January 29, 1945
Friday Afternoon
Harry lifted his head from his desk and rubbed wearily at his eyes. He was tired, very tired, and his work had only begun. There were potentially hundreds of Grindelwald's followers still roaming the country freely, the groups of them able to carry out whatever attacks they'd care to do. It was a personal hell for Harry and those that he was supposed to look after. The Director, McMacson, there was only so much he could personally do in his position and the Head Auror himself was tied down in the training of the dozens upon dozens of new recruits that the Auror Corps had received in the past few days.
If that wasn't enough stress, the attacks were rising in ferocity and the number of those participating in them. Harry had thought like most others that once Grindelwald was slain, the real fight would be over and they'd only have a small bit of mopping up to do, but that evidently hadn't turned out to be the case. Instead, they would sit in limbo as they tried and seemingly failed to stop the marauders who persisted in tearing everything that centuries of people had worked so hard to better. It couldn't be allowed to continue and the team that Harry had put together, they would aid him in stopping those groups… the more dangerous ones, at the very least.
Harry wouldn't be able to participate himself, that much was clear, but he could join them the moment he was called - he would do just that to ensure the success of the team - and if he could, act as bait or whatever else was necessary for them to accomplish whatever total victory. Grindelwald had wanted Harry for his last name of 'Peverell' here in this time and whilst he could understand perfectly why that was, especially with him now possessing two of the three Hallows, it was useless. His own knowledge was incredibly lacklustre and even if it wasn't, he hadn't the three required items to do what Grindelwald would ask of him. Well, ask wasn't particularly likely on account of the man stealing the Peverell crest and perverting it for himself. Harry reckoned he would have been killed and his possessions stolen by Grindelwald had the confrontation not gone the way that it had.
"Deputy Director?" Harry heard, the voice belonging to a young-sounding bloke on the other side of his office's door.
"Come in," Harry answered quickly, happy for the break from his mind and the monotony of paperwork that was laid out in front of him. "Please keep the door open behind you too, this room has gotten a bit too stuffy for my liking."
The young man that entered with two other young people behind him nodded and motioned towards the third of their trio, who left the door open as Harry requested and by doing so, allowed him to see the state of frenzy the office seemed to be in. Usually, there was always a state of controlled chaos but this time around, it looked a lot less controlled than it usually did. Harry wasn't all that fond of the many problems that rose ever higher and with two fingers pinching his nose, he motioned to the person who'd entered in - an Auror Sergeant by the look of his uniform and despite his age - to speak about whatever had just happened. The young man did so immediately with only a side-eye given to the two friends he had brought with him.
"The Minister is dead, sir," the young man said, swallowing as he looked back through the door whence he'd come. "Nobody knows how it happened, not at all. They only just found his house burned to the ground and his body was confirmed inside, all ash-like. His family wasn't found, the Chief Advisor has just arrived at the Ministry and they called for more Aurors to secure the scene in the hopes of catching any details that were passed upon by the initial response."
Harry sighed and shook his head. They should have done as they wanted and posted a few Auror at the Minister's home. Sure, the man wasn't all that fond of the idea, nobody would be, but at least he would still be alive and happily retired within the next month or so. Instead, the man was killed, his family was missing and the close friends that had guarded his home… well, who knows what happened to the small group of them. They hadn't been mentioned and it wasn't a surprise why that was, they were nobody when compared to the Minister and his family, at least that's what the majority of people would think when they found out about the deaths and missing status'.
"Does the Director know?" Harry asked as he got up from his seat and reached for his jacket, his mind made up that he would personally visit the site of the murder and join the search effort. With all of the new leadership they'd gotten from across the Commonwealth, he could afford a few hours of his time spent down at the crime scene instead of stuck in his office.
The young man nodded once. "He does, sir. He was told a few minutes before you were, he told the Head Auror to scramble a group of the most trustworthy sort we have. Director McMacson directly mentioned volunteers who had fought against Grindelwald and the exclusion of those newly arrived on this search."
He doesn't trust the whole department with the hundred or so new people we've gotten. I don't blame him, we could very well have a mole or two feeding information to whoever has taken control of Grindelwald's forces.
"Is there anything else information-wise?" Harry asked again, looking at one of the two people standing behind the young Auror Sergeant, neither of them looking as if they'd like to look Harry in the eyes.
