The Contingency Plans and the Careful Negotiations
Hermione ignored the shocked looks from her side of the room. So far, she hadn’t seen any indication that Bletchley was lying.
Besides, if he gave them any contrived information, they could at least know what the Slytherins wanted them to believe.
She decided to continue in the vein of arbitration.
“I appreciate the weight of this gesture,” she said formally. “We will consider any information you can provide.”
She leaned back against a desk, nonverbally giving Bletchley more control of the room. Hopefully he’d interpret the body language as a sign of deference.
Bletchley glanced over his shoulder briefly as if to call one of his comrades forward but seemed to change his mind.
“Alright, so … obviously, we don’t know every one of his plans. But we know a few, and more importantly, we know the order he intends to carry them out.
“His long-term goals are to take over Hogwarts and the Ministry and mould them into what HE wants. He wants certain kinds of Dark Magic to be legalised, he wants to reorder the Wizengamot, and he wants to make it illegal for Muggle-borns to be schooled at Hogwarts.
“Eventually he wants to eliminate blood-traitors and either wipe out or exile all Muggle-borns. He also wants to put the Muggle world on edge; not necessarily make them aware of our presence but make them afraid. That’s how he means to control Britain, at least, before he expands outwards.
“But he can’t get started on any of that, not until he expands his followers. Since so many died or abandoned him after the first war, he can’t do much else ‘til he grows the Death Eater numbers. That’s why he was so quick to get the loyalists out of Azkaban.”
Hermione understood the implication.
“He means to target you – the Slytherin families – to recruit you before he comes after the rest of us. Is that why you’re here, then? You believe yourselves to be at more immediate risk than us?”
Bletchley and a few other Slytherins nodded with bleak expressions.
“My father as good as told me I’ll be granted the honour of the Dark Mark this summer,” Nott said softly. “I barely managed to convince him that I should wait ‘til I’m seventeen, as I’ll be more useful once I can use magic outside school.”
Harry noticed Malfoy scratching at his bare left arm with a bit of a shiver.
He exchanged a look with Hermione. This unprecedented situation seemed almost too good to be true. Neither of them liked thinking it, but it hadn’t exactly escaped their notice that if war broke out, they might just end up facing their old classmates on a battlefield.
“Then, you want to avoid being recruited … but how do you plan to avoid it?” Hermione wondered aloud. “I presume not all of your parents will acquiesce–”
“We expect they won’t,” Bletchley answered dully. “Most of them are stuck, which is why we Grey Wizards are developing plans without our parents’ knowledge. Depends on the family. Bottom line, we all want to get to safety, away from the Death Eaters.
“But there’s a limit to what we can accomplish alone. A few of us can just leave the country before things get out of hand. But anyone underage can’t use magic outside school, so Snape’s been helping us make other plans. There’s a few–” Bletchley looked pointedly at Crabbe and Goyle “–who need extra academic support, so they’ll return to Hogwarts over the summer under a tutelage programme Snape’s gonna head up. He’s already got McGonagall on board with that. We know it’s safe here since the Dark Lord isn’t going after Hogwarts ‘til he grows his numbers.
“For the rest of us who don’t have an excuse to leave the country or to stay at Hogwarts … we’ve talked about setting up a safehouse somewhere. But as you know, Defence isn’t exactly our forte.”
“You’re hoping WE can help you with a safehouse, then?” Hermione guessed.
“That’s the first part,” Bletchley answered. “We know Dumbledore’s Order people are best at setting up safehouses ‘cause in the last war the Dark Lord never managed to find them all. We’d like you to appeal to Dumbledore on our behalf to help us set up a safehouse away from Hogwarts. We’d consider it a favour – not an offer to join, exactly, but we’ll swear to not raise wands against the Order if they help keep us safe.”
Ron wrinkled his nose slightly but exchanged a look with Harry. Some of the Order – like Dumbledore and Lupin – would take the Slytherins at their word, but the rest might not be convinced. Would they demand a formal vow of sorts? A Fidelius Charm? They would likely want a way to know the Slytherins couldn’t betray them.
