The Battle Standard
by Jardyn39
Mary sat silently for a long time. Harry observed she wore a slight frown but otherwise seemed quite relaxed. Only her feverish eye movements over the surface of the polished table betrayed the scenarios her mind was running through.
Harry was rather glad he had Mary to confide in.
Quite unlike his friends, Mary had at once accepted his story about the dream, or whatever it was. Even Hermione had been a little sceptical that Harry could ever seize power and appoint himself Lord Protector of the Wizarding World.
He was quite content to sit quietly and wait for Mary to finish her mental gymnastics. He had actually told John Bateman about the dream before her, but knew that the ever practical Bear would refuse to believe any of it.
Bateman had reacted as Harry predicted, but did add cryptically, "Sounds like she's made an early start on you, Harry. I wonder how she does it?"
Harry had no idea at all what this comment was supposed to mean.
He was pretty sure that the "she" Bateman was referring to could only be the same Mary before him, but beyond that he had little idea.
He wasn't even sure he wanted to ask her.
Mary, or rather Miss Alice, had divulged very little of the details of her plan that had culminated in the arrest of so many Voldemort supporters at the Ministry as well as the secreting away to safety so many wizarding families.
Harry was amazed to learn that Bateman's little speech to Voldemort was actually a carefully planned mix of truth and lies designed to wrong-foot Voldemort.
One of Mary's greatest fears for the plan going wrong was that either Bateman would die before delivering it or that he might forget an important detail. She clearly thought the later was more likely.
On their way out of the Healer's lair, Bateman had admitted to Harry that he'd forgotten to boast about something he had actually contributed to the plan. Harry had promised not to tell Mary this omission, although he never did find out what it was that Bateman had forgotten. He did learn that Mary had actually been rather pleased with this omission, though.
Harry looked around the room the two of them were alone in. All of the walls were covered in a variety of maps and charts and the centre of the room was occupied by a large operations table which they sat at one corner, the two dozen or so other chairs remaining empty.
Quickly, his eyes returned to the single feature that dominated the room.
Sitting on a three tier dais on one side of the room was a giant red coloured metal cauldron complete with matching lid that glistened under the spotlighting that highlighted it.
When he had seen it for the first time, Harry had just stood there utterly incredulously.
Of all the parts of Bateman's speech to Voldemort, the one part he would have bet was a complete fabrication was the specially made cauldron that they were going to cook Voldemort's pet snake Nagini in.
Mary had explained to him that it was an important part of the plan to deceive Voldemort but wouldn't explain how it was supposed to work.
Had Voldemort read Bateman's mind, as he was expected to do, all he would see was recollections of this giant Cauldron.
Mary shifted slightly and smiled as she looked up at Harry.
"I know," said Harry with a smile, "you've considered twenty-seven possibilities about what happened but the most likely one is me cracking up?"
Mary laughed and said, "No, that's the one possibility I didn't consider, Harry."
Harry nodded, grateful for her support.
"I think we should approach this from a logical point of view. You see, although there may be things we don't quite understand yet, there may be aspects of your experience that will be of benefit."
Harry raised his eyebrows enquiringly, wondering how they could benefit from what he witnessed.
"First though, may I ask you something?"
"Sure," Harry replied easily.
"I expected Hermione to be here when you told me about all this."
"She was busy helping Ginny and Luna with some of their schoolwork. I think she was envious of the amount of school work they have to do, actually," he added, half joking.
"Even so," said Mary. "Does Hermione think what you saw really happened?"
Harry sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"She believes me to a point. I mean, she knows I wouldn't just make all this up and the boots and cloak had to come from somewhere, right?"
"So, what doesn't she believe?"
"Simply, that I could ever allow myself to be styled Lord Protector of the Wizarding World and become some kind of evil dictator."
"What do you think about that?"
"Well," replied Harry, absently running his fingers through his hair, "this Lord Potter sounds like he stands for just about everything I'm against. I can't believe I would ever allow something like that to happen."