"We believe this attack was also a theft. The Minister was known to have an internal vault within his home in the basement by a select group of people, now the majority of our department, and when those at the site took a look at it, the door was open and the items stored within, were missing," the young man, now known as Joseph on account of his shirt, said. "What was inside is unknown unless we're able to find the former Minister's wife or children."
Harry hummed, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Is there any sign of them? Any initial thoughts on where they went or what happened to them?"
Joseph shook his head. "None. According to the scene's supervisor, there were no tracks leading into the surrounding woods, into the garden or anywhere else on the Minister's private land. Not only that, there was no sign of any real, true confrontation. There were a few spells fired that were likely aimed at the attackers, but they didn't last long and the positions from which they were fired seemed like they were totally destroyed with not a bit of the room or position left standing."
"Doesn't that sound like there was more than one death then? The Minister's friends, they tried to put up a fight but got overwhelmed since he didn't want any Auror support - that's what that sounds like to me, what about you, Sergeant? Were you personally at the home or did you hear this directly from the Supervisor?" Harry moved past them after he asked this question, a nod given for the trio to follow him as he moved towards the gathering group of Aurors near the far floo entrances.
"I managed a quick visit to the property, sir, but I didn't get a full accounting, only a brief summary from the supervisor. It looked to be mostly burned down with some level of structural security thanks to quick-acting Aurors, I can get the names for you, if you'd like," Joseph then cleared the area ahead of Harry so that he could make it to the Floo without any issues presented by the many people gathered around; all in all, it looked like Director McMacson had summoned roughly twenty more Aurors to continue the search and investigation.
Harry didn't wait, linger or anything of that likeness, he simply went through the Floo and once he was at the destination, he apparated the last of the distance to the Minister's home. He needed to find a clue of any kind if they were to figure out how specifically had killed the Minister and where the man's family was.
When he arrived at the location, he noticed right away that a majority of the structure was indeed lost to the fire that had rampaged freely. Much of the stone and bricks still stood thanks to hastily made supports, but it was clear they would soon fall over lest something was done to stop that from happening. Harry didn't particularly care about the building though, the only thing that mattered to him was its continued existence in its current state so that any evidence could be gathered. Once that was finished, it could be left to rot in the middle of the woods so long as the department didn't need it.
And here I was thinking I'd have that gathering with all of my mates and Elaine tomorrow, Harry thought as he gestured for a few people to begin clearing away the larger pieces of rubble that were previously untouched. I'm going to be dead tired, I think. Merlin knows that's never a good thing with Aster and Reinhard around.
Harry shook his head as he'd done earlier whilst at his desk and started towards the remainder of the basement access. The foundation blocks were cracked and had fallen inwards, a layer of freshly made mud was along the entirety of the path he meant to take to get fully into the deeply set under portion of the house, but that was fine… so long as it didn't cave in on him. Perhaps he'd have a few Aurors stay right nearby and maybe whilst he was down there, he'd have a shield or some form of transfigured cover above his head just to play it safe.
Once he gave those orders, dragged along a pair of more veteran-looking Aurors and had his own wand thoroughly in hand with a few spells at the ready, fresh on his mind, he began to descend the staircase. It was dark enough that one of his two Auror friends needed to cast a lumos for the sake of vision and ruined enough that they had to mind their steps, but it didn't seem as if there were any wards active. That was especially good too, as the former Minister likely had plenty of wards before the attack had overridden or destroyed them.
"Careful," One of the two men said very quickly, his hand coming up to grab Harry before he could continue and for good reason when the latter looked down. "It looks like a few people came down here during the fire, look at the burn marks their shoes left behind. Whoever it was, one of them looked pretty badly hurt."
"Thank you," Harry said to the man that had pointed that out as he crouched down for a better view of the steps. Sure enough, as he examined them, they were scorched with bits of fabric and other materials nearby, as if the person's clothing had also been on fire… it wasn't too far-fetched with how large the fire had taken place was, but it seemed unlikely that the person would have survived.
Nearly ten seconds later, the trio came across a large metal door that mirrored the vault entrance on the other side of the building, but this one wasn't meant to be as secure. It was easy to tell that just by looking at the area surrounding it. Sure, one could argue that its size alone meant whatever it protected was dear, but not quite as dear as the family's legacy and artefacts they had collected throughout the years.
"Allow me to enter first, Deputy Director," One of the older men, a man named Adriel who was from India said as he moved a half-step closer to the door with the other man right behind him. "It would not be good if you risked yourself while we are here with you, Deputy Director."
