JKR owns Harry Potter, not us. All we own is Heinzl, his followers and the plot.
AN: The first post Christmas update. Ten chapters since last Christmas however, so the story is going well. The rest of it has been plotted out but most of it is being rewritten. The chapter title is a play on a line from Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones.
Chapter Seventeen
Begun, the Muggle-born War Has
Dumbledore put down the newspaper he was reading. It bore the same headline as the one just shown to the Muggle-borns.
"I warned them," he said to himself. He pondered on things for a moment before sending a message via his Patronus. Half-an-hour later, McGonagall arrived followed by the rest of the teachers, then the prefects and then the Head Boy and Girl. Amelia Bones then popped out of the floo followed by Harold Reekon, head of the Board of Governors.
"People - I have called you all here for a very important reason," Dumbledore began, "Current events have meant the shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. The Muggle-born War has begun."
There were many gasps and stunned looks among the people there. Reekon turned to Dumbledore.
"In the current field of events, I think it is inappropriate for Muggle-borns to be Prefects, Dumbledore," Reekon said. "The Governors have decided - you can't do anything about it."
Dumbledore walked over to Hermione. "I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but my hands are tied."
Reluctantly, Hermione removed her Prefect badge and handed it over to Dumbledore. Before anyone else could do anything, Harry removed both his Prefect and Quidditch Captain badge and handed them over.
"I will not let anyone dishonour the future Lady Potter with anti-Muggle-born slurs and if she cannot remain a Prefect, then neither do I," Harry said. Both McGonagall and Dumbledore were stunned.
"Then you can get out of this meeting, Potter," Mr. Reekon said.
"No, you do not need to leave, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. I wish for you to remain here." Turning to the others, Dumbledore explained, "Both Harry and Hermione are the unofficial student leaders of Gryffindor. All the students in the house respect them and will listen to them."
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There was lots of shouting in the courtroom. Lord Reekon (the one who helped break the Malfoys out of jail, brother of the school Governor Harold Reekon) was standing in the middle of the room holding up a piece of parchment.
"This is an official declaration of war by the Muggle-borns!" he shouted, "We need to act now before they can gather their forces and begin to fight their rightful masters!"
"But what can we do?" one person asked, "That Heinzl Tower is sealed and no one can get in - not even Dumbledore!"
Another person stood up. "What about the Mudblood students of the future?"
"We will force our way into the Hogwarts Hall of Records and find out the names and addresses from the magical scroll! We will then go to the Mudblood's homes and arrest them and lock them up in Azkaban! We will also find every Mudblood in England and arrest them!" Lord Reekon shouted. There were many cheers of support.
"What will we do about Mudblood vaults in Gringotts? The goblins won't turn them over to us!" someone shouted.
"We will take the Muggle-borns to Gringotts and order them to transfer their money into a pre-established vault before their transfer to Azkaban!"
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Amelia Bones had just returned to her office when one of her aides burst into the office.
"Minister, Lord Reekon has called an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot to deal with the Muggle-borns," he said.
"He can't do that," she replied.
"Actually, he can, considering I heard one of the topics on discussion is a vote of no confidence in your leadership!"
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"Final item on the agenda - I move for a vote of no-confidence in Minister Bones' leadership, especially with regards to the Muggle-borns," Lord Reekon announced.
"I second the motion," one person shouted just as Madam Bones entered the room.
"I third the motion," another person said.
"So be it," Lord Reekon answered, noticing Madam Bones in the room, "Amelia Susan Bones - you are hereby stripped of the title of Minister of Magic. You will be allowed to retain your family seat in this court."
"I nominate Lord Reekon to be the next Minister of Magic," one person declared. The motion was seconded. Most of the Wizengamot cheered in support. Someone else stood up.
"Lord Reekon is now named Minister of Magic," she said as Lord Reekon was sworn in.
"Thank you for your support. My first act as Minister is to grand pardons to Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy for their crimes against Muggle-borns. Draco Malfoy will be permitted to reattend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My second act is to introduce the Muggle-born Registration and Seclusion Act, proposed years ago by Delores Umbridge."
There were many cheers of support for this piece of news. "All Muggle-borns will be required to attend hearings here at the Ministry, and then they will be taken to a place of seclusion where they cannot soil our world anymore. They will be forced to wear a magical suppression collar and breeding will be forbidden.
"I am ordering that Heinzl is placed on a `Kill-on-Sight' list. A bounty of 5 million galleons will be placed on his head along with the Order of Merlin, First Class."
"What about those who have Muggle-born parentage?" someone asked.