"Is that all?"
"No," admitted Harry, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
When he didn't continue, Mary continued, "Part of you thinks you would take power?"
Harry nodded, staring down at the mahogany table top.
"Why is that?" Mary asked gently.
"Dumbledore," Harry answered flatly. "He was the most powerful wizard of his age. He knew full well about the corruption, ineptitude and laziness that was and is endemic at the Ministry of Magic. He could have taken power when he was invited to become Minister for Magic. He could have stamped all that out. Voldemort would have had a much more difficult time regaining power if Dumbledore had been in control."
"So, you would take any opportunity offered to correct Dumbledore's mistakes?"
"I didn't say he made any mistakes," Harry said sharply. "All I said was he chose not to take power."
"I'm sorry," said Mary. "Go on," she added, and Harry was sure she had wanted to provoke him into making that last admission.
"Of course he did make mistakes," continued Harry more calmly. "It's just that I can't really see that missed opportunity as a mistake."
"Because if he'd been Minister, he would not then have been your Headmaster?"
Harry nodded and smiled sadly.
"Anyway, I think it might be difficult for me to refuse such an offer."
They sat in silence for a long moment.
"By a curious coincidence, Harry," began Mary, "my current project isn't entirely unrelated to the things you have just told me."
"Sorry?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Well," said Mary and she hesitated before continuing. "First of all, John wasn't entirely enthusiastic about the plan when I told him some of the longer term objectives."
"He doesn't think it will work?"
"Actually, I suspect he's afraid it will work. He even dared me to tell you my plan."
"I suppose that explains the comment I didn't get. Something about you making an early start?"
Mary snorted and said, "Well, just so long as we know that I didn't really."
Harry smiled and nodded.
"My plan employs two long term scenarios. Broadly speaking, I have two endgames. In the first, Voldemort kills you. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice is to say we plan to win in the end."
Harry's shoulders sagged. Of course Miss Alice would have a plan that assumed Voldemort would kill him. The odds of him defeating Voldemort were that bad.
"Stop that, Harry," she commanded sharply. "Just because I plan for a contingency it doesn't believe I think it remotely likely to happen. You, of all people, should know that odds can be beaten."
"How did you know I was thinking about odds?"
"It was written all over you face, Harry. Now, are you at all interested in the second scenario?"
Harry nodded unenthusiastically.
"Well, in the second endgame, you kill Voldemort and manage to survive."
"How do you know one of us will die?"
"I just can't see either of you resting until the other is dead. Why?"
"Nothing," said Harry quickly, keen to move on in case he let slip anything about the Prophecy.
"Well," continued Mary a little suspiciously, "as I said you live on. Now, in my scenario, the general populous of the Wizarding world will not be content until there are some significant changes made to ensure that Voldemort's influences are finally expunged from their lives. I foresee those will be turbulent times, Harry."
"You mean, the fighting will continue?"
"Absolutely. There will be Civil War. The one thing I can see that would unite all the different factions and end hostilities would be, um, you."
"Me?"
"Indeed. The Wizard that vanquished Voldemort would be universally respected and feared. That would make him an ideal candidate as a figurehead."
"Figurehead?"
"Well, rather like Hermione, I couldn't see you actually wanting to take real power for yourself. I have no doubt at all, however, that you would work tirelessly for reconciliation and peace."
"Er, thanks, I think," said Harry uncertainly.
Mary smiled.
"Isn't all this rather too far into the future to consider now?" said Harry.
Mary shook her head no and the smile faded from her face.
"Harry," she said seriously, "in telling you about these plans, all I'm attempting to do is reinforce the fact that you becoming Lord Protector or whatever isn't really such a stretch."
"You haven't exactly told me much though, have you?"
"Of course not, Harry. Voldemort can read your mind, after all. Besides, I wouldn't want you to think I was being manipulative or anything."
Harry laughed loudly.