"I could handle it," Harry said with a small smile and bow of his head, one that earned him a disapproving look from the man who'd only just spoken. "But if you'd prefer that you take the first look while I hang back, fine."
Harry didn't see a point in arguing over who entered potentially to their doom first, least of all with men who were meant to be his underlings despite the ten or so years between them. Really, he should be happy they were willing to risk their lives for him, he certainly was willing to do the same for them despite the lack of any relationship between them.
"Close behind," Adriel said to the other man, one from South Africa named Marcus.
"Ready," Marcus said with one hand coming to rest on Adriel's shoulder and within seconds with minimal speaking, the two men blew aside the door and entered in with haste. The first, Adriel, had a shield up and at the ready, one that wrapped around his body and those behind him in a near-perfect circle whilst the second of the two, Marcus, had his wand aimed down at whatever greeted them upon entering.
Harry rushed in behind them, ready to fight but what he saw was enough to make him drop that arm to his side. With the two men beside him, he carefully reached out one arm to poke at the small bundle of people that was huddled under a blanket tucked into a recess in the wall. Nobody moved despite his touch and so he tried again. When that didn't work, Harry looked at the two men before he tried one last time, this time peeling back the blanket so that he could better see the people who were hidden beneath it.
Two children, one younger woman and one older woman, all seemed hurt to some degree with burn marks on their clothing and wounds to their skin. All four seemed alive, the young woman barely so and as they came to, nervous-crying and quick-speaking as all people in their positions would be, Harry vowed to personally lead the next strike on the positions of Grindelwald's remnants.
Revenge and justice had to be dished out, lest the violence continues with no repercussions.
January 30, 1945
Saturday Morning
"Welcome back, darling," Elaine said to him with a smile as she came towards him, two cups of tea in her hands. "Did my boy have another tired, draining evening? If you'd like, I could make your job far less stressful - you deserve as much, my love."
Harry shook his head but stayed where he was, finally reaching out and grabbing one of the two cups of tea that Elaine held in her hands. "Thank you, and no thanks. I love the good that I'm able to do and fixing up the department hasn't been half as bad as I thought it would be. You've probably had it worse than me with the Minister dead as he is… actually, I would have thought you'd be in the Ministry even right now. Is everything alright?"
Elaine smiled at him. It was unnerving and all but gloating with the look on her face, but when she answered, she didn't seem as if anything was out of the ordinary. "Everything's perfectly fine and going exactly as is necessary for our eventual rise. The Chief Advisor sent everybody in the Minister's office home whilst he consolidates or rather, attempts to consolidate his power. We both know it won't work, he's a weak-minded man too focused on setting up allies in every corner instead of recognising his enemies and removing them."
"What do you mean by that? Who should his enemies be?" Harry took a sip of his tea and sat down, Elaine did the same only she chose his lap as her seat of choice.
" We should be his enemies if he was half as smart as he thinks he is. You who killed the Dark Lord Grindelwald alongside I, your very soon-to-be wife. Not only should he have considered that, but the vast amounts of friends we have all throughout the political landscape, save for the light-side, though if I recall, you have a fair few friends thanks to your relations with the Potters and Goldhorns," Elaine's face looked discontent, annoyed even, for all of a second before that look was gone altogether. "We'll need you to meet and speak with them before too long if we're to count on their support, you realise that, don't you?"
I was already planning on meeting and speaking with them, I didn't need you telling me that.
"I've already begun planning a meeting with them," Harry said back to her, stopping to take a long drink of his rapidly-cooling tea before he picked up where he had left off. "I understand how important having them as friends is. I won't lose them any more than I'll lose Corene, Aster or Reinhard. Speaking of all of our 'friends' as you call them, have you heard anything about Yaxley? You all but said he was feeding you information, but I haven't heard you mention him since."
Harry waited for Elaine to reply and whilst he did so, his mind brought him to another person of interest; Walburga. She had been working with Grindelwald and turned against the man only for Harry to stop from putting her in a horrible position, but where had she gone off to? The last Harry remembered, she hadn't taken place in the battle that most Slytherins had but not only had she fled from that, she'd also not written to him since the fall of Grindelwald.
