Chapter 8: The Quidditch World Cup.
***************************Moor from Book 4*************************
August 1, 2012
9:30 am
"MUM" Emilia squealed as she bounced ahead of Hermione on the way to the top box of the stands. Hermione rolled her eyes and followed quickly, mostly to make sure her four-year-old daughter didn't fall of the stands. Harry followed, his son tagging along; playing with a Viktor Krum action figure. Bulgaria was once again playing; this time verses an upstart Australian team.
"Mione, do you think Bulgaria brought the Veelas again?" Harry asked, biting his cheek to hold in his grin, as she turned with her hands on her hips and a single eyebrow crooking. She turned back and kept walking.
"Harry James," Hermione replied sweetly, without looking back again, "dear if you get entranced again..." Horatio laughed as Harry apparated the ten feet between them and swept his arms around his wife.
"I seem to remember that you were the one who snapped me out of it last time, Love." Harry whispered in her ear. He kissed her cheek from behind and with a parent's instinct, glanced back to witness Horatio start to wander off, back down the stairs, "Accio Horry" Harry muttered, and a giggling four-year-old flew through the air.
"Do it again." Horatio laughed.
"He's just trying to get you, Harry." Hermione observed as she corralled her daughter, "Lord how mum did this without magic, I have no idea." She whispered to Harry as they entered the box, thankfully with all of their kids. Up near the front waiting on the pair, Ron and Luna were camped, holding their seats. With a small grin, Harry noticed a thin, glowing line running to the back of Harriet's jumper from Luna's wrist. Hermione sat down next to Luna, Harry dropping next to her as he turned and pointed out something to Ron. In front of them, they observed with more than a little trepidation that the next generation seemed to be plotting something. "Harry, they're plotting again." Hermione whined as she watched the kids out of the corner of her eye, a slightly harassed expression crossing her eyes.
A loud thump was heard behind them as Arthur entered the box in the company of the Bulgarian Minister, and the Australian Minister, a petite woman, about Ginny's height with dark blue eyes and long, light brown hair. "AHH, Ministers, may I present some of my family," Arthur said proudly as he noticed them sitting up front, "Harry Potter and his wife Hermione, and Ronald Weasley and his wife Luna, I am afraid the little hellions you see in front of them are my grandchildren, Horatio, Emilia and Harriet." Arthur finished pointing to each in turn.
"Hello to you all," the Australian Minister replied warmly, "I am Elizabeth Stark, I am extremely pleased to make your acquaintance...the world owes each of you a debt of gratitude." She leaned forward and shook each of their hands in turn. "What are you doing now, that you are out of school, working for the Ministry I assume?"
"No I am afraid not," Hermione replied charmingly, "with the exception of Luna, we are all working at Hogwarts as Professors these days." Hermione smiled as she indicated the students she recognized about the crowd, a few of whom waved to her. Madeline Pierce and Mark Evans were seated together a few rows down from them, the pair had just graduated Hogwarts, and were known to be an item and in fact had been compared to their DADA and Transfiguration instructors more than once. They both had been in Harry's extracurricular DA sessions as well, when Harry actually had time to teach them and didn't have to get a sub.
"That is too, bad...however never let it be said that the education of our children is any less important than other issues." Stark replied with a slightly condescending air.
"UMM, Let us get to the match, Oliver should be here any moment to help announce." Arthur interjected quickly before his kids replied to that implied insult.
Any less important...Hermione snarled in her thoughts, as Harry fought to keep his laughter from boiling over. Woman better hope that Pansy was wrong...she observed as she started looking over the pitch, with a pair of SG1 issue omniocculars that were carefully disguised to look like the ones the hawkers sold below.
Yeah. Harry thought in return. He looked over the pitch, glancing down at the kids occasionally out of habit. Though honestly, if I thought there was something actually to that, the kids wouldn't be here, Mione. Pansy was the only source of that intelligence, every other terror attack they've waged over the last few years since Riddle's death; we've seen more info on.
