The Battle Standard
by Jardyn39
Chapter 21 - Silence
It was utterly silent where Harry stood. Under his feet there were small clumps of fresh earth that had fallen back after being blasted up as the craters were formed.
It was still very dark and Harry could see little, but there was an acrid smell of dense smoke hanging in the air.
At his feet was a partially clothed torso. The head, one arm and both legs were missing, but Harry could see that this had been a young man.
This was the most complete body he had come across so far, although he had only been there for a few minutes.
He walked over to the edge of another large crater.
There were at least two dozen still bodies lying at the bottom.
Harry knew at once that they were only pretending to be dead, having seen the remains elsewhere.
"I know there are people still alive down there," he said clearly. "Surrender to me and I'll see you are taken prisoner. If not, I'll allow them to keep firing at you. Either way, your part in this conflict is over."
There was no response and no movement.
Harry waited, and then finally a lone figure got up right in the middle but it was too dark to make out who they were.
He then became aware that they were now all coming to their feet.
"Alright," said Harry. "Stay here a moment while I make sure they won't fire while we walk out of here."
Harry Apparated directly into the advanced command centre. Smythe was standing at an easel with a map on it and explaining the various coloured arrows marked on it. In front of him, several more officers were sitting taking detailed notes. Bateman was standing at the back with his arms folded.
Harry walked right up to the front and said, "The survivors have surrendered and I've promised that they will be taken prisoner. I need your assurance that you'll hold fire while I get them out. They still can't Disapparate and most of them are deaf and shell-shocked."
Smythe gave him a cold look that Harry returned defiantly.
"My orders are to destroy them as an effective fighting force. We'll keep on pounding them. After our casualties today, I'm not inclined to give them any chance of escape."
"They have surrendered. It's over."
"Not to us, they haven't," Smythe replied darkly, turning back to the easel.
Harry slashed his wand at Smythe's face and he collapsed in agony. Smythe was being punished for more than his own actions, Harry recognised. There was a dark part of him that had been very disappointed not to be spending the morning killing.
"How are they supposed to know the correct etiquette for surrendering?" Harry demanded of the howling Smythe.
The men before him just looked on in shock. Only Bateman came forward.
Harry turned to face them.
"I'm going to walk those people out and you will take them into custody. Most of them are hurt so they'll need medical attention."
Smythe staggered to his feet wearing a deep red burn mark diagonally across his face.
"Firing will re-commence at zero five hundred hours," he spat angrily.
Harry lazily blasted him off his feet, this time sending him crashing into the easel.
"If anyone else is thinking of firing at those people," began Harry, but Bateman interrupted him.
"No, Harry. It is illegal to open fire on anyone who has clearly surrendered unless they break the ceasefire. If they surrender and then begin to fight again, they can be fired upon legally."
There was a general nodding of agreement and Harry lowered his wand.
"Okay," said Harry. "We need to figure out how to stop them Disapparating away. Can we take them back to the valley?"
"We have some manacles that Kingsley gave us, but the prisoners may have to share."
"Good," said Harry. "I'll disarm them but they will need to be thoroughly searched again. Just remember they aren't Death Eaters; just the dregs Voldemort left to die."
"We'll handle it," said Bateman. "How many are there?"
"I've seen no more than thirty alive so far, but there could be more."
*
Harry found a group of forty-three survivors waiting for him when he returned and he guided them out of the battlefield.
"What will happen to us?" asked one.
"You'll be held by the Muggles for a while."
"Miss Alice?" someone said fearfully.
"No," relied Harry, "but in any case it will only be for a while. Later you'll be handed over to the Aurors."
They seemed to share a sigh of relief at this assurance.
"The Death Eaters took all the Portkeys the Dark Lord sent and just left us here to die."
"Well, maybe you chose the wrong side then?" said Harry.
"Chose?" repeated a man angrily clutching his tattered cloak. "We had no choice! It was either this or be forced to watch our families die."
*
Harry watched the first few prisoners being processed before leaving. Satisfied that they were treated properly, he joined Bateman in the makeshift command centre.
"You knew the real battle would be held somewhere else?" asked Bateman.
"No, not really," admitted Harry. "I suppose I had a feeling that another battle would take place today, but that'll happen when I catch up with Miss Alice."
Bateman looked up at him and frowned.
"What is it, Harry?" he asked with concern.
"Bear, I Apparated in the middle of them fully intending to kill every last one of them before you attacked this morning. I had no idea that you'd keep blasting at them all through the night."
"Most military actions take place at night, Harry. Smythe saw an opportunity and used it. Warfare isn't about being fair, although several of us became very uncomfortable when it became clear they were no longer fighting back at all."
"Where is Mary?"
"She's gone to London. I don't know exactly where."
"Do you know what forces she commands there?"
"I thought everything we had was right here."
"I don't think so. I had another vision last night, but it wasn't quite like the others. I mean, I'm not sure if it was real or just a dream. In it, Voldemort had captured her. He also spoke about advancing on Hogwarts using his forces from London."