"No," he agreed still chuckling, "you'd never manipulate anyone, would you? Kingsley still can't hear mention of your name without shuddering, even now. He's almost worse than Ron when I say Voldemort in front of him."
"I did apologise to Kingsley. Mind you, I should really have resisted the temptation to point out all the times when it was glaringly obvious he was being used."
"Okay," said Harry, running his fingers along the edge of the table. "Where does this get us with my vision of the future?"
"I think your friend Ginny may be right. Treat the experience as a warning, at the very least."
"A warning not to take power if it were offered?"
"Actually, I suspect I'd be urging you to take affirmative control of the situation. Remember, though, it may not be power in the traditional sense. It may be more like leadership, for example. You have no idea where the village was?"
"No, none at all. Do you think the cloak and boots could be significant?"
"I can't see how; any more than the rings."
"Actually," said Harry looking down at his hand, "I suspect missing the ring will be significant."
"Why do you wear that? Isn't it a Slytherin artefact?"
"Yes. I started to wear it to remind me of Dumbledore and how he would react to things. It's important to me to think that I try to remain worthy of his trust and support."
Mary smiled and nodded.
"But just lately," continued Harry, "I've begun to wonder if a Slytherin approach might not yield more results that a Gryffindor one. The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin House, you know?"
"Well," said Mary as an assistant came into the room and begun placing files before each of the empty table places, "so long as the ring reminds you of Dumbledore you won't go far wrong."
They stood, knowing that their meeting was over.
"I'll continue to consider what you have told me," she promised, walking Harry to the door where his armed escort was waiting to show him out of the underground bunker complex.
"Thanks for listening," said Harry.
He had got almost to the outer door when she called out, "Harry? What happened to the spectacles you were wearing? The golden pair?"
"I'm sorry, I've got no idea. Things were a bit frantic in the air at the last moment. They could have come off as I fell."
Mary nodded and turned away again.
*
Bateman heard the door slam shut and several pounding footsteps approach before he had a chance to look up from his desk.
"I want to know the truth!" demanded Miss Alice furiously.
"Sorry?" asked Bateman. "What did I do now?"
"You know what I'm talking about," she spat angrily. "I've just listened to Harry's version of that vision of his."
"Er, okay," said Bateman slowly, still none the wiser.
"The Village!"
"Um?"
"He described the Village perfectly, right down to the river! It was our Barracks he was describing!"
"Well, I suppose there were similarities," admitted Bateman cautiously, "but only in as far as there are houses and a long straight road."
Miss Alice straightened up and crossed her arms. That was when Bateman knew he was really in trouble.
"You took him there, didn't you?"
"What? No, Mary. Honestly. I wouldn't do that."
Miss Alice continued to frown down at him.
"You are seriously asking me to believe you wouldn't take Harry there the moment he even wondered aloud where all the missing wizarding families are?"
"He hasn't asked me any such thing!"
"You and I are the only people in contact with Harry that know of the existence of that place. I know I didn't tell him."
"Oh, come off it, Mary," pleaded Bateman. "Look, if I told Harry, would I really let him come and tell you all about it?"
"No," she agreed, "that is true."
She relaxed her arms a little and Bateman gave a slight sigh of relief.
"Of course," she continued, refolding her arms again, "I did wonder if he hadn't been affected by one of the many wards over that place. I mean, if he flew too close that might explain his confusion. Maybe he just interpreted the experience as a vision of the future."
Bateman didn't say anything, but he knew the wards might very well affect a wizard flying too close to the place.
Finally, Miss Alice gave a groan of frustration and sat down heavily on the chair in front of Bateman's desk.
At this, Bateman decided he should pluck up some courage and asked, "Did you tell Harry about your suspicions? I still say you should confide in him."
"Don't be ridiculous. No, I actually believed him, for the most part."
"Seeing into the future?"
"Experiencing the future," she corrected him by saying. "Yes, I believe I do believe that part."
"So, I might not have shown Harry the Village?" he asked hopefully.