"If one of their parents is a pureblood, then they will be left alone. It is not their fault they have a Mudblood parent."
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"Things are getting bad now, Minerva," Dumbledore said to his Deputy in his office, "Lord Reekon knew what he was doing by disposing me as Head Warlock. The Muggle-borns are doomed."
"Isn't there something that we can do, Albus?" McGonagall asked.
"Nothing. Anyone caught issuing illegal Portkeys to help the Muggle-borns escape will face heavy fines and possibly time in Azkaban. The Floo network is being monitored so there is no help that way."
"So we're going to just sit by and wait for the Aurors to come and arrest all our Muggle-born students?"
"It looks that way. I know Hermione Granger will be safe - if I know Harry, then he will propose to her sooner rather than later and being the wife-to-be of the heir of a major pureblood family, he will be able to protect her."
"But what about the others?" McGonagall asked.
"It is a good job Fred and George Weasley are members of Heinzl's house. They have a good knowledge of Hogwarts secret passages, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were planning something."
Dumbledore walked over to the cabinet which housed his Pensieve. He brought his wand to the tip of his head and drew threads from it, placing them in vials. McGonagall looked around - there were signs of packing in the room, with books and stuff in boxes.
"What's going on, Albus?" she asked.
"Minerva, how long have you known me?" he asked.
"Sixty years. We may have had our differences but our friendship has never suffered. I was surprised when you picked me to be your deputy over everyone else, especially Horace Slughorn."
"Have you known me ever to lose a fight?" Dumbledore asked.
"Never, not even when You-Know-Who was at the height of his powers. He would always leave. Where are you going with this?"
"You know I took on Mr. Potter and Miss. Granger as apprentices during the summer?" McGonagall nodded. "It only took four weeks to teach them everything I know, and as far as I can tell, their power is equal to my own. They were actually able to merge their powers and stun me which no one's been able to do to me since my early days at Hogwarts."
McGonagall was impressed at this news. Dumbledore continued. "I trust you to keep this secret, we can't have this information coming out, especially what I'm about to tell you. "
I don't have to be a Seer to know that I won't survive this war."
"Don't talk like that, Albus," McGonagall replied.
"I consider Harry and Hermione the grandchildren I never had. Aside from leaving half my family fortune to Hogwarts and a few personal bequests, I plan to leave everything I own to them."
"What about Alberforth?" McGonagall asked, referring to Dumbledore's brother.
"He's not wanted anything to do with the family since Ariana died," the headmaster replied, with sadness in his voice. He never forgave himself after his sister died during a confrontation with his brother and former friend and enemy Grindelwald. After a few moments reflecting on things, Dumbledore took more memories from his head, storing them in vials.
"What are those memories, Albus?" McGonagall asked.
"Memories of James and Lily at Hogwarts. I made the mistake of getting people to take vows not to tell Harry about them when he came to school. I felt that it would drive him unstable. I did authorise a few details though but looking back, I think the wrong decision was made. According to Hagrid, when he collected Harry from the Dursleys from the first time, Harry revealed that Vernon and Petunia told him that James and Lily died in a car crash and they kept drumming it into him that they were drunks who kept claiming money from the Muggle taxpayers."
"You should not have done that, Albus. Harry has the right to know about his parents. The photo album you had Hagrid prepare for him doesn't say much at all."
"I know - that is why I'm preparing these memories. Maybe you could arrange some memories for the Pensieve - I'm sure there are a few which would raise a few laughs. I'm going to ask Filius, Pomona and Poppy to prepare a few and I think I might be able to convince Horace to send a few.
"I know I will die and when that happens, you must be prepared to take on the Headmistress duties. You will need to protect the Purebloods and Muggle-borns from each other. Can I rely on you to do this?"
McGonagall reluctantly nodded.
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During this time, there was a meeting of the half-bloods in an unused classroom. In all the concern for the Purebloods and Muggle-borns, no one had stopped to think about the people with mixed parentage.
"I vote that we remain neutral in this war," their official spokesperson, Lisa Shaw, said. "No one cares what we think or of what will happen to us because we have mixed parentage. We will not fight unless we are attacked first and we will not interfere with anything unless there is a medical emergency - are we agreed with this?"
Everyone agreed. "That is settled then, I will inform Professor Dumbledore of this decision tomorrow morning during breakfast."
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Lisa Shaw went to the Head table in the Great Hall the following morning to inform Dumbledore of their choice.
"Very well, Miss Shaw," Dumbledore answered, "I respect your choice and you have my word that you will be left out of this as much as possible."
