everything worked out for you in the end" Harry smiled graciously, making the woman fume but she decided to hold her tongue.
"Excuse me, but if Voldemort is a problem then why haven't you dealt with him?" Amelia asked with a frown. It was obvious that the Royal Mages were better trained and better equipped than her forces, so it would have been easier for them to deal with the madman, right?
"The short answer is politics" Rachel answered as she slumped back, looking defeated.
"And the long answer?" Amelia asked again, not willing to give up.
"The long answer is also politics" Rachel answered with a huff. "We couldn't get involved as it would have risked exposure and with the Statute hanging over our heads, the risk was simply not worth it, especially when he was not attacking the Royalty. The whole thing is a huge political clusterfuck since the Queen would lose whatever power she had left if we are compromised in any way" Rachel finished grumpily.
"I see…" Amelia muttered under her breath as she decided to drop the matter. Looks like she wasn't the only one who was troubled with politics… She found out that she could sympathize with the other woman…
"I am glad the two of you are getting along considering the task ahead of you" Harry said with a smile on his face. "Now, as for the task I am talking about, Voldemort is planning to attack Waterloo Station with werewolves and Death Eaters tomorrow during the office rush" Harry revealed, making the woman pale.
"WHAT?!" Rachel shrieked in alarm as she shot up to her feet.
"Calm down or he will hear you from here" Harry pointed out with an amused look on his face much to her outrage, but before she could say anything, he decided to reveal his plan since he had other things to do… Like preparing the list of leaks in her Department for Amelia. Now that he thought about it, Amelia was the Minister, but she still considered the DMLE as her department.
Rachel silently listened to the plan and mused for a whole minute before nodding her head in approval. His plan was completely immoral, but it was a good plan nonetheless… However, there was a slight problem. "The way I see it? The Dark Lord is the problem of Wizarding Britain. I could simply close Waterloo Station and prevent the attack from happening in the first place" Rachel pointed out.
"The question is why should I help you with this?" Rachel asked with a glare. Amelia was about to say something as she looked outraged, but Harry stopped her by raising a hand.
"That is true… Your duty is to protect the Muggles and you can simply do that by closing the station. Problem solved. Additionally, you have no reason to get involved in this mess and risk the lives of your men" Harry nodded in understanding. It would have been easy to use his power to force her to follow his plan or he could have guilt-tripped her, but those methods could only take him that far.
Being the leader of a mercenary organization, he knew that he needed to form a cooperative relationship with the Royal Mages, especially when his relationship with the MI6 was not good at all…
"It is also true that my grudge against Voldemort is personal, so you have no reason to get involved" Harry pointed out. "Then how about this? Lost Garden will accept a Contract for you or the Queen completely free of cost, within reasonable limits, of course" Harry offered. It was not easy for him to offer something like that, especially when he was a hungry money-grubber, but some sacrifices needed to be made.
Meanwhile, Rachel knew that she was basically pushing her luck since Harry could turn violent within a moment and force her to cooperate, but when he finally offered the deal, she smiled internally and gave herself a mental pat on the back… However, she knew that she shouldn't push her luck anymore. What Harry was offering was already a good deal for her.
"Alright. You have a deal. The Royal Mages will help" So, without drawing it out or any haggling, Rachel accepted the offer. "We also have a lot of prisoners we can offer" Rachel added after she shook hands with Harry.
"Good, I will leave the both of you to hash out the details. I am going to send Gellert in case you guys need some help" Harry said as he stood up and smoothened his robes. "Amelia, I am going to send you the list in a few hours" Harry added only to receive a nod from the woman before disappearing with a pop.
"It was daring of you to ask something from him in return" Amelia pointed out. She was half expecting Harry to snap at the woman and force her to cooperate with her, but surprisingly, he decided to cut a deal with her.
"Yeah… Even I couldn't believe I did that" Rachel admitted with a mirthless chuckle. "So, how did you end up joining someone like him? From what I have heard, you used to be quite an upright woman" Rachel asked curiously.
Amelia grimaced at the reminder of her recruitment… "It is a long story" Amelia mumbled under her breath.
"We do have some time on our hands…" Rachel pointed and Amelia wasn't sure if she could trust the woman, but the two of them were quite similar in some regards, so she started to explain her circumstances to the woman. That was how two unlikely women decided to get along thanks to their similar circumstances…
~~Malfoy Manor~~ (A few hours later)
"Tonks, tomorrow is a very important day. Tomorrow, we are finally going to deal with Voldemort and his forces for once and all" Harry revealed, surprising Tonks. The woman was dressed as her usual self, which meant that Harry wouldn't need to get her changed to train her and he planned to train her
(Image Here)
"Really? Is that why you went out last night?" Tonks asked excitedly.
"Yes, I had to arrange a few things" Harry admitted with a nod of his head. "Now, there is something I need you to do for the plan to succeed. You see Voldemort plans to attack Sirius to distract me so that he can grab the Prophecy. He won't show up at the Department of Mysteries if I don't show up at Sirius' and that is where you come in… I want you to pretend to be me and show up at Sirius'" Harry explained his plan.
Meanwhile, Tonks simply gaped at him like a fish out of water… "Look… I am flattered that you think I can cover your shoes, but I don't think I have the same power as you" Tonks pointed out while shaking her head.
"I know, that is why I need to give you an upgrade" Harry said with a smile. "Now give me your hand" Harry requested for her hand. Tonks gave him a squeamish look, wondering how he was planning to upgrade her, but she gave him her hand nonetheless.
Just like Jacklyn, Harry decided to give Tonks access to his power… The Sigil of Lost flared for a moment and Tonks felt an unimaginable amount of power course through her body. She couldn't help but flush at the unimaginable power coursing through her body… "What did you do?" Tonks asked while panting.
"I gave you access to a fraction of my power… Now, I need you to get used to that power" Harry explained, making her gawk at him once again…
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