"Yaxley is immaterial, his purpose was served and his ultimate fate can be left up to your imagination unless you'd like for him to be found truly… are you telling me that you'd like it if I were to find him?" Elaine's question sounded more like a threat and her initial response was strangely cold on her behalf. She hadn't spoken to him like that since their earliest days and even then, there had been some sort of warmth and appeal that she'd wanted to work on him.
"I'd like to know what happened to him," Harry said a little more firmly this time around, his tea now set on the coffee table before them as he wrapped his arms more surely around Elaine's waist, the woman smirking down at him from her elevated seat. "Do you truly not know what happened to Yaxley? Wouldn't you want him back for all the information that he could share with us?"
"Yaxley wouldn't have learned all that much from Grindelwald in such a short amount of time despite his name. Do you think I would trust somebody whilst in a position of power if that person suddenly decided to switch sides and throw their support behind me seemingly with no real reason?" Elaine patted him on the cheek when she finished as if she didn't feel any reason to go on and her point was perfectly clear.
"No. I suppose it wouldn't make sense, but why even allow him so close in the first place?" Harry shook his head and finished dressing, the embarrassment of doing so in front of Elaine long gone, though hers still seemed somewhat present on account of her blush despite the outward confidence she would show. "I suppose he'll surface when he wants to and only if he wants to. Aster would be happy, Reinhard, I think he would be happy about it too."
"They'd both be pleased, I'm sure. Aster's greatest want is a good group of friends since his family isn't entirely accepting of him - you remember his fascination with Muggles, don't you? Of course you do, I shouldn't have asked considering how you saw his gifts from the simpleton. Aster appreciates their crafts, he's been seduced by their abilities even if he recognises their place is below us. Aster's family save for his sister won't ever accept him so long as that perversion continues and Reinhard, as close as they are, ultimately listens to me the same way that a majority of those we work with, do," Elaine moved over to him again, seemingly unpleased that he had gotten up to finish dressing. "Be ready for this evening, when our guests arrive. If you're late, there'll be some wonderful consequences."
Elaine's girlish sweet tone was more worrying than any other that she used whilst speaking with him and so in response to that, he nodded his head. It wasn't likely that he would end up running late anyhow and if he did, he could always throw another person under the bus. If that meant not having to deal with her teasing or the like for a day, possibly a week, it would be worth it.
"They're all coming?" Harry inquired at the last second, his feet already partially out of the door as he readied himself to head towards the Floo. "Every single one of them?"
As always, Elaine smiled with all of the confidence and beauty of a woman who knew everything. "Nobody would dare refuse our invitation, the same will ring true when we're married and when our first child is announced. I'm certain we could make both of the latter announcements within the next few months if you wished it."
That was the point that Harry took his leave, much to Elaine's amusement. Children could wait for a good five or ten years, at least well after they'd established a long-lasting peace with no criminals roaming the countryside as if it were the medieval ages all over again.
"What do we have, Adriel?" Harry asked the familiar man already in the waiting portion of Harry's office along with a few other of his underlings.
Adriel gave him a nod in greeting and then followed Harry, a stack of papers and the like in the hands of a few of those who trailed behind the two senior members of the department. Once the lot of them totalling seven in total were settled in Harry's office with the door close, the man spoke.
"We believe we have the location of a safe-house currently used by Grindelwald's followers, Deputy Director. With your permission, I would lead the team and capture them. How does that sound to you?" Adriel asked, a certain eagerness in his tone that Harry had seldom heard from the rather-professional man.
"Before I give you the go-ahead, why don't you give me a bit of what you've got? I see one of those papers has a high seal on it, meaning it's only for our eyes and those of the teams we've put together to counter these terrorists," Harry nodded towards a parchment held by a woman with a scar that ran from her left eye down her neck and under her blouse. "If you would, Sergeant…?"
Adriel stayed silent, only one nod given to the woman and immediately after having it given if not slightly before, she answered Harry directly. "Sergeant Levesque, Deputy Director Peverell. I'll be leading a portion of the team, should it be necessary that we split more than twice."
Harry nodded, took hold of the paper and started on it; the thing was long, but he would read it fast if they didn't want this opportunity wasted. He'd definitely skip the bits at the top that mentioned what it was when it was written and who had put it together with the level of security clearance that they had, none of that mattered to him.