*
"So, at least she didn't come right out and say she thought I was delusional," finished Harry, having told Hermione all about his discussion with Mary.
Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Harry, no-one thinks you are delusional. Mind you, I'm surprised you didn't want to take those boots and cloak with you as evidence."
"She didn't ask to see them, actually. Mind you, I did look for them to take with me but I couldn't find them."
"Oh, that was me. Sorry. I gave the boots to Ron and took the cloak to Hogwarts with me."
"Why?"
"Well, I wanted Fred and George to look at those boots and tell us what they thought. They are the only people we know that have an interest and they looked to be of the finest quality. I have no idea where you'd go to have a pair like that made."
"I didn't think of asking them," admitted Harry. "Um, why did you want the cloak?"
"The motif on the back, Harry. It's a very stylised Gryffindor lion, isn't it? I wondered if I could find anything like it in the library."
"Did you find anything?"
"No, but I didn't get much of a chance to look. I should get more time tomorrow, though."
"Any excuse, eh?" teased Harry with a smile.
Hermione's eyes narrowed and she said rather coldly as she rose to her feet, "Kiss me goodnight, Harry."
"Hermione, it's still early. Stay a little longer? Come on, I promise not to make any more Hogwarts comments at your expense. You know you want to, really."
"I'm still waiting, Harry."
"How about waiting a little further from the door?"
*
Harry slammed both his fists down onto the heavy table, making the papers strewn over it jump and an ink pot splashed a little black ink over a nearby scroll of parchment.
"My Lord!" cried a voice. "Please! You'll only hurt yourself."
Harry's fists relaxed and long fingers quickly found the wand tucked into his robe pocket.
The chamber door opened just in time for the green flash to be reflected in the face of the dark robed figure who had entered the large room.
"Tell Lord Voldemort who he'll hurt, will you?" snarled Harry at the corpse now lying at his feet.
He looked up sharply and barked, "Well, Tetto, don't stand over there."
Tetto shook his head and stepped over the body of his former colleague.
"Was it really necessary for you to kill Tibbins, my Lord? He was the last of your followers who had even the slightest understanding of the new Muggle communications."
"What does that matter to Lord Voldemort?"
"Oh, congratulations, my Lord," Tetto said sarcastically. "You've neutralised the threat presented by Miss Alice!"
"No, of course I haven't!"
"Then, my Lord, perhaps those Muggle communications should matter?"
"Why aren't you afraid of me, Tetto? I should kill you for that remark."
"Thanks to your Lordship, I've become a traitor to my friends and family. They would not hesitate to kill me on sight. Of course, your Lordship knows I do still have some little use. Even so, it is just a matter of time."
"Oh, shut up, Tetto."
Tetto gave a half bow and Voldemort pocketed his wand.
"Tibbins' understanding didn't bring us any results," complained Voldemort. "He spent weeks pouring over those stolen printouts. I half suspect that cow intended us to steal them and waste our time trying to read them."
"Didn't Tibbins get a chance to tell you his good news?"
"What good news?"
"He managed to crack part of the encryption, my Lord."
"Useless! I'd have allowed him to live a little longer, had I known. Do you know what the message was?"
"Yes, but you won't like it," promised Tetto. "You recall we've been following several of the suspected code specialists working for one of the Muggle Defence departments? Well, we had a little luck. One of them was suspended for allowing a top level communication to be sent with a low level encryption. Basically, it was sent as a message that could be cracked more easily."
"Go on."
"Well, we kidnapped the specialist in question. Under the influence of magical interrogation, she revealed how to crack the code. Unfortunately, she did not herself read any of the messages in plain type.
"Anyway, Tibbins went back and applied the key to the messages over that period. The key only works for twenty-four hours, of course, but there were several messages that day."
"What did the messages say?"
"Well, Tibbins only got as far as translating one message. It took him all of last week to do it. This week he's been working on the second message."
"Why wasn't I informed of the first message?"