True...Luna has the emergency portkey, right, though? Hermione asked, and Harry nodded. Hermione gave him a little smile, and glanced over the crowd again. Let's get to work then, anyway. "Bookworm, Leo, and Chowhound are in the stands." Hermione subvocalized the report so Arthur and his group would not hear, though over the roar of the crowd, and especially the Australian fans, whom seemed to have brought a herd of Kangaroo's with them, no one could really hear anyway.
"The Merlins are in position" Came Fred's soft voice over the wireless. He gave a small nod as Hermione's omniocculars crossed the WWW box in the stadium. The twins, aside from their night jobs as the gadget providers for SG1, had now opened their fifth franchise, and were today, if they got a chance, going to talk to some Australian wizards about a franchise down under. The current shops in London, Hogsmeade, Paris (convenient to Beuxbatons,) Chicago and Tokyo were going gangbusters, along with the OWL delivery service of course.
"Ghost is ready...I have the tactical team ready as well." Draco interjected as he observed the field from a nearby staging area, just in case. He had drawn the short straw, and was watching the game via the Wizard Wireless broadcast in a specially disguised tent along with ten members of SG1's tactical team.
"Good" Harry whispered, "I hope we don't need them." Harry's gaze unconsciously fell on the kids, and a sick premonition filled his stomach, Mione, Harry murmured in his thoughts, private from the rest of the team, Honestly, I'm getting nervous...I don't know why, but...
Me too Harry...I can almost feel something. Have Luna, reach out; see if she sees any preparations for something?
She'll kick Ron's arse, and ours as well, Harry pointed out, I really didn't put any credence into the threat...its just with the kids right here...Hermione nodded and kept scanning, after pausing a second to bend down and feed something to one of the kids. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Harry bend over and whisper something into Luna's ear. She turned and glared at him, a sight if one had never really seen Luna angry, but she nodded anyway. Ron looked at her anxiously as her eyes went blank.
Meanwhile, behind them, Oliver Wood had mounted the stand; he looked over the crowd, "SONORUS, WELCOME TO THE 432nd Quidditch World Cup." Applause thundered over the stands in response to Oliver Wood's words. "It is now my pleasure to introduce the Minister of Magic for Great Britain, Arthur Weasley." Arthur stood and waved. After the polite applause had died down, "Today, we have a terrific match, defending the North Goal, I give you BULGARIA, captained by VIKTOR KRUM." The crowd erupted at those words. Instantly almost the entire crowd, the male half anyway was captivated by the sight of almost fifty Veela taking the field. Hermione didn't have to worry though; even if Harry's mind weren't on other things, he wouldn't have wandered. But unfortunately that was a mere side issue, minute by minute; his sense of unease was growing.
Oliver didn't notice, he smiled, waved and spoke again. "And defending the South goal, AUSTRIALIA captained by the young Keeper sensation, Reggie Smythe." On the field, the Veelas rapidly retreated as a herd of bright orange Kangaroos started dancing wildly and playing Dinagroos. The crowd danced along with the Kangaroos and several small children were overheard asking their parents for one.
Oliver took a deep breath, "The officials have taken the field, and we are ready to go." Down on the field, the referee released the bludgers, and took an officially marked QWC432 Quaffle from a chest. She threw it up, and blew the whistle. The snitch took flight and instantly Krum was in pursuit. The quaffle however...instead of going in a direction, to the instant consternation of the chasers, the quaffle started spinning in place, and glowing, pulsing faster and faster.
Harry and Hermione's gaze met as they felt the magic concentrating in the quaffle, sucking the energy from the very ether. Luna turned to them, and with a sudden rush of power, her eyes glowed a bright gold, "IT'S A TRAP." She screamed fearfully.