' This property is believed to hold upwards of fifty followers of Grindelwald along with an incredible amount of supplies, the likes of which could sustain them for months on end with no further attacks needed. Among the supposed inventory is as follows; blood-replenishing, bone-regrowth, dreamless-sleep all of which are in the dozens on account of a raid in a lesser version of Diagon Alley previously known as New Glasgow and hence-forth referenced as a ruin thanks to the attack. Other potions of varying types and effects, like those meant to deal with severe illnesses as well as problems as they occur, were also taken.
In addition to their looted medical supplies, the property they have based themselves at is very likely heavily warded and in the confines of its dungeon, likely has many missing peoples as well as treasures valued by the magical communities of the world at large. It should be noted that Grindelwald's followers are known to take items from the places they attack in addition to captives if they're likely to ransom and if not for that purpose, ones far more sinister that need not be discussed on account of how often they come up. Caution should be taken for portkey traps, Grindelwald's notable fire ward with blue flames and inferi, the lattermost being a prominent favoured way to deal with enemies by the man believed to be leading this group - for additional information regarding the group believed to be responsible in addition to those still on the run who previously served in a leadership position, please see the bottom of the page.
Schematics were retrieved by the appropriate department via one high-ranking official so as to avoid spooking any members currently compromised. Those schematics will be shared one hour before the launch of the operation and one curse-breaker from Gringotts will be assigned to the team. The responsibility for their safety will fall on the highest-ranking member present. Usual precautions should be taken in addition to further ones, such as keeping a greater distance between Aurors and the usage of high-powered shield charms whenever possible; no contacts should be considered neutral or civilian so long as they're able to freely move about, this order is given by Director McMacson and cannot be questioned…..'
Harry blinked a few times, shook his head, and moved to the portion that meant a lot to him; the information regarding the group and those believed to be in it as well as the notable followers of Grindelwald still in his country. None of them could compare in strength or wickedness, Harry was sure about that, but he wasn't so foolish so as to be caught with his pants down. He was certain the group waiting for him wouldn't mind waiting another five minutes, a few of them… a few of them could likely have today as their last day on this planet.
Knock knock knock sounded at the door to Harry's office, all but Adriel turned towards the source of the noise with their hands going towards their waists or their wrists shooting downwards, but the voice that followed immediately set Harry to ease. Not only that, but it also made him incredibly confused on account of the person's presence not belonging in the slightest.
"Harry, mate?" Called the voice of Aster, his voice far quieter when he continued speaking. "Are you sure this is the right door? I know Elaine said it was, but he could've moved, right? Reckon it's possible, it looks a bit too unlike him with all of this decor and how good everything goes together."
"Cover the documents, I'll be a minute if they were sent by one of the former Minister's advisors - we'll need to get whatever we can from those witnesses before we go too, Adriel, that'll be your responsibility. We can't go in blind, not if they saw them fight and saw how they reacted to contact," Harry said, the aforementioned man nodding immediately as he moved towards Harry's floo for a quick trip on down to Saint Mungo's whilst Harry opened the door.
"Hi Pev!" Aster said, the young man clad in full Auror robes complete with the new, modern ranks.
Reinhard was beside him, the larger and more recently scarred boy wearing the same cloaks that Harry had seen on the ground when the best Aurors had found the best of Grindelwald's forces. Nearly none of them had survived, the department hadn't been restarted, yet here the larger boy was wearing that very uniform. Nothing reeked like Elaine's meddling more than this did, not in quite some time.
"Good to see you doing well, Harry," Reinhard greeted, his voice and demeanour far more professional. "Were we interrupting something in particular? Elaine said now would very likely be the perfect time to help you, she mentioned you considered hiring us and figured she could push an order through in the chaos of everything."
That sounds just like her… the question is, who gave me up and if it was only one person, Harry briefly considered who was feeding Elaine information before he gave up on such a mental query. It doesn't matter who it is or how many of them there are, it's not like I'm hiding anything. That doesn't mean I won't be having words with her later though, she'll have to stop her meddling if she wants people to trust me, or else they'll think I'm nothing but her puppet, just like all of the others.
"Sergeants? Both of you are already Sergeants?" Harry asked when he looked at their shoulders and recognised the modified Muggle ranks that proudly had been sewn on. "She must have brushed shoulders with quite the person to get that done. It's curious, really. Are you certain you know what you're here for? What we'll be doing? It could very well be more dangerous than the fight we had gotten into, you guys understand that, right?"
