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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 95: For The Greater Good
Black Manor, Order of the Phoenix meeting.
Severus Snape had just entered the house when he heard a commotion taking place in the hall.
"We can't do that! I will not have it. This is madness!" McGonagall screamed.
"Surely, there is something else we can do," Hestia added. "This seems very extreme."
"I can't believe you are even considering doing something like that…" Hagrid frowned.
"We know how this sounds, and we wouldn't be considering it if there was another choice." Tonks huffed with annoyance at their complaints. It wasn't like they wanted this either.
"Twenty thousand people, Minerva…" Moody glared at the Headmistress. "Do I have to remind you what that monster did? Twenty thousand people are dead!" He slammed his fists on the table. "And who knows how many more of those monsters he has brought into our world?"
The news about the attack had been traveling fast as lightning, and not just among the magical side, but also among the Muggle. This time it was not a small village, but a city of thousands.
The Muggle Minister and the rest of the government were desperate to find out what had occurred, and their magical Minister was still locked in his house, refusing to leave, not even to attend the Wizengamot meetings.
The country was slowly falling apart, and its citizens were terrified.
"I am aware of how desperate the situation is…" McGonagall said. "And you think bringing back that monster to life will make it better?"
"One monster to fight another one," Sirius commented. "Isn't that the idea?"
At that moment, Snape entered the room and looked around.
"Severus." McGonagall turned to look at him. "Did you…"
"I heard everything," he responded. "Is this really the only way? What about aid from the outside?"
Shacklebolt shook his head. "I spoke with some mandataries of the I.C.W., and they promised to review our situation. But that could take months."
"And how are our own forces looking?" Mundungus asked. "Surely the Auror Department has more people that we have yet to see in action."
"We lost many agents during the previous war. And since then, the Department's budget has been progressively cut for the past decade, so we have fewer forces than we used to. You can thank Lucius Malfoy for that one," Moody explained.
"Also, the Minister of Magic has gone crazy and taken half our forces to serve as his private bodyguards. So we barely have enough to protect the most important areas," Shacklebolt said. "We don't have enough people to plan an offensive that has any chance of victory."
"I understand the situation is dire," Arthur Weasley spoke next. "But reviving You-Know-Who just feels wrong… what would happen after the war is over? That man will not agree to live in peace."
"When the war is over?" Moody huffed. "We would need a miracle this time, so I'm not really planning that far ahead."
"Surely we can hold them off with what we have," Molly Weasley said. "We just need to resist until international aid arrives. Then they will take care of…"
"A few months? We will all be dead by then," Moody answered.
Shacklebolt sighed. "This was supposed to be our last resort, but the truth is that without Dumbledore's help, we have no one left to face that monster directly. Even if we could take care of those demons somehow, Harry Pott—"
"Don't say that name!" Sirius shouted, clenching his fists with so much force that blood began to pour out. "We agreed to never use that name again. That 'thing' is not my godson. Let his name rest in peace at least."
"Right, sorry." Shacklebolt sighed. "The Demon Lord is on another level, even if we only take his magical skills alone. We need someone who can match him properly. And we cannot bring Dumbledore back to life, so…"
McGonagall glanced at Snape. "What do you say, Severus? You know that man better than any of us. Do you think he would cooperate with this plan?"
"You are asking me if you can trust him as an ally? Because the answer is obvious," Snape responded.
"Perhaps not an ally. But right now, we have a common enemy," Tonks said.
Snape took a moment. "I'm sure he will want to get his revenge on the Demon Lord. That is the only thing that you can trust."
"That will have to serve," Moody said.
"Do you even know what kind of magic will be required to… you know…" McGonagall couldn't bring herself to even say it.
"Dark magic, that's for sure," Mundungus commented.
"I do have some ideas," Moody said.
"That won't be necessary," Snape added. "The person who brought him back the last time is still with us."
"Wormtail." Sirius spat the name with disgust.
"The ritual he used the last time was passed down by the Dark Lord in person. There is no reason to believe that it would not work again."
"Can you set up a meeting with him?" Moody requested.
Snape nodded. "I will do that."
"Not just Wormtail," Hestia said. "We will need to speak with the rest of the members as well."
They all looked at her.
"She is right," Tonks realized. "If we are going to make this alliance, everyone needs to be on board. We cannot be constantly watching our backs while we fight the Demon Lord."
"Perhaps it would be easier if we only speak with a couple of them first," McGonagall proposed. "If we can reason with one or two, they can then help us make the rest understand the benefits of working together."
"So, you are on board with this?" Moody asked.
The Headmistress let out a breath. "It's for the greater good, isn't it?"
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