"Tibbins thought you'd just kill him the moment you heard it. You see, he showed the message to me and we both agreed it was a ruse. I suggested he translate a second message for verification."
"What did the first message say?" asked Voldemort dangerously.
"It was a general order issued by Miss Alice warning the Muggle undercover operatives working in your Lordship's service to be alert for the operational go code. Apparently, a go code is a signal instructing the precise time when a pre-arranged operation is to begin, my Lord."
"Bitch!"
"My Lord, it was clearly just a fabricated message intended to distract us. You have not found a single follower not loyal to your Lordship, have you?"
"I suppose that is correct. What did the second message say?"
"I've no idea."
"Then find out," said Voldemort menacingly.
"Ah, a séance, perhaps?"
"How about reading through Tibbins' notes?"
"Even better, my Lord," said Tetto with another bow.
"Have we any idea yet where Miss Alice is?"
"You are still convinced she is a real person, my Lord? The Muggles give names to their mechanical computing machines, you know? She was described as a computer, remember? Perhaps she is several people hiding behind the pseudonym."
"No, Tetto, the Ministry clearly believe she is a real person."
"Yes, but they had no records, did they?"
"It matters not, Tetto. We can't destroy her, machine or person, until we find her. Is there anything else?"
"Only that there is an addition to the attack from last night. It appears that the youngest of the Strood brothers actually managed to get away. We previously believed he died with his other two brothers. He resurfaced a few hours ago."
"Did he say what happened?"
"Yes. It was clearly an ambush, as we suspected. It is the manner of the attack he describes which is most interesting. Their assailants Apparated, fired modified Muggle weapons and the Disapparated. The concerning thing is that they clearly intended their victims to be killed rather than captured."
"That could have serious implications, Tetto."
"Indeed, we now have a third aggressor joining the ranks of Ministry Wizards and Muggles against us."
"I'm not too concerned about that."
"No? Not even an opponent prepared to sink to our level?"
"I doubt they have the remotest inkling what that level could be, Tetto."
"But who are they, my Lord? The only ones not accounted for are those we believed to be your victims. They would have a powerful motive to reek a terrible revenge against your Lordship and the rest of us."
"I thought we decided that those victims still being alive somewhere was yet another lie."
"As you wish, my Lord," said Tetto bowing again. "If you'll excuse me, I need to find Tibbin's papers."
"Just a moment, Tetto. Who do you recommend I appoint to replace Tibbins?"
"There really isn't much choice now, is there? Even so, I have my doubts about her true loyalties. She's only just out of Hogwarts. Young people are very impressionable at that age. She has also managed to refused the Dark Mark up to now, hasn't she?"
"She will either receive it or die," Voldemort said darkly. "Send her to me at once."
"She will not be back for three days at the earliest. You sent her to assist with the new security arrangements at the Alpha Store."
"Ah, yes. They will be out of communications there."
"So, you'll wait?"
"No. Go there yourself and bring her back."
"Yes, my Lord."
*
Harry woke with a start, his scar burning with a dull throbbing pain. He got up at once and staggered over to Sirius' old writing desk where he immediately wrote down everything he could remember about Voldemort's latest lapse in his Occlumency.
A few minutes later, Harry wrote a letter to Mary, describing everything again only this time in a sequence that made more sense.
Just as he was finishing, Hedwig arrived at the window sill and pecked gently at the bedroom window.
Harry smiled and immediately opened the lower sash before carrying her back over to the desk.
"I'm almost done," he promised.
He added a final paragraph after reading the whole thing through again and then handed the tied scroll to Hedwig. Her talons closed tightly around the message.
"Now," said Harry seriously. "I want you to drop the message the first sign of any trouble, okay? You are to deliver the message to Mrs Deepwater in Kensington. She's the courier for today that will get this to Miss Alice for us. Don't leave the message with anyone but her."
Hedwig looked at him quite indignantly that he should feel the need to remind her of that.
"Keep safe," he whispered as he carried her over to the window.