Reinhard grinned at the last question and he responded before Aster could, his closed knuckles making a series of cracking noises as he flexed them whilst speaking. "We know exactly why we're here, Elaine was certain to make mention of it. We'll be doing what I love, you need people like me on this particular task too."
"People like you? What about me?" Aster asked, pointing to his own rank. "She trusted us both to get this accomplished. And yes, we know what the people did that we'll soon be fighting, Pev. Who else will do anything about it if not us, you and this newfound group of people at your back? It won't be the Minister, not anym-"
"Don't joke about it. He was shite at his job, craven and far too old, but he was still our leader. If they kill him and get away with it, what danger do we really represent? Where's our power?" Reinhard shook his head and nodded inwards, further inside Harry's office.
The question was obvious and as such, Harry gave one nod in response as the help would be appreciated beyond belief. It was almost like he was getting the group back together, only a half of it - Ash, Joseph and Yaxley, the lot of them were far and away from the shite storm the other three would likely find themselves in.
"Here we are, you caught us just as we were about to discuss the group we're going after and the more notorious members of it," Harry said as the two boys grabbed their seats alongside the more senior members already inside the room. "Please do keep your comments until after I've finished, we need to make a plan and do so quickly, we can't risk our knowledge of their whereabouts getting out even if that means we've got to rush this along."
"Rushing is a good way to get killed," Aster said, his voice similar to Reinhard's earlier professionalism as he sat straighter in his seat, his eyes alight with curiosity and intelligence the likes of which he only showed when a battle or something even vaguely strategy-related was happening.
"It is, but it's the only plan we have. If we wait, many will die and those currently held captive will be given months longer in captivity. We can't allow that to happen, we're Aurors for a reason, we all know what that means," Harry's words inspired the others, save for Aster, for even Reinhard looked to agree with those words; the boy loved his scraps and Harry figured he planned to go out fighting regardless of who it was against or what the current cause was. The thought was a sad one, for Harry would wager there was something else in Reinhard that didn't thirst for violence as much as he outwardly did.
"Before you begin, Deputy Director, may I ask who amongst the group will be taking operational control now that there's a myriad of Sergeants in this team? Will Senior Sergeant Adriel still be leading this first raid?" It was the woman, Sergeant Levesque, that asked this question and a few of the others regardless of their rank leaned forward, their eyes showing exactly how they felt about the two newest members of their little leadership team.
"Senior Sergeant Adriel… I'll make him a Brevet Lieutenant and you, Sergeant Levesque, I'll put you into a Brevet Senior Sergeant position to ensure the command stays the same - if we're taking the Muggle way of doing things for our organisation this should work fine. Now please, let's get to reading about what we're fighting, we've got less than forty minutes or so before we launch," Harry said that with a certain degree of finality and when nobody spoke up or raised a hand, he let loose what remained of his breath before pulling in a new one and starting on his reading aloud. "This is at the bottom of the page and put together by a myriad of contacts, witness reports and testimonies by those of Grindelwald's cause that were very evidently far less enthralled with it, so do take everything mentioned with a grain of salt and don't overthink specific counters."
A series of nods and other affirmative-assuring reactions were given and thus, Harry finally got around to reading about the force he would soon be leading the attack against. The longer he did so, the more likely it was that he reckoned he and his two mates wouldn't be home in time for supper.
"Group designation 3A dash GR; of the fifty or near enough number believed to be within this specific cell, nearly seventy-five per cent are believed to be typical, front-line followers of Grindelwald's ideals and as such, maintained a low enough profile that they need nought be specifically mentioned save for the fact that they are fighting for a dead Dark Lord. Expect the usual spells, offensive and accursed, as you have previously seen and read about," Harry said, swallowing as he got down to the eleven names that were specifically mentioned alongside the information the Aurors and Ministry had on them; it was brutal. "Allegedly leading this group is a man known by the nickname of 'The Butcher of Alsace' and is responsible alongside Grindelwald specifically for a massacre of numerous French magical communities in the contested territories of Alsace-Lorraine. The others of note share his depravities, perversions and love for massacring the innocent and as such, should be dealt with in the same way they treat others; no quarter. Only those of whom you don't recognise based on these descriptions will be allowed to surrender or be taken prisoner in the first place. I'll pass this paper around, but once you've seen it, there will be no leaving this room regardless of your reasoning."