"SHIT...LUNA PORT THEM." Harry snapped as Luna dove over the seats, grabbed the three kids...and vanished in a rainbow fall of light. Harry's eyes snapped to the now brightly glowing quaffle, sounds of panic were heard from the almost silent crowd...the quaffle seemed to collapse on itself, "PROTEGO ASTRULAS" Harry snarled, and felt Hermione join him an instant later as a golden wall erected itself between them and the quaffle, protecting a good sixth of the stands, not coincidentally including the Ministers of Magic of three countries, and a good number of the Hogwarts students in attendance. With a terrible roar, the quaffle erupted, a green shockwave snapped outward and the world collapsed. A terrible wave of green force hammered against their shield, crashing like a wave on a breakwater.
The stands shook and screams erupted in the crowd. After an instant, Harry and Hermione collapsed to the floor of the box, the shield failed, but they had done their job. Ron clambered over the seats. Finding them both, unconscious, he pointed his wand, "Enervate, Harry, Herm..."
"Go Ron, don't worry about our covers now, just go." Harry growled from the ground, panting slightly. Ron gave a terse nod and headed off to help where he could. Harry helped Hermione to her feet, and turned to Arthur. "Arthur...that was an attack." Harry didn't bother to say anything to Hermione; she already knew anything he might say. Without another word, she ran down to find additional help, her wand already out in her hand as she looked about the stadium warily. She headed directly towards were Pierce and Evans were already helping some of the people around them to their feet. Both of the teens had their wands ready.
"Yeah, Harry...go, you're in charge of the security forces until Mad-Eye gets here." Arthur replied taking charge, he took a communication mirror from his pocket and started talking urgently into it. In the background, screams could be heard from the wounded. On the field, medi-wizards started appearing, and dove into the crowd, yelling back conditions of patients to a harried looking nurse helping task the triage.
Hermione came up, "I put the Hogwarts DA to work too; they will help with search and rescue." Harry nodded and waved to Draco who had stopped to remove some rubble from a top a trapped family. "Looks like an attack Harry...damnit Pansy was right." She whispered harshly.
Harry held a hand over one ear and muttered under his breath, the magic of the Weasley twins once again carrying his words. "Yeah...Fred, George get looking at that device as soon as your guys get here with their gear...Draco, take the tac team and get the Minster out of here." Jacob Wells came up; as usual he had been working as Arthur's security detail head. Harry nodded to him, "assuming that you don't mind a bit extra escort, Jacob?"
"No Harry, in fact, thanks for shielding us, who knows how many you two saved. That device was aimed for the VIP box. I am honestly concerned, this isn't the end." Wells put in, and Harry nodded and waved towards the recently arrived tactical team. Wells walked off accompanied by Draco and ten additional wizards and witches each in their black battle gear, each with a phoenix shoulder flash, each with their wands in hand, questing for targets. A short, sharp argument broke out behind them between Arthur and Jacob. And after another minute, Jacob won, and all three Ministers, the SG1 TAC team and Draco vanished with a loud CRACK.
***********************Field Headquarters, SG1***************************
Several hours later
An exhausted Hermione Potter parted the tent flap and entered into the tent. With a loud sigh she sat at the table, an exact duplicate of the conference room at the Hogwarts headquarters. She dropped her head to her arms and shook. Around the table, the rest of the team that had been here at the time of the bombing sat; each and every one of them was stained with dirt and grime and blood from helping with the rescue efforts. Harry silently waved his hand over the table in front of Hermione, conjuring a cup of coffee.
Her head came up and reaching out slowly, she took a sip. Harry silently pulled her into his side as he felt her quivering at the close call it had been. Ok, Hermione? Harry asked, she nodded and he turned to the rest of the team. Ron was sitting opposite them, Mad-Eye had arrived and he was sitting on the other side of Harry along with Remus Lupin, Tonks and Sirius Black in his role as special investigator for the Minister. Draco was still at the Ministry, closely guarding Arthur. Arthur for his part was present as a projection. A crystal ball projected his image, along with a bit of the office as well.
Arthur sighed and looked out of the projection. "Ok Harry, what do we have, and by the way, the kids arrived at the Burrow fine." He added softly.