"She didn't leave until very late, Harry. Perhaps it was just a dream you had."
"Potter?" growled a familiar voice. "Where the hell are you?"
Harry turned and smiled as Moody limped into the tent. Bateman's hand drifted casually down to his combat knife.
"Let me introduce you," said Harry at once. "Bear, this is Alastor Moody. He's a retired Auror. Moody, this is John Bateman."
"Ah," said Moody, "I've heard of you. Call me Mad-Eye. Everyone does."
Bateman smiled and shook Moody's hand.
"I've just come from Hogwarts," said Moody, slumping down on one of the benches. "The Aurors are there in force. Scrimgeour is there too and is organising the evacuation of the surrounding area."
"Good," said Harry. "Have the Centaurs been alerted?"
"Hagrid said he would tell them this morning, but he doesn't think they'll fight."
"No, I don't expect them too. They are still entitled to know and get themselves to safety."
"Harry, the problem is that there's absolutely no sign of You-Know-Who!"
"Voldemort will want to eliminate whatever Miss Alice has waiting for him in London before turning north."
"That makes sense," agreed Bateman. "He'd want to draw the defenders away from Hogwarts too."
"Yes," agreed Harry. "We must make sure the Aurors stay at Hogwarts, no matter what happens in London."
"What if they attack the Ministry?"
"Let them have it," said Bateman firmly. "What strategic advantage would they have?"
"Access to the Kent Archives are still restricted," said Harry. "What else is there?"
"How about the Department of Mysteries?" suggested Moody darkly.
"Can't they be sealed or magically relocated?"
"Perhaps," agreed Moody.
"If we can't be bothered to fight for it, why would Voldemort even want it?" asked Bateman.
"What else is there in London?" asked Moody. "Diagon Alley?"
"No," said Harry. "Miss Alice mentioned an Invisible Army before. Of course it may not really exist, but on the other hand she just might have recruited enough wizards to form a half decent fighting force."
"Where do we look for them?" asked Moody.
"Well, we should know when the fighting begins," observed Bateman.
Harry shook his head and the other two looked at him.
"I'm not sure, but I think there really is an Invisible Army. The problem is I suspect Voldemort knew this and has used that to his advantage. What if he has wrested control of the army from Miss Alice to himself?"
Moody swore.
"What can we do?" asked Bateman.
"I've a feeling that Red Cauldron is something important to Miss Alice's plans. I'm going there first. If I still have no idea where her army is after that, I'll go back up to Hogwarts."
"I'll come with you," said Moody.
"No," said Harry firmly. "There's something you need to understand. This will not be the end of Voldemort. No matter how many people die, Voldemort will not be amongst them."
"What are you saying?"
"This is not the final battle. Miss Alice couldn't have known, but she made a bad mistake. Voldemort knows, but he shouldn't know that I know. All we are doing now is wasting lives. Please, don't ask how I know this.
"The important thing is that you stop the Aurors from committing themselves to a fight. They need to hold back so we can choose the time and place of the battle."
"What if he advances from London?"
"Well, he probably will do that," admitted Harry.
"Right now we have no idea of his numbers and strengths," said Bateman. "Hogwarts is defendable."
"True," agreed Moody. "Alright, I try and persuade them to hold back."
"I'll see if we can't help," said Bateman. "I've still got the Prime Minister's private number for emergencies. It looks like we need another change in campaign leadership," he observed, looking at the remains of the easel that had been left lying on the floor.
Harry smiled.
"Even if the PM authorises us to mobilise again, it will take time to move up to Scotland. I'd better get on."
He slapped Harry on his shoulder and said, "You'll let me know as soon as you hear anything about Mary?"
"Of course, Bear," said Harry, knowing his friend was hiding how concerned he was.
Bateman held out his hand to Moody and said, "It was good to finally meet you, Mad-Eye."
"You too," said Moody, shaking hands with his lop-sided grin.
Bateman walked out of the tent and Harry asked, "Where is Hermione?"
"She should be at Hogwarts. I took the liberty of sending your house elf to fetch her. I was afraid she'd come back here."
"Good."
"So, are you going to tell me what idiotic scheme you have in mind?"
"I'd hardly call it a scheme, actually. Miss Alice is in trouble. The problem is I can't figure out if she deliberately intended to place herself in harm's way."
"Could she have confided in anyone?"
"I've a dreadful feeling she gave me the clues, actually."
*
Harry Apparated silently into shadows but was a little taken aback that the muddy Thames water was lapping just below the step he was now standing on. He climbed quickly and peered under the railings up and down the Embankment.
He had correctly assumed that this berthing point would not be in use this early in the morning.
He unlocked the padlock on the heavy iron gate and stepped out. After he'd checked again that no-one was looking, he locked the gate and walked along the long straight parade.