Hermione seemed to agree to err on the side of caution; she said, “Everything you’ve explained thus far makes sense, but this wouldn’t be the first time someone used cunning to trick us. You can appreciate that we aren’t prepared to take any sort of action until we have some guarantee from you that this isn’t a trap. None of us can deny the natural distrust between our houses, and the information you’ve shared only goes so far.”
Katie, Seamus, and Ron nodded their firm agreements.
Bletchley ran a hand through his hair. “Well, that’s the reason we’re appealing to you Gryffindors – because of our house rivalry. We thought of appealing to the Claws or Puffs before you, but we came to you first – even before talking to Dumbledore – so you’d know that we’re absolutely serious. We wouldn’t play this as a game.”
“Well, we never did anticipate Slytherins approaching us for any kind of assistance,” Alicia said reasonably. “You’ve made a good show of faith, but it’s not exactly proof.”
“But right now, all we’re asking is for you lot to talk to Dumbledore on our behalf,” Gertrude Rosier explained. “There’ll be ways we can prove ourselves to him, either by taking Veritaserum or swearing an Unbreakable Vow, but you probably understand why we won’t do that with other students.”
Hermione nodded. That seemed reasonable. Talking to Dumbledore wasn’t asking too much. It would probably surprise the old man immensely.
There had to be more to their plan, though. The Slytherins wouldn’t’ve spent so much time explaining things just to have them approach Dumbledore with a simple favour.
“So, do you all hope to hide in one safehouse and simply wait out the war? It could take years …”
Bletchley shrugged. “We’d like to imagine we can simply hide out and wait, but it’s not likely. For one, we don’t want to all hide in the same place, ‘cause if we’re compromised then we’re ALL dead. But setting up multiple safehouses could take time and magic we might not have.”
Hermione tilted her head questioningly and Warrington chimed in, “Snape said, ‘It’s time.’ Means he suspects the world’s about to find out the truth. Soon as that happens, the Dark Lord’ll come out of hiding and his first priority is getting new followers. We’ve got just days ‘til most of us’ll have to go back home where we’ll either be recruited or used as leverage to make our parents join up. We don’t have enough time–”
“–because setting up one safehouse in just a few days is pushing it, much less setting up multiple ones,” Hermione reasoned. “But what if Dumbledore could keep all students at Hogwarts for some extra time–?”
Malfoy cut her off with a shake of his head.
“My father was a school governor. There’re rules about all students coming and leaving on the train and they can’t be disputed; the dates can’t be changed unless all twelve governors vote on it, and it would’ve had to be decided months ago. Even if Snape sets up that summer tutoring programme, all the students have to go home first before they can come back for a ‘summer term’. So no, we can’t stay here.”
“And most of us can’t protect ourselves with magic after we leave,” Nott added. “Many of us who are most likely to be recruited aren’t of age yet and we’ll be especially vulnerable the moment we leave school.”
“Many of US aren’t of age either,” Hermione pointed out. “So, what’s the rest of your plan, assuming that Dumbledore agrees to protect you? It seems you’d have to either all hide out together, or risk splitting up.”
Bletchley took a long breath.
“This brings me to the second part of our proposal. If Dumbledore’s willing to protect us, we’re hoping he’ll make us emergency Portkeys so we can get to safety. We know Dumbledore’s the only wizard powerful enough to create Portkeys that the Ministry can’t track.”
“But we’re not stupid enough to think all of us can stay in the same place,” Rosier added. “Some of us might be able to get through the summer without needing help at all, but we’re preparing for the worst. We hope Dumbledore’s Portkeys can get us to different safehouses, maybe with other Order members or … or with some of you lot.”
Ron squinted at the Slytherins. It seemed they’d finally reached their point.
“Your Plan B is to hide out the war with US protecting you?” he asked blankly.
Seamus snorted and exchanged a facetious look with Dean.
“Well, we know that can’t be right. What Slytherin would resort to staying in shelters of the lowly Gryffindors?”
There was some obvious uncomfortable shuffling among the snakes before Rosier rolled her eyes and answered, “Yes, we ARE asking, even though many of our number are too proud to outwardly admit it. We realised that if things didn’t work out with the Ministry, we can’t fully trust the older generation in Dumbledore’s Order because they’re far less likely to sympathise with us.”