Harry, Hermione and Ron all let out breaths that they had not realized they were holding. "Thanks dad," Harry muttered before he sat up, and his tone hardened. "So far, it looks like whomever replaced the quaffle with that device did so before the quaffles were delivered here, probably during manufacture. This was a long term job." Harry shrugged slightly, and took a sip of his coffee as he tried to fight his parched throat.
"Why were the balls not examined?" Alastor snapped. Fury lit the Minister's eyes as he started to rise from his chair in the projection, only to stop suddenly and seat himself once more, slowly.
Hermione shrugged helplessly, "They were, they appeared to be perfectly normal until they were used, it looks like someone used a delayed, or possibly a remotely triggered transfiguration to change the quaffle into a device." She took a breath. "Honestly, it looks like we got lucky." Her expression amply showed she knew just how that word sounded right now.
"What do you mean, Hermione?" Remus inquired, quietly. He looked up from the notes he was busy scribing. The werewolf in him was showing, the sent of the blood carried on the air had caused his fangs to drop slightly and his breathing was occasionally a bit ragged, as he absently twirled his quill through his fingers.
"From what Fred and George and their team was able to put together, and what I got from looking at it, the bomb was supposed to evolve a Kedavra wave." Shocks of horror came from the table, and Hermione nodded grimly. "I didn't know it was possible either, at least not in such a small device, but it seems to be a derivative of what the Chamber was supposed to do, only on a much less selective basis. Fortunately the wave was much less...focused than a proper death curse, more like a giant reductor curse, as the soul-rending part did not propagate past the field itself. As a result, we were able to partially shield against it. Minerva has the remains at Hogwarts in her lab looking at it now, she will let us know if anything else pops out at her." She looked at the projection of Arthur, levelly. "Sorry Arthur, but she was the best to study it quickly"
"That is fine Hermione, I don't think we can or should even try to keep this under wraps." He looked at Harry, in the projection, his hands were clasped in front of him on his desk, "Harry, what about casualty figures?" His voice was even, but the fire had never left his eyes as he regarded his agent.
Harry sighed, "So far, two hundred dead, spilt between the crowd and the teams...both teams were wiped out except for the seekers. Both Krum and the Australian seeker were high enough to miss the Kedavra effect. As poor as word choice as it is, we got off lucky. Whoever set that up was after you, or at least wanted it to seem like it. They detonated it closest to the box we were in and the shield Hermione and I raised sufficed to keep damage to a...minimum." Harry's green eyes were dim as his thoughts flashed back to an afternoon of frantically racing to help those injured and the encounters with those who weren't that lucky.
"Tell them, Arthur." A soft, ancient voice commanded quietly from the entrance to the tent. Like the ancient lion he was, Dumbledore padded to the table and sat. Dumbledore waved a hand, and a white bubble erupted over the tent, knocking back several people clustered about it.
"I can't Albus..." Arthur replied, a pleading note in his voice.
"Then I will." Dumbledore said firmly, as he steadily gazed over the top of his half-moons. In the projected image, Arthur glared for a long moment before nodding and covering his eyes. "As those of you who paid attention in Muggle Studies know, the Muggle Second World War was inexorably linked to the Grindelwald war." Harry and Hermione nodded, and after a moment of reflection most of the rest in the tent did so as well. Most of them actually had not had Muggle studies, but they were more or less familiar with the time period, especially with their current line of work. "You know then that the muggle scientists of the various nations were in a race to construct a weapon that could end the war."
"The American Manhattan project?" Hermione asked a touch reflectively.
Dumbledore nodded, "indeed, however as you know, Grindelwald was in Germany behind that quest for power." He paused, "during that war, the American and British Ministries were becoming desperate. Many, many wizards died trying to kill him...until I ultimately destroyed him in Berlin. During that time, right before the end, the British Ministry developed a weapon that they hoped would destroy him should I fail. Fortunately I did not." He frowned, and his face grew dark, almost as dark as the night after Hermione's parents had died. "What they developed was a device that could render an entire city lifeless. Over the years wizarding kind has developed techniques and devices darker than even anything the muggles could think of. This was the worst...to state the situation plainly, they developed what was for all intents and purposes, an Avada Kedavra bomb."