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Hermione turned a corner later that day to find Slytherin student Theodore Nott standing in her way.
"Well, well, well," he said, "a Mudblood, not just any Mudblood, but Potter's Mudblood whore. I will be well rewarded from Potter's own finances when it is all confiscated when he retaliates!" he said.
"Get stuffed," Hermione said.
Nott raised his wand and cast Incendio. Serenity Furlong walked into the corridor just as he cast the spell. Knowing what it would do, she ran and pushed Hermione out of the way. There was no time for her to move out of the way before the curse hit her. The young girl screamed as Nott held the curse upon her.
"That's what you get for protecting a Mudblood, you traitor!" he said as he watched the young girl burn.
The curse suddenly broke as Nott fell to the floor, stunned. Harry, looking mad enough to kill, walked over to Hermione, who was watching things, in shock. In his rush to stop the violence, he'd forgotten to take his wand out for appearance's sake - an oversight he immediately corrected.
"Come on, Mine - we need to help her." He waved his wand and his Patronus was dispatched. More spells were cast and the girl was encased in ice. Minutes later, Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall appeared at the scene. They looked at her as Harry explained what happened.
"You did the right thing by encasing her in ice - it looks serious." The Matron said as the young girl was levitated to the hospital wing.
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Half an hour later, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Harry and Hermione were watching as Madam Pomfrey and several Healers from St. Mungo's tried to heal Serenity's wounds.
"There's nothing we can do," Madam Pomfrey sadly said. "The curse was held on her for too long. The student knew what he was doing. I'm afraid Serenity Furlong is dead."
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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Annabeth Furlong screamed. Harry and Hermione had taken her and Arwen into an empty classroom where they told them about their sister's death. Both girls started crying and flung into each other's arms. Harry and Hermione put a comforting arm around them.
"She saved me. Nott punished her for it - I owe your family a life debt," Hermione said.
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Mr. and Mrs. Furlong came to the school the next day to claim their youngest daughter's body. Students were watching them - they had heard so much about them. Mr. Furlong was walking with a slight limp - he walked with the aid of a stick. There were also a few scars on his face. Mrs. Furlong was very different. Beauty radiated from her - but what amazed the students the most was their apparent age. Annabeth had told one of her friends that her parents were only 29 years old.
McGonagall led them to Dumbledore's office where the Headmaster and Lord Reekon were waiting for them. Theodore Nott, his father, along with Harry and Hermione were there.
"I want to know what is going on here, Professor. We were lead to believe Hogwarts was a safe school before transferring our children here when I was transferred to the British branch of Gringotts," Mr. Furlong said.
Hermione stepped forward. "It's mostly my fault, sir," she said. "Nott there aimed an incendio curse at me, hoping it would kill me, because I'm a Muggle-born. Your daughter pushed me out of the way and took the full force of the curse." Tears appeared in her eyes. "Nott kept the curse on her for a while until Harry here was able to stop him."
"And why couldn't you have done so, Miss Granger?" Mrs. Furlong asked.
"Because, the Ministry made it law that a Muggle-born striking a Pureblood for any reason can mean execution."
Mr. Furlong turned around to Dumbledore and Lord Reekon.
"So, this is the kind of school we decided to send our children to? One which punishes students for things just because of their heritage? Executing Muggle-borns for self defence? I know of this pathetic Muggle-born War and knowing you Purebloods the way I do, I hope you lose."
Lord Reekon stepped forward. "Mr. Furlong, your comments are bordering on treason."
"You can't charge me with treason, Minister. My wife and I share dual nationality, so treason charges would never stick." He turned to Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, because it seems you cannot keep your students under a tight leash where disgraces like this and other events are allowed to happen, I am withdrawing both Annabeth and Arwen and sending them back to Milan Scuola di Witchcraft. Minister, I am hoping charges of murder will be filed against Mr. Nott."
"I don't think so. Mr. Nott was exercising his legal rights as a Pureblood to attack the Mudblood. Charges will not be filed. However, due to the fact a pureblood was killed by accident, Mr. Nott's father has authorised me to make an offer of 100,000 galleons in compensation for your loss," Lord Reekon said. "It is conditional that the truth about what happens does not leave this room."
"So that is what my daughter is worth to you lot - money? I tell you this much - you can take your blood money and stuff it up your ass! My wife's father is Senior Undersecretary to the Italian Minister of Magic and I will be asking him to file a request with the International Confederation of Wizards to mount an urgent inquiry into the state of the wizarding world in this country." He turned to Dumbledore, "We will be collecting our children and leaving now."