With those words spoken and a series of nods once more given, Harry did as he said he would and started with the newly made Senior Sergeant, Levesque. The woman was heavily scarred from what had to be fierce fighting, battle-tested beyond comprehension or comparison and especially angry-looking when he mentioned who they would be going up against in their first true raid against a large force of Grindelwald's forces. This group was the second largest in the whole country supposedly and her last name… he reckoned there was a score to settle.
"Good luck, I'll see you guys at my place tonight - don't do anything stupid," Harry said, shaking the hands of Aster and Reinhard as he peeled off with his team of four that he'd taken with him at the behest of the rest of the leadership team; his role was simple and safe, something they all had forced on account of his position and celebrity status.
"You know me, I'm never doing anything stupid. My sister wouldn't let me get away with it and I'll be damned if I make the rest of my family happy!" Aster said with a smile on his face and with a chipperness that he hadn't had when he'd led Elaine's group from behind. "I'll see you tonight, both of you, and we'll drink a toast to our first victory against the remnants of the Dark Lord's goons. They're only good against those unable to protect themselves, we've all seen it, just don't be dumb and keep an eye out."
Reinhard huffed at both of the other two boys. "I'll do what I do best which is the very reason Elaine saw fit to send me here. All you two need to do is stay away from the entry teams and everything will go fine. Pev, I'll personally bring one of the worst ones out to you and Aster, don't try to be a hero. It's not worth it, believe me, I've seen how well you can fight."
Aster huffed, playfully offended despite the raid that would take place within the next five minutes. Everybody seemed confident, playful, and eager and a few of them were very angry. None more so than Sergeant Levesque and of them, even they had no sense of nervousness or danger in addition to those looks of anger. Harry was certain that meant all of them, Aster and Reinhard included, were beyond ready for the fight that would soon be upon them and if that were the case, if they were truly unworried, he'd picked potentially the best team possible after the decimation of the Auror corps.
"We're ready, Deputy Director," Adriel said, the man being the only one to remain the epitome of seriousness and professionalism. "Everybody is in position and prepared as well as they can be for a fight of this difficulty. We await your order to start the raid."
Harry looked at the man for a few seconds, then he looked at those who would be nought more than his glorified bodyguards and finally, he looked at the men and women who were dispersing into the woods that surrounded the rundown Muggle building that acted as a hideaway for Grindelwald's followers. He loved the irony of it, that being that they had to hide in a Muggle ruin and Merlin, he would definitely be using that against whoever it was that survived.
His thoughts turned darker after that train of thought, for with the look around that he took, he realised the odds were very high that quite a few of those he'd gathered wouldn't survive. It wasn't any different to the fight at Hogwarts, it was probably better with everybody here being adults, able to give consent in such a way that it truly mattered in comparison to schoolkids whipped by Elaine. Still, he didn't like the thought of them dying for this, not when he and Elaine could likely do it in a way that would be far more violent, but far less costly; in the end, he supposed he finally understood that he really wasn't cut out for such a high position.
He was a boy still in his teens with a childhood that didn't remotely fit that of the average person. Not only had he been fighting since before he could remember in more ways than one, he has been winning those without any losses time and time again until he'd been sent to this era by Mortem, the being who even now was likely watching him, as untrustworthy as she was.
"Deputy Director?" Adriel tried again, the older man looking at him with a tinge of something unreadable, perhaps worry or disappointment, as if he thought Harry was about to cower and leave the fight, perhaps even call the raid off altogether.
"Go," Harry said firmly, back in as good of a state of mind as he'd been since the siege had started and just like that, everybody was off, save for the small group left to guard him. They insisted and he in turn had insisted they took up a position along the best path away from the hideout.
If anybody managed to flee his many teams entering the building, they wouldn't get far and should everything go balls up, Harry would charge in with the small number of people he still had with him in reserve. There was no way he'd allow anybody inside to die just out of worry for his safety, least of all while he knew he had some higher power keeping him here to curtail Elaine.
I'm untouchable. I have to be if she's kept me here. Grindelwald couldn't kill me, Elaine's fallen in love with me. Everything is manageable, it's all salvageable.
"We should go, we're fifty feet away from our objective and the brush is heavy - Merlin only knows if there's traps that we missed when he took a quick peek around the property line," Said one of the people left with him, a young man that seemed nervous despite his commendable service record, well, schooling record.