Loud gasps of shock echoed off the silencing bubble, Harry frowned, Ron muttered, "Bloody Hell." But Hermione...looked thoughtful. She regarded Dumbledore and then her adoptive father darkly. Hermione had long since disregarded her instinct that authority figures where always right, and this seemed to only confirm it.
"They built another Philosopher's Stone?" She asked softly, at the inquisitive looks she received, she relented and explained. "It was always a theory of Flamel's that the stone could store a spell, like a battery, then magnify it exponentially and release it. From the notes that Dumbledore let me see of Flamel's he never did test it, as it would destroy the life giving properties of the stone once it was charged with the spell. That would have to be the only way I could see it would work," she frowned, "so why didn't Voldemort go after the one in the Ministry? After Harry stopped him from getting the original, that is."
"Because it was destroyed my dear," Dumbledore replied lowly from the side, "at my insistence, they destroyed the crystal, I did consent however to them keeping the plans under lock and key. It appears however..." Dumbledore's ice blue eyes cut to the projection of Arthur's, "that the Ministry has once again proven, insecure."
Arthur dropped his eyes from Dumbledore's, "actually Albus, It wasn't."
"What?" Dumbledore, Harry and Hermione asked together, the entire Gryffindor line in the tent, whether by marriage or blood shared the exact same tone of acidic disbelief. Control was the watchword as everyone else in the tent was extremely hopeful that the three, possibly most powerful wizards on the side of light kept control, they did, somehow. Together Harry and Hermione slowly panned to look directly at Arthur, while Dumbledore instructed him in a voice rimmed with steel, "please explain Arthur...that is not what was told to me in nineteen forty five, nor when Nymphadora investigated the escape of Barris Odom."
"I take responsibility Albus, the decision was before my time, but it is still my Ministry." Arthur replied from the projection, "After Grindelwald was killed, the Ministry dismantled the bomb but instead of shattering the crystal, they kept it for study." He shrugged, "It would not have done Voldemort any good, the crystal was designed to store the curse, it was twisted so that the life giving properties were twisted. The members of the artifacts research department; thought it was similar to fragments of crystals recovered off the sea bed near Bermuda."
"And the investigation by Nymphadora?" Dumbledore continued flatly.
Tonks opened her mouth to speak, but stopped at a wave from Arthur, "She was under orders, my orders to keep the situation quiet. Do not blame her. Should I have informed you? Yes, I should have Albus." Arthur admitted quietly, into the otherwise absolute silence of the tent. "But at the time, there were any number of other affairs that all of us were dealing with."
"We shall discuss this further." Dumbledore said with an air of utter finality. Reluctantly, Arthur Weasley nodded.
Harry gave a grim nod as well. He glanced over at Hermione and as usual, no words were needed between them. He watched as her eyes widened suddenly and her thoughts hammered into his brain. GINNY Her shocked realization of what this attack, and the lack of warning could mean.
Oh shit...Harry's heart leapt into his throat. He wanted to deny her thought...but he knew better. Ginny was hopefully positioned into Malfoy's inner circle, she would have know about this attack, either she had been turned...a possibility that both of them ranked somewhere below the sun going out this very second like a burnt out light bulb, or that she had been discovered, a scenario which was looking all too likely. As one they both glanced at Ron, from his expression, they both knew he was thinking along the same lines, then fleetingly at the image of Arthur. Should we tell him?
A slightly panicked look filled Hermione's eyes as her teeth found her bottom lip. Neither of them noticed that everyone else had stopped talking to watch them. Almost everyone in the tent knew by know what it meant when they shut up like this, and those that didn't had taken their clues from those who did. She looked at Harry, he nodded and looked out over the other witches and wizards in attendance, he felt Hermione's hand brush his under the table, and he mentally shot a image of a smile over to her. "This attack also brings up other possible issues." Harry announced firmly.