Harry wanted to walk the quarter of a mile or so to the location of the underground bunker for a couple of reasons.
He was fairly sure that Miss Alice had given him clues, but he was unclear whether she intended him to find her or work out what her plan was.
His starting point had to be the giant red cauldron.
Miss Alice had admitted it was to play an important part in her plan, and Harry was curious to find out what this was.
Of course, it could just be yet another bluff.
He reached a red jetty and looked out across the Thames as a Police launch patrol casually made its way up the river.
When it had passed, Harry paused to listen to the water lapping against the weed covered stonework below.
Somewhere under there, he mused, were the tunnels. Most of the bunkers were actually on the other side of the river, but he would try to gain access from this side as before.
He turned and walked away from the river.
*
Harry was a little disconcerted to find the tunnels completely deserted. The first few minutes had been particularly nerve wrecking. He had moved silently with the expectation that each next corner or room held a nasty surprise waiting for him.
He eventually found himself standing in the large square map room.
The map tables and all the boards had all gone, as had all of the cameras.
The red cauldron had been moved to a new three tier dais in the very centre of the room instead of over to the side.
The spot lighting had been changed too. There were now three circles of lights over the cauldron in place of the scattered pattern before.
Harry frowned and walked around the cauldron several times.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind.
Harry went over to the old position where the dais had been ripped out. The wall had been obscured previously, but there was nothing obvious to see now.
He looked up.
The lowered suspended ceiling where the spot lighting had been had been ripped down too.
"Why would they bother to do that?" he wondered aloud.
He went back over to the cauldron again and examined it closely. The cauldron was several feet across and made of metal. It stood on three plain feet. The red colour was a deep metallic finish and highly polished.
Harry looked at his own distorted reflection and saw that he was frowning.
What had Bear said to Voldemort that time? Harry dimly cast his mind back to the confrontation in the Healer's lair.
"You lie!" yelled Voldemort.
"Do I? Why not read my mind?"
"Lord Voldemort always knows!"
Bateman laughed contemptuously and said, "Yeah, right! Like you know where our back-up group is right now? Didn't you wonder where they'd got to?"
"What?"
"Tonight. They would be long overdue if they were coming here with the seven of us."
"Where are they then?"
"Let's just say they should be long gone by now, hopefully having caught and cooked a certain fat pet snake!"
"Nagini!"
"Who else?! We're just here as a diversion. Okay, so we were wrong in thinking the Healer would call you personally for help, but you were kind enough to come anyway. If you hurry, you might still save her from the cooking pot! It'll be the big red one over the fire with a chained down lid. We had it specially made! It even has a message from us Muggles engraved on the side."
Harry smiled, remembering Bateman's obscene hand gesture. Then his mind snapped back to address his current problem.
"A message engraved on the side," muttered Harry, walking around the dais again.
There was no visible message.
Then it occurred to him that the message might possibly be on the inside.
Harry tried to lift the lid by hand but soon gave up. It seemed to be made out of the same metal as the cauldron.
He pointed his wand over the cauldron and levitated the lid a few inches, only to drop it in shock when smoke began pouring out.
The lid was balanced on the lip of the cauldron but hasn't in its original position. He climbed the dais and peered into the gap.
It wasn't smoke, after all. The inside of the cauldron was actually freezing cold, although the outside was normal room temperature.
There was also a flashing light deep down out of reach, but he could not make it out through the mist.
He lit his wand and shone it inside but the light just reflected off the mist.
Remembering the timing devices Careem used for his explosive packs, Harry replaced the lid properly. He had a horrible feeling that he had just armed the device inside the cauldron.
Without really knowing why, Harry crossed to the far corner of the room and looked again at the cauldron.
For some reason, the change in the pattern of lights bothered him.
He closed his eyes and tried to visualise what the old pattern looked like.
Nothing came and he opened his eyes again to think.
The circles of spot lights were reflected in regular patterns in the highly polished surfaces.
Harry frowned.
"What did the reflected pattern look like?" he asked himself quietly.
He closed his eyes again, and instead of trying to visualise the lights above the dais, he remembered the cauldron reflections.
Harry smiled stupidly to himself when it finally came to him.
"Miss Alice, you are unbelievable," he said aloud to the empty room. "It was right there all the time, and we were all looking at it!"
*
Harry hurried back along the Embankment and down into the Tube Station. In the underground Ticket Office, he went over to a wall map of the London Underground and saw exactly the same pattern as had been reflected in the cauldron.
He stepped back and concentrated.
Generally, each reflected light represented a station on the network. The really clever thing was that some lights were reflected more than once in the curved shape of the cauldron, and so reflected more than one station.
One light, however, was different.
This must, Harry supposed, identify a location where either Miss Alice is, or more likely, another clue.
He closed his eyes to remember the pattern again.
When he opened them again, he had it. The only problem was that not all the lights matched the stations.
Harry looked up at the station clock and knew he needed help if he was going to get to Miss Alice in time.