And with that, Mr. and Mrs. Furlong stormed out of the office.
Hermione caught up with the family in the Entrance Hall.
"Mr. Furlong," she said, "Your daughter shouldn't have pushed me out of the way. She was very popular in Gryffindor and was well liked."
The two adults had no idea what to say as Hermione continued.
"I owe your family a life debt and if there is anything I can help you with, just let me know."
"Thank you, Miss Granger," Mrs. Furlong said. "We probably won't call in the debt - we don't believe in those types of things. It's been very hard on my husband. The girls are his life and Serenity was his favourite. It's just painful there won't be any punishment for this."
"It's been like this at Hogwarts for years. Slytherin students would get away with calling people like me Mudbloods and former head of Slytherin, Severus Snape, would perform professional misconduct in his job. The Malfoy family managed to bribe their way out of prison and money is frequently changes hands so laws either get changed, passed or rejected."
"Have you ever given any thought to moving somewhere else and attending some other school?" Mr. Furlong asked.
"I have, but to do so would require Ministry approval and they are gradually stripping Muggle-borns of their rights. Between the three of us, my boyfriend Harry and I are investigating the possibility of opening our own magical school after we graduate. One which will be free of prejudice."
"That sounds like a very good idea," Mr. Furlong said. "As the human manager of the Potter accounts, I know young Harry has many suitable properties. If the two of you need any help, just let us know and we'll see what help we can get you."
"Thank you, sir. The most important thing is that you get word of what is going on here to your Ministry - maybe they can help curb the madness that is going on here, otherwise this war will kill everyone."
"From what I know," Mr. Furlong said, "a few Muggle-borns are sick of how they are treated and are starting an uprising."
"Mr. Furlong, it goes further than that. They are being led by the reawakened ghost of a Muggle-born Dark Lord from the past. He's killed purebloods and stolen their magic and he almost has a fully formed body," Hermione replied. "Unless this rivalry between the Muggle-borns and the Purebloods is stopped, Heinzl will destroy everything in his path!"
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A few days later, the Muggle-borns left the tower to attend classes. They turned a corridor to find a squad of Purebloods waiting for them.
"I knew you would leave your Tower soon," Draco Malfoy said. "Now you will pay. CRUCIO!"
Three Muggleborns were hit by the curse, fired by a few of the purebloods. The Muggle-borns fired stunners and disarming spells. The Purebloods were sent back against walls. The Muggle-borns scattered.
The news was all over the school within seconds. Everywhere the staff looked, there was fighting. Curses were flying everywhere.
"STOP THIS NOW!" Hermione shouted to one group.
"Go away, Mudblood, or you'll get some of the same!" a Pureblood said.
The fighting soon spread to the Great Hall. Colin Creevey did a really stupid thing and stood on one of the house tables and took photographs. He didn't notice the killing curse being fired at him from behind, which hit him, sending him flying. Heinzl appeared and roared in anger. How dare those Bloodheads kill one of his own! He fired a few curses at the Purebloods, causing them pain.
Harry and Hermione ran into the Great Hall alongside Ginny.
"Cover me," Ginny said. "I'm Gryffindor's Heir, so I might be able to stop him." She ran towards Heinzl, firing spells at him. He waved his hand and sent Ginny flying. Harry and Hermione got their wands out and began firing curses at him. But they barely scratched him.
"We'll have to combine our powers," Hermione said. "Maybe it'll do something."
"Let's do it." Repeating what they had done to Dumbledore that summer, they fired curses at the same time, making the beams join and hit Heinzl. He flinched as he saw them. He concentrated for a moment and fed Hermione's spell back at her. She flew back with a flash of bright light. Harry ran over to her, casting a shield charm as he did so. Suddenly, Heinzl could feel Dumbledore's wand vibrating power.
"So, you were the masters of the Elder Wand?" he asked, looking at Harry and Hermione. "You were given the chance to either join me or leave us alone! You disrespected me by fighting against me and now you must die!"
He raised the Elder Wand and pointed it at the young couple.
"Lazerous!" he shouted. From the tip of the wand, a bright blue light appeared and from the wand, a beam of blue energy fired. Knowing what was going to happen to his favourite students, Dumbledore felt he had to make things up to Harry for leaving him with the Dursleys. He jumped in front of Harry and Hermione and screamed as the beam hit him. Everyone looked in shock as Dumbledore was hit by the curse, there was so much energy radiating from the spell, everyone could see his skeleton. The Headmaster of Hogwarts then fell to the ground, dead.
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