"There is every possibility that our agent within Malfoy's inner circle has been compromised...or turned." Harry said the last in the barest of whispers, but it was enough to carry to everyone in the tent and through the projection to the two wizards in Arthur's office. In the projection, Draco winced, his gray eyes growing hard as they glared down at Harry, at the implied slight on the possible loyalty of the Agent in question, she was his partner after all.
"Who was the agent inside lad?" Alastor Moody, who had been quiet until now, asked gently. Harry could tell the old Auror already had a pretty good idea. Mad-Eye glanced around the table and projection, "everyone here has the proper clearance."
Harry clenched his hands together on the table. Without looking to either side, he could feel Hermione's hand on his thigh under the table, and the supporting glance of Ron to the side. His stomach lurched, as he calmly, on the outside anyway, answered Mad-Eye's question. "The agent in question is Special Agent Ginerva Weasley." Harry stated with utterly no detectable emotion in his voice.
Arthur Weasley closed his eyes for a moment, he ran his hand over his face, and eventually nodded. "As I suspected." He replied to Harry in such a way, that he had already pretty much guessed that, but was secretly hoping that Harry had had her off on some other mission. He looked down at some papers on his desk for a moment, then back up into the room, "then besides the investigation into this tragedy, I would suggest." Arthur said softly, "that we try to determine the truth of Agent Weasley's whereabouts and her current status. You know the policy on turned agents of the Ministry, Harry." His last words came out strangely, almost as if they had to fight their way past clenched teeth. Harry only nodded. The same penalty that held for confirmed Death Eaters, was the same proscribed to Ministry turncoats. Barris Odom, and Rookwood, if they were ever caught were both up for the high jump.
In Arthur's office, a soft buzzer sounded. He held up his hand to stop anyone from uttering a word as he gestured to Draco. Draco went to the door, and after exchanging a word with the messenger, took a note and stepped back, closing the door. He flicked his wand at the door, reestablishing the silencing and impurtable charms on the door. Draco handed the Arthur the note. With a murmured "thanks" Arthur opened it, scanned down the words...and grew white. A moment passed as he slowly removed his glasses and polished them on the sleeves of his robe. He looked up into the projection. His eyes as they met the rest of the attendees were suddenly glazed, they had been full of fury and sadness, were now just flat.
"Sometime during the last six hours, most likely during the attack on the World Cup," He announced heavily, slowly, "the secret medical facility containing the Longbottoms among others was attacked and destroyed. At this time, the losses appear to be total," Arthur's continuance, so steady during the day's events, finally cracked as he dropped his head to his hands wearily.
Hermione gasped, and as her hand found Harry's openly, his other arm came around to pull her close. Quiet tears stained Harry's torn and dirty shirt as she mourned Neville. Ron muttered a curse and pounded the table, while Tonks looked close to tears. Lupin immediately emulated Harry and pulled his own wife to him, all the while meeting Sirius' tired gray eyes over her shoulder, the pair of them remembering Alice and Frank who had seemingly finally fallen in their fight against the dark. Dumbledore frowned slightly as he stood and paced to the end of the table. Alastor soon joined them, and after a muttered conversion the old Auror vanished with a soft, barely audible CRACK. Harry muttered something to Hermione, she nodded and he stood, his hands splayed on the table before him. He glanced up at the projection to look at Draco. "Draco get over there, take one of Fred and George's nerds with you." In the image Draco nodded and vanished a moment later, his SG1 credentials allowing him to apparate from the Ministry itself.
A/N: There ya go, this week's. I fully intend to finish this fic, even though as of about 72 hours from now, it
will be AU. Unless of course something happens in HBP that turns me off from HP. We'll see. Next chapter, back to
Godric's Hollow, Luna responds and Draco investigates.