She turned her head to look at Hermione directly.
“We’re here talking to you because even though we may not all like each other, we’re on equal ground. We’re classmates. And if anyone’ll believe that we AREN’T like our parents, it’ll be you.”
Hermione noted the sincerity in the other girl’s voice. She didn’t know her well, but Gertrude was a decent person and not a stuck-up Slytherin like Pansy Parkinson.
“And I suppose, by offering to work with us, you hope that we’ll also speak to the Ministry on your behalf if we win the war, even if we wouldn’t speak for your parents’ generation.” Hermione reasoned.
Gertrude nodded.
“In return, we’ll offer additional protection if we escape to one of your safehouses.”
Ron couldn’t stop blinking and Katie’s mouth had fallen open, but Hermione simply nodded, completely unfazed.
Nobody noticed Nott, behind Bletchley, trying to stifle a laugh.
Malfoy scowled at Ron’s expression. “We’re not helpless, Weasley, we’re just trying to be smart about this. Merlin knows you Gryffindors are gonna have the best chance in this war. You’re the ones who know how to fight and you’ll run happily into battle to protect people.”
“For our families, sure, but I dunno about protecting you,” Ron said haughtily with his arms crossed. Harry held back a smirk; he could read in his mate’s expression that Ron was pleased having the upper hand over Malfoy for once. “What’s in it for us?”
“Yeah,” Seamus agreed, crossing his arms to match Ron’s. “How do we know this isn’t your way of trying to find out where all our safehouses are so you can just go tell You-Know-Who?”
Hermione was irritated at their childish behaviour but she, too, wanted a guarantee of some sort from the Slytherins. She noticed Harry checking his watch anxiously. It had been nearly an hour since Snape left.
Bletchley and Warrington were having a nonverbal conversation. Warrington looked back at Rosier, who stepped up again with a sigh.
“We hoped you’d appreciate our gesture in the manner in which it was intended; that we’re willing to overlook differences between our houses, so you’ll do the right thing by us.
“That being said,” Gertrude continued before Hermione’s mouth opened all the way “We’re not thick. We understand that a fair trade requires something from both parties. What we ask from you is, firstly, to appeal to the Order on our behalf to keep our housemates safe since we know they’ll actually LISTEN to you; secondly, that you’ll defend us in the aftermath of the war for NOT siding with You-Know-Who; and thirdly, that you help us learn whatever skills we may be lacking to survive the war. We’ve already established that you’re collectively better at Defence than us.”
Harry and Hermione exchanged a surprised look and the Gryffindors began murmuring.
“They’re willing to learn from US?”
“–the Ministry even listen to us …?”
“They’d listen to Harry if he won the war–”
“Like, more advanced defensive magic–?”
“Hang on, she said what they want but not what we get from THEM,” Ron pointed out loudly. “They can’t possibly have that much information about You-Know-Who.”
Malfoy scowled again. Nott stepped forward to answer.
“We can share everything we DO know, and some of us might return home long enough to pick up more information. But to be clear, we’re not just asking you lot to become our security guards without offering our own magical assistance. For those of us who can safely return to school, we want to re-form that Defence group of yours. We’ll tell you whatever we can if you’ll teach us protective enchantments and defensive magic. We can help each other at any safehouse, AND at Hogwarts, in case the Dark Lord eventually finds his way here.”
Well, that’s something, Harry thought. Even if the Slytherins didn’t want to actively fight in the war, sharing defensive positions around safehouses was still helpful. And Merlin knew there were probably useful spells the Slytherins knew that they could teach in return …
… IF the whole thing wasn’t a trap. Harry was still very aware of the dislike pouring from Malfoy, Goyle, and a few of the other Slytherins who’d hated them for years.
Ron asked blankly, “What if your Death Eater relatives come looking for you while you’re crashing with us, then?”