"Let's get a move on then, the fight's already underway," Harry said, bitterness edging into his tone as shouts, streaks of lights and the first of what would likely be many explosions sounded off from the direction of the ailing Muggle building. "We may very well have to get involved if our intelligence was wrong or something ends up going horribly for our friends. You're all ready for that, aren't you?"
Harry looked around at the four people near him. All of them were young save for one and that person who wasn't near their age had a serious injury, serious enough that they had lost three fingers on their right hand and a chunk of their arm so that it was left scarred and bumpy, whatever means they'd used to heal it hadn't worked as intended.
"We have you," one of the other younger Aurors said. "You killed Grindelwald with your wife and even if she's not here, you have us. We're all here for a reason, our history and abilities are beyond that of our peers. There isn't any other reason we'd be wearing these robes, covered in wards and protections as they are."
"You're exactly right," Harry said to the braver of the four that spoke up, another of the younger ones and this time, one of the two women of the group that he had picked.
Harry had wanted to say more, but a particularly loud explosion along with a huge puff of red mist stopped their conversation as all of their heads swivelled to track what had just happened. It hadn't been good for whoever had been on the receiving end but the question was just that; who had been on the receiving end? Had it been his Aurors - he still couldn't believe he could call them his - or had it been those they had gone in to kill?
The answer to his question, thankfully, wouldn't take all that long to answer before he saw two figures, one of them heavily injured, fleeing towards the outer boundaries of the overgrown field they found themselves in. Neither wore Auror uniforms and neither fit regulations of grooming or personal care.
"You three, go handle them. Senior Auror Coopler, you'll take Arianna and Wivkers," Harry ordered the older man amongst their group, the two teens that he picked being the quiet girl and the nervous boy. "I'll trust your judgement on how to handle them, but whatever you decide, make sure it's clean. We're not like them, we never will be."
"As you command. Arianna, Wivkers, we're going to go have some revenge," Like that, Coopler and the other two were off whilst Harry remained behind with the bold girl that had spoken earlier. He remembered her being the best of the four according to records and accountings, but he hadn't seen her fight and so long as everything went well, he wouldn't see her fight today.
"Will they be alright?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the sporadic sounds of battle that seemed louder and louder despite the same rate of spellfire being exchanged.
Harry nodded, confident in the trio he'd sent out while his eyes remained on the door. "I should think s-"
Another explosion cut him off mid-sentence, the explosion far louder and far larger than any the Aurors would be authorised to use this close to Muggle habitats - the Muggle camp-site was only a few football field lengths away. All of the charms to stop sound in the world wouldn't stop the earth from shaking or some large fire from spreading outside of their boundaries.
"We're going," Harry said, his mind rapidly made up and his wand, his true wand, in his hand for the first time; Elaine had insisted and whilst he still carried both on his person, he would do as she bid so long as it kept her saner and less juvenile in her actions, especially her feelings towards him. The last thing they needed this evening was her jumping him before all of their guests.
"We're supposed to stay, sir. The Lieutenant, he said you needed to stay here so that you're safe, we can't risk you," the bolder girl said, her tone firm, yet with a hint of shakiness as her resolve crashed against her urge to obey the order of a higher-up.
He turned towards her, a smile on his face even as he slowly edged towards the treeline. "You can stay here if you need to, I won't be upset or mad at you, but our fellow Aurors are definitely going to be needing all the help they can get after that. If that's not enough, think about what could happen if this fight goes on too long and curious Muggles start moving around, especially if there's a fire. This needs to end quicker than it currently is and we need to help whoever we can."
"I don't know much healing magic, the potions were all on Wivkers too. We should go get the others, then return as a full team. It'd make us stronger and take more attention towards us if the others really are in trouble," the girl said, her name still lost on him and really, her reasoning wasn't all that bad even if his sense of urgency truly was building.
It felt like the Battle for Hogwarts had, only on a far smaller scale with deadlier opponents both on his side and against him.
"We'll do that then. Now, come on, we need to move quickly," Harry said, grabbing the girl's hand firmly as he moved them through the edge of the trees, just keeping their concealment as they moved towards the last known position of the trio he'd sent out.
They grew closer and closer, the battle still continuing on if only with fewer casters audibly engaged. Eventually, maybe all of thirty seconds later even if it truly did feel like half an hour, they saw three figures standing where Harry had pointed; two of them were fighting against the other, and the two were those he had sent his trio after.
Wivkers was on the ground, unmoving and Arianna was nowhere to be seen.