“We’re not stupid, Weasley,” Malfoy said flatly. “We’re not about to use magic to activate the Trace unless it’s literally life or death, and if one of the concerned Slytherin parents tries to find their runaway for the Dark Lord, d’you really think they’ll check the Weasley hovel– er, Weasley house?” he corrected at a sharp look from Nott.
“Wouldn’t having them with us just put US at higher risk?” Alicia wondered aloud.
“Not if they add to our defences–” Tricia answered.
“But what if someone finds them?”
“There’s advanced charms we can learn for protection–”
“Are you all ready to just abandon your families, then?” Dean asked the Slytherins disbelievingly.
Bletchley shook his head.
“We hoped the Order could protect us if needed, but we’ll only run away as a last resort, and a few of us might bring our parents and siblings along if they’re willing to follow our terms. I know, it might result in quite a few,” he answered the unspoken question on Hermione’s face “so we might need more allies in this, but we knew that if we asked for assistance from the other houses, they wouldn’t go for it unless the Gryffindors back us up.”
“A united front?” Hermione said quietly.
“Never thought you’d see the day, eh?”
“But why couldn’t you all just get Dumbledore to give you Portkeys to come here?” Ron asked in confusion. “I mean, this place IS safer than most–”
“But this is the first place someone would look for them,” Neville said quietly. “If You-Know-Who wants to take over Hogwarts at some point, he might make it a higher priority if he realises the Slytherins he wants to recruit are all gathering here anyway. It makes sense to have a single safehouse for a group of Slytherins who might be high-risk, but it’s probably safer to spread everyone around.”
The Slytherins and a few of the Gryffindors blinked in surprise at Neville.
Hermione looked between the Slytherins carefully and made her decision.
“Your proposal for an alliance is reasonable,” she announced, “We only need a bit of time to deliberate the terms. We’ll be down the corridor; please come get us if Professor Snape returns.”
xxxxxxxxx
After the Gryffindors vanished, Theo found himself trying yet again to defend his plan to his classmates.
“Granger’s got our backs on this–”
“I still don’t get why you trust her so much,” Draco complained.
“She’s intelligent,” Theo reminded him sharply. “If nothing else, I’m sure she’s realised that making an alliance with us means we stay off HIS side, so it’s ultimately better for them all around.”
“I know she’s open-minded, but Potter’s probably gonna make the final decision,” Miles decided. “You were right, Theo, my suggestion that she speak for them worked, but Potter’s still got more hold over the others than she does.”
“But she’s the only one who can convince Potter that trusting us is the right thing,” Theo said firmly. “He listens to her.”
“Theo knows them too well,” grumbled Greg. “I don’t get it.”
“I pay attention,” Theo replied dryly. “You three always draw their focus, so they barely notice my existence.”
“I’ve got a decent working relationship with Granger, anyway, and she’s better than the Weasleys,” Miles reminded them. “I’ve a feeling she’ll vouch for us just fine, but the Order’s gonna take convincing. AND–” he added with a firm look at Draco “–she’s not gonna help us if we start calling her Mudblood again, so you better not fuck that up.”
The blond rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.
“Miles is right,” Theo murmured to his dormmates. “Like it or not, you’re the ones that Potter and his friends will have the hardest time allying with. You’ll need to prove to them that you can change, or they won’t help the rest of us.”
Greg and Vince, predictably, turned to Draco for direction. Draco swallowed and steeled himself. Fifteen years of traditions weren’t going to disappear so easily, but he met Theo’s eyes and remembered what was at stake.
If there was anyone with more to fear from the Dark Lord’s return than Draco, as the son of Lucius Malfoy, it was the son of Thoros Nott. Draco knew the shadows of stress under Theo’s eyes could soon spread to all the others if they didn’t make this work, and there were many younger Slytherins who might suffer if they ruined a potential truce with Dumbledore’s Order.
Once, he believed their pure blood kept them safe. But Draco knew now it wasn’t a guarantee.
But it was so frustrating that Potter held the upper hand. Now that war was creeping out of the shadows, Draco didn’t want to admit that he hoped for his rival to win.
“Alright,” Draco gave in, reluctantly thinking not of himself but of his housemates. “I’ll co-operate with the